I actually really ended up liking this and I’m going to need to use of one of my ten cheat books to pick up the sequel (I’m on a book buying ban for the whole of 2024 — I’ve already used three cheats 😬).
It’s always lovely when as a lifelong fantasy reader you come across something that feels fresh and unique, and this book gave me that feeling the whole way through. The underlying story—about a society oppressed by an empire led by a cruel religious zealot—is a familiar one, but it’s the specifics here that made it feel so fresh to me. The main characters are all women (though we get some POVs from men, as well), and they are living in a world based on South Asian cultures. Priya is a former temple child in the city of Hiranaprastha in the nation of Ahiranya. The Hirana temple is famous throughout the world for its worshipers, who historically had such powerful magical abilities the empire, in fear for itself, conquered and destroyed them. And as we start the story here, it’s been ten years since the temple children began getting powers from the deathless waters at the heart of the temple once again, and as a result were slaughtered wholesale. Only Priya and a few others escaped.
The story actually starts with an exiled princess being brought to Hiranaprastha from the capital city of the empire, after angering her despot brother and refusing to be burned as a sacrifice to his cruel religious beliefs. She is to be imprisoned in the Hirana until she sees the error of her ways and agrees to be burned (their religion is based on the story that women from all nations banded together to be burned in sacrifice in order to give their empire the literal magical power to defeat the yaksa, or the entities that inhabited and ruled over Ahiranya, giving the temple worshipers their powers). Malini is sick due to being drugged and it’s clear that it wasn’t just her refusal to be burned that has caused her exile; she doesn’t believe her cruel brother should be emperor, and she has been doing everything in her power to overthrow him, making herself into a real threat.
Priya and Malini’s stories become intertwined when Priya takes a job as one of the servants to cook and clean the Hirana during Malini’s imprisonment. When a rebel encroachment into the temple looks like an attempt on Malini’s life, she takes the opportunity to beg of her captors a sole attendant, Priya, and the two set about using each other to accomplish their goals. Of course in the backdrop of all this is lots and lots of politics, about anti-empire activity in different ways from different characters, but it’s the actions of Priya’s also surviving temple brother, Ashok, that bring things to a head.
This story was smart and well constructed, and I haven’t quite finished processing it, which is why this review is only talking plot elements and not thematic ones. I’m holding off on five stars because while I liked reading about them a lot, none of the characters quite made it past my emotional walls. What really enthralled me here was the worldbuilding, the politics and the magic system. There’s an intriguing magical mystery involving a possible consequence of loss or gaining of magic that is also affecting a rot-like disease that is causing plants to sprout from people and eventually kill them that is really firing up my imagination. Perhaps the magic system isn’t even that unique, but the way it’s introduced and plays out in the story makes it very intriguing to me. Plus, you know, there’s some sapphic smooching and pining (though I thought their deep feelings weren’t quite earned by the end).
Very much recommend this one!