The Jasad Heir

By: Sara Hashem

Narrated by: Rasha Zamamiri, Peter Ganim

Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

"A remarkable, razor-sharp debut that cuts straight to the heart."―Chelsea Abdullah, author of The Stardust Thief

A fugitive queen strikes a bargain with her greatest enemy that could resurrect her scorched kingdom or leave it in ashes forever in this unmissable Egyptian-inspired epic fantasy debut.

Ten years ago, the kingdom of Jasad burned. Its magic was outlawed. Its royal family murdered. At least, that’s what Sylvia wants people to believe. The Heir of Jasad escaped the massacre, and she intends to stay hidden, especially from the armies of Nizahl that continue to hunt her people.

But a moment of anger changes everything. When Arin, the Nizahl Heir, tracks a group of Jasadi rebels to her village, Sylvia accidentally reveals her magic—and captures his attention. Now Sylvia’s forced to make a deal with her greatest enemy: Help him hunt the rebels in exchange for her life.

A deadly game begins. Sylvia can’t let Arin discover her identity, even as hatred shifts into something more between the Heirs. And as the tides change around her, Sylvia will have to choose between the life she wants and the one she abandoned.

The scorched kingdom is rising, and it needs a queen.

Praise for The Jasad Heir:

"Will have you turning pages in a frenzy." ―Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun

"The type of mythological and romantic tale you would bargain your last breath for... A book that coils you into its serpentine grasp." ―Observer

The Scorched Throne
The Jasad Heir

©2023 Sara Hashem (P)2023 Orbit

Great First Installment

The Jasad Heir is a solid debut novel and first installment of a series. Though it has a slow start with too much info dumping, once the story gets going and the characters are firmly introduced, the book is engaging.

The protagonist, Sylvia, is a morally grey heroine with a tragic past filled with loss and abuse. Having lost her family and status as a princess during a war, she lives as a commoner, hiding her identity as well as her restrained magic. I really loved the complexity of Sylvia's character and following her through each difficult choice and harsh revelation from her past. She felt very real.

While I'm not usually a fan of enemies to lovers romances, the dynamic between Sylvia and Arin is the best example I've seen of the trope. They are natural enemies as he is the son of the man who overthrew her family and the way their relationship progresses is authentic.

I'm really looking forward to the next installment of this series.

Loved it!

I loved this book but at times it was a little hard to follow at times! But excited for the next book to come out!

I was completely immersed.

Oh no... it's over... and I need more! Right now please! Ugh, now to begin a painful wait... but it will be so worth it. A+ for every single thing about this book. Wow.

Transported to anew world of magic

the book has so many new elements that made me think of middle east cultures, described so many injustices through it, and the narrative and the heroine that emerged due to been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the relation that grew to love, the innocent and soft description of the glances and touches are well written, made me think on how fun is to fall in love again. like it! and recommended.

Loved it!

Absolutely loved the story, characters, and the reading performance. Cannot wait for the second book!

Fantastic!

Great story line with a slower build. Loves how long it progressed plus all the details to the storyline

Rich Fantasy world

I loved this book and performance! This is more fantasy than fantasy romance so as long as you’re on board with that, it’s a great listen!

Confused about how to feel

The narration was wonderful. Probably one of the best narrations I’ve heard. Had I tried to read it rather than listening I probably wouldn’t have finished.

The peak of the story was at the end, the first 17 hours of the book was mainly world building which often lapsed into info dumping. Many names sounded so similar that it was hard to keep track of. I love a slow burn romance, but it shouldn’t bog down the speed of the plot (as it did here).

The characters were my favorite part. Definitely loved the chemistry between the main characters. I’ll probably listen to the next book when it comes out, if I have nothing else to listen to.

It felt a little clunky and, other than geography and some Arabic sounding names, I’m not sure how it’s Egyptian inspired. The culture and religion were made up.

It was a well done book, but I did not feel it lived up to the description as things that were emphasized in the description were either glossed over, minor plot points, or completely gone.

Overall, probably an audiobook that’s worth a listen, just don’t expect to get what the description says.

Loved loved loved

The only bad thing about reading this is that you have to wait for the next book…which I will gladly do. I loved the story and how the MC’s perspective is shown throughout the book. I also loved how this book read differently than a lot of the other famous tropes this past year. It was a refreshing, engaging storyline from a talented author 🫶🏼🫶🏼

Enjoyed

Loved this book. Great story building and character development. Looking forward to the sequel!

Regarding the narrator… it was often difficult to tell when a character was speaking versus thinking, making it hard to follow what the other characters were learning from her. Other than that, she did a great job.