In the first book of what will be the Burning Kingdoms trilogy Tasha Suri takes the reader into a intricately built and richly detailed fantasy world based on the history and epics of India. She centers her story of empires and colonialism on two strong young women who find that their "destinies [will] become irrevocably tangled".
Priya is an unassuming maidservant who keeps her head down and does what she's asked. She's also a survivor of a past atrocity, the possessor of a powerful secret magic, and has a driving need to overthrow her country's oppressors and regain what was lost. Malini is a princess imprisoned by her brother in the Hirana, an ancient temple in a conquered city. The two women meet when Priya volunteers to be one of the maids who makes the treacherous climb to the top of the Hirana every day to provide service to Malini. When Priya accidentally reveals some of her magical secrets to Malini the two women realize that though they have divergent agendas, they may be able to help one another with their goals. As they begin to work together their feelings for one another deepen, though they know as "enemies" their competing agendas will keep them apart.
I'm a fan of Tasha Suri's first series, The Books of Ambha, but with this new novel she has kicked it up several notches. There isn't one wasted moment or character in this complex and intricate story.