The Jasad Heir

By: Sara Hashem

Narrated by: Rasha Zamamiri, Peter Ganim

Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

"A remarkable, razor-sharp debut that cuts straight to the heart."―Chelsea Abdullah, author of The Stardust Thief

A fugitive queen strikes a bargain with her greatest enemy that could resurrect her scorched kingdom or leave it in ashes forever in this unmissable Egyptian-inspired epic fantasy debut.

Ten years ago, the kingdom of Jasad burned. Its magic was outlawed. Its royal family murdered. At least, that’s what Sylvia wants people to believe. The Heir of Jasad escaped the massacre, and she intends to stay hidden, especially from the armies of Nizahl that continue to hunt her people.

But a moment of anger changes everything. When Arin, the Nizahl Heir, tracks a group of Jasadi rebels to her village, Sylvia accidentally reveals her magic—and captures his attention. Now Sylvia’s forced to make a deal with her greatest enemy: Help him hunt the rebels in exchange for her life.

A deadly game begins. Sylvia can’t let Arin discover her identity, even as hatred shifts into something more between the Heirs. And as the tides change around her, Sylvia will have to choose between the life she wants and the one she abandoned.

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

Praise for The Jasad Heir:

"Will have you turning pages in a frenzy." ―Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun

"The type of mythological and romantic tale you would bargain your last breath for... A book that coils you into its serpentine grasp." ―Observer

The Scorched Throne
The Jasad Heir

©2023 Sara Hashem (P)2023 Orbit

Great First Installment

The Jasad Heir is a solid debut novel and first installment of a series. Though it has a slow start with too much info dumping, once the story gets going and the characters are firmly introduced, the book is engaging.

The protagonist, Sylvia, is a morally grey heroine with a tragic past filled with loss and abuse. Having lost her family and status as a princess during a war, she lives as a commoner, hiding her identity as well as her restrained magic. I really loved the complexity of Sylvia's character and following her through each difficult choice and harsh revelation from her past. She felt very real.

While I'm not usually a fan of enemies to lovers romances, the dynamic between Sylvia and Arin is the best example I've seen of the trope. They are natural enemies as he is the son of the man who overthrew her family and the way their relationship progresses is authentic.

I'm really looking forward to the next installment of this series.

Loved it!

I loved this book but at times it was a little hard to follow at times! But excited for the next book to come out!

Transported to anew world of magic

the book has so many new elements that made me think of middle east cultures, described so many injustices through it, and the narrative and the heroine that emerged due to been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the relation that grew to love, the innocent and soft description of the glances and touches are well written, made me think on how fun is to fall in love again. like it! and recommended.

Loved it!

Absolutely loved the story, characters, and the reading performance. Cannot wait for the second book!

Fantastic!

Great story line with a slower build. Loves how long it progressed plus all the details to the storyline

Rich Fantasy world

I loved this book and performance! This is more fantasy than fantasy romance so as long as you’re on board with that, it’s a great listen!

Slow burn

I definitely wanted more from this book I had such high hopes. Hopefully we’ll get more after that ending.

The next Fourth Wing or ACOTAR

This is 100% going to be the next big series. If it’s not marketing is the only thing to blame.

The writing is so good. The way that Sara Hashem tells a story is in my opinion as close to perfect as you can get. I find that a lot of authors struggle with pacing, but The Jasad Heir goes slow enough to give you time to experience each scene thoroughly and fast enough to where you won’t get bored.

The world building is expertly placed so that you’re getting the information you need when you need it. I was never trying to figure out what the heck she was talking about.

My personal favorite thing about this book is the characters. The development of relationships between every person in this book are both compelling and realistic.

There are no parts that I couldn’t read because it made me cringe and I feel like that is an incredibly important thing to add.

I cannot wait for book two to come out.

Thought this book would kill me

This book had me in a chokehold all the way through. absolutely amazing journey

Gorgeous read!

I loved this book! I will say, it was a bit slow in the beginning. Interesting but slow. Obviously I can appreciate that this aligns more with high-fantasy in that there was a lot of world building, character, descriptions, and information necessary to drive the plot forward. You meet the FMC as an adult, in her early 20s who has been chosen as a champion to compete in something again to kin to Warrior games which will determine an ultimate champion for the five competing kingdoms, and essentially win her her freedom. During her training and the competition, she’s piecing together elements of her past that have letter to this moment. at about 30 to 40% the book takes off she’s beginning to start the competition and things are unfolding very quickly. Additionally, this book is in the truest sense a slow burn. The Romance is really just a subplot, but the development of the romance is beautifully written, and you can feel the angst between the FMC and the MMC, what I loved most about this book is obviously the enemies to lovers trope they are enemies in the truest form. I adore the witty/dialoug between the Sylvia and Aaron is fantastic. The writing is gorgeous and the way the words paint this picture of kingdoms and characters and creatures and magic is beautiful, I was literally gobbling up every word towards the end. The element of found family was beautiful. The love Sylvia has for her friends is so relatable and tugs at your heartstrings. You are literally rooting for everybody in this book so if you love a really strong FMC, a beautiful, slow-burn, intense world building, an intriguing magic system, found family, and gorgeous writing—buckle up because this book will capture your heart