#jasades

[bookishlyvintage]

unread book box stack of shame

#illumicrate #owlcrate #the sun and the void #the jasad heir #divine rivals #immortal longings #silver in the bone #midnight strikes #masters of death #omen of ice #fantasy #ya fantasy #bookblr #booklr #book stack #stack challenge #book box #subscription #flat lay #cozy reads #autumn #books

[literaryelise]

Romantic subplots in fantasy books with astronomical levels of tension✨

#fantasy books #sff books #book recs #books #emery robin #shakespeare #the stars undying #queer books #julius caesar #shakespeare retelling #the wolf and the woodsman #ava reid #historical fantasy #romance subplot #enemies to lovers #reluctant allies #the jasad heir #egyptian inspired #egypt #arab #diverse books #book recommendations #sapphic books #lesbian #sapphic #sara hashem

[theaologieslibrary]

Few things could be funnier than Arin complimenting Sylvia and her thinking “fuck he’s pretty, I want to cut him open and look at his bones”

#the Jasad heir #REALLY enjoying this one #hashem’s writing style is *chef’s kiss* #bookblr #definitely one of the better books I’ve read in recent memory

[dizaryswrites]

I finished the Jasad Heir today and AHHHHH it's so good I need to yell about it!!! That slow burn!!!!! Those plot twists!! It's been a while since a book romance has dug its claws into my brain this much. I need more now!!!

#bless long car rides #Curse ao3 for not having more of Arin and Sylvia I NEED IT #Dizarys talks #the jasad heir

[violetsmessofthings]

I love when you read a book and it's exactly what you needed

#me in a slump I'm never gonna read again #the Jasad heir really said hi there! #everyone go read the jasad heir bu sara hasem #the jasad heir #sara hasem #booklr

[thecozybimbo]

the jasad heir with some desk clutter

#roomdecor #dark academia #desk aesthetic #cozy gaming #deskinspiration #earthy #gaming setup #cozygamingcommunity #pcsetup #fantasy books #red velvet chill kill #wendy red velvet #the jasad heir #sara hashem #book blog #booklover #reader aesthetic #fantasy #deskdecor #desk inspiration #studyblr

[nightsnacker99]

the jasad heir: a tale of a man and his vest

#fashion boyfriend and murder girlfriend #honestly it’s the third main character #he just wants to look presentable damnit #Sylvia/essiya #arin #Sylvia #arin and sylvia #sara hashem #the jasad heir #arin of nizahl #books #reading #quotes #fantasy #enemies to lovers #enemies to lovers to enemies

[betterbooksandthings]

The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem

The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem is a beautifully textured Egyptian-inspired high fantasy book that rips your heart apart and puts it back together again. As an orphaned apothecary’s assistant in a small town, no one expects Sylvia to hide powerful magic and an even more powerful lineage. When the kingdom of Jasad fell to the kingdom of Nizahl a decade ago, everyone believed all members of the royal family fell with it, but the magically adept Jasad heir escaped, and she has been on the run ever since. Her magic has been dampened for years so typically there is little threat it will be detected, but one day Arin, the Nizahl heir, discovers her power anyway. He cannot imagine she is lost royalty, but Arin knows her magic is powerful and can tell her strength will serve his political goals. With knowledge of Sylvia’s powers and Jasadi background, he blackmails her into becoming his champion for the Alcalah, a deadly series of trials where each kingdom has one chance at selecting a future victor that will bring pride to their country. Now she must keep her identity as the lost Jasad heir a secret from the strict and inscrutable heir, even as they grow inextricably close. If she wins, Sylvia will have enough money and status as the Alcalah victor to hide for the rest of her life, but as Jasadi rebels and her own conscience demand she takes up her throne, she has to decide if she is willing to live a life of peace at the cost of her people. The book is filled with magic, political intrigue, friendship, enemies-to-lovers tension, and a magical competition to tie it all together. I could not recommend this book more.

I must say, Hashem’s debut is an impressive feat of the genre. The magic system and world-building are top-tier for those looking for fantasy with multi-kingdom political intrigue and well-developed characters. Everyone and everything introduced to the book is there for a reason and they all have well-developed backstories and interior lives. I believe the book follows an iceberg approach to fantasy where we see a fraction of the worldbuilding that goes into crafting such an intricate system where everything feels real. Small details from clothing, food, and value differences between kingdoms give life to the people and the places they inhabit.

Sylvia is a wonderful character. She is a believable traumatized 20-year-old. The book is a good recommendation for fans of New Adult-aged protagonists, but it is firmly adult fantasy. She is comfortable with murdering for survival and capable of doing so. Even without consistent access to her powers, she is clever and calculating and knows how to wield a bevy of weapons. It doesn’t stop her from caring about a select group of people including her two best friends Sefa and Marek who follow her throughout the book. They have their own story that I will not spoil but rest assured they are wonderful and Sefa is on the ace spectrum for anyone who wants to know.

Now, there is also an enemies-to-lovers subplot in the book between the two heirs, Sylvia and Arin but it is a slow burn, backburner, low-spice (but high-heat) romance. Both characters have a certain level of touch aversion one due to a magic curse, the other due to a traumatic childhood. They are also two people who don’t trust or love with any level of ease. Nonetheless, they care about each other, and the growing care leads me to believe in their chemistry. I can find no confirmation that Sylvia was written to be on the ace spectrum so please correct me if I am wrong, but I read her character as demisexual or somewhere on the ace spectrum. I am completely on board with this ship either way.

Training for the Alcalah and the Alcalah itself is so well done. Anyone who likes a good high-stakes fantasy competition will be satisfied with this storyline. The secrets and political intrigue create ongoing tension throughout the book and I cannot wait to see what is going to happen in book 2.

All that is to say this book is absolutely wonderful. Thank you Orbit Books for providing me with an arc for an honest review and I would highly recommend you preorder yourself a copy because when The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem comes out on July 18, 2023, you will want to get started.

#The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem #book review #high fantasy #fantasy book review #Sara Hashem #The Jasad Heir #orbit books #magic #political intrigue #enemies to lovers #magical competition #fantasy book recs #Egyptian-inspired #ace books

[ami-no-todoke]

The quote in the Jasad Heir that pulled me right into the book.

The start of the book was slow, but this one quote, which comes at some 40-something pages, really made me sink into the book. Even nearly 7 months after reading this book, I still think back to it sometimes.

What a line. What a line.

#the jasad heir #I know some people didn't like it but this was the one book that really spoke to me when I was in a reading slump #book quotes

[ladysansalannister]

Finally started The Jasad Heir and the evil prince is described as having silver hair and the cuffs keeping Sylvia are silver…….

#the jasad heir #books #miri’s thoughts

[winteryapothecaries]

wonder if the author of The Jasad Heir is a closeted dramione? I've been reading it very slowly for months and in every other chapter there's a reference to the FMC's bangs forming a 'curtain of curls' and the MMC has silvery blond hair and a countenance that makes the coldest winter day look and feel like high summer... Sara Hashem, I know what you are.

#the jasad heir #Romantasy #reading tag

[literaryelise]

“He is Nizahl’s Commander. I should burn with hatred every second spent in his presence.”

The Jasad Heir, Sara Hashem

#fantasy books #sff books #book recs #books #the jasad heir #sara hashem #egypt #arab #egyptian inspired #high fantasy #military fantasy #magic #enemies to lovers #reluctant allies #aesthetic #book aesthetic #jasad heir aesthetic

[nevinslibrary]

Weird & Wonderful Wednesday

Sylvia is the exiled Queen of Jasad. Ten years before Jasad was burned by the Nizahl, magic was outlawed, most of the royal family killed. In present day Arin, the Nizahl Heir, finds her when she uses her outlawed magic. They make a deal. She’ll compete as the Nizahl Champion in the Alcahal (a series of three trials). If she wins, she will get immunity from prosecution for her ‘crimes’. But, she soon finds out that she will also have to choose between the life that she ran away from, and the one that she wants to have.

To start with, I loved the characters. But, not just them. The world building was awesome, and, the complexity of ‘what’ this book is was fun too. There’s some romance, fantasy, quite a bit of action, adventure, and the tension throughout the book. Amazing. It was a fun read that kept me guessing and turning the pages, and it does say in some of the publicity that it’s supposed to be the first in a series, so, here’s hoping!

You may like this book If you Liked: The Battle Drum by Saara El-Arifi, The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, or The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem

#weirdandwonderfulwednesday #nmlRA #nevins memorial library #sara hashem #the jasad heir #and look at that amazing cover #awesome cover

[bookishlyvintage]

July 2023 Illumicrate: You Win or You Die

#unboxing #illumicrate #book box #the jasad heir #sara hashem #egyptian #egyptian mythology #mythology #special edition #sprayed edges #books #bookblr #booklr #bookish #fantasy #naked hardcover #flat lay

[someonelookingpraediti]

Illumicrate Unboxing

You Win or You Die July 2023

This month's theme is "You Win or You Die". I'm not exactly blown away by this box, although there are a couple of good items.

The book is "The Jasad Heir" by Sara Hashem. The book doesn't appeal to me, and the customisations are pretty basic. The cover is apparently an exclusive, but I can't see anything different from the original. There is some foiling on the hardcase, but it's minimal. The endpapers are exclusives - a simple patterned design, and the sprayed edges match the endpapers.

The first item is a towel. This is inspired by "The Hunger Games". It's not really the colour scheme I would expect from this series. But it's a great quality item to get, and it couldn't come at a better time - my washing machine is broken, and I just ran out of clean towels! So honestly, this is a godsend.

Next is a pair of tea bowls. These are inspired by "A Magic Steeped in Poison". I love these! I don't know how often I'll use them, but I love the design. One is pink, and one is white, and they both have a flower pattern around the outside.

Next is an embroidered pouch. This is inspired by "The Final Strife". It's just a thin red pouch with a little book embroidered on. It's more like packaging than an actual item. It's not very impressive.

The last item is a card game. It's basically "guess who" featuring characters from various books. It was fun for a couple of rounds - but made difficult by the fact that I don't know most of the characters. The artwork is absolutely incredible though!

#unboxing #illumicrate #you win or you die #the jasad heir #sara hashem

[justmybookthots]

The Jasad Heir

3.25/5 stars

Hmm.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

This is a strange one for me. On the surface, it ticks off most boxes. The prose, and its lack of anachronism (given the kind of medieval lifestyle of the cast)? Good! It’s very to my taste. The characterisation of the male lead, Arin? Fantastic. I remember being so pleasantly surprised when I first read his introduction, which I had been wary about, because most male leads have been horrifically portrayed for me. I admired his cool temperament, and his intelligence was well-depicted too. Also the slow-burn? The enemies to lovers trope? The trials? All boxes that I want ticked off. 

So what went wrong?

The problem with this book, while mostly inoffensive, is that it’s very underwhelming. Usually, I start off every book feeling mild interest, and I tend to read a chapter or so, then take a short break before coming back, then rinse and repeat. If the book is good, about some way through I stop taking breaks and start reading it non-stop. 

This “some way through” never happened with The Jasad Heir for me. In fact, it took me roughly a week to finish it (to be fair, it is a big book), and that was with me pushing through because I needed to move on to my other books.

Crooked Kingdom is about the same length, and I finished it in one day.

I don’t know what’s wrong with The Jasad Heir. Not exactly, anyway. It’s just lacking that little spark that makes my heart skip a beat. I think a large part of it is the pacing. You have a very intriguing premise and good writing and intriguing characterisation of your male lead, but the way the moving pieces are set in place is… lacking. The trials needed to be a bigger deal than they were, and not pushed to the ending of the book. The other competitors—especially the girl (can’t remember her name. Divya?? She had so much promise)—were wasted potential and just brushed to the side. 

Moreover, I need to add that the main character was... a little TSTL at times, and her friends didn't really add anything to the story other than serve as a catalyst for her magic. So not even all the moving pieces were good.

The tension just wasn’t there. The singular peak in the story that I enjoyed was when Sylvia, the heroine, was jealous of Arin’s relationship with another girl—good, good, there’s tension—then she leaves and is stabbed by one of the rebels, and she almost dies. (Again, good—I actually feel the stakes, though I know she’s not going to die, of course, but this doesn’t seem like something she’s going to bounce back from easily.) Arin is frustrated and makes the choice to save her life rather than pursue the rebel, which was a very pivotal point for his character because he’d originally only kept Sylvia around to catch the rebels. 

After that, the tension ebbed into nothing, and I just didn’t care anymore. Am I supposed to feel shocked at the reveal of one of the rebels' identity? They were just someone Sylvia mentioned fleetingly from the past; I didn’t even remember their name until I searched it up as a keyword in the ebook, and was like, oh. Yeah, she mentioned this person one time or something. 

This book is a debut, and it definitely feels like one. It could do with several rounds of editing and a restructuring of the storyline to raise the stakes and up the tension. I also didn’t feel much for the romance, which, if I looked at it clinically, I should have. I don’t know why. I really don’t. When they had their first kiss, I was just like, mm'kay. It goes to show a story is more than specific jigsaw pieces I like, because if they misalign, the complete picture is nothing but wasted potential. 

But! Some credit should be given where credit is due. I liked how Arin's reveal to be a somewhat decent person was more digestible than, say, Rhysand's portrayal, where SJM practically shoved down my throat what a great, woooooonderful ruler he was. I won't go further than that, because the ACoTAR series is a special nightmare of its own that I don't wish to touch upon here.

That said, I will read The Jasad Heir's sequel when it comes out because the premise we've been left with is very interesting. Let's hope it hits better then.

- 6 Aug 2023

#book blog #romantasy #the jasad heir #fantasy books #book review