A review by booksarethenewblack
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

5.0

 

I was so excited to read this book because I had many people telling me how amazing it is. I had hyped it up in my head and it did live up to the hype. This book was captivating from the very beginning.

If you are looking for a book about powerful women and how they rule then pick this one up! I loved all the women in this book and they all had different strengths to offer. From the very beginning, I was in love with Priya. Priya is a maidservant but she is more than what she seems. She’s using her money to help the kids that have been abandoned from the rot. Is it hopeless? Kind of, but she still does it. She was such a wonderful character and I loved all of her depth. Malini was a character that had a lot of depth. Priya even has a hard time trying to decipher all of Malini’s “faces.” It was interesting to see where she started and where she ended in this book. It makes me so excited for the next book. Another character that I loved was Bhumika. She added so much to this book but now I’m not sure if I should trust her or not. So many of these characters are morally grey and kind of self-involved. I feel like I can’t really trust anyone!

“Malini wanted to explain that being monstrous wasn’t inherent, as Priya seemed to believe it to be. It was something placed upon you: a chain or a poison, bled into you by unkind hands.”

There are many supporting characters brilliantly written too, even the not-so-great ones. It was so easy to see all the sides and the reasoning for their actions. It added a lot more to the overall story when we get to see their POV’s too. Sometimes I can get overwhelmed when there are many POV’s in a book but Suri blended them into the story at the most perfect time. It felt natural and I was glad for the particular POV at that time.

I think Suri did a great job with the world-building. It was unique and very well written out. I never felt like there were any info dumps or it was hard to read. It was very easy to read. There are times in the middle that the pacing slowed. This is a long book but I think there’s enough action spread out to keep you from feeling the page count. The political intrigue was interesting but I didn’t overwhelm the book, which I appreciated.

“But some men dream of times long dead, and times that never existed, and they’re willing to tear the world apart entirely to get them.”

The romance is the slowest burn but it was worth the wait. Their relationship is so complex and so full of trust issues. It makes sense since they are supposed to be enemies. What Suri does though is make them tow that line all the way through. They know how they feel but do they really trust each other? It made the ending of this book so much more intense. I loved a lot of the relationships in this book though. I think one of the most impactful ones for me was the relationship between Priya and Ashok. It was hard to read at times but make complete sense. We can’t ever give up on blood, can we? We always seem to find this need to help when we shouldn’t. It doesn’t matter if we don’t believe in what they do or not.

Overall, this was such a brilliant start to a series. I cannot wait to jump into the second book. Thankfully, I have an arc (Thank you, Orbit!!) and will be jumping in next week! This has a lot to offer so don’t let the size stop you. It can be intimidating but, even if it is slow at times, it was worth the read. The world that Suri has created mixed with the fascinating characters makes this a book that you will not forget.