Review - The Jasmine Throne (Burning Kingdoms, #1) by Tasha Suri

 

 

 Title: The Jasmine Throne (Burning Kingdoms, #1)

Author: Tasha Suri

Pages: 512

Publisher: Orbit

Release Date: 8th June 2021

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 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.

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.

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. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides.

But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne. The other is a priestess seeking to find her family. Together, they will change the fate of an empire.

 

 

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My Review:

  

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley*

 

 

Priya is a maidservant for the Regent's wife and lives in the shadow of the Hirana, an ancient temple where she once lived until the priests and other children there were burned.

Princess Malini is the sister of the emperor, a ruthless man who locks Malini away in the Hirana.

Priya and Malini's paths cross one day when Priya is at the Hirana, and the Malini witnesses Priya doing something extraordinary.

Malini is determined to remove her brother from the throne and is willing to use anyone to get what she wants, even Priya, who has secrets of her own.

Will Malini escape from the Hirana?

Will Priya's memories of the day of the fire return?

 

Having read one of the author's previous books and enjoyed it, I was excited to read this book.

Priya and Malini were both likeable and relatable protagonists, but I felt like I connected to Priya more. Both Priya and Malini were interesting to get to know and I enjoyed seeing how they reacted in different situations, as well as how they interacted. I appreciated that Malini in particular wasn't afraid not to conform to how she was expected to act as a woman.

The concepts of the yaksa, the deathless waters, and the rot were all interesting and I enjoyed learning more about them.

The plot was enjoyable, but I did find the pacing a little off, and the book did drag a bit for me - I felt that the book could have been shorter in this regard, but liked that the author didn't rush to get to the end. However, reading the relationships between the characters was one of my favourite parts and I thought the author did a good job of setting up the plot and different characters.

The writing style was easy to follow.

While I did enjoy this overall, I did lose interest, unfortunately.

 

Overall, this was a mixed read.