The Jasad Heir: The Egyptian-inspired enemies-to-lovers fantasy and Sunday Times bestseller

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The relationship development is undeserved, the jump from enemies to romantic affection is undeserved, and nothing in the story necessitates such a transition (and once again this extends to their personalities too — the characters and their actions). To be fair, I did find myself invested in the enemies-to-lovers arc, and I did enjoy the moments of realization between the two characters as they slowly realized they were falling for each other. I just see pretty problematic flaws in this relationship. and the sexually explicit scene at the end was completely unnecessary and unnecessarily long. I had to skip through it. Arin, her enemy/reluctant ally/something-more-please-and-thank-you, is rigid, lonely, manipulative, brilliant, maybe evil, but oh-so-loyal… What's not to love, I’m asking? Your world also sees magic outlawed and the Jasadi who still possess powers persecuted. Was forbidden magic an element you had always planned to explore or did this develop as you began writing? Which aspects of your magic system or magical beings were inspired by Egyptian mythology? A fugitive queen strikes a bargain with her greatest enemy that could resurrect her scorched kingdom or leave it in ashes forever in this unmissable Egyptian-inspired epic fantasy debut.

Thank you netgalley for the e-arc! This was one of my most anticipated reads, plus to see a hijabi Arab author published in adult political fantasy made me beyond ecstatic. Unfortunately this was a 2/5. The book takes a deep look at things like prejudice, justice, genetics, and free will. But because of Hashem’s wonderful writing, it never becomes a heavy or depressing book. It should definitely be at the top of your summer reading list this year!Sylvie is an orphan, a chemist’s apprentice, and a citizen of Mahair. Sylvie is the mask that Essiya, heir to the Jasad throne, created to protect her. The magic running through her veins is a death sentence, even with the invisible cuffs keeping it trapped under her skin. All she wants to do is forget the past and build a new, simple life for herself. Yet the past seems to be chasing her. At just ten years old, she was the sole survivor of a massacre that killed her entire family and toppled her country. In the time since then, Sylvia has built a new life for herself. Far away from her home country, she has a job, friends, and simple hopes for her future. But her past is never far away. If anyone ever discovers who she is she’ll lose everything again. When things begin to fall apart will she be destroyed? Or will she rise up as Essiya, the Jasad Heir, and crush her enemies? Find out in Sara Hashem’s debut novel The Jasad Heir , out July 2023 from Orbit. Before the trials we got copious amounts of filler but they were extremely repetitive for the same purpose. Some parts set up potential politics. There were also plenty of slow burn romance scenes. But it just made no sense why we got 0 gritty training scenes for the trials nor the trials right away. I wish we had the trials with training in between, with politics immersed within it through dialogue with other competitors & royals! Why disjoint & exclude the 2 from each other? This was the central flaw of the book for me. I also felt like we were getting info dumped a lot of politics by the same side characters but she flip flopped btwn readily believing them + the commander & siding w/ them versus randomly flipping to the other side to go against them. It all felt contradicting. btw these side characters served such little function, besides being caricature flat devices to move certain plot aspects along. Hashem has well and truly grabbed my attention—this first instalment of The Scorched Throne duology absolutely triumphs. The Jasad Heir blazes with rich worldbuilding, compelling characters and magic that will leave you singed.

I had heard that this book has a "colonizer romance" and honestly it's what made me delay reading it for so long. I will say it's not as bad as you might think when you hear those words but I'm still super iffy on the romance as a whole. I think nationalities aside, they would make for a great enemies to lovers, but as I'm reading, I can't forget that Arin is the Heir of the kingdom that destroyed Jasad. I'm leaving my opinion on this romance open minded because I can see the potential for a great pairing but I need massive development from Arin (and Sylvia). I received this book for free from Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. After a supposed aggression by the Jasadi rulers at a meeting of the leaders that resulted in the deaths of all those present (except Sylvia, or Essiya as she was known then, but no one knows that), the Nizahl crushed the Jasadi. The country was completely wiped out. It is now a barren wasteland, abandoned by all. It was decided that magic itself was the cause of the Jasadi’s aggression. Magic-madness is considered a thing, where the power of magic makes the user crazy and dangerous. As a result, any Jasadi who managed to escape the war is hunted down, put on “trial”, and executed for the simple crime of existing. In a world of forbidden magic and cunning royals, a fugitive queen bargains with her kingdom's greatest enemy and is soon embroiled in a deadly game that could resurrect her scorched kingdom, or leave it in ashes forever. A stunning enemies-to-lovers fantasy debut, perfect for fans of Fourth Wing and The Jasmine Throne.Usually, I don't give 2 stars unless the book actively bothered me in some way, but I suppose an exception must be made here. I really wanted to like this one. Truly. It brings me no joy to rate this poorly, and so I'll try to keep it brief. I think the author's prose is proficient enough where she can get better, but as a debut, ohhhhh it's not the best. Arin, just like Sylvia, has been handed blow after blow since he was a baby. He is tasked with a heavy burden and a bit of a curse. We only get three chapters from his point of view and what he tells Sylvia, but still you get the sense that he is harboring a great plan.