Book Reviews / Diverse Reads / Fantasy / LGBTQ+

Book Review: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

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The Jasmine Throne (The Burning Kingdoms #1)
Publisher: Orbit
Pub Date: 8 June 2021
Genre: Adult Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(actual = 3.75 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

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.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Homomisia & internalised homomisia, self-immolation & self-mutilation, suicidal ideation, forced drug use, addiction & withdrawl, blood & gore depiction, body horror, death of children, murder, execution by immolation, torture

Argh, I’m not entirely sure why I always struggle to put my thoughts about this book into words, but it happened the first time I read it and on re-read, it’s the same, so I’m sorry if this review is all over the place!

Note: I first read The Jasmine Throne back in 2022 but I almost completely forgot everything that happened in the book not long after. Jess and I decided to re-read it this year to finally complete the trilogy, and so far it’s been an interesting, albeit different, experience than we expected. When I first read this, I gave it 4.5 stars, but as you can see with my current rating, that upon re-read, my rating has dropped a bit. I find it difficult to pinpoint what exactly didn’t work so well for me, but I think in large part it’s down to me not feeling as invested in the larger main chunk of the story. That said, I know this is a vastly unpopular opinion since most people who’ve read this have loved it immensely—and to be honest, I would still highly recommend this because Suri’s writing is fantastic, the characters she’s breathed to life are intriguing, and the Indian-inspired fantasy world she’s created is exquisite.

This fantasy was pretty easy to fall into, especially with such a jarring and impactful first chapter that sends your mind reeling with the implications. This first book isn’t an action-packed story in terms of plot and character development, and it is a bit of a slow burn with tension steadily ratcheting up as the author keeps steady pacing throughout. Suri knows how to keep us hooked while feeding the story to us in constant drips through a wide array of perspectives. Low-key though, this book made me pretty bloodthirsty for revenge because the men in this book are simply enraging! 🤣

So what worked and didn’t work for me?

WHAT WORKED FOR ME

  • The richly infused Indian lore and the world-building. I loved the lush descriptions of the verdant greenery, beautiful foliage and florals of Ahiranya, as well as the magic-wrought trees and the remnants of old and powerful magic that linger in certain locations. I loved how though much of the story was focused on gruesome deaths and ‘sacrifices’, it’s juxtaposed by pages teeming with descriptions of life. Ahiranya’s nature-based magic system was captivating but also utterly terrifying, and there’s a bit of body horror introduced through the rot that plagues its people.
  • The morally grey characters, especially the women, were fantastic. Frankly, I loved their ruthlessness, rage, and strength that is so often underestimated! This is a story fueled by that rage for the injustices and cruelties they have suffered at the hands of those who use their power to gleefully subjugate those deemed different through the guise of divinity and righteousness.
    • Bhumika, Malini, and Priya were strong, angry, brilliant and beautiful complex women who were fantastically written. Their flaws make them such realistic and human characters who are easy to empathise with. While Malini and Priya have a louder and brighter anger that bubbles closer to the surface, Bhumika is filled with a quiet simmering rage that powers her through a life of sacrifice. Out of the three, Bhumika was my favourite pov and I was hooked seeing how she mobilizes her own rebellion, and the quiet and subtle—though no less mighty—power she deftly wields.
  • Despite not being very into political plots, I wasn’t mad about how heavily political this was! Honestly, most of the time politics goes over my head or bores me, but this time, I was so intrigued by who has pieces on the board, who is pulling what strings, and I was especially engaged with how the hell the sadistic, deeply misogynistic, and fanatic despot of an emperor would get served his karma. 🗡️

WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME

  • The story is very focused on Ahiranya, which makes sense, but I think it would’ve been good to see what was happening in other parts of Parijatdvipa. It was hard to visualize and understand the role the other countries play in the empire and it almost felt as if they were swept into war without choice. It would’ve been nice to get a larger sense of the world we’re in as well as the wider social and political climate.
  • I felt like there was a lot more telling than showing, which made it difficult to connect to the characters, particularly when it came to the more emotional side of things. I understand that with certain situations our characters are in, they’re meant suppress their emotions due to the parts they play; however, that made it so that when we’re told someone is furious or hurt or scared, I didn’t necessarily feel it. I think this contributed a lot to the biggest thing that didn’t work for me here:
  • The romance. It kills me to say it because I’m here for morally grey lesbians, but maybe because I wasn’t really emotionally connecting to the characters (beyond their rage), the romance just didn’t click for me. It felt like the lust was very one-sided on Priya’s side, while Malini mostly saw her through the lens of “how can I exploit your role and powers to further my agenda?” Additionally, their connection didn’t feel organic because the sudden change in Malini’s feelings almost felt like it came out of nowhere at the end. Yes, there are the forced proximity and ‘caring-through-sickness’ factors that likely amped up those feelings, but being so for real, it was giving “she’s my actual roommate not ‘roommate'” vibes and that made me sad cos I’ve heard so many readers love and talk up the romance! I’m hopeful my feelings about it will change in the second book.

Have you read The Jasmine Throne or is it on your TBR?

17 thoughts on “Book Review: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri”

  1. I love this review. I’ve read this but remember very little about it apart from remembering that I loved the setting. I really need to reread it and get on with finishing the trilogy. The trouble is that there are so many other books fighting for attention.

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    • Honestly, the setting and the folklore/mythology that’s woven into this is incredible. I would’ve loved to see the kingdom explored a bit more, but otherwise, I thought the world-building was great! I totally get what you mean with other books fighting for attention though, lol. I hope you enjoy your re-read and the rest of the series whenever you get around to it!

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  2. I’m so sorry that your rating for this dropped with your reread. When I love a book the first time around I’m wary of that happening too – especially if its one I haven’t picked up in years.

    The world and magic system sound fascinating though. And I’m oddly intrigued by the rot plaguing people. For some reason magical illness always catches my attention 🙈

    Character wise I do like that there are lots of morally gray people to discover too.

    It’s just a shame to hear about the negatives. Romances really can make or break a book and it’s so disheartening when you can’t connect with them. Plus I can’t comment on this particular book yet (I’m definitely reading it this year though) I get where you’re coming from in general with the wanting to know more of the world involved within a war. I’ve felt similarly with other books where perspectives within certain lands would have strengthened things a lot.

    I know you’ve already read book two now but really hope the third manages to wow you 🤞

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    • It’s always the fear with re-reading a book and while I’m bummed that I’m noticing more things that didn’t work for me this time around, I still do think it’s a great series to explore. The world and magic are great and one of my favourite aspects, plus the bits of Indian mythology woven into the story is also fantastic! Fair warning, as intriguing as the rot is, there’s a surprising amount of body horror involved in parts of the magic in this world.

      A lot of the people really loved the romance and I’m so bummed that I’m not one of them. I think it would’ve helped had the romance not been pushed so hard in this book and if the storyline had kept to their individual arcs, cos I loved their characters, and their motives and rage! But like I said, so many people have loved it and back when the book first came out it was considered part of the ‘top tier trifecta of sapphic romances’, so my opinion is very much in the minority, lol. I hope you love this whenever you check it out this year, Charlotte! 😃

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      • I’m still sorry that it hasn’t been as strong for you this time around but I’m definitely very intrigued by the Indian mythology you’ve mentioned- I utterly adored when books include things like that. And thanks for the heads up body horror wise. Hopefully I’ll be okay having come across it recently within a horror read but it’s definitely something that tends to make me uncomfortable.

        I’m so sorry that you’re in the minority then. I know how it feels when you see everyone raving about a book or romance and you don’t connect with it yourself. Thank you 🥰 I’ll let you know what I think when I pick it up.

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  6. I love female focused stories, political intrigue, and morally grey character so this sounds like it’s going to be a hit for me! That being said, the writing style issue make me a bit hesitant. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it as much as you did the first time, but I hope the next books work better for you!

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    • I too love female focused stories, especially ones centered on female rage and the power women derive from that emotion to enact change, but I think it was the heavy focus on the romance that to me felt pretty forced that made me not enjoy this as much. I would’ve loved it if the focus had stayed on their individual arcs in the first book, followed by more in the second, but I know I’m in the minority with my feelings. I wished I had loved it more but I still highly recommend the series. I hope you enjoy it if you check it out 🙂

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