The Jasmine Throne: Tiktok made me buy it! The Indian-inspired sapphic fantasy

I enjoyed this read. The world building was incredibly rich and fecund. Suri's language was almost poetic at times and thus helped to truly create the world and atmosphere in my imagination.The characters were equally rich and three dimensional. The story is told from multiple points of view, which can at times become a little annoying, but only from the perspective that you want to get back to an intriguing thread.There is a fair amount of politics in the story, but it's seat of your pants struggle rather than dry. I found myself fully invested in the characters and their arcs, even the minor ones.Pacing-wise, there were sections where it seemed to move a little slower, but thus only served to heighten the tension overall.The relationship between the two main characters was very slow burn and beautifully written. It was sort of a mix between forbidden love and the inevitability of two souls colliding. There is nothing explicit and any intimate scenes are written without falling into the cliché trap.Suri sets us up well for a continuation of the series. There is no cliffhanger, but a definite ticking clock that leaves plenty of space for further story development and character growth.If you enjoy magic systems based on nature, political intrigue, rebellion, and against all odds, you will enjoy this. I'm looking forward to reading more in the series.

A compelling story set in a richly detailed fantasy universe featuring two characters that you grow to care about as the story unfolds. There's also a villain who's a sadistic religious psychotic which gives the story all sorts of contemporary resonances. The only problem I had with the story was the author's occasional use of the Americanism "okay" which pulls the reader out of the book's fantasy universe with a jolt.

Great book