Book Review: The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Burner Kindle!
The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
Published: July 18, 2023
Series: The Scorched Throne #1
Genres: Adult // Fantasy, Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️ (Glimpses & Kisses)
Quick Thoughts: If you’re into Egyptian-inspired fantasy, slow (and I mean slow) burn romance, or political tension between kingdoms, The Jasad Heir is definitely worth the read. While the story takes a while to get going, the characters are great, the writing is beautiful, and the romance is really satisfying.
Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org
-
Violence/Death
Genocide
Death of Parent
Child Abuse
Sexual Assault
Pedophilia
Trauma
-
Hidden/Secret Identities
Enemies-to-Lovers
Slow Burn
Royal Court Settings & Politics
Magic
Egyptian-inspired Settings
Warring Kingdoms
Themes of Conquest & Revenge
What is The Jasad Heir About? (Spoiler Free Summary)
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, slow-burn, 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.
The Jasad Heir Review
I went into reading The Jasad Heir not too sure what to expect, but I was looking for something with more politics and a slow-burn romance, and this one ticked those boxes. This might be one of my favorite reads of 2025.
Characters & Romance
Hands down, my favorite part of the story was the characters. Our FMC Sylvia is clever, hilarious, and has satisfying growth throughout the story. Throughout the book, she became more willing to hold a mirror to herself and those in her life as she uncovered pieces of her past. Her growth was slow but well done and believable. Arin is our enigmatic, ultra-perceptive, controlled male love interest, which happens to be my favorite type of male love interest. We got a little bit of his story and inner thought process through two POV chapters, though I wished we got more.
Sylvia and Arin's dynamic is that of two people being seen for who they truly are for the first time. They both seem to see right through each other's acts. Their romance is a real slow-burn, so we mostly just get glimpses of their connection, but it's believable and has some of my favorite “I want to kill you but in a flirty way” banter in a long time. I'm excited to see how their romance will be developed further in the next book.
Oh, and I can’t forget to mention the side characters. Sylvia’s quirky friends, Sefa and Marek, Fairel, and Arin’s guards really stole the show. Without them, I think the book would have been a bit boring but they added a ton of levity to the story.
Writing
The writing was stunning. There are lines that will make you reflect, gasp, laugh, and tear up – sometimes all in the same chapter. Buried beneath the jokes and clever quips are thought-provoking lines about power, perception, and the fact that history is written by the victors. This quote has been living in my head rent-free since I finished this book:
“You think your mind is a blank slate, where you can build your own networks of information from scratch, through pure logic and reason. You ignore that each child enters a completely unique world, founded on different truths. We build our reality on the foundation our world sets for us. . . Have you considered, in that infinite mind of yours, that the truly brilliant people are the ones who understand the realities we build were already built for us?”
Pacing & World-building
My main gripes with this book have to do with plot, pacing, and world-building. The delivery of the world-building is dense and we spend a lot of pages rehashing events from different perspectives. This made the pacing drag and the story convoluted. Once we got to the first trial, the story finally felt like it was moving, but the first two-thirds of the book could have been much tighter. That said, since we got so much world-building and everyone's perspective upfront, I hope the sequel can jump straight into the action without much setup.
So, Should You Read The Jasad Heir?
Overall, I recommend this one if you’re interested in Egyptian-inspired stories or are looking for a book with a slow-burn romance, lots of lore, and politics between kingdoms. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
The Jasad Heir FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
-
No, The Jasad Heir is not spicy. This is a true slow-burn romance, so you're mostly getting tension and "I want to kill you but in a flirty way" banter between Sylvia and Arin rather than on-page spice. There are a few kissing scenes, but if you're looking for a romantasy with lots of spice, this probably isn't the one.
-
Yes, Sylvia and Arin are enemies mostly because of their roles in their respective kingdoms and their histories. They are forced to work together towards a shared goal, so there's definitely tension and conflict between them. However, the romance is super slow-burn, so don't expect a ton of romantic development in this book.
-
The Jasad Heir is the first book in a duology. It ends on a cliffhanger (sort of), and there are definitely threads left open for the sequel. The book does a lot of world-building and setup, so hopefully the next book can jump straight into the action.
-
In my opinion, yes! If you're into Egyptian-inspired fantasy, slow-burn romance, and political intrigue between kingdoms, absolutely. The characters are fantastic. The writing is stunning with thought-provoking lines about power and perception.
That said, the pacing drags in the first two-thirds of the book because of dense world-building, so it takes a while to get going. If you don't mind that, it's definitely worth the read.
-
No, The Jasad Heir doesn't have a love triangle.
-
The book deals with trauma, violence, political manipulation, and the aftermath of genocide. If you're sensitive to these topics, you might want to look up more detailed content warnings before diving in.
-
I’ve heard The Jasad Heir has a similar vibe to books like An Ember in the Ashes (political intrigue, trials) and These Violent Delights (enemies forced to work together, slow-burn tension).
If you enjoyed This Woven Kingdom for the world-building and slower romance, you might like this one too.
-
Very slow. This is not a book where the romance takes center stage. You get glimpses of connection and some excellent banter between Sylvia and Arin, but the romance is definitely being set up for further development in the sequel. If you need romantic payoff in book one, this might frustrate you.