BOOK TOUR | Book Review: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Hi everyone! Today I’m excited to participate in the book tour for The Jasmine Throne written by Tasha Suri, hosted by Caffeine Book Tours. The Jasmine Throne is out in the world already and you can purchase it from your local bookstores & online retailers- links to some of which are mentioned below.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Publication date: June 8th 2021 
Publisher: Orbit
Pages:480
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Buy links:
Book Depository | Blackwells(paperback) | Blackwells(hardcover) | Goodreads

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.

Click to read Content Warnings:

gender-based violence, homophobia including internalised homophobia, murder, forced drug use and addition/withdrawal, torture, body horror, and more

– My Thoughts –

“She could make herself into something monstrous. She could be a creature born of poison and pyre, flame and blood.”

The Jasmine Throne is everything I had thought it would be and more. This sapphic fantasy with two morally grey heroines left me yearning for more.

Malini and Priya are the lead characters despite multiple POVs sprinkled throughout the book. The themes of colonialism and oppression were visible as with the author’s previous books, along with themes of power and religion. Besides the titular characters, we see a diverse cast of characters who have their own set of rules in the path to finding justice.

Malini is the princess-in-exile who tried to remove her sadistic brother and failed. Although she’s hardly in the form to “kick ass” during most parts, she is cunning and a great strategist. All she wants is to see a just ruler on the throne and she has just the king in mind.

Priya is a maid-servant and is kindhearted. She helps orphans mainly children who suffer from ‘the rot’, a disease affecting the country, even though she doesn’t have the means. However, it isn’t until we see Priya discovering her powers that we truly see the real her. With her powers, Priya can save lives of so many people but she struggles with the reasons for using them.

Tasha Suri has written nothing short of a masterpiece. The worldbuilding, character arcs, the slow burn romance, the power plays between different characters..are all spectacularly woven into The Jasmine Throne.

Overall, I would recommend the book if you love reading epic fantasies where morally grey lesbians who go from wanting to stab each other to washing each others’ hair and kissing, and burning down colonial empires. Click on the buy links above and order this beautiful queen of a book!

Thanks to the publisher for gifting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review and to Caffeine Book tours for including me in the book tour!

---

---

– About the Author –

Tasha Suri was born in the U.K., but toured India during childhood holidays. She is now a librarian in London, and studied English and creative writing at Warwick University.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter

Thank you for reading! Have you read the Jasmine Throne or her previous books? If not, are you hoping to read The Jasmine Throne? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! 

Advertisement