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meltingpages's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
This did take a little bit for me to get into, there's a lot of world building thrown at you right away so it took a little bit of time for me to figure out what was going on. Once I got everything straight in my head though I really ended up enjoying this! I loved Sylvia as a character, she's so complex and how she feels about her culture is so fascinating. She also goes through a lot of growth and you can see her coming to terms with her past and what her future should and could be. The trials Sylvia competes in were a surprise, as they weren't really mentioned in the synopsis past mentioning a game, which I took to be a game of political intrigue, not a literal game. I'm all for Sylvia getting revenge for her people and taking her kingdom back and making it better than it was before. I'm all for morally gray characters, and Sylvia and Arin are the epitome of that. I also ended up really loving the Egyptian inspired world, with all the history and culture. I will say though one of the downsides to reading the arc is that you don't get the map, which I always use to help center myself and get an idea of what the world actually looks like and where all the locations are in reference to each other, especially in a book like this where they're travelling around from one kingdom to another. Overall though, I'm so excited about this book, and I'm even more excited for the sequel!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
vohak's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.0
Whew, what a book! Jasad Heir started a little slow with Sylvia, an orphaned chemist's apprentice who lives in a small town. Unfortunately she's also the heir to a magical neighboring nation that was destroyed when she was a child, it's citizens hunted ever since. We follow Sylvia and another dangerous royal, Arin, as they prepare for a tournament, encounter resistance groups, battle their own demons, and fight with/for each other.
This book surprised me several times, made me laugh out loud, made me cry, and made me hope. My only problem is that now I have to wait for the sequel.
This book surprised me several times, made me laugh out loud, made me cry, and made me hope. My only problem is that now I have to wait for the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, and War
alienor's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
Review to come closer to release date but I LOVED IT SO MUCH
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual assault
fms2000's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
the Jasad Heir was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and not only did it live up to every expectation, but it also went far beyond. this book wrecked me and consumed me—Hashem’s story ideas, writing, and storytelling is absolutely incredible. I’m so in love with Sylvia and Arin—both together and as individual characters—they were written to perfection with a perfect sprinkling of all the best enemies to lovers tropes. in that regard, all of the characters are epic and dynamic and their own wonderfully developed individual people that you feel you get to know over the course of the story. this book was devastating (in the most perfect way you hope the best books to be) if slightly incomplete. the political intrigue was incredible, the motif of love throughout the story was felt so deeply, and I’m so excited to see how these journeys continue in book two. my one piece of feedback about the story at large is that the pacing is a little messy throughout which makes it harder to follow the plot in some places. for example, there are times when a plot point or twist is revealed vaguely and based on the character’s reaction to that event it can be hard to tell if as a reader I missed important context or if the intention was to keep this content more concealed. because of this pacing challenge sometimes the plot fell through as it lacked clarity, and at times the story jumped around (with little insight into character’s reflections) more when I wanted it to linger, and where lingering might have served the storyline better. the uneven pacing makes the world building a little hard to understand in some places, but doesn’t take away from the content or overall quality of the book. I can’t believe I have to wait so long for book two! I will be a faithful reader of all Sara Hashem’s books from here on out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Suicide
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