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A review by anonymous_blobfish
Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Tasha Suri wrote one of my favourite (almost completed) trilogies of my entire life so far – and introduced me to the drug that is enraged morally grey lesbians doing morally grey shit – and now I am constantly seeking the same high, so naturally I eventually turn to her back catalogue. Whilst this does not offer that same high (partially due to the lack of morally grey lesbians), Empire of Sand still has the same lyrical magic I love from her and it really scratched an itch for me.
Empire of Sand is a slow burn romantasy done the way I love: heavy on the plot and world building, great romantic subplot, deeply loveable and deeply flawed characters that you would set the world on fire for. I don’t think there was a single element that stood out to me as the best simply because I think it was all excellent. I am so fascinated by the world of Ambha with its medieval Indian setting. Suri’s world building is top tier and I adore her written imagery – you can practically feel the heat rising off the desert sand. I was also so besotted with the two MC’s: Mehr is so powerful yet full of so much doubt and I spent the whole time wanting to shout at her about how amazing she is, and Amun is baby and I will beat anyone who is mean to my son.
The only reason I gave this book a 4.5 ⭐️ is that its missing a little something that stops it from being a 5 ⭐️ read. I don’t know what that something is, I just know that The Jasmine Throne had it and this did not. However I also don’t consider that a criticism: this was a fantastic book and I highly recommend it, especially to anyone who enjoys the idea of romantasy but hasn’t really found fulfilment in the more romance/less fantasy books oft recommended.
Note: just adding this to say I am currently approx. 50 pages from the end of Realm of Ash (book 2 of this series, standalone story that has characters from this book in it and is a continuation of the wider plot) and I highly recommend it also, but I think I love this book more.
Empire of Sand is a slow burn romantasy done the way I love: heavy on the plot and world building, great romantic subplot, deeply loveable and deeply flawed characters that you would set the world on fire for. I don’t think there was a single element that stood out to me as the best simply because I think it was all excellent. I am so fascinated by the world of Ambha with its medieval Indian setting. Suri’s world building is top tier and I adore her written imagery – you can practically feel the heat rising off the desert sand. I was also so besotted with the two MC’s: Mehr is so powerful yet full of so much doubt and I spent the whole time wanting to shout at her about how amazing she is, and Amun is baby and I will beat anyone who is mean to my son.
The only reason I gave this book a 4.5 ⭐️ is that its missing a little something that stops it from being a 5 ⭐️ read. I don’t know what that something is, I just know that The Jasmine Throne had it and this did not. However I also don’t consider that a criticism: this was a fantastic book and I highly recommend it, especially to anyone who enjoys the idea of romantasy but hasn’t really found fulfilment in the more romance/less fantasy books oft recommended.
Note: just adding this to say I am currently approx. 50 pages from the end of Realm of Ash (book 2 of this series, standalone story that has characters from this book in it and is a continuation of the wider plot) and I highly recommend it also, but I think I love this book more.