A review by pocketbotch
The Lotus Empire by Tasha Suri

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

what the hell. genuinely wondering if i was vacation-high while reading the first two books and artificially inflated their scores. the writing just didn't feel as striking as before - lots of clipped sentences in a row, slightly stiff dialogue, SO much passive voice. 

The heart-shell plot was stupid and came out of nowhere. the characters felt flat, besides rao and bhumika. even when everything was on fire and the world was ending it just didn't feel tense. urgh. at least the atmosphere was still dreamy and beautiful.