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azrah786's review against another edition
3.5
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, gore, injury, murder, fire, genocide, war, death, death of parent, child abuse, emotional abuse, xenophobia, colonialism, confinement, grief
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I went into this knowing one particular detail that had me nervous to pick it up and is one of the reasons why I ended up delaying reading it.. but you know what for the most part I was pleasantly surprised by this book.
The Jasad Heir centres on Sylvia, the last remaining member of the Jasadi ruling family who were eradicated by the Nizahli armies when their magic became out of control. Any Jasadi who is found to be using magic is prosecuted and so Sylvia lives in hiding with her magic dampened by a set of special cuffs. That is until she accidentally exposes her magic and catches the attention of Arin, the Nizahl Heirand Commander whilst he is visiting the village she is residing in. In exchange for her life he decides to use her as a lure for Jasadi rebel groups by naming her as his Champion for the Alcalah, a tournament between the 4 remaining kingdoms. Thus concealing her true ancestry becomes more paramount for Sylvia than ever before.
First and foremost Sara Hashem’s writing is phenomenal, especially for a debut novel. She really folds you into this fascinating new Egyptian inspired world with its fantastic characters and I was instantly drawn in.
There were different aspects of the story that were making me recall An Ember in the Ashes, The Final Strife and the Shatter Me series so if you’re a fan of any of those then you’ll definitely want to check this one out.
I thought Sylvia was a really interesting protagonist to follow. A hidden/lost heir is of course not a new trope but it is immediately obvious that Sylvia is far from the average protagonist in a situation like hers. She is someone who is determined to look out for herself first as she has always been pushed to be used for the gain of others but then her foolhardiness lands her in a lot of the circumstances that she faces in this book. Alongside seeing her personal character growth and her attempts to gain the upper hand with the cards she is dealt, I really enjoyed watching her relationships with the supporting characters develop.
There are also occasional chapters from Arin’s point of view which made things all the more interesting as we follow him and Sylvia try to outwit each other.
It has been many years since I read the Shatter Me series but Arin and Sylvia are very Juliette and Warner coded, though they are much more interesting characters from the get go. Now I knew that the enemies to lovers trope was going to be involved here and while I couldn’t get on board with the romance fully for another reason which I will come to in a second, I have got to hand it to Hashem because she absolutely nails the dynamic between the two characters. The slow burn is off the charts and there is the perfect banter between two characters that are enemies who form a reluctant reliance. My hesitation of course comes from the fact that Arin is the heir of an empire that has colonised Sylvia’s people and continues to do so. So while the trope was written fantastically and the two characters definitely had this connection that made them right for each other despite how wrong it was, the romantic side of things wasn’t my favourite part of their relationship.
That being said the romance isn’t as dominant a part of the storyline as I expected it to be. As mentioned above there are many supporting characters that we follow Sylvia connect with and I particularly enjoyed the friendship she had with Marek and Sefa.
Furthermore, a good chunk of the book – around 2/3 of it in fact – is preparations for this Alcalah tournament and this is where the story flowed best.
The history and rich lore of this captivating world as well as all the political ploys of the different kingdoms are interwoven with Sylvia’s journey which I found really interesting to see uncovered. However, things did start to go downhill when the tournament part of the story got rolling.
This came down to the fact that the tournament felt dull in comparison to everything else that was happening around it which was a little disappointing after so much build up. Additionally there were a lot of things going on plot wise by this point and this resulted in the final third of the book feeling very chaotic when all the moving parts started to come together.
In the final few chapters especially, it felt like everything was being rushed along for convenience in order to set up the next book rather than flow as naturally as everything that came before.
I also feel that by the end I wasn’t 100% sure how the magic in the world worked as it wasn’t fully explained but that is something I’m hoping is focused on more in the sequel. I am very much interested in seeing where the story goes from here because the vibes overall while a bit messy were still enjoyable!
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Stars
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury
quiet_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Colonisation, and War
aubreymichelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Violence and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and War
manaledi's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Genocide, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
meat_muffin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Addiction and Animal cruelty
booknerderika's review against another edition
3.75
I was waiting the whole book for
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
kbairbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you love N. Caceres and Chelsea Abdullah then you will LOVE Sara Hashem. This book was dark, cruel, and angry. But it was also a beautiful discovery that love is worthwhile, an incredible tale of friendship, and the most delicious slow burn I’ve come across in a while. The authors voice was so strong, the descriptions were so rich, and the world was so fleshed out. And Arin? UGH. YES. Everything about his, please and thank you. And that ending? PHEW!! I blew through it like my eyes were on fire and finishing the book was the fire extinguisher. SO GOOD. I can’t wait for book two!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
soniajoy98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child death, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and War