In 2021, three brilliant, yellow-covered epic fantasy books came out, all of them with sapphic leads, and thus the Sapphic Trifecta was born. I have read and loved them all (and talked about them here, along with several other Lesbrarians), but I think if I were to pick a favorite, I would have to say The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. I love her poetic writing, her masterful use of a wide range of POVs to show the many different sides of revolution, and of course I love the romance between former temple child Priya and exiled Princess Malini, both fierce and tender.
I don’t mean to be dramatic, but the final book in this trilogy, The Lotus Empire, has been possibly my most anticipated book, period, since I read The Oleander Sword two years ago, and somehow it managed to actually live up to that absurd amount of hype? It was literally everything I wanted it to be, and yet it still managed to surprise me.
The writing was beautiful as ever, and the multiple POVs were as well-utilized as ever. Interestingly, I went back and reread the first two books before reading this one (which was definitely the right choice, because I forgot quite a lot in the past two years that would have made this last book much more difficult to follow, or at least much less impactful), and while I remember thinking the first time around that there may be just a few too many POVs to manage, on rereading, I didn’t feel that way at all. For this last book, I stand by my newest assessment that they all have their place, and even the occasional one-off perspectives add something I would have missed without them. Don’t get me wrong—a passive reader will likely struggle with these books, at least at first, but they are so worth engaging with at full brainpower.
It really is all about the characters for me. I have grown so attached to these characters and their various dynamics, and this book gave every single arc the most satisfying conclusion I could have imagined, from Priya and Malini to secondary narrators Bhumika and Rao to even my favorite non-POV side characters, Sima and Rukh (VAGUE) SPOILERS AHEAD for the previous book: After the The Oleander Sword’sending pushed them apart, Priya and Malini spent much of this book away from each other—hating each other, even—and yet I never felt like the book was pointlessly drawing anything out, or like it wouldn’t be worth it when they were finally reunited. Even more vague spoiler ahead—everything that happened in this book, from beginning to end, felt completely earned. (END OF SPOILERS)
I don’t know what to say to readers who were normal about the first two books. I found this series very consistent, and I imagine how well you got on with the first book is a good indicator of how well you will get on with the rest of the series. With that in mind, if you’re like me, I think you’ll be just as pleased with this finale as I was. There is always a part of me that fears the next book in a series I love will ruin my enjoyment of the series overall, but Tasha Suri’s now-completed Burning Kingdoms trilogy, I can confidently say, is a favorite, and one I will be revisiting whenever the mood strikes.
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