The Jasmine Throne

By: Tasha Suri

Narrated by: Shiromi Arserio

"Raises the bar for what epic fantasy should be." (Chloe Gong, author of These Violent Delights)

A ruthless princess and a powerful priestess come together to rewrite the fate of an empire in this “fiercely and unapologetically feminist tale of endurance and revolution set against a gorgeous, unique magical world” (S. A. Chakraborty).

Exiled by her despotic brother, princess Malini spends her days dreaming of vengeance while imprisoned in the Hirana: an ancient cliffside temple that was once the revered source of the magical deathless waters but is now little more than a decaying ruin.

The secrets of the Hirana call to Priya. But in order to keep the truth of her past safely hidden, she works as a servant in the loathed regent’s household, biting her tongue and cleaning Malini’s chambers.

But when Malini witnesses Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a ruthless princess seeking to steal a throne. The other a powerful priestess desperate to save her family. Together, they will set an empire ablaze.

"An intimate, complex, magical study of empire and the people caught in its bloody teeth. I loved it.” (Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January)

"Gripping and harrowing from the very start." (R. F. Kuang, author of The Poppy War)

"Suri’s incandescent feminist masterpiece hits like a steel fist inside a velvet glove. Simply magnificent." (Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun)

"A fierce, heart-wrenching exploration of the value and danger of love in a world of politics and power." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"This cutthroat and sapphic novel will grip you until the very end." (Vulture, Best of the Year)

"Lush and stunning.... Inspired by Indian epics, this sapphic fantasy will rip your heart out." (BuzzFeed News)​

©2021 Tasha Suri (P)2021 Orbit

Critic reviews

"The Jasmine Throne pulls you under, sweeping you away on a current of gorgeous prose and intricately imagined magic and politics. Filled with sharply-drawn characters who ache with longing: for peace, for war, for one another. It left me breathless." (Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter)

"This powerful series opener will undoubtedly reshape the landscape of epic fantasy for years to come." (Booklist, starred review)

"The Jasmine Throne more than lives up to the hype with its rich and expansive world, compelling characters, cool magic system and Suri’s excellent writing, which holds it all together." (BookPage, starred review)

A slow start but well worth the listen

Malini has opposed her brother, a despot who claimed their father's kingdom. As a result, she was exiled and sent to live in the Hirana for "reflection" until she either falls in line or dies. The Hirana is a cliffside temple that once housed many priests and priestesses and was the source of the deathless waters, though after all of the priests and priestesses, including the children, were murdered - immolated - the temple is little more than a ruin.

Priya is a servant who has been chosen to take care of the Hirana and Malini without allowing her to see and interact with them. She also does what she can to help children in the area who are suffering from the rot, a disease with no known cure, though its progress can be slowed. But Priya has a secret, and when Malini discovers it one night, the two women become tied together, seeking the secrets of the temple and using each other to achieve their own goals: Malini to steal the throne and Priya to find her family.

What started out somewhat slow turned into a fascinating story combining politics, betrayal, mystery, magic, and absolutely wonderful storytelling. Once the story really got going, which took about 2 hours of listening for me to really get into the meat of the story, I found it difficult to stop listening when I needed to.

Though most of the book is centered around Priya and Malini, there are many other characters that we get to know through their own POV chapters which add an immense amount of depth and perspective to the story, particularly where the simmering tensions are concerned. Though the vast cast of characters could seem off-putting to some, Suri is able to draw the reader in and introduce them to the characters in such a way that I didn't feel lost or disconnected, and I found myself rather enjoying the many interludes with the other characters and the larger picture they helped paint of what is happening. I will absolutely be continuing this series with the next book.

As I mentioned above, I listened to the audiobook of The Jasmine Throne, which was narrated by Shiromi Arserio. Though this is the first book of hers that I have listened to, I have several others in my TBR, and after her wonderful performance here, I look forward to listening to her read me other novels. If you enjoy listening to audiobooks, I encourage you to add this one to your TBR.

Go ahead and download it

Prose heavy and wonderful in a way I haven’t read in a while. Pick it up and don’t look back

Exquisite

One of the most vivid and visceral reads in a long time. Thank you.

Wow! The best writer and The best narrator!!!

GOD DAMN! So fucking good! I can’t wait for the second book! I enjoyed it so much and in love with Priya and Malini 🥰. Tasha Suri is an amazing writer and I am definitely going to read her all books.
Best writer ever. Every second is exciting!!!
I don’t even know how to explain how good is this narrator!!! Shiromi Arserio is the most amazing narrator I have listened to and she made the book more fascinating!!!
Both of them became my favorite writer and favorite narrator!!! And obviously my time's favorite book!

New favorite adult fantasy author

Incredible. Grew up on Tamora Pierce and this was like coming home. Voice actor Shiromi Arserio is incredibly talented. Just the right amount of emotion and personality in each character without being overblown, makes everyone seem very real.

This was a really good story!

I really enjoyed the book, and I rarely drifted while listening. The plot was NOT simplistic, and I never really got an idea of where the book might end. I also liked the focus on feminine heros, and the absence of so much fighting. Well Done. It would have been helpful if the title or description indicated this is a series. I stumbled across this while writing this review.

And the narrator did an excellent job. True, there were not many voice inflections between characters, but with well written dialog, it wasn't hard to follow who was speaking.

Slow and Dark! Loved it

I love how slow and dark this book is. The pace allowed for my emotions to be on track with the character development and for Suri to pack in beautiful fragrant word building. The voice acting was good too!

Stunning

A beautifully written story in an intricately wrought mystical world. Can’t wait for the rest of the trilogy!

Interested to see where this goes.

I like the sapphic aspects of this book. That and it being fantasy is what initially caused me to purchase this one. I like the friends to lovers to barely friends and back to lovers romance. That being said, I have some concerns. 1. There were a lot of characters that I felt didn’t need a perspective. It seemed like they were just thrown in to fill space. Seeming like the author was just filling space was my problem with a lot of this book. I am, however, hopeful that everything starts to make sense in the next book. It took a long time for things to start happening, which made it hard to keep listening. It wasn’t an awful book by any means and I really enjoyed some parts of it so I purchased the second one in hopes that it gets better and the plot holes begin to make sense!

The Narrator is great! She has a lovely voice 🩶🩵🩷

Beautiful and Haunting

Despite it not initially looking like something that I would have been interested in, I picked up the Jasmine Throne on impulse when it was sold as the Daily Deal on Audible. Now I'm extremely pleased with my gamble. The Jasmine Throne is set in a unique, Indian-inspired fantasy setting that is beautifully depicted through vivid imagery and detailed world-building. The reader is immersed in the middle of a politically driven plot, which was a bit hard to follow at times. The main characters are deep, evolve throughout the story, and feel like real people despite their fantasy origin. Though I'll admit the pace of the novel was very slow at times, particularly at the start, it certainly picks up toward the end. I've seen it touted as feminist or LGBTQ+ fantasy in reviews, but the messages are subtle and certainly are not be a turnoff for anyone that enjoys well-written fantasy (traditional or not).