This book had a lot going for me from the get go: epic fantasy, inspired by Indian mythology and cultures, sapphic romance, nature-inspired magical systems. I knew it would likely be 5 stars for me before I even began, but that did not take away from the shock and joy I experienced reading this book! (Also the hunger, my god. I'm going to be eating Indian food for the foreseeable future, at least until I finish this trilogy because my word... among the death and carnage and horror I was ravenous for the food!)

Suri has created one of the best fantasy worlds I've read about in a hot minute. I get a mix of The Ruins, Black Panther, the epic poems of India, and A Song of Ice and Fire vibes all mixed into a brilliantly unique fantasy world. The way Suri ties together body horror into beautifully trippy & visceral atmospheres was a feat I hadn't expected and was unsure about, but it became something I craved the more I read it.

This book is just on another level. The world-building beautiful and otherworldly. The relationships divine. The prose left me breathless. I cannot give it enough praise and I cannot wait to continue this series and see what Suri unveils next.

Favorite quotes (there are so many good ones):
•"As if a choice, carefully bred into your nature by grief and training and hardship, was any choice at all."
•"A child should not be a chain, used to yoke a woman like cattle to a role, a purpose, a life she would not have chosen for herself. And yet she felt then, with an aching resentment, how [he] would use their child to reduce and erase her. She hated him for that, for stealing the quiet and strange intimacy of her and her own flesh and blood and making it a weapon."
•"...there is a subtle pain the conquered feel. Our old language is nearly lost. Our old ways. Even when we try to explain a vision of ourselves to one another—in our poetry, our song, our theater masks—we do so in opposition to you, or by looking to the past. As if we have no future. Parijatdvipa has reshaped us. It is not a conversation, but a rewriting."
•"This was what she had needed. Not forgiveness, not a balm for this strange writhing fury inside her, but the promise of someone to care for—to love—that she could not harm. Even if she had to. Even if she tried."
•"The moment I saw you, I felt a tug. You are the feeling of falling, the tidal waters, the way a living thing will always turn, seeking light. It isn’t that I think you are good or kind, or even that I love you. It is only that, the moment I saw you, I knew I would seek you out. Just as I sought the deathless waters. Just as I sought my brother. Just as I seek all things—without thought, with nothing but want."
•"She thought of heart’s blood, of love and fury and the sweet place in between, where thoughts of [her] dwelled. And the bloom—the sapling—that was her own magic grew and grew, until she knew she was not exactly [herself] anymore. Perhaps she never had been."

Always 5 ⭐s for me. Andy Serkis' narration helped breathe new life into this tale that has always been near and dear to my heart... I felt like I was going on the adventure for the first time again. Absolutely magical. 🥰⛰️✨

I'll admit that I can't quite always feel connected to novellas, as I often think there's not enough time to build the characters to be of much significance. The beauty of this novella is that it tells a familiar story in a magical, fantasy world with political intrigue in which the reader can place themselves through the power of human experience.

The story follows Thanh after she has escaped a relationship with a narcissist, only to find herself love-bombed back into it with disastrous results. As one may expect, Thanh makes excuses, as she's been primed by being made to feel insignificant her whole life and the attention/significance her partner bestows is addictive. Eventually, quickly, the narcissist's true colors pervade and Thanh must decide between her soul or a lifetime of abuse that will likely slowly kill her despite the significance she may gain. I feel the fire elemental is an allegory of her spirit and in the end she chooses to shut out the destructive anger and heal it and to love herself. 

I feel this story may fall flat for those who have not been through similar experiences in life, but that's okay--stories don't have to be universally loved or experienced. In that way, this novella packs more of a punch than most, because the right reader can imbue themselves and their experiences into the protagonist's and make it all the more meaningful. 

Suggested reading for a similar, contemporary sapphic graphic novel: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki

I love how Zen Cho does not sacrifice culturally accurate prose to cater to the reader. Does it make it hard to follow at times? Yes. Is that the point? I believe so. It adds to the world the protagonist navigates through and showcases the diverse diaspora that impacts all facets of her life. It makes for a world that is as realistic as it is magical.

My grievances are that the pacing was off at times and the tone shifts so suddenly that it is a bit jarring at times.

I love a sapphic protagonist and Jess is a badass from a line of badass women that do the best with the hand they were dealt, while being hilarious along the way.

Plan to come back to this at some point, just fell out of it during busy times.

I'm so incredibly lucky to have been able to hear Angela Davis speak at the university I attended a few years back. She has a very powerful presence, as a lady of her renown would. And her powerful presence is very much reflected in this work.

How Davis managed to make nonfiction feel so poetic while also being concise, focused, and informative is a revolutionary feat in and of itself. These are the kinds of history books that we should be teaching kids in school. Maybe if we did we wouldn't be in a status quo that makes a 40+ year old book just as relevant to struggles today.

This is a masterpiece of human spirit and brilliance and rage and love. The intersectionality and meticulously researched history paints a brutal truth that I struggled to get through during this especially hard time in my life, but I'm glad to have my fire stoked for the new year, which will begin a segment of American history that we all need or revolutionary flames burning.

I am so excited to see that Davis has released a new edition recently of her autobiography, as I will need to get to that ASAP so I can continue to learn about and from this once-in-a-millenium soul.

Such an informative read! Both from a macro to micro view of how lacking data impacts women and our world as a whole.

We don't support TERFs in this house, so that includes this author that so blatantly supports JKR, the most notorious TERF of all. Seriously, how boring and miserable do you have to be make Harry Potter a characteristic of your personality so much that it also has to be the same for your fictional characters? Gross and sad. 

Apart from that huge letdown, the author claims her protagonists are smart gals, yet they have the most frustrating misunderstandings and decide to use their brains the least in the most needed times. I felt like I was going to pull my hair out with this one. Neither character are super likeable and only one even tries to see the other's point of view. 

On top of the TERF support, there is disgusting cultural appropriation used by one character who's into astrology. Acting like it hasn't been part of cultures for ages, like she's leading the astrology charge. 🙄 Also disrespectful use of white sage and voodoo dolls.

The spice was nicely done, so one star ⭐ and an author to add to my never again list.

I'm sure this book is not for someone like me, who has no real experience with herbalism, but I appreciated it nonetheless! As someone with Ashkenazi heritage, the history section was fascinating and informative. I wish the section that goes into the herbs and plants themselves had more pictures and were in color, so maybe a newb and visual learner like myself could retain a bit more information about the plants and their identification.