Empire of Sand

Mehr lives in a world where she is only half accepted. The Ambhan people have conquered and destroyed the Amrithi, and as a woman with parents from both worlds, she struggles to find her place as a worshipper of the old Amrithi gods and traditions. When the Emperor's mystics take note of her Amrithi powers, they force her into a marriage with one of their own, and Mehr becomes a very important pawn in a deadly game of men, gods, and demons.

When I heard “Indian-inspired adult fantasy”, I was immediately intrigued; when I heard “angry, vengeful gods”, I was sold. Empire of Sands has been one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I feel like there isn't a lot of own-voice diverse fantasy in the adult age range, so to see a story so interwoven with the author's own heritage and experiences as a woman of color, coupled with the inspirations she took from actual history, made this an incredibly fascinating read.

→ L I K E S :

She'd always understood that keeping even the barest bones of her heritage demanded a terrible price. But she had kept her heritage regardless. That was her gravest error.

stories about conquered nations

awful

He had never hated her mother's people. He had just never considered them people at all. They were the kindling wood that fed the fire of the Empire's strength.

demon-esque spirits that appear in birdlike forms.

Mehr knew what it looked like, when another human being stared at her with hatred. What she had seen in Amun's face was a knife turned inward.

swooning over their fleeting, quiet moments

arranged marriages

→ D I S L I K E S :

How strange, that the world still looked so normal when Mehr's world was collapsing around her.

Empire of Sand

pacing.

I love slow fantasy stories,

when something important did happen, it was over-explained to the point of losing its power.

“A choice like a knife at your throat is an illusion.”

another

→ F I N A L THOUGHTS :

Empire of Sand,

→ RECOMMENDING TO... :

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Orbit for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!