Review: Goodreads

Date of review to publish: 18th August 2022

To Net Galley, Orbit Books and Tasha Suri, thank you for giving me another reason for happiness in life. Just as how Malini and Priya will always want each other and more; I will always be filled with want for more of the Burning Kingdom.

The Oleander Sword has exceeded my already high expectations in its delivery. Woven with beautiful words; this book has immersed me in the moments of anticipation, yearning, love and above all, loss.

POV
There are multiple point of views in this book. Many more in relative to the Jasmine Throne. Some reviewers may have felt that some of it were unnecessary but I loved it. I thought it wonderful to be able to view a scene in a perspective of an uninvolved party. Like any real life event, one scenario can have multiple interpretations from multiple bystanders based on their standing, pre-existing knowledge and belief. I also thought that it is a neat way of delivering information.

CHARACTERS
Well, of course this book wouldn’t be what it is without our characters. We have our main ladies, Priya and Malini who were as lovely as they are brutal. If the first book had placed them in a tough spot, the second was a whole different level of ouchies and yikes moments. After all, if power is gained through pain then these ladies are powerful, all right. As much as I like seeing my favorites kicking ass, I love it even more when they are in love and pining for each other. Sigh, this book is jammed packed with it. It is so much more compared to the first book. All kinds of flavors ranging from sweet, spicy and bitter from our ladies (also, thirsty but that ain’t a flavor). The romance is intense but not without sacrifices.

There is also our sweethearts: Bhumika, Rao and Aditya (not you Chandra). We get more of them in this book with new challenges thrown at them. Perhaps it is the struggles and love for each other that endeared Rao and Aditya to me better in this book but one thing certain is that this book certainly gave readers better understanding of them. Bhumika, continues to kick ass in this book per usual.

PLOT
The world building for this universe has always been strong and it is not stopping anytime soon in this book. We learn so much more about the lore which drives the plot along with an ongoing war. While Parijatdvipa is burning, not all is well in Ahiranya too. There were some foreshadowing that gave me very satisfying “Ahah” moments. The two storylines of Parijatdvipa and Ahiranya will eventually converge by the end of this book and I can’t help but both anticipate eagerly and dread what is to come.

ENDING
The epilogue of this book was the perfect set up for the end of this trilogy. By that, it ended on a heartbreak and cliffhanger. This sort of ending is a smart move which certainly builds anticipation, but damn it the way it ended makes the wait for the third book all the more painful.

Overall, I love the book. I which I could express on how much I love this series but my words would fail me because no words could describe the extent of my feelings for this series.

The Oleander Sword took a bit of warming up, but after that it built on its predecessor's strengths to make an exceptional epic fantasy middle book. Although there were still a few unnecessary POVs that broke the pacing, particularly early on, the vast majority of the book centred on our main cast of characters, all of whom have riveting stories - it meant that I was never sad to see the narrative switch from Priya to Malini to Bhumika, etc. (Although I still need some convincing with Rao). This is a dark and complex book, a little less about empire, and more about what conflict in general does to humans, but it works really well. I think there is a particularly deft balance of politics and the creeping supernatural threat, without ever feeling like it gets bogged down. I think if book 3 can hit the ground running with all this momentum (every character is placed in a fascinating position at the end of this one), it will be the best of the lot. In any case, that spark of connection I was missing in book 1 absolutely has a hold of me now, and I cannot wait for the finale.

Review to be posted to Goodreads closer to publication

4.5/5
Thank you Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
OH. MY. GOD. What the hell just happened? That was incredible. Sequels are notoriously hard to give spoiler-free reviews, but I’ll do my best.
First of all, I want to start with a fact I’d forgotten in my time apart from this world, but one that holds true throughout the entirety of Tasha Suri’s novels–her writing is phenomenal. It is so intricately woven and beautiful and every time I thought there couldn’t possibly be a passage more poetic there was. Every sentence, every word, was filled with such emotion. Every single line of this story gripped me.
I had so much fun returning to this world again and rediscovering my love for all the characters was amazing. The characters and their hugely varying histories, personalities and motivations were so intriguing and built great suspense as we watched it all play out. The characters themselves are strong and unyielding ones, ones that show jutting scars and open wounds, but ones that never give up.
Priya and Malini are–as they have always been–show-stopping characters. Their resilience and complex personalities make for interesting characters alone, however when you put the two together they become something even greater. Together these two characters become jagged, with awful truths and twisted secrets pointed like a blade beneath the ribs, they become their own secret with only the familiarity of that same pointed blade to keep them from breaking. They know they must use each other, they know that they’re playing a very dangerous game, but even so they rely on each other, they love each other. This complicated portrayal of their love was riveting and every one of their scenes had me hooked.
Tasha Suri is the absolute reigning champion of slow-burn romances, she proved this in The Jasmine Throne and goes on to prove herself even further in The Oleander Sword. Besides Priya and Malini, there are two other main relationships that begin to blossom and show their roots. I won’t spell out who these ships involve, but just know that they all matched each other in their intricacy and every last one of them had me on the edge of my seat, willing for more. There’s an incredible ‘everyone-else-knows-but-them’ ship that breaks my heart for so many different reasons and I can guarantee that you will love it too.
This book was such a detailed web of stories and they were all told in such a spell-binding way. The plot is full of twists and turns and some real shockers at the end. It dives into the story head-first after the events of the last book and does not look back, our characters push onwards to great things, hoping beyond hope that they will not break along the way. Well, I can tell you one thing for certain (without any other context) this story did indeed break me.
I loved it for the same reasons a person loves anything; it was beautiful and it changed my heart. Every detail of this story is created with such care and intensity; there are rampaging stakes for every character; daunting relationships and emerging dynamics; brilliant protagonists, each with their own unique weapons to wield; and a slither of hope intent on sputtering out all throughout. You will pick up this book and never want to put it down. I genuinely cannot believe how long we will have to wait for the last book, I’m not a patient person even normally so this will torture me.
I am the broken shell of the person I was before reading this book! (Dramatic? Good. I am hollow!)
I am so grateful this story exists in the world. This book also included some of my absolute favourite tropes and I’m honoured to be able to discover them early. I am in awe, to put it simply. The lyrical writing grasped me by my heart and pulled and I happily let it. Reading a story like this is nothing less than inspiring (for a multitude of reasons) and I’m going to cry and stare at the wall and try to make sense of the emotions overflowing inside me because…the ending… No one’s ready for this!
My review on other platforms will be coming at a later date as requested by Little, Brown Book Group UK.

I don't know if I can give this book the kind of review it deserves but I can certainly try. Because, damn, this book was an absolute masterpiece! The Jasmine Throne was one of my absolute favourite reads of the year so far and this was one of my most anticipated releases (so thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read it before the release!). I am in absolute awe of Tasha Suri's skill as a writer - there were so many moments reading this book that just made me feel as though there is no point trying to write anything else, because this exists and the chances of anything better coming along is slim.

One of my favourite parts of The Burning Kingdoms trilogy (so far) is the narration. In most books multiple narrators/POVs can be exhausting and, at times, boring. Yet, despite having more narrators than any other book I've read, Tasha Suri makes them all interesting, integral to the plot and engaging. Each chapter offered something new to the story that deepened and built upon everything that came before it - each character had their own distinct storyline and arc that just weaved in with the wider story so beautifully. It's an utterly coherent masterpiece and that makes the world feel all the more real.

I also loved how much the religions of this world were given more depth in this one. The gods became something far more tangible, potent and plot-relevant in a way that had me feeling a lot of things. The way the gods drove so many of the characters was just heartbreaking - Bhumika, Priya and Malini deserve better.

Also the relationships!! For me, personally, characters and relationships are the driving force of any good story. As much as I'm an absolute sucker for in depth worldbuilding and amazing plots, they're nothing without compelling characters and character dynamics. And this book absolutely gave everything in terms of characters and relationships. I could list almost every dynamic in this book as something remarkable.

Of course, my absolute fave was Malini and Priya's relationship - somehow they managed to feel like a slowburn again but, just like in The Jasmine Throne, it was so worth it. Chapter 41 was a gift, especially because of everything that came after it.

I also have to say that I still absolutely adore Sima and Priya's friendship. There's such a strong bond between them and so much love there and I just love it so much, especially because it is so distinctly platonic. It's so nice to see platonic love be given the weight it deserves.

There were, as I've said, a lot of other relationships that I adored. Some in particular were Bhumika & Jeevan, Rao & Aditya and Romesh & Priya. They were all interesting (and, in two case, devastating) in their own ways.

Just, all in all, this book was incredible. Tasha Suri is an incredible writer in every way and The Oleander Sword is such a shining example of that fact. The plot, world-building, characters and relationships were all absolutely perfect. I cannot wait for the third book in The Burning Kingdoms trilogy (especially because that ending! I need to know what happens next because right now I am just not okay, this book made me cry a few times and I need my faves to get happy endings).

I adored The Jasmine Throne with my whole heart when I read it last year, and have been eagerly awaiting this sequel, and I absolutely was not let down - Tasha Suri out here, once again, delivering the Most dynamic worldbuilding, with rich mythologies and complex characters, and plot twists at every turn. Suri somehow manages to top The Jasmine Throne - I'm talking increased sapphic yearning, even more complex character dynamics and motivations, a plot that had me quaking (I'm already dying for book 3 and I finished book 2 a matter of minutes ago), and betrayals that had me screaming (I don't know how I didn't learn anything from The Jasmine Throne, hurt me twice, shame on me).

Can absolutely guarantee if you loved The Jasmine Throne, you will lose your mind for The Oleander Sword.