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A review by brittney_tyler
Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
4.0
Star Rating: 3.5 stars
After hearing about this book through BookTube, I decided to try it as I tend to like Middle Eastern fantasy (The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Charkaborty was my favorite book of last year.). However, the synopsis of this book is very misleading, and ended up not enjoying it as much as I hoped. This book tells the story of Mehr, the half-Amrithi illegitimate daughter of the governor of Irinah, as she tries to find her place in a world where her people (Amrithi) and their way of life are slowly disappearing.
The best thing about this book was how healthy the relationship was between Mehr and Amun. Their relationship starts out being an arranged, political marriage, but I really enjoyed them slowly learning about each other and eventually starting to love and care about each other, especially when it came to Amun refusing to consummate their marriage until Mehr was completely consenting even when it caused him actual physical pain to wait. As a Westerner who lives in the Deep South, I don’t have much exposure to arranged marriages or other cultures in general, so it was really exciting to see one portrayed that was actually healthy.
Although I do think that their relationship was very healthy, I did not think that it should have been the main focus of the novel. The story is about the Amrithi’s connection to the land and how the empire they live in is manipulating that connection or at least it is supposed to be, but in my opinion, the romance completely takes over and the plot is just there to further the romance. I prefer stories that have deep and complex layered plots, and if they have romance, it is just icing on the cake, and that is not what I got with this book. 3.5 stars and on to the next one!!!!!!!!
After hearing about this book through BookTube, I decided to try it as I tend to like Middle Eastern fantasy (The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Charkaborty was my favorite book of last year.). However, the synopsis of this book is very misleading, and ended up not enjoying it as much as I hoped. This book tells the story of Mehr, the half-Amrithi illegitimate daughter of the governor of Irinah, as she tries to find her place in a world where her people (Amrithi) and their way of life are slowly disappearing.
The best thing about this book was how healthy the relationship was between Mehr and Amun. Their relationship starts out being an arranged, political marriage, but I really enjoyed them slowly learning about each other and eventually starting to love and care about each other, especially when it came to Amun refusing to consummate their marriage until Mehr was completely consenting even when it caused him actual physical pain to wait. As a Westerner who lives in the Deep South, I don’t have much exposure to arranged marriages or other cultures in general, so it was really exciting to see one portrayed that was actually healthy.
Although I do think that their relationship was very healthy, I did not think that it should have been the main focus of the novel. The story is about the Amrithi’s connection to the land and how the empire they live in is manipulating that connection or at least it is supposed to be, but in my opinion, the romance completely takes over and the plot is just there to further the romance. I prefer stories that have deep and complex layered plots, and if they have romance, it is just icing on the cake, and that is not what I got with this book. 3.5 stars and on to the next one!!!!!!!!