A review by prested
Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

4.0

The Amrithi are the descendants of Daivas, desert spirits, who are descended from the Gods.
The Amrithi are persecuted throughout the Empire and are pushed to the margins of society.
Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an Amrithi woman, who after accidently revealing her powers, she is taken away by the empire's mystics.
At first she's unsure why they want her, however she soon learns what they want from her and their plan terrifies her.
To survive, Mehr must uses all of her power, will and influence to survive and stop the Empire's plan.
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Trigger Warning: Abuse and Violence
This book has been sitting on my TBR list for a little while but I was in a fantasy mood so I decided to read it.
I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I anticipated!
It wasn't what I was expecting and I liked how Suri portrayed how ethnic people in diaspora can feel as if they don't belong here or there. That was a concept Mehr struggled with throughout the novel.
The world is fascinating and I liked how Suri slowly reveal all the complexities of the Empire and how they connected to Mehr.
I wish Suri showed us more of the Empire. I liked how she showed how ethnic minorities were persecuted but I wish she showed us how the country was. I don't have a strong grasp on what the country looked like or the people. I saw snippets with how the Maha's disciples/priests acted but I don't have a firm grasp of the Empire's culture/people. Maybe because Mehr doesn't have a firm grasp still I would've liked it if Suri had shown that.
The only issue I had was the length? Sometimes it felt that the story dragged at certain points.

It's a strong debut and overall it's a good read.