Book Review: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri (fantasy)

Title: The Jasmine Throne
Author: Tasha Suri
Publication Date: June 10, 2021
Genres: Epic Fantasy
Protagonist Gender: Female

Sexualities: Straight, Lesbian

The Jasmine Throne is one of those books that hooked me from the first page, drawing me in with the horrors of sacrificial immolation, infectious rot, violent conquest, and the erasure of an entire culture, with three women - Malini, Priya, and Bhumika - standing alone against it all. Even if I had a few struggles with the text, Tasha Suri has written a fabulous fantasy that deserves all the accolades it gets.

Let me get those struggles out of the way first so we can talk to the good stuff. I struggled with the pacing of the story, which is mostly talk for the first half, without a lot of action. Compounding that struggle are the (in my opinion) unnecessary POV chapters from the men responsible for the conflict, which added little to the story. By the end, I was mostly skimming those chapters to get back to the women. That brings me to my last struggle, and that is with the romance between Malini and Priya, a mostly physical affair that I had trouble buying into. There's an interesting dynamic between them, don't get me wrong, with interesting commentary on agency and agenda, but while I admired the complexities of their slowly evolving partnership, I never felt the romantic tension.

Okay, so onto the good stuff, and there's a lot of it. The world-building is absolutely fantastic, built around the legends and settings of Indian and South-Asian culture. It all feels authentic and alive, dynamic and majestic in ways so many other authors over the past few years have failed to capture. The magic and mythology are equally fantastic, from the eerily beautiful infection of the rot, which sort of calls its victims back to nature, to the shifting stones of the fire-scoured Hirana temple, with its mystical currents hidden deep beneath. I loved this world, I welcomed its immersion, and I constantly wanted to know more about it.

In terms of characters, Malini, Priya, and Bhumika are beautifully rendered women of strength and power, cast aside and trampled beneath patriarchal politics, but always working to escape their fates and fight for those around them. The Jasmine Throne is not some trope-ridden tale of war between the sexes, but it is fiercely feminist, and if you don't share in their triumphs, then you're likely the wrong reader for this. Malini is a little hard to warm up to, spending so much of the book drugged and isolated, but Priya earned my affection and admiration from the first page, and I loved the slow reveal of Bhumika's true character as a woman trapped between worlds. 

Once it got going, the plot was enough to keep me reading, not overly complex or original, but significant enough to make me care. I've seen other reviewers talk about this as being a prequel or introduction to a larger story, and I agree with that - this could easily be condensed by a hundred pages without losing any of the story - but I also recognize that this is more a story of characters than events, and I can't necessarily fault Suri for delving deeper into the former at the expense of the latter. That said, I did struggle to maintain my interest during the last quarter or so, but I still came away from the book wanting to know more, eager to see if a sequel can tighten things up.

Rating: ♀ ♀ ♀ 1/2

My sincere thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Freebie Fetish Friday - Putting the TG in TGIF!

Well, if it's Friday, then it must be time to bend our way into the weekend with Freebie Fetish Friday.

Every Friday I search through the weekend's free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might be of interest to similarly bent readers, fans, and lovers. Even if you don't have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon's free reading applications.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

It's not quite free, but get 50% off almost any 1 adult at Adam and Eve by checking out my Rechargeable Finger Vibe Review!

Enjoy!  

The Wicked Wife by Shadoman (femdom feminization comics)

It's time once again to enjoy some illustrated delights, courtesy of the wonderful Shadoman and the team at Amazing Transformation Comics.

The Wicked Wife is a gorgeous new comic by Shadoman, a full-length illustrated novel that tells the story of Sheri and her scheme to divorce her lazy, reckless, irresponsible husband and transform him into a sissy slave with the help of the New You Resort & Spa.

Their marriage has been souring for some time, but the passing of her grandfather means there’s a huge inheritance coming, and she’s afraid Donnie will just gamble it away. If there was ever a good time for a divorce, this is it, and once she finds out just how much money is coming her way, her reservations and uncertainties disappear. I loved the set-up of this because it’s more a feminization of convenience than cruelty, and while Donnie may not deserve everything that happens to him, there’s no question that he’d be an even bigger liability with so much money at stake.

The actual feminization, conditioning, and training of Donnie – soon to be Donna – is as exquisite as it is detailed. There are some lovely BDSM images, beautiful time-lapse body shaping images, diabolically fun sci-fi mind control implements, and some chilling surgical scenes. The images of sexual submission training are rather striking in how sparse the black backgrounds are, but there are also images of Donna being placed in black armbinders, ball gags, and blindfolds in other wise brightly lit rooms, where the contrast is deliciously erotic.

As much as I loved the transformation and training, the details of what happen when Donna returns to her ex-wife/owner are as erotic as they are chilling. There are some dark threads of control embedded in her new life, fatal penalties for disobedience, and there’s a carefully crafted lie to be maintained for the new man in Sheri’s life. There’s some happiness to be found there as well, but hard-earned, and there are some interesting twists before we get to the end. Along the way, there’s plenty of sissy sexuality, and I thought the quest for a proper sissygasm, with a focus on position, penetration, and prolonging her lover’s orgasm, was really well done – a level of detail that’s often glossed over. 

Shadoman always incorporates fantastic visuals in his work, and this is no different, but there are some close-ups that I thought were stunning, with little details like the texture of a knee, the shadow of ass cleavage, and small beauty marks or stretch marks really catching my eye. It’s very photorealistic, and it really draws you into the scene.

Shadoman is a CG artist who enjoys telling stories through 3D comic art. Originally from the Mid-west, he now resides in Southern California. He is a Viet-Nam vet in his mid-60’s, married to a wonderful gal who is also his best friend and text editor. A film buff with an extensive library, it was his passion for film as a young teen that was his vehicle to escape and expand his own creative mind and become a storyteller.

https://www.renderotica.com/artists/shadoman.aspx

Reviewed by Sally

Book Review: Unburied: A Collection of Queer Dark Fiction (horror, queer)

Title: Unburied: A Collection of Queer Dark Fiction
Author: Rebecca Rowland (editor)
Publication Date: June 1, 2021
Publisher: Dark Ink
Genres: Horror
Protagonist Gender: Male/Female
Sexuality: Queer

With Unburied, editor Rebecca Rowland has gathered 16 genre-spanning authors to put their own ‘queer’ spin on dark fiction. While there’s some horror to be found here (along with other genres), the darkness comes more from the emotions and the experiences than any narrative tropes. Of course, dark emotions and dark experiences often evoke dark reactions, prompting something of a tiff between reviewers over trigger warnings. Personally, I don't want them, I don't need them, and I don't miss them, but if you do . . . well, proceed accordingly.

Like with any anthology, the stories here are an uneven mix, but there are a few stellar standouts and only two that I found myself skimming. The queer mix is somewhat uneven as well, heavily weighted towards gay men, but there are a handful of lesbian characters, one transgender protagonist, and another who is genderfluid.

Sweet Dreams by M.C. St. John is a great little story, an understated bit of nightmare-driven horror with a Twilight Zone twist. It’s more sweet than dark, which sets a bit of an odd expectation for an opener as it’s very different from the stories that follow.

Night Follows Night is a deeply unsettling tale by Greg Herren, set amidst the bright lights and friendly aisles of a supermarket, with a slowly unveiling backstory that feeds the increasing sense of dread. Exceptionally well done, with an ending I honestly didn’t expect.

Flawed by Felice Picano was one of those stellar standouts I mentioned, a curious tale of two gay men, a wealthy socialite in need of company, and a cursed antique mirror. There’s so much subtext to the story, so many layers of meaning, it’s a genuine joy to read and discover what it all means.

After one story that didn’t work for me and another that I skimmed, Laura DeHaan yanked me right back into things with Open Up and Let Me In. The opening half page is some of the creepiest, most intriguing material in the whole collection, and while epistolary stories (especially those heavy on chat transcripts) don’t often work for me, I was hooked on every little detail, every question, every doubt. Superb.

I don’t know what I can say about The Red Candle without getting into spoiler territory, but huge kudos to Louis Stephenson for tugging at my soul, breaking my heart, and turning my stomach all at the same time. Part of me wanted this to be longer but, really, it’s perfect just as it is. Another stellar standout.

After another pair of stories that just didn’t work for me, Christina Delia made me sit up and take notice with Moi Aussi. There’s a lot going on for such a short story, but I loved the interplay of language and images, the contrasts between living and dead, love and hate, longing and fear. Vengeful ghost stories shouldn’t be this much fun!

With the first two sci-fi tales falling flat for me, I didn’t initially expect much of Cut Off Your Nose to Spite Your Race by J. Askew, but the bold, brash, sarcastic narrator of Harper won me over. It’s a sci-fi tale of two women trapped in a government breeding program, a story of impossible loves and even more impossible choices.

For the Gods by Robert P. Ottone is the longest (and brightest) story of the collection, the story of a young man struggling with his identity, his sexuality, and the occupant of his closet. The fluidity of the story, personified by Swayz and reflected by DeAndre, resonated with me in ways I can’t describe, making this weird romance my favorite.

1,000 Tiny Cuts by Veronica Zora Kirin is the most down-to-earth of all the stories, and that makes the darkness of controlling abuse all the more horrific. It’s one of those stories where you know it’s going to get worse before it gets better, and all you can do is hope for survival.

Blessed by George Daniel Lea closes out the collection on a beautifully, tragically, atmospherically dark tale in which we’re the character, the subject, the victim, being addressed by the narrator, whose soothing tones and carefully chosen words disguise such horror. One of those you need to reread to understand all that happened.

You never know what you're getting into with an anthology, especially one with so many unfamiliar authors, but Unburied was a pleasant surprise with enough variety and enough diversity to appeal to a wide range of readers. Definitely recommended for lovers of dark fiction.

Rating: ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀

My sincere thanks to the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Freebie Fetish Friday - Putting the TG in TGIF!

 Well, if it's Friday, then it must be time to bend our way into the weekend with Freebie Fetish Friday.

Every Friday I search through the weekend's free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might be of interest to similarly bent readers, fans, and lovers. Even if you don't have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon's free reading applications.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

It's not quite free, but get 50% off almost any 1 adult at Adam and Eve by checking out my Rechargeable Finger Vibe Review!

Enjoy!