The Jasad Heir

• Author: Sara Hashem
• Genre: Fantasy
• Publication Date: July 18, 2023
• Publisher: Orbit
• Series: The Scorched Throne #1

Thank you to Orbit and Angela Man for sending me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

CONTENT WARNING: murder, violence, blood, gore, mention of sexual abuse (off-page)

Ten years ago, the kingdom of Jasad burned. Its magic was outlawed, its royal family murdered down to the last child. At least, that’s what Sylvia wants people to believe.

The lost heir of Jasad, Sylvia never wants to be found. She can’t think about how Nizahl’s armies destroyed her kingdom and continue to hunt its people—not if she wants to stay alive. But when Arin, the Nizahl heir, tracks a group of Jasadi rebels to her village, staying one step ahead of death gets trickier.

In a moment of anger, Sylvia reveals her magic and captures Arin’s attention. Now, to save her life, she’ll have to make a deal with her greatest enemy. If she helps him lure the rebels, Sylvia will escape persecution.

A deadly game begins. Sylvia can’t let Arin discover her identity even as hatred shifts into something more. But her secret isn’t as hidden as she thinks. Soon, Sylvia will have to choose between the life she wants and the one she left behind.

The scorched kingdom is rising, and it needs a queen.

You know those books where all of your friends read it before you, and each one reaches out to tell you that you have to read it? That happened with this one, and I had to read it as soon as I could. In this case, it even jumped the line of my planned reads because I couldn’t wait any longer. As usual, my friends were right.

This book was fantastic and completely immersive. I am blown away by the fact that this is a debut, because it never felt like it was at any point. The world-building is done really well, with Hashem creating a world that was torn apart by war and is in the process of healing, although Nizahl seems to be a colonizing force and that isn’t ever addressed in the story. It could have added an intriguing dimension to the plot, especially with the romance that develops.

Hashem’s talent really shines on her character development. She manages to create a whole cast of characters who are fully fleshed out, even the side characters. They are complex and layered, and I loved seeing how they interacted with each other. One of my favorite aspects of the characters is how nearly all of them are morally gray, even when they think they’re doing the right thing.

There’s a slow-burn romance that plays a role in the story, and it was one of the most tense romances that I’ve ever seen. I could never tell whether they were going to try to kiss or kill each other, and it was probably one of the more fun enemies-to-lovers dynamics that I’ve read. Additionally, the romance never outshone the rest of the story, and was more of a subplot, although I think it’s going to be more of a factor in the next book.

However, there are some issues that I encountered during the reading that took away from my enjoyment. Since this is an Egyptian-inspired fantasy, I expected some Arabic words. But I really struggled to understand a lot of them, and there wasn’t a glossary or context that made it easy to figure out what they meant, so it felt like I missed out on some important stuff. And although the trials are a major part of the story, we don’t really ever learn why they’re being held or see much of Sylvia’s training, which was disappointing. That’s generally one of my favorite parts of a story like this.

Overall, this is a standout debut that shouldn’t be missed. While there are some aspects that I didn’t love as much, they didn’t overpower the aspects that I did love. Lately there have been some incredible books coming out from Orbit, and this is one of them. I can’t wait to see what’s in store from the next book in this series, because the cliffhanger ending on this one has me squirming to find out what happens.

People who have sat around with me while I’m reading, especially when there’s a surprising reveal, a shocking plot twist, or an unexpected event often look up in alarm when I gasp audibly. The gasp factor is directly related to the number of times I audibly gasp during a reading, and there isn’t an upper limit.

Gasp Factor: 11