Review: Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

Empire of Sand

Tasha Suri

(The Books of Ambha #1)

Publication Date: November 13, 2018

Paperback, 496 pages, Orbit

Genres: Adult, Fantasy

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A nobleman’s daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. Empire of Sand is Tasha Suri’s captivating, Mughal India-inspired debut fantasy.

The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited.

When Mehr’s power comes to the attention of the Emperor’s most feared mystics, she must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist their cruel agenda.

Should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken seeking vengeance…

Empire of Sand is a lush, dazzling fantasy novel perfect for readers of The City of Brass and The Wrath & the Dawn.

My Review

Empire of Sand has been compared to S.A. Chakraborty’s The City of Brass and Renée Ahdieh’s The Wrath & the Dawn, and I think it definitely has elements of both. It’s a lyrical story set in a fantasy world inspired by Mughal India, so it has all the same desert vibes. There’s also a strong heroine who makes impossible decisions for the good of her family and her people.

Mehr, the protagonist of the book, starts out a little arrogant and unrelatable, but she quickly grew on me, especially once the pacing of the story started to pick up around the fifty-page mark. It helps that we’re introduced to Amun around that time too. Mehr and Amun have a unique situation going on that was fascinating to see unravel. Poor Amun. He’s such a misunderstood cinnamon roll, and I adored how Mehr interacted with him and vice versa. I also really loved discovering the magic system through Mehr and Amun’s relationship.

What I didn’t love as much was the bad guy. Yes, the Maha seems very evil, but I felt a little bit jipped when it came to discovering who he was and how he gained so much power. I know that it was implied throughout the book, but there was never a solid explanation given. This, plus the rushed ending made me knock off a star. I still really enjoyed the book even with the flaws, but they still disappointed me a little. Though, I will say the book itself has an easy-to-follow magic system as a whole, which is a big plus in my book.

Overall, it’s hard to talk about this book. It has good world-building, good characters, and a plotline that kept me flipping pages once things really started going. It’s simply a good, digestible fantasy read that Renée Ahdieh, S.A. Chakraborty, Alwyn Hamilton, and Sabaa Tahir fans will probably enjoy. I know I did.

*Note: I received an ARC of this title at BookCon. This in no way affected my opinion/review.