Gorgeous, moving, full of magic and suspense!

Often the second books in series loose the momentum of the first one. This was very much not the case here. It very much upped the stakes on the romance, the magic, the suspense.

The story continues where it left off at the end of book 1 with Malini on her way to the throne and Priya trying to rebuild Ahirniya. We meet a bunch of new characters, often seeing things from their POV. It’s never confusing or too much, rather it creates a very vivid world. It is amazing to me how distinctive and well developed even the minor characters in this series are.

As the story unfolds we see court intrigue and priestly manipulation abound. All the while Malini and Priya and Bumikha and Rao and Aditya try to follow their destiny without losing themselves completely. The author consistently gives us outstanding female characters, they all have different strength and lead a fight to live their lives on their own terms. We see women leading armies and fighting, providing spiritual guidance and wielding magical powers, giving political advise. It is a powerful you-have-a-choice-and-can-be-anything-you-want-to-be message for me and I found it really uplifting.

I loved the writing, loved the magic with all its darkness and demand for sacrifice and how the women try to carve a place for themselves in a world that’s essentially hostile towards them.

While I fully empathise with Malini and Priya and Bumikha and Rao and Aditya, I really found Chandra’s chapters fascinating as well. A villain through and through but with layers, with motivation – a living breathing human being. He is petty and vindictive, with delusions of grandeur but also there are moments where we see him lost and vulnerable and scared while still being very much the bad guy.

The romance between Malini and Priya is intense, facing one too many obstacles, embroiled in power struggles and magic that is too powerful, too demanding, too consuming. I can’t wait to see how things between develop in the next book because they don’t look very hopeful right now.

I am not ready to talk about Bumikha and all that happens with Ahiranya. Avoiding spoilers, I can only say it offers a fascinating take on what gods and monsters are and the choice we make to follow one or the other.

There is no cliffhanger, some plotlines are completed, though the major resolution is forthcoming in the next book. And it promises to be an epic struggle to make things right for everyone.

This is shaping to be an awesome series, one of the best fantasies I have read and I highly recommend it.

CW: violence, dark magic, sacrifice, burning alive, torture

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Title: The Jasmine Throne (Burning Kingdoms #1)

Author: Tasha Suri

Genre/Themes: Fantasy, f/f romance, Indian setting and MCs

Release Date: 8 June 2021

Author's links: Website / Twitter / Goodreads / Instagram

My rating: 5 Stars

I read the first book in Tasha Suri's previous series, Empire of Ash, and I liked it ok. This one though completely blew my mind. I loved everything in it - the Indian history/mythology inspired setting, the MCs and the secondary characters and all the complex relations among them, the high-stakes suspense plot, the tender f/f romance, the magic elements. 

It's a brilliant, very evocative and complex fantasy with strong f/f romantic elements.

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Note: I am adopting a new rule regarding Content Warnings in my reviews. I will quote them from the author's site if available, adding things on my own discretion is necessary. 

CW: per author's website: 
Explicit violence including immolation and self-immolation
Gender-based violence (this does not include sexual assault)
Homophobia and internalised homophobia
Suicidal ideation
Self-mutilation
Abusive family dynamics
Child murder
Body horror (plant-based, cosmic)
Forced drug use and depictions of addiction/withdrawal

Title: The Bollywood Bride
Author: Sonali Dev
Date of publication: 29 Oct 2015
Genre/themes: Contemporary romance, India/USA
Author's links: Goodreads / Website / Facebook
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My rating: 4.5 Stars

Ria and Vikram spent childhood summers together, a world away from Ria's exclusive boarding school in Mumbai. Their friendship grew seamlessly into love--until Ria made a shattering decision. As far as Vikram is concerned, Ria sold her soul for stardom and it's taken him years to rebuild his life. But beneath his pent-up anger, their bond remains unchanged. And now, among those who know her best, Ria may find the courage to face the secrets she's been guarding for everyone else's benefit--and a chance to stop acting and start living. 

Rich with details of modern Indian-American life, here is a warm, sexy, and witty story of love, family, and the difficult choices that arise in the name of both.

I loved this story even more than the Ms Dev's debut novel, A Bollywood Affair which made my best reads last year. It's a second chance romance story, with darker undertones and more on the serious side than book but written in the same wonderful, engaging style. Ms Dev takes on an emotional journey at the background of an Indian wedding with in all its glory and colour and symbolism and above all - Love. 

The heroine is a successful Indian actress who hides a terrible secret. Ria was an amazing character - strong and fragile, broken and hopeful. I loved everything about her. I understood her pain, her fear and her hope and this made me forgive even the mistakes she made. 

Told from her POV this is mostly Ria's story. And it's an intense emotional journey, full of self-reflection. All her actions that seemed cruel and heartless on the surface were actually done because of her love for the others - Vikram and her family - and her loyalty to them and fierce determination to protect them. 

The secrets Ria kept and the personal issues she was silently battling on her own were not artificial made-up drama but serious problem treated in a respectful and caring manned by the author. 

Vikram was a complex and intriguing hero on his own. At first we see lot of lashing out and negative emotions from him. Given what had happened between Ria and him it's understandable, yet I was angry at him for being so cruel and vicious. I had a moment of doubt about him (because of the whole girl-friend situation) but I think it was well handle eventually and it added to richness of his portrayal.

The coming back together of Ria and Vikram happens at the background of his cousins wedding which became a central metaphor in the story, a character of its own. I loved the detailed insight we got into the Indian traditions and lifestyle. The Indian wedding ceremonies were beautifully done, creating a sense of magic and touch of reality. I also appreciate how it was balanced out with the fears and anxieties of modern-day life the characters felt. 

The writing it beautiful, Ms Dev creates a story with rich texture and makes reading it an experience for the sense - touch, smell, sight, sound. I said it my review of A Bollywood Affair and it hold true for this story as well, it's like a Bollywood movie - colourful, vibrant, full of emotion, even the romance  was a true, meant-to-be-together-forever kind of love. 

My only minor quibble has to do with the ending. The issues between Ria and Vikram were resolved in a rather realistic, mature level but I would have loved to see more of them as couple. There were so many obstacles for them still to overcome, a whole new life to build for themselves. Now, on the other hand, I can hope for a short (or longer) sequel. 

It's a wonderfully diverse and passionate romance with a touch of darkness and some serious modern-day issues examined. A recommended read for those looking for an authentic romantic stories well told. 

Purchase links: Amazon

Goodreads / Website / Facebook
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My rating: 4.5 Stars