Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

41 reviews

lavybubbs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5 Stars- I am speechless 

Once again we are here at a book that I loved so much I can barely figure out how to write about it. 

This book is a slow start. It drops you in the story without a full explanation of where you are, which can be a challenging aspect for some, it was for me but the story is explained as you go in such a riveting way it more then makes up for it. Sometimes the amount of POV characters becomes hard to follow but as I read I got more used to the pacing and understanding the reason for those PoVs. 

I cannot say enough about Malini and Priya. These characters are the morally grey Sapphic  badasses of my gay dreams. The themes are so heavy but each character takes what has happened to them and rises from the ashes and the waters to be unstoppable and self assured. While our two main characters are powerful, many of the more minor PoV characters are so fulfilling and the character development is applied liberaly to the most amazing affect. 

This is a series I plan to sink my teeth into over and over and never let go. I feel like I have read an epic fantasy that could have been written long ago. It felt so sure of itself and I truly believe it's one of the greats in the making. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, War, Violence, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Addiction, Body horror, Terminal illness, Self harm, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Genocide

Moderate: Homophobia

mcgildey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Lives up to the hype! Gotta love stories with angsty gay ladies.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, War, Vomit, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Gore

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual content and Death of parent

gjkennedy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh this is just the best thing ever. I could go on and on but it really is amazing. I knew from the first chapter that this book would be amazing. This book is full of lush world building that is enhanced by the beautiful language the author writes with. By far my favorite prose this year. The plot had wonderful political intrigue and emotional tension, people with convergent dreams and divergent methods butting heads. I loved it so much. 

Also, I'm often really wary (as a feminist) of stories that are marketed as being such, as my typical experience has been books so caught up in the "feminist" they forget to be "stories" and undermine themselves a little in the process. This story so beautifully captured how being a woman affected the ambitions and the relations of the women characters without it being the centerpiece of the narrative. It was a constant thread of perspective, a factor of everything without being what this story is, which I think it a really good way of going about it, and I found myself underlining many passages that tied to my own experiences. I greatly enjoyed the skillful subtlety of it. 

Absolutely adored this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Confinement

Minor: Death and Grief

mar's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Child death, Confinement, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, and Death

Moderate: Homophobia, Body horror, Colonisation, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Blood, and War

Minor: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

starccato's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Murder, Blood, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Alcohol, Violence, Terminal illness, Slavery, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Torture, Child abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, War, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

booksthatburn's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I love the worldbuilding, but where THE JASMINE THRONE really shines is in characterization. The various factions are complicated enough to imply tangled motivations and longstanding tensions, but the focus on just a handful of really important characters makes it easier to track. Priya and Malini are the heart of this books, with a few other characters occasionally taking turns in the spotlight as their unique perspectives become relevant. By the time each minor or secondary character gets their chapter they’re already known, so it feels like filling in a missing piece and it makes the whole narrative better.

There was a hugely traumatic event which is a political concern for some characters but a world-shattering transformative event for others. The details of what happened are slowly described throughout the story as they become relevant, sometimes as information someone needs to know and sometimes as catharsis when an affected character talks about what they went through. There’s a lot of grief and pain from that night, bubbling out to shape current events as some want to move on, others want to fix things, and a powerful few want things to keep burning.

A great story and an excellent start to the series, read this for a slow burn sapphic romance with many secrets.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Vomit

Minor: Child death

monkymarzipan's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The worldbuilding in this book is immaculate. I struggled with the magic system and the politics as I started and that's the only reason I'm not giving it a 5 out of 5. That's on me, though--I knew I was depressed with ADHD when I picked up a 500 page fantasy book, so I should've been more prepared to have to pay attention.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, War, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Terminal illness, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Grief

Minor: Vomit and Suicide attempt

troisha's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Gore

Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and War

soundlysmitten's review

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Jasmine Throne takes place in a lush fantasy world inspired by India. It tells an utterly feminist story complete with intriguing magic, masterful scheming, unlikely allies, and a sliver of sapphic romance.

It took me about a month to get through this book. To be a fair, I’m a hopelessly slow reader. The pace is also admittedly slow to start, but I don’t actually see that as a flaw. There’s a lot to learn about this new world, its intricate culture and magic, its history and politics. As the first installment in a trilogy, The Jasmine Throne lays its framework down thoroughly. But more than that, beautifully. You just have to be patient—take time to absorb it all—in order to fully appreciate the story and the eloquent language used to tell it.

Told in third-person past tense with multiple narrators, The Jasmine Throne is an impressively woven tale. The main POVs belong to our hidden priestess, Priya, and captive princess, Malini. But there are a number of other secondary POVs that contribute to the full scope of the political landscape. I appreciated being given a glimpse into the minds of other players in the conflict/seeing how they interpret the world and their role in it. All of the characters are authentically complex and the author provides interesting insight regarding their motives, revealing their different faces as the story unfolds. As for the romance, it takes a backseat to Priya’s personal development and the action of the overall plot. But I found that realistic considering the circumstances.

The theme that struck me most deeply is the pursuit of liberation for an oppressed people. Parijat’s aim to obliterate Ahiranya—in livelihood and identity—is heavy, and I feel emotionally invested in seeing things made right. Another theme that struck a chord with me is the untangling of the twisted way those in power warp religion to support flawed and wicked agendas. And I absolutely loved the hopeful way the book ends.

With three formidable women stepping up to replace their evil, misguided, inept male counterparts.

Who runs the world? ;)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia

herfleurs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 "We'll always be angry if we remain chained to your empire."


Priya é simplesmente a personagem feminina de fantasia que eu sempre quis ler. Ela é tão bem escrita, o arco dela é maravilhoso. Tudo sobre ela é mostrado e faz total sentindo com tudo que foi sendo desenvolvido. Ela é extremamente empática, todas as conexões que ela forma durante o livro você pode sentir o quão ela se importa. Ela também é orgulhosa, forte, inteligente e poderosa. Nada disso foi derramado como um monte de informação, ou descrito por outro personagem. 
 
 A autora construiu um romance sem nenhum momento resumir para aparência física de ambas personagens.
 Malini que é uma princesa da linhagem imperial, sendo assim extremamente privilegiada mas ainda diminuída por causa da sociedade patriarcal, conseguiu coisas enormes, juntar tropas etc e nenhuma parte disso a autora reduziu a aquela ambiguidade onde muitas autoras não conseguem criar personagens femininas manipuladoras sem se apoiar completamente na aparência delas. Eu não sei colocar isso muito bem em palavras mas pra quem isso também incomoda em outros livros vai me entender aqui.
 
 Todas as narrações são importantes, eu fiquei receosa de que o príncipe sem nome (Rao) não fosse ter um arco bom, e confesso que queria mais dele, mas pelo menos na segunda metade do livro vemos mais profundidade.
 
 As relações foram tão bem mostradas aqui, de sangue, de família, de conveniência. Bhumika também é uma das personagens mais bem aprofundadas que já li, ela literalmente tem várias camadas e todas são exploradas.
 
 O romance meio slow burn é maravilhoso! O fato delas serem moralmente cinzas é perfeito. Malini é manipuladora e 100% disposta a conseguir o que quer, e ver ela usando Priya, mais de uma vez, é *chef kiss*
 
 Uma das melhores leituras do ano, extremamente ansiosa para os próximos!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Drug use, Vomit, Terminal illness, Confinement, and Child death