Empire of Sand
by Tasha Suri
"She can dance the gods awake — and an empire wants her power."
Mehr, the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor, has inherited her exiled mother's forbidden magic: rites danced to the dreams of sleeping gods. Forced into a marriage designed to control her, she finds a slow-burning love that could unmake an empire. A Mughal-India-inspired fantasy about faith, autonomy and quiet defiance.
Worth knowing
If you liked The City of Brass or The Jasmine Throne (Suri's own later trilogy), this arranged-marriage slow burn is your next obsession.
