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A review by river24
The Lotus Empire by Tasha Suri
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5/5
I promised long ago that I would carry your grief for you. So lay it in my hands.
I am a broken shell, I am ruined, I am wrecked. This was so beautiful. I have no words (but I will still blab away in this review for ages because I am in utter awe).
Tasha Suri's skill has never been more apparent. This series is so magical and so unyieldingly painful, brutal and beautiful. It is full of such heart and hope and unwavering love. It is so wonderfully written, Tasha Suri's prose never fails to absorb you, it is astoundingly poetic. We are not merely reading words on paper, we are breathing the rot-green air of Ahiranya, we feel every lick of heat from the promise of mother's fire, we are alive and real in the world alongside the characters.
And what a cast of characters they make. I have adored them all for so long and it's been such an incredible journey to see them through to the end. We have watched them grow into people larger and more powerful than they ever dreamed of being, we have watched them warp themselves and change, and cut out their hearts. I loved how much they still had to grow, even in this last book, I loved how complicated and tangled the vines of their hearts still hung. They are such well-written, human characters, with flawed ideals and conflicting motivations, and so much tragedy about them all. Quite simply, I adore them and I am so very sad to leave them.
It's not tragic to love like we do. To be like we are.
I, absolutely no exaggeration, cried throughout the entirety of this book. There's such tragedy woven into the pages, such vibrant life that burns even brighter when parts of it crumble away. Loss echoes in our characters' hearts, betrayal chokes them. They start this book with a thick and cloying sense of devastation that never truly leaves them. I just adored every single step, every last chapter.
Bhumika's chapters were the ones I probably cried hardest at (although that might be a lie, as I very genuinely did just cry at everything) and when I said before that there is such tragedy written into these characters' stories, I sincerely meant it. The Oleander Sword ends quite shockingly for every last one of our main characters, and I knew this book would be an emotional one as it sits in the aftermath of these events, as we are forced to deal with the repercussions. But I think I underestimated just how devastating it would be to read (I'm sure Tasha Suri is somewhere out there cackling evilly—and we love her for it).
Bhumika is a hollowed out shell of the person she was, she has her purpose and she has made her sacrifices. She is followed by the most loyal of her guard who walks with her every step, who protects and defends who she is and who she once was. She has made the ultimate sacrifice and she has done so to save her homeland. For Ahiranya, she will do anything.
Rao is another character who truly sits in the grief of the events from the last book and his is a wretched and broken journey. He is no longer who he was, his faith and his heart have abandoned him. His is a journey of learning how to live again. And that is no easy feat.
Priya and Malini are locked into their eternal dance; through that unbreakable thread that links them we see the tides of war shift and fall, weaknesses exploited and grasped at with greedy hands, love made into something darker and more twisted. I cannot talk of one without the other.
Malini refuses to burn. It is not her fate. She will fight against this destiny, smoke already in her lungs. She has done so much, lost so much, to be where she is and she will not lose Parijatdvipa now.
All Priya has ever done, she has done for Ahiranya. She has sacrificed herself, hollowed herself, to become what her land needs. She is a temple child, she knows its waters, she is the green. But her land demands all of her, it demands more than she is able to give.
Another perspective I adored was Arahli Ara. It was fascinating to look through his eyes and see things both foreign and familiar, to see the burden of memory and humanity.
I will not say much more as I want this review to be accessible to those who haven't read this series yet, but I implore you to read it!
She loves you in a fathomless way my brain can't comprehend. She loves you like rivers and mountains and oceans love one another. It's impossible and ancient, and I don't know how such cruel beings can love so much.
The world of The Burning Kingdoms is brilliant, it's so unique and fascinating. I love how entwined our characters are with the very soil beneath their feet, with the way the wind stirs through the trees and the plants wilt and grow. The rot is such a compelling part of the world and I adore how vastly it affects the empire.
As with the world, I found the politics of this book incredibly nuanced and complex. I kept finding myself worried to death wondering how it would end, but I never should have worried, Tasha Suri is an immensely skilled writer and she always had it well in hand. I loved the ending, and I (obviously) sobbed all throughout.
There is nothing worthless about a broken thing—be it a tale, or a man.
I come away from this series with tears on my cheeks and a sense of loss in my heart. I hate endings, I hate having to leave something behind. I will never get to experience this world and move alongside these characters for the first time ever again. I have come to the end of my journey with them. That devastates me. And, maybe you think I'm being dramatic, but I think that's exactly what a good book should do. It should transport you, it should move you, it should change you. And I can say with iron certainty that this series did every one of those things.
Without a doubt, Tasha Suri is one of my favourite authors and The Burning Kingdoms a favourite series. All I keep thinking is, beautiful. It was truly such a beautiful story and a beautiful end. I am eternally grateful that Tasha Suri wrote this incredible series, I so wish it wasn't over, but I loved every moment of it.
If you take nothing else away from this review, take away the fact that I am begging you to read these phenomenal books! I can't wait for what comes next (The Isle in the Silver Sea is one of my most anticipated books of 2025)!
Remember. And grieve, sister. Grieve us all.
Thank you Orbit for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
I promised long ago that I would carry your grief for you. So lay it in my hands.
I am a broken shell, I am ruined, I am wrecked. This was so beautiful. I have no words (but I will still blab away in this review for ages because I am in utter awe).
Tasha Suri's skill has never been more apparent. This series is so magical and so unyieldingly painful, brutal and beautiful. It is full of such heart and hope and unwavering love. It is so wonderfully written, Tasha Suri's prose never fails to absorb you, it is astoundingly poetic. We are not merely reading words on paper, we are breathing the rot-green air of Ahiranya, we feel every lick of heat from the promise of mother's fire, we are alive and real in the world alongside the characters.
And what a cast of characters they make. I have adored them all for so long and it's been such an incredible journey to see them through to the end. We have watched them grow into people larger and more powerful than they ever dreamed of being, we have watched them warp themselves and change, and cut out their hearts. I loved how much they still had to grow, even in this last book, I loved how complicated and tangled the vines of their hearts still hung. They are such well-written, human characters, with flawed ideals and conflicting motivations, and so much tragedy about them all. Quite simply, I adore them and I am so very sad to leave them.
It's not tragic to love like we do. To be like we are.
I, absolutely no exaggeration, cried throughout the entirety of this book. There's such tragedy woven into the pages, such vibrant life that burns even brighter when parts of it crumble away. Loss echoes in our characters' hearts, betrayal chokes them. They start this book with a thick and cloying sense of devastation that never truly leaves them. I just adored every single step, every last chapter.
Bhumika's chapters were the ones I probably cried hardest at (although that might be a lie, as I very genuinely did just cry at everything) and when I said before that there is such tragedy written into these characters' stories, I sincerely meant it. The Oleander Sword ends quite shockingly for every last one of our main characters, and I knew this book would be an emotional one as it sits in the aftermath of these events, as we are forced to deal with the repercussions. But I think I underestimated just how devastating it would be to read (I'm sure Tasha Suri is somewhere out there cackling evilly—and we love her for it).
Bhumika is a hollowed out shell of the person she was, she has her purpose and she has made her sacrifices. She is followed by the most loyal of her guard who walks with her every step, who protects and defends who she is and who she once was. She has made the ultimate sacrifice and she has done so to save her homeland. For Ahiranya, she will do anything.
Rao is another character who truly sits in the grief of the events from the last book and his is a wretched and broken journey. He is no longer who he was, his faith and his heart have abandoned him. His is a journey of learning how to live again. And that is no easy feat.
Priya and Malini are locked into their eternal dance; through that unbreakable thread that links them we see the tides of war shift and fall, weaknesses exploited and grasped at with greedy hands, love made into something darker and more twisted. I cannot talk of one without the other.
Malini refuses to burn. It is not her fate. She will fight against this destiny, smoke already in her lungs. She has done so much, lost so much, to be where she is and she will not lose Parijatdvipa now.
All Priya has ever done, she has done for Ahiranya. She has sacrificed herself, hollowed herself, to become what her land needs. She is a temple child, she knows its waters, she is the green. But her land demands all of her, it demands more than she is able to give.
Another perspective I adored was Arahli Ara. It was fascinating to look through his eyes and see things both foreign and familiar, to see the burden of memory and humanity.
I will not say much more as I want this review to be accessible to those who haven't read this series yet, but I implore you to read it!
She loves you in a fathomless way my brain can't comprehend. She loves you like rivers and mountains and oceans love one another. It's impossible and ancient, and I don't know how such cruel beings can love so much.
The world of The Burning Kingdoms is brilliant, it's so unique and fascinating. I love how entwined our characters are with the very soil beneath their feet, with the way the wind stirs through the trees and the plants wilt and grow. The rot is such a compelling part of the world and I adore how vastly it affects the empire.
As with the world, I found the politics of this book incredibly nuanced and complex. I kept finding myself worried to death wondering how it would end, but I never should have worried, Tasha Suri is an immensely skilled writer and she always had it well in hand. I loved the ending, and I (obviously) sobbed all throughout.
There is nothing worthless about a broken thing—be it a tale, or a man.
I come away from this series with tears on my cheeks and a sense of loss in my heart. I hate endings, I hate having to leave something behind. I will never get to experience this world and move alongside these characters for the first time ever again. I have come to the end of my journey with them. That devastates me. And, maybe you think I'm being dramatic, but I think that's exactly what a good book should do. It should transport you, it should move you, it should change you. And I can say with iron certainty that this series did every one of those things.
Without a doubt, Tasha Suri is one of my favourite authors and The Burning Kingdoms a favourite series. All I keep thinking is, beautiful. It was truly such a beautiful story and a beautiful end. I am eternally grateful that Tasha Suri wrote this incredible series, I so wish it wasn't over, but I loved every moment of it.
If you take nothing else away from this review, take away the fact that I am begging you to read these phenomenal books! I can't wait for what comes next (The Isle in the Silver Sea is one of my most anticipated books of 2025)!
Remember. And grieve, sister. Grieve us all.
Thank you Orbit for an arc in exchange for an honest review.