The Jasmine Throne, by Tasha Suri

[sophia_sol]

This is a truly brilliantly written example of the kind of book it is, but although I admired it all the way through, it is not nearly as much my kind of thing as the other Tasha Suri book I've read (Empire of Sand). Idk. It's....it's a bit too grimdark for me, I think, the kind of book where characters conclude that they must become bad people in order to accomplish what they need to accomplish in an oppressive world. The characters are wonderfully multifaceted and complex, and the context in which they exist is believably created, and it's definitely not just grimdark for the sake of grimdark; it's saying something deliberately with what it's doing and I respect that. But it's still not the kind of book that I get true pleasure out of reading.

(also it's well over 500 pages long and reads like it's simply the introduction to the story. I know I say this as a fan of the famously long Les Miserables, but I think this book may be too long?)

Comments

[lokifan]

Good to know about the grimdark - I've got very mixed feelings about that kind of thing.

Well, I say mixed. Mostly negative, lol.

[sophia_sol]

lol yeah exactly, me too

[tetralogy]

If you're someone who loves grimdark, would you say that makes this a solid 5/5 recommendation? Asking for a friend :D

[sophia_sol]

I absolutely would!

[lirazel]

Iiiiinteresting. I enjoyed Empire of Sand, too, but I haven't gotten around to this one. I guess I'll still give it a try and know that if it gets too dark for me, I can drop it. Thanks for the review!

[sophia_sol]

Yeah, this was actually my second go at The Jasmine Throne because I failed to finish it the first time. But I tried again because I'd heard such good things about it, and because I loved Empire of Sand so much after a slow start, but....although it's excellent it's not for me. I do think it's worth giving it a try, but it's definitely different vibes than Empire of Sand.

[glitteryv]

This is one author I keep wanting to read and yet I don't. As in per my library history, I've borrowed Empire of Sand at least 3 times over the past 2 months and yet haven't gotten past page 50 or so.

I'll try one more time in a few months. Anyhoo, thanks for pointing out that this novel is grimdark. NGL, it's not a genre I seek out, but I can roll with it from time to time. For some reason, it's harder to approach it in book form over than visual media.

[sophia_sol]

I found with Empire of Sand that the first 100 pages or so were slow going for me, but after that it REALLY picked up and was amazing enough to be worth getting through that first section -- so if you can make it a little further in you might like it! But I also completely understand if you decide that's too much effort to put into keeping on reading for that many pages when you aren't invested yet.

[glitteryv]

Yeahhh, them 50 pages are draaaaaagging for me. I'll try to make it at least to page 101 next time I borrow it. Suri is one of those authors who keep popping up enough times that I'm curious abt their novels. One of the things that have kept me from totally giving up on this novel are the many, many positive reviews of it. Here's hoping!

[sophia_sol]

I don't remember the exact page number (the 100 pages is an approximation), but it's the point where Mehr gets forcibly married to Amun that things immediately pick up, so if you give it another go, that's the point to wait for imo!

[chestnut_pod]

Interesting! I did not mind the grimdark so much, but I actually found the main romance almost entirely uncompelling, which is too bad, since I loved both involved characters individually, and I know Suri is more than capable of sweeping me off my feet! I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel, though.

[sophia_sol]

I was also not compelled by the main romance, but I figured that was because I hadn't found myself loving either of the two characters in the romance (I found them interesting, certainly, but I wasn't in my emotions about them) -- so it's interesting that the romance didn't work for you either despite loving both characters!

I'm probably not going to read the sequel, since it looks like it is a pretty direct continuation of exactly what this book was doing, but I hope you enjoy it, and that the romance becomes more compelling to you as it's further explored!