Take a photo of a barcode or cover
danielles_reads 's review for:
The Lotus Empire
by Tasha Suri
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Kinda disappointed to give this book the same rating I gave the first one, especially after the second book had felt like such a step up from book 1. But man, this book felt really long and meandering. The pacing was completely off--it felt like the plot didn't really get started until 65% in, with the characters just floundering around until then. Thankfully it was fairly strong from then until the end, but I just wish it had been more consistent (or just plain shorter).
Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had reread the previous two books, because even after reading/watching detailed recaps, I couldn't remember a lot of the secondary characters, and I had forgotten a lot of Suri's writing quirks. I remember liking her use of many random POVs before, but it didn't feel as smooth in this book because so many chapters were sooo short! It made the book feel so choppy and contributed to the meandering feel. I also wondered why there were chapters from the same POV character back-to-back when they could have just been one chapter. But some of the minor characters' POVs were introduced so early and then disappeared for a while before finally becoming relevant again, likeVarsha and Sanvi. I think the book would have been better without POVs like those because it ruined a lot of the suspense in the second half of the book and we didn't learn much about their characters anyway (we knew they were both going to betray the princess and we knew pretty much exactly how, but it didn't happen until sooo late! ).
Even though there were soooo many POVs, it felt like this book really only cared about Malini and Priya. Which yeah I understand, because they are the main characters, but Bhumika and Rao felt so sidelined. They were barely relevant to the main plot, especially Bhumika, until the last third. I was also really disappointed with Sima's story, because she was so strong and fierce in book 2 but was basically a wet noodle in book 3? I know she was in a precarious situation as a prisoner but I didn't understand why she attached herself to Rao so quickly and repeatedly. I did find Priya and Malini's longing for each other while they were apart pretty intriguing (and sexy 👀), but they were so back-and-forth about it (literally the epitome of "she loves me. she loves me not" childhood game lol) that it eventually got a bit tiring. I never really connected with them in the first two books and this book didn't change that. I've never been a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope though so I can see other people liking them more. I loved the snippets we got of Bhumika and Jeevan though, andI squealed when it was revealed in the end that they finally got married!! Ahhhh
In regards to the plot, I think this was a mostly satisfying ending for the trilogy. I liked the final arcs for pretty much all of the characters overall, though I had some quibbles. Bhumika remains my favorite character and her ending was my favorite.I loved her instantly recognizing her daughter and her reunion with Priya was so bittersweet 😭 and Aditya coming to Rao to tell him to forget him and live 😭 I really liked how both Priya and Malini fully came into their own respective powers and realized what they really wanted out of life and each other, love to see it. Priya's ending was especially epic with her sacrificing herself to save the Hirana, but I think the ending would have been a lot stronger if she had actually died (though I did think her and Malini's reunion after 15 years was very romantic). I'm still confused on how exactly she survived that (magic I guess, but it went unexplained). I'm also confused on how Malini came to have magic powers? I guess it's due to her connection with Priya but that was also not fully explained. I was also disappointed that the yaksa were all just like “yeah we hate being part-human so let’s go die” lol. I was glad when Mani Ara actually resisted because that felt way more powerful. I also really liked the thematic meaning of the male priests of the Nameless sacrificing themselves to kill the yaksa after the priests of the Mothers spent the whole series sacrificing women and trying to get Malini to sacrifice herself. Overall it was a pretty powerful ending, though some parts when unexplained or felt a tiny bit unsatisfying.
Overall I don't think this will be a favorite series of mine, but I can see myself recommending it to people who like slower-paced character-focused fantasies with sapphic longing. But none of the books were ever big misses for me, and I really enjoyed Suri's debut duology, so I look forward to reading more from her in the future!
Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had reread the previous two books, because even after reading/watching detailed recaps, I couldn't remember a lot of the secondary characters, and I had forgotten a lot of Suri's writing quirks. I remember liking her use of many random POVs before, but it didn't feel as smooth in this book because so many chapters were sooo short! It made the book feel so choppy and contributed to the meandering feel. I also wondered why there were chapters from the same POV character back-to-back when they could have just been one chapter. But some of the minor characters' POVs were introduced so early and then disappeared for a while before finally becoming relevant again, like
Even though there were soooo many POVs, it felt like this book really only cared about Malini and Priya. Which yeah I understand, because they are the main characters, but Bhumika and Rao felt so sidelined. They were barely relevant to the main plot, especially Bhumika, until the last third. I was also really disappointed with Sima's story, because she was so strong and fierce in book 2 but was basically a wet noodle in book 3? I know she was in a precarious situation as a prisoner but I didn't understand why she attached herself to Rao so quickly and repeatedly. I did find Priya and Malini's longing for each other while they were apart pretty intriguing (and sexy 👀), but they were so back-and-forth about it (literally the epitome of "she loves me. she loves me not" childhood game lol) that it eventually got a bit tiring. I never really connected with them in the first two books and this book didn't change that. I've never been a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope though so I can see other people liking them more. I loved the snippets we got of Bhumika and Jeevan though, and
In regards to the plot, I think this was a mostly satisfying ending for the trilogy. I liked the final arcs for pretty much all of the characters overall, though I had some quibbles. Bhumika remains my favorite character and her ending was my favorite.
Overall I don't think this will be a favorite series of mine, but I can see myself recommending it to people who like slower-paced character-focused fantasies with sapphic longing. But none of the books were ever big misses for me, and I really enjoyed Suri's debut duology, so I look forward to reading more from her in the future!