In honor of The Lotus Empire being released on November 12th, I decided to reread The Jasmine Throne and actually continue with the series past the first book. I first read it back in 2021 when it came out and I remember enjoying it, but aside from that, not much stuck in my head. I never got around to reading The Oleander Sword when it came out, but I believe in second chances. My favourite book of all time (Gideon the Ninth) is one that I gave a second chance after a very meh first read, and I'm so glad I did. And as it turns out, I really liked The Jasmine Throne! Rereads are a wonderful thing.
The Jasmine Throne is a lush fantasy novel about empire and sick plant magic and lesbians. It mainly follows Malini, a princess exiled to a ruined temple by her emperor brother, and Priya, a maidservant and priestess with forbidden magic-magic she learned at the very temple Malini is held in. After Malini witnesses Priya using her magic, the two of them become tangled up in each other's goals, working together to achieve them, and also kiss. Malini and Priya's relationship was really well-written. Suri balances their two personalities perfectly: Priya's kind heart and orphan-saving tendencies with Malini's drive to exact her revenge on her brother.
For a book with a lot of different POVs, I was surprised at how many I really liked. There was only one that I didn't find all that interesting, but everyone else's really hooked me. I thought they were perfectly spread out so that a wide picture of the narrative was painted without lingering for too long on one person or group. You can get a lot of insight even from a one-off POV chapter, and I really liked bouncing around to see what everyone was up to.
Malini's character arc was my favourite to read about. Her brother Aditya gives up his seat on the throne to go off on a spiritual journey, leaving his seat to Chandra, Malini's other brother. He immediately begins burning women to "purify them" and tries to do this to Malini. She refuses and is exiled to the temple as punishment, where she's kept on a tight leash and watched all the time. Watching her take action to escape and write her own story, to decide what she wants for herself instead of what her brother wants for her, was very fun, and I can't wait to see what she's going to do in the next books.
I enjoyed the magic systems as well. Priya's journey as a priestess and slowly gaining more power from the temple was compelling, as were the efforts of the characters who want to get what she has. Personally, I am a huge fan of a magic system that incorporates plants, and I got exactly that from this. Parts of it reminded me a lot of The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett, another book I loved that features plant magic.
The world was expansive and characters from all parts of it were featured. Something I'm really looking forward to in The Oleander Sword is to see how each of the different groups move forward with their goals and desires. I love to read about the political machinations and schemes of empires and the groups trying to overthrow them, so I'm excited for more of that in book two.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Jasmine Throne and I can't wait to continue the rest of the trilogy! I definitely recommend for any fantasy fan, especially now that it will soon be a completed story with no waiting for a new release.
