A review by maaikereadsbooks_
The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Many thanks to Little, Brown Books and Sara Hashem for the advanced copy of The Jasad Heir via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel. 

A solid fantasy series beginning! 

Although slow to start, and perhaps following a slightly predictable format, Sara Hashem uses excellent world-building techniques to create an intriguing society with mysterious factions hiding in spooky forests, questionable spectres hiding in the protagonist’s mind, holding entire conversations, and power-hungry politicians stepping on the lower classes to get what they want (where have we seen that before?!). 

I did get lost at times with all the new words, deities, etc in the five languages featured in the books, it didn’t hamper the reading process. 

I am a character reader and there was plenty of character-building and development in this book, but not at the detriment of the development and pacing of the plot. 

It took a while to really get into the book, but once I did, I was hooked, and I found that, the more engaging the book became, the more the pace picked up. The pace varied from slow in the beginning to fast in the end, so I’ll even the overall pacing in my ratings to ‘medium’. 

There is a romantic element but it’s very slow burn and suitable for younger teens as the spice only goes up to kissing with no mention of anything beyond this. 

Overall I recommend this book, especially to those who enjoy a fantasy series with explained magic systems. 

Tropes: enemies/friends to lovers, forbidden love, forced proximity, lover(s) in denial, orphan, peril, secret royal 

Spice: 1/5 

Trigger warnings: Blood/Gore, Death, Death of a family member, Genocide, Grief, Poisoning, Violence, Weapons 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings