Book Review of The Lotus Empire by Tasha Suri

 

Name of Book: The Lotus Empire

Author: Tasha Suri

ISBN: 978-0-316-53860-2

Publisher: Orbit

Part of a Series: The Burning Kingdoms (The Jasmine Throne and The Oleander Sword are prequels)

Type of book: fantasy India, LGBtQ+ relationships, grief, friendship, romance, angst, ruling, politics, temples, 

Year it was published: 2024

Summary:

The Lotus Empire brings Tasha Suri’s acclaimed Burning Kingdoms trilogy to a heart–stopping close. As an ancient magic returns to Ahiranya and threatens its very foundations, Empress Malini and priestess Priya will stop at nothing to save their kingdoms—even if it means they must destroy each other.

Malini has claimed her rightful throne as the empress of Parijatdvipa, just as the nameless gods prophesied. Now, in order to gain the support of the priesthood who remain loyal to the fallen emperor, she must consider a terrible Claim her throne and burn in order to seal her legacy—or find another willing to take her place on the pyre.

Priya has survived the deathless waters and now their magic runs in her veins. But a mysterious yaksa with flowering eyes and a mouth of thorns lies beneath the waters. The yaksa promises protection for Ahiranya. But in exchange, she needs a sacrifice. And she's chosen Priya as the one to offer it.

Two women once entwined by fate now stand against each other. But when an ancient enemy rises to threaten their world, Priya and Malini will find themselves fighting together once more – to prevent their kingdoms, and their futures, from burning to ash.

Characters:

Main characters are Priya, Malini, Rao and Bhumika. Malini used to be a princess but recently became the first queen of her nation and she focuses a lot on trying to consolidate her power and walk the line between religious figures and her own rule, which she does very gracefully. Priya grew up in a temple where she became the thrice born and quite recently she became inhabited by an ancient spirit. She is battling between understanding her destiny and trying to hold on to the old her. Rao was a prince who has recently suffered grief from a death and he is attempting to forget his love by doing almost impossible missions. Bhumika was a diplomat with a young daughter but then she began to be a traveler also seeking something? (Again I wish that could have been covered at the start of the book.) 

Theme:

Each journey is important

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from many characters' points of views, primary those of Priya, Malini, Bhumika and Rao, although Priya and Malini dominated most of the story. Each section and story was told very well which caused the story to be memorable (I did wish that there were some secondary characters I could have recalled better...) What I wish was more utilized was Priya's connection to the Yaksha because wow, its very powerful and could have been done well. And yes, there is a lot going on in the story; Malini's section on being a controversial queen was definitely well done, in particular when she has to deal with some loose ends from the previous ruler; Priya's section of the aftermath of her actions as well as being controlled by a yaksha could have been better in my opinion; Prince Rao's travel to find a secret means of destroying the Yaksha while battling grief and faith was done well too. Bhumika's travel section though, I had a difficult time recalling what has happened to her in the previous book and why she did what she did. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Tasha Suri was born in the U.K., but toured India during childhood holidays. She is now a librarian in London, and studied English and creative writing at Warwick University.

Opinion:

I definitely had vague as to what was going on in the story; namely the return of the Age of Flowers and, well, pod type people of sorts that are wearing Priya's friends faces, which I was looking forward to. What confused me a lot is Bhumika, in particular why was she different than the woman I remembered? (I think a summary  of the previous two books would have been very helpful.) I also definitely think that a reading marathon would also have been helpful in case of this novel. What I did appreciate was the character list so I could recall who's who in the story. In other words, this book wasn't as memorable as I had hoped it would be. 

This was given for review

3 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)