#empire of sand

[ofliterarynature]

Ok so, if I was unenthused by Tasha Suri’s Empire of Sand (and sequel), am I going to like The Jasmine Throne?

[theinquisitxor]

May 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

In the month of May I read 8 books and had 1 dnf. This month was fairly middle-of-the-road for me, with a couple of disappointments, and a couple good books. My average rating was 3.8/5 stars, and I read mostly fantasy, with 1 sci-fi and 1 romance.

1.The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus 3) by Rick Riordan 4/5 stars. I continued by reread of the HoO series this month with book 3. Annabeth is honestly one of my favorite characters of all time, and the ending of this book is just the worst best thing ever. read on audio.

2.A Lady for A Duke by Alexis Hall, 4/5 stars. This is a queer regency romance with a trans main character. This book was delightful, sweet, and worth the 450 pages. I really enjoyed the premise and set up of this story, and I thought everything was handled and executed very well. Queer, regency romance.

3.A Marvellous Light (The Last Binding 1) by Freya Marske, 3/5 stars. This is a queer fantasy romance set during the Edwardian era England. I was a little disappointed in this, but I think I went into this book with super high expectations, and they weren't quite met. I feel very indifferent to the meta plot of this series, and I'm not sure I plan on continuing. Queer, historical fantasy romance.

4.The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older (DNF) This was the only book I dnf'd this month, and while I don't think this is a bad book by any means, it just wasn't for me. This is a queer sci-fi Sherlockian mystery set on a colony of Jupiter. It leans heavy into the Sherlock vibes, and it just wasn't my cup of tea. I also didn't love the audiobook narrator. Queer sci-fi mystery.

5.Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri 3/5 stars. This was also a disappointment for me. I liked this story, but it was not what I was entirely expecting, and I felt like this book never lived up to what I wanted it to be. I was expecting something like The City of Brass but got The Wrath and the Dawn instead. Not bad, just not what I was expecting. Ancient India, fantasy romance.

6.Bloodmarked (Legendborn 2) by Tracey Deonn, 5/5 stars. This was my only 5 star book this month, and I liked this even better than the first book. Now that we got a lot of the exposition and worldbuilidng done in book 1, I thought this even better and this is shaping up to be a new favorite series. I can't wait to see what the next book brings!

7.The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus 5) by Rick Riordan 4/5 stars. This is probably my favorite book of the HoO series, and this has many favorite scenes. The Percy and Annabeth chapters of this are just *so* good.

8.Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee 4/5 stars. This is a fantasy novella about Ruks and their handlers'. This book is about loving something that can't love you back, and knowing that one day you will have to let that go. I think I'll enjoy anything Fonda Lee writes, and she manages to create an emotional, impactful, detailed story in under 200 pages. I really enjoyed this novella, and the world building, story, and craft that went into this story really shines. It's bittersweet, and I really felt the emotional impact of this story.

9.Entangled Life: How Fungi make our worlds, change our minds & shape our futures by Merlin Sheldrake. This was my nonfiction this month, and I enjoyed this book all about fungi and mushrooms. I learned a lot, but I also have many more questions, and a new appreciation for fungi.

Next month I'm hoping to tacke and binge two series, as well as read the final HoO book.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Sometimes All Your choices Suck and You Still Have to Make One

My first experience with Tasha Suri was The Jasmine Throne. So, as I seem to woth so many authors lately, I'm working backwards through her work. This book is Suri's debut, and I cannot believe I didn't get to this one sooner. Let's talk Empire of Sand.

Mehr's life is super hemmed in from all sides. She's a woman in a patriarchal system. She is half Amrithi (a race actively scorned by colonizing Ambhans), her stepmother does NOT like her, and not even her Ambhan half can save her from being forced into a marriage by the Maha. Who is himself a near-immortal God Emperor and has spent centuries absolutely fucking the balance between the real world world the gods' dreams. By exploiting and abusing Amrithi with the amata gift. Because mixing a desire for absolute power, a love of hurting people, and a world-class ability to rules-lawyer the fabric of the universe is just NEVER a good combination.

This is the situation Mehr ends up in, howeverz when she is forcibly married off and dragged out to the Maha's temple in the desert. Amun is a good man, and he manages to buy himself and Mehr enough time and wiggle room in their vows to the Maha for Mehr to eventually break his hold over the Empire and the gods. The plot held me throughout, but thats not the reason to read this book.

The politics, interpersonal relationships, and Mehr herself are the top reasons to read this book.

The politics are multilayered, and they encompass all the complexities of colonization and the clashes that inevitably occur between cultures, traditions, religions, and identities. They also scale beautifully, from Mehr's fights with her father and stepmother to her resistance against the Maha, and finally to the clashes between the Ambhan and Amrithi peoples.

Then there is how Mehr navigates her relationships, which is stunningly well done. One of my favorite parts of watching Mehr was watching her just HANDLE people. And watching her discover who Amun and the Maha were was compelling as heck. It also paid off beautifully, because Mehr was literally never spoiled for choice in this book, and when he had options, generally they were all awful. So for Mehr, a lot of this book was about learning to make choices and how to keep choices sacred--even when people try to back you into corners and boxes. That was without a doubt my favorite part of this book.

Overall, I cannot wait to keep going with Mehr's story in the next book and to return to this incredible world.

[reviewsthatburn]

There's something very satisfying about sitting down to read a series that's complete, ready and waiting for you to crack open and devour it. Finishing a series also requires readers to have supported each book along the way as they came out. Well, these duologies, trilogies, and series by authors of color are finished, available to be read entire. We've previously reviewed every entry on this list and included links to those thoughts for anyone who wants a bit more detail. While it's entirely possible that these authors may publish associated stories in the future (either sequels or just set in the same story universe), what's available now feels complete. Each entry includes the synopsis from the first book in the series.

Full post at link, book titles in tags.

[sous-le-signe-de-la-lune]

MARCH WRAP UP ☆

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

4.75 ☆

How to put into words how much I loved this book? I couldn't put it down, and I spend hours just thinking about it, thinking of Mehr and Amun and all they had to go through just to be free. Empire of Sand is a beautifully written book inspired by the Mughal empire and Bharatanatyam for its magic system.

When Mehr uses her powers, she's found by the Emperor's mystics and forced to accept an arranged marriage with Amun, one of the mystics. And here's lie the beauty of Empire of Sand: it's a story of coercion, of the importance of vows and promises, and the fight for freedom and free will. It's also a story of slavery.

Empire of Sand may not be perfect but it was everything I wanted and more. It was also satisfying to read a standalone fantasy book that succeeded in exploring many themes and tropes in a new way.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

3.75 ☆

The Poppy War is a well crafted story inspired by the Second Sino-Japanese war during the 20th century. The book is separated into three parts that are very distinct from each other, and each part has its own atmosphere and narrative arc. Together, they offer a good introduction to the world building, the conflicts with and within Nikan, as well as Rin's pursuit of power and freedom.

The world building is very rich, and truly it's the best part of the book: there isn't a line that doesn't add something to it, and it creates a very engaging story. The writing is very good and I was immediately sucked into it. It was hard to put the book down.

I really liked Rin as a main character: she may not be likeable sometimes, but you can really understand where she comes from and why she's so desperate for power. She's always moving back and forth between being a hero or a villain, and to be honest, she can be her worst enemy. So, even though I couldn't always agree with her actions, it made sense, and I was rooting for her.

But one of my critics would be that, as a main character, she kind of "disappeared" from the story during the second part of the book in profit of the plot

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum

4 ☆

I've never written a proper review for this book because even now, I'm still haunted by the story and its characters. Told from August's pov, we follow him and his best friend Jack as Jack starts to experience hallucinations of a strange world superposed onto reality. Desperate to save Jack, August accompanies him on a quest to save Jack's fantasy world. It's a story of abuse, neglect and codependency but it's really well done and I couldn't put the book down (I read it from 1am to 4:40am).

Matcha Made in Heaven - vol.5 by Umebachi Yamanaka

4 ☆

I don't really have anything to say, it's still cute and I can't wait for the next update.

Never Seduces a Scot by Maya Banks

3 ☆ - reread

I was in the mood for an arranged marriage story and I thought of this book. It was as good as the first time. Eveline and Graeme are so soft, and I liked their respective families. It's not something I mentioned in my initial review, but I liked the way deafness was explored, especially because it's a historical romance.

L'Atelier des Sorciers - vol.1 by Kamone Shirahama

3 ☆

I've seen a lot of post on tumblr about this series, so I was intrigued and picked up at the library. I loved the magic system: it's very easy to understand while being unique. And I can't wait to read the next volume.

my goodreads 🪐

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: The Books of Ambha

Author: Tasha Suri

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2018

Genres: fiction, fantasy, romance

Blurb: The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited. When Mehr's power comes to the attention of the emperor's most feared mystics, she must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist their cruel agenda. Should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken, seeking vengeance.

[theycallmephia]

2023 Reading 📖

And so it begins... the stacks of recommended books on my shelves are growing quickly.

1. Empire of Sand - Tasha Suri

It took a few days to really get into it, loved it, so I'm heading straight into the next book of the series.

[shallanspren]

just finished reading tasha suri's first book empire of sand and hooooomygodjesusfuck rkwuhglejiqkwlw.

[ofliterarynature]

SEPTEMBER 2023 WRAP UP

[ loved liked ok no thanks (reread) book club* DNF ]

The Anomaly | Not the Witch You Wed | A Pale Light In the Black | (My Volcano)* | Klara and the Sun | Our Hideous Progeny | (A Gathering of Shadows) | A Dangerous Collaboration | Empire of Sand | (A Darker Shade of Magic) | Scattered Showers | A Treacherous Curse | Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz | The Hanged Man | Magic Below Stairs | The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy | The City & The City | The Splinter in the Sky

* * * * *

Magic Below Stairs was a charming middle-grade spin off to the Cecelia & Kate series, I had a good time and would be more than happy to read more books in this world!

The Hanged Man was the second in the Tarot Sequence, and still great! Not perfect, but the characters are so fun and the plots are extremely intense, I loved reading this. The haunted ship was scarier than the actual haunted ship horror book I just read.

Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz…bad. You took this amazing set up and look what you did with it! You made it generic and boring and feeling outdated. Justice for the centuries-old, animated, sentient, sorcerous, gender-fluid puppet who deserved better (to be the main character, to start)

(Veronica Speedwell is of course, fun as always. I have unfortunately now hit the books with longer hold times and am very D: about it)

Scattered Showers was a very heartwarming collection! Perfectly (and maybe, best) suited for fans of the author’s novels. Perhaps a little one-note, but a good read. I love the cover design a lot :D

This is the first time I’ve reread the Shades of Magic books since I finished the series in 2018. I loved them dearly. But my tastes shifted dramatically between then and now… ADSOM is ok. A decently solid fantasy novel, but not one that’s delivering what I want these days. A Gathering of Shadows, however, is a hot mess. I already did some yelling about it but there’s really not a plot, the storyline seems forced, and as asexualbookbird put it, it’s really just Book 3: The Prequel. I don’t know if reading it for the first time would be better? Mostly I was bored and irritated and would have loved to quit.

Somebody help me out, was there hype for Empire of Sand? Because I feel like there was, and I was so let down. The world building was beautiful, but it felt like absolutely nothing happened for the entire middle of the book? And the romantic elements weren’t enough to tempt me, I’d have loved this if it had gone full political intrigue instead.

I’m not a Frankenstein person, but I had a great time with Our Hideous Progeny! I’m a sucker for historical fiction with smart female characters, even if I wanted to strangle a lot of the men, lol. I might have zoned out a bit during the denser paleontological bits, but I look forward to future work by the author.

Klara and the Sun is another one I don’t quite understand the love for, it just wasn’t for me.

My Volcano. YES. IT IS BACK AGAIN. FOR BOOKCLUB AGAIN EVEN. This is such a complicated book that only two of us managed to finish it for book club when we first read it last year. Now that we have some new recruits we decided to try it again (no luck alas). BUT I am still not over it, check out my tag for more yelling. Right now I’m trying to convince the group to *not* do a third read next year and maybe try one of the author’s other books (and the author followed me back on Twitter! I got irrationally excited lol)

I was a bit nervous going into A Pale Light in the Black, having had some flops from the person who rec’d this previously, but it was so fun! ‘Space Coast Guard’ is not a thing that would immediately leap to mind as something I’d be interested in, but this goes *hard* on the found family vibes and spends just as much time on the characters’ emotions as it does on the plot, in addition to being super queer! The plot is a little clunky being split in two different directions with the investigation and the military games, but I still had such a good time (and speaking from the future, book 2 does improve on that!)

When will I learn my lesson about contemporary romance? Regardless of the fact that the plot for Not the Witch You Wed could have been ripped from one of the many many Teen Wolf fics I’ve read and enjoyed, we did *not* get along. Sigh.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from The Anomaly, but I think it was something more? Probably because it was a translation? Idk, I don’t find the “are we just a simulation” discussion particularly compelling (and My Volcano deals with related topics in more interesting ways), and the rest couldn’t hold me. Really wish I’d DNF’d this one, but I pushed though in hope.

The actual DNF’s -

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy I wanted to like. I enjoy quirky world building, but it felt like a contemporary romance masquerading as a fantasy - accompanied by all those pesky cr tropes that annoy me. Most of the characters were irritating me as well, and I didn’t want to forgive Hart, even if I understand why he was being so awful, so I decided to quit before I worked myself up too far.

The City & The City had a cool concept, but after 25% I still wasn’t interested. I’d maybe try something else from Mieville, but this wasn’t for me.

The Splinter in the Sky is a book that probably looked fantastic as an outline. But when it came to filling it out and connecting the dots, well…it was lacking a lot. Readable, maybe not worth the effort, but I’d give the author another try on a future work.

[joncronshawauthor]

33 Must-Read Sword and Sorcery Books for Adventure Seekers

If you’re partial to a spot of swashbuckling, a dash of dark magic, and a generous helping of gritty heroism, then you’ve probably dipped your toes into the tempestuous seas of sword and sorcery. You might even have a favourite battered paperback, its spine creased from countless re-reads, tucked away somewhere safe. This genre of fantasy, oft-clad in a loincloth and waving a sizeable chunk of…

[sand-stinger]

did yall catch those snail sounds? sounded like a certain bard...

[12u3ie]

“grian never left the desert” “scar never left the desert” PIXLRIFFS NEVER LEFT THE DESERT DO YOU HEAR ME

[rosenroot]

What are some of your favourite ships/OTPs in ASOIAF?

Funny because I dont have otps and I dont really ship any living character that hard, I had enough with NedxCat and OberynxEllaria, I dont want more pain 🙃

But today is Valentine’s day soooo