Name: Empire of Sand (The Books of Ambha #1)
Author: Tasha Suri
Publisher: Orbit
Date published: November 2018
Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance
Pages: 432
Rating: 5/5
Mehr is a girl trapped between two cultures. Her father comes from the ruling classes of the empire, but her mother’s people were outcasts, Amrithi nomads who worshipped the spirits of the sands.
Caught one night performing these forbidden rites, Mehr is brought to the attention of the Emperor’s most feared mystics, who try to force her into their service by way of an arranged marriage. If she fails in their bidding, the gods themselves may awaken and seek vengeance...
- From Goodreads.
This was a very intricately detailed story, with a lot of thought put into the world-building, and wonderfully well-written characters.
It definitely hooked me in and made me worried for both Mehr and Aman, I really felt emotionally invested in their journey and hoped they found a way to escape the horrible situation they were in together.
It felt like a very complex world with a lot of different stories to explore within it, so I'm glad there's another book where we can see more of the world and what the consequences of what happened in this book will be.
I think if you love fantasy with in-depth world building, well-rounded and complicated characters and a lovely romance where two characters find hope and comfort in each other despite the darkness surrounding them, then I can definitely recommend this book to you. I will certainly be going on to read more of Tasha Suri's work after this.
