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A review by hanarama
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Cw: homophobia, lesbophobia, misogyny, suicide, abuse, poisoning, burning, toxic relationships
The Good:
• Complex world building
• Wlw represtation
• Strong commentary
The Bad:
• Hard to keep track of characters
• Some PoV characters sound too similar.
• Very slow start
You Might Like This if You Like:
• Political intrigue
• Morally gray characters
• Slow burn romance
• The Daevabad trilogy
The Jasmine Throne features a wide number of PoV characters, though it primarily follows three women. Priya, Malini, and Bhumika. Malini is the exiled sister of the emperor. Refusing to ritualistically immolate herself for her brother, Malini is imprisoned in the Hirana, a ruined temple that houses an ancient power. Priya and Bhumika are former temple daughters, those that tended the Hirana before the emperor had the temple sacked. Priya agrees to serve as a maidservant to Malini, and inadvertently reveals her hidden strengths. Sensing an opportunity, Malini seeks to grow closer to Priya, and their fates become interwoven. Meanwhile, Bhumika deals with the growing political unrest and struggles to keep her people safe.
Outside of the three main women, it can be easy to mix up the other PoV characters. Many of them only have a couple chapters. Without very distinct voices, it's hard to remember who's narrating a particular chapter.
Despite this, Suri creates very evocative imagery. The setting is lush and inviting, with a lot to uncover. The world building is gradual, with more revealed throughout the novel.
In general, The Jasmine Throne is very slow burn, with everything building in intensity over time. In some regards, this is fine, but in others it can make it hard to get into the story. For the central romance, it works well, allowing the characters to build a connection before the romance begins. The slow pace of the plot outside of this though, makes it feel as though very little is happening.
Overall, an interesting story with a great setting. Because the first book was mainly set up, I'm interested to see how things pay off in the sequel. In particular, Malini and Bhumika are both set up as charismatic leaders, so I'm expecting them to clash in the future.
The Good:
• Complex world building
• Wlw represtation
• Strong commentary
The Bad:
• Hard to keep track of characters
• Some PoV characters sound too similar.
• Very slow start
You Might Like This if You Like:
• Political intrigue
• Morally gray characters
• Slow burn romance
• The Daevabad trilogy
The Jasmine Throne features a wide number of PoV characters, though it primarily follows three women. Priya, Malini, and Bhumika. Malini is the exiled sister of the emperor. Refusing to ritualistically immolate herself for her brother, Malini is imprisoned in the Hirana, a ruined temple that houses an ancient power. Priya and Bhumika are former temple daughters, those that tended the Hirana before the emperor had the temple sacked. Priya agrees to serve as a maidservant to Malini, and inadvertently reveals her hidden strengths. Sensing an opportunity, Malini seeks to grow closer to Priya, and their fates become interwoven. Meanwhile, Bhumika deals with the growing political unrest and struggles to keep her people safe.
Outside of the three main women, it can be easy to mix up the other PoV characters. Many of them only have a couple chapters. Without very distinct voices, it's hard to remember who's narrating a particular chapter.
Despite this, Suri creates very evocative imagery. The setting is lush and inviting, with a lot to uncover. The world building is gradual, with more revealed throughout the novel.
In general, The Jasmine Throne is very slow burn, with everything building in intensity over time. In some regards, this is fine, but in others it can make it hard to get into the story. For the central romance, it works well, allowing the characters to build a connection before the romance begins. The slow pace of the plot outside of this though, makes it feel as though very little is happening.
Overall, an interesting story with a great setting. Because the first book was mainly set up, I'm interested to see how things pay off in the sequel. In particular, Malini and Bhumika are both set up as charismatic leaders, so I'm expecting them to clash in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexism, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Fire/Fire injury