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A review by aromarrie
Realm of Ash by Tasha Suri
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
the first book had me in awe witnessing mehr as our main character as she was connected to her heritage as an Amrithi--and all that despite those with power trying to strip it away from her. to witness her journey in holding onto the strength and power that came with own lineage was incredibly enlightening and made reading to the last page a memorable experience.
i didn't think i could feel even more closer to this world that was inspired by the Mughal Empire in early South Asia but then i got to witness an even longer journey of grief and its reckoning through arwa's eyes. for that, it made me feel both connected and disconnected to my own heritage, personally. so much was taken from arwa, so much history and knowledge being swept away before she had the chance to have it revealed to herself. and by that, so much fear and darkness unfolds in this epic fantasy that got more and more intense as i watched this story unveil all that it needed to say.
it was difficult in the beginning, i'll admit, to witness everything that was taken from arwa without her knowledge after getting to see mehr have the ability to be connected to it herself. it was hard to see arwa worship figures that from what we learn in empire of sand are much more insidious in the devastation and manipulation they wield with a careless but iron fist (as ironic as it may sound). and then it became even more difficult to have to see her grapple with the grief of all things she wasn't told, simply out of the need for safety and being able to blend in as a good noblewoman. so much of her life, arwa has made one attempt after another to conceal herself so that she could chase after the honor her family is desperate for, even after everything they lost. but what she and her parents face is an Empire that's crumbling beneath all the manipulation that the Maha had sweeped underneath its feet, and for that its people and the Imperial family will pay.
in empire of sand, there was so much magic and the writing was just as lyrical and graceful as the rites that mehr danced in honor of her Amrithi heritage and of the daiva as it was their language. even with all that grace, however, there was so much death and loss that mehr had to face, so much of her magic taken away from her for someone else's greed as she and other Amrithi were chained and/or killed. in realm of ash, it seems that there's so much more death that arwa is faced with and less of that magic that mehr was able to hold onto. with that, comes a whole load of grief that will take forever to be able to unload. but what made this story so powerful, so compassionate and fierce in its own right, was that arwa was able to take the ashes of her dead and the strings of light that came with her heritage and build a new path and future for not just her, but her ancestors and her family and lover present in an incredibly powerful way.
speaking of lover, the bond between arwa and zahir that grew between them throughout the course of this novel was a whole other level of astonishing and the trust that was built between them? just further fed into the magic and power that came with a story about taking control of your own destiny. i loved so many of the characters, i loved seeing the connection that arwa and zahir had to the Empire despite all of its failings and the blood that's soaked in its roots. i loved how we got to witness the Empire in one way through mehr's lenses in empire of sand but then here in realm of ash, saw it with different eyes as we walk through arwa's journey in the realm of ash. the books of ahmba is such an empowering series that contains so much magic but explores so much of the darkness that becomes associated with it and humanity itself; i simply adore it.
content warnings//: descriptions of blood & injury, murder, references to past genocide, explorations of grief, mentions of famine & starvation, kidnapping, successful coup (off-page), mentions of violence, references to cannibalism, and description of bones of the dead
i didn't think i could feel even more closer to this world that was inspired by the Mughal Empire in early South Asia but then i got to witness an even longer journey of grief and its reckoning through arwa's eyes. for that, it made me feel both connected and disconnected to my own heritage, personally. so much was taken from arwa, so much history and knowledge being swept away before she had the chance to have it revealed to herself. and by that, so much fear and darkness unfolds in this epic fantasy that got more and more intense as i watched this story unveil all that it needed to say.
it was difficult in the beginning, i'll admit, to witness everything that was taken from arwa without her knowledge after getting to see mehr have the ability to be connected to it herself. it was hard to see arwa worship figures that from what we learn in empire of sand are much more insidious in the devastation and manipulation they wield with a careless but iron fist (as ironic as it may sound). and then it became even more difficult to have to see her grapple with the grief of all things she wasn't told, simply out of the need for safety and being able to blend in as a good noblewoman. so much of her life, arwa has made one attempt after another to conceal herself so that she could chase after the honor her family is desperate for, even after everything they lost. but what she and her parents face is an Empire that's crumbling beneath all the manipulation that the Maha had sweeped underneath its feet, and for that its people and the Imperial family will pay.
in empire of sand, there was so much magic and the writing was just as lyrical and graceful as the rites that mehr danced in honor of her Amrithi heritage and of the daiva as it was their language. even with all that grace, however, there was so much death and loss that mehr had to face, so much of her magic taken away from her for someone else's greed as she and other Amrithi were chained and/or killed. in realm of ash, it seems that there's so much more death that arwa is faced with and less of that magic that mehr was able to hold onto. with that, comes a whole load of grief that will take forever to be able to unload. but what made this story so powerful, so compassionate and fierce in its own right, was that arwa was able to take the ashes of her dead and the strings of light that came with her heritage and build a new path and future for not just her, but her ancestors and her family and lover present in an incredibly powerful way.
speaking of lover, the bond between arwa and zahir that grew between them throughout the course of this novel was a whole other level of astonishing and the trust that was built between them? just further fed into the magic and power that came with a story about taking control of your own destiny. i loved so many of the characters, i loved seeing the connection that arwa and zahir had to the Empire despite all of its failings and the blood that's soaked in its roots. i loved how we got to witness the Empire in one way through mehr's lenses in empire of sand but then here in realm of ash, saw it with different eyes as we walk through arwa's journey in the realm of ash. the books of ahmba is such an empowering series that contains so much magic but explores so much of the darkness that becomes associated with it and humanity itself; i simply adore it.
content warnings//: descriptions of blood & injury, murder, references to past genocide, explorations of grief, mentions of famine & starvation, kidnapping, successful coup (off-page), mentions of violence, references to cannibalism, and description of bones of the dead
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Death, Confinement, and Grief