The Jasmine Throne (Burning Kingdoms trilogy Book 1)

"Oh my gosh, it is such a gorgeous book. I mostly listen to audiobooks , and this was one of those books where I found myself just looping around the block again – “Okay, one more go around the block! I just want to find out what happens!” It’s a sapphic fantasy set in a fantastical, Indian-inspired world. There’s a princess, Malini, who’s been banished and imprisoned by her tyrant brother, because she wouldn’t burn herself and sacrifice her life to these fire gods that he believes in – so as punishment he sends her to a far-off province, and she has to stay in a magical temple called a Hirana. The other character is Priya, who’s hiding out in this town as a lowly maidservant, serving in one of the regent’s households and keeping very quiet – but it’s clear from the very start that she’s more than she seems. She ends up getting tasked to be one of the maidservants in the temple where the princess is being kept. And even though they try and keep them apart, the princess finds ways of making her stay, and she becomes her main maidservant. They get thrust together, and they both need each other: the princess wants to escape, and the maidservant is trying to redeem her people and get magic back in the world. They both want to get rid of the evil brother – and in doing so, they also start to fall in love. It’s wonderful, and for me as a queer person having sapphic fantasy is extra special. Whenever I read it or listen to it, it just lights me up. It’s a really beautiful story, really well written – I love the feeling when you’re fully immersed in a fantasy world, and you feel like you can see and taste and smell everything, and it’s one of those books. Don’t we love it? Everybody loves a sexy secret! I’m a sucker for hidden identities, I write them a lot in my books as well. I think fantasy really pulls out elements in the real world – in some ways I feel like fantasy is almost more honest than reality, it can heighten the real world and our emotions in a way that’s easier to digest than reading a contemporary book. So when you have something like a hidden identity… A lot of us feel like we’re hiding parts of ourselves or we can’t reveal everything, and we can’t be open and raw and vulnerable. I think there’s something intriguing about secrets, but also relatable about them too, which I find really enjoyable."

"The Burning Kingdoms trilogy is inspired by the epics of ancient India and follows Priya and Malini, two women on different sides of a conflict between the old gods of nature and a religion based on fire. Tasha Suri is one of my favourite authors – everything she writes is so intricate, and has clearly been considered with great care. She has a lyrical style, an impeccable command of plot and character, and she’s a master of yearning. The relationships she writes between women, whether romantic or platonic, are some of my favourites in all of literature. She is one of our greatest living fantasy authors, and I’m proud to be working in this Golden Age of the genre at the same time as her. In a sense. Priya is from Ahiranya, which was conquered by the Parijatdvipan Empire. Malini is the emperor’s sister. When she refuses to be burned alive in a religious ceremony, her brother exiles her to a temple in Ahiranya, where Priya, who is secretly involved with the original nature-based faith of Ahiranya, becomes her attendant. So they don’t start off on the best foot, even if they’re not outright enemies."