A review by yourbookishbff
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri builds a dark and almost claustrophobic fantasy world, set in an alt-India with central conflicts that are largely inspired by South Asian history and a deeply spiritual and elemental magic system. We have all the usual forces at work - an evil emperor, a slow-boiling revolution, and a colonized nation fighting for survival. While the action in this story is confined almost entirely to the shifting walls of an ancient and mysterious temple as our political coup takes shape, this tight focus is counterbalanced with rapidly rotating POVs through a large cast of characters. 

At the center of our story, we have three primary female characters - Malini, Priya, and Bhumika - each navigating trauma and their own fight for agency and freedom. Suri develops complex, morally gray women, and Malini, the exiled sister of the emperor, and Priya and Bhumika, former temple children, each challenge the traditional roles often cast for women in fantasy. Malini is openly manipulative and ruthlessly seeks power and agency, while Priya explores the potentially monstrous aspects of her own power and the paths available to her people in their fight for liberation. And while Malini and Priya circle each other for the majority of the story, Bhumika, a side character with main character energy, observes from the shadows, building an army of loyal followers while she works around and against her husband and the empire he serves. At each turn, our female main characters outmaneuver the power-wielding men in their lives, at times in partnership and at times in opposition, but always to advance their own goals. 

This is epic fantasy perfect for readers who love She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan, and not only for its strong sapphic romance arc (which is, of course, excellent). This, like She Who Became the Sun, explores the moral sacrifices people make for power, the bloody history of empire and the magic inherent to our world and its ghosts. I loved it.
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