Tasha Suri: The Jasmine Throne—The Burning Kingdoms #1 [Spotlight]
Author photo by Shekhar Bhatia.
Named one of the best books of 2021 by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, and the New York Public Library
A ruthless princess and a powerful priestess come together to rewrite the fate of an empire in this “fiercely and unapologetically feminist tale of endurance and revolution set against a gorgeous, unique magical world” (S. A. Chakraborty, author of the The City of Brass).
Exiled by her despotic brother, princess Malini spends her days dreaming of vengeance while imprisoned in the Hirana: an ancient cliffside temple that was once the revered source of the magical deathless waters but is now little more than a decaying ruin.
The secrets of the Hirana call to Priya. But in order to keep the truth of her past safely hidden, she works as a servant in the loathed regent’s household, biting her tongue and cleaning Malini’s chambers.
But when Malini witnesses Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a ruthless princess seeking to steal a throne. The other a powerful priestess desperate to save her family. Together, they will set an empire ablaze.
The Jasmine Throne has been hailed as a series opener that will “undoubtedly reshape the landscape of epic fantasy for years to come” (Booklist).
“Gripping and harrowing from the very start.”—R. F. Kuang, author of The Poppy War
“Lush and stunning...this sapphic fantasy will rip your heart out.”—BuzzFeed News
“A fierce, heart-wrenching exploration of the value and danger of love.”—Publishers Weekly
“Raises the bar for what epic fantasy should be.”—Chloe Gong, author of These Violent Delights
“This cutthroat and sapphic novel will grip you until the very end.”—Vulture
“It left me breathless.”—Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter
“I loved it.”—Alix E. Harrow, Hugo award-winning author of The Once and Future Witches
“Suri’s incandescent feminist masterpiece hits like a steel fist inside a velvet glove.”—Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun
“If I were going to describe The Jasmine Throne using some tropes and buzzwords we all love,” the author told Fadwa at Word Wonders, “I’d say it’s an enemies to lovers romance between two morally grey lesbians, with blades, betrayal, a Wet Sari Scene ™, one cinnamon roll prince, prophecies, creepy-beautiful plant magic, an evil empire and an even more evil emperor, and many, many cunning and powerful women.”
Buy The Jasmine Throne at Amazon (affiliate link)
Tasha Suri is the award-winning author of The Books of Ambha duology (Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash) and the epic fantasy The Jasmine Throne. Her upcoming novels include The Oleander Sword, sequel to The Jasmine Throne, and What Souls Are Made Of, a YA remix of Wuthering Heights.
Born in Harrow, North-West London, she is a daughter of Punjabi parents, and spent many childhood holidays exploring India with her family. She still fondly remembers the time she was chased around the Taj Mahal by an irate tour guide. A love of period Bollywood films, history and mythology led her to begin writing South Asian influenced fantasy.
She is a writing tutor, an occasional librarian, and cat owner. She has won the Best Newcomer (Sydney J. Bounds) Award from the British Fantasy Society and has been nominated for the Astounding Award and Locus Award for Best First Novel. Her debut novel Empire of Sand was named one of the 100 best fantasy books of all time by TIME magazine.
When she isn’t writing, Tasha likes to cry over TV shows, buy too many notebooks, and indulge her geeky passion for reading about South Asian history. She lives with her family in a mildly haunted house in London.