Perhaps some will find the first half slow because it leans more into development and politics, but I love that so it was not a problem for me. Everything was pretty spot on, in my opinion: characterisation, worldbuildng, development.

(Note: I loved how The Jasmine Throne had 3 such different main female characters - Priya, the lowly handmaiden whose kindness is not a weakness, and who harbours a secret Malini, sister of the empress with a temperament like a snake in the grass, or a knife cloaked in silk Bhumika, level-headed and wise, mother-to-be and protector of everyone less fortunate.) All POVs were engaging, and I streamed through the book. Malini and Priya lead the way as POV characters, but they are supported by others such as Ashok, Rao and Bhumika. In short, it is a nuanced book with many developed themes. It shows how religion can be twisted to drive reasoning of the wrong kind, and how history can be sharpened into a tool. It looks at how nations are pulled into dominant empires, and the way independent cultures and traditions are left to wither and die.

It is also full of sapphic yearning (the waterfall scene!), sprawling and lush worldbuilding on an epic scale, and rich politics. It is an examination of how women are seen as monstrous - whether it's due to actual magical abilities, or simply the fact that they're clever. I have found a new epic fantasy series to fill the void left behind by The City of Brass and The Poppy War trilogies. This is my first full 5 star read of the year, and a new favourite. Together, they will change the fate of an empire. The other is a priestess seeking to find her family. One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides.īut when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. Priya is a maidservant, one among several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to clean Malini’s chambers.

Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of the powerful, magical deathless waters - but is now little more than a decaying ruin.

Author of Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash Tasha Suri's The Jasmine Throne, beginning a new trilogy set in a world inspired by the history and epics of India, in which a captive princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic become unlikely allies on a dark journey to save their empire from the princess's traitor brother.

Tasha suri the jasmine throne