The Oleander Sword is a book I have some mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it was classic Tasha Suri with lush prose, gorgeous worldbuilding, and a slowburning plotline. On the other hand, I did feel it suffered a little bit from second book syndrome. For sure we’ll find out that Priya being the only child born in the Hirana itself has imbued her with an ability none of the other temple elders have or have had. With Malini I’m less sure how much could have been done, given her position, her single-minded goal to depose Chandra, and all the scrutiny she was under, how limited she was by all the people around her. I feel that this more than anything was what kept the romantic relationship in a holding pattern. Her role needed to play out that way, but it did restrict the relationship development a lot. More could have been done with her relationship to the priests along the way, though. That might have been a nice source of tension (I guessed why they were helping her early on, though, and that took some of the suspense out for me). The Oleander Sword begins with a prologue in the POV of a new side character, Kartik, who is sweeping a courtyard in the Parijati imperial palace in Harshinghar when he overhears a conversation between Prince Chandra, the “spare” to the heir to the Kingdom (Aditya), and the high priest, Hemanth. Hemanth tells Chandra to protect his sister, the royal princess Malini, asking “Have you ever seen a girl of greater purity, my prince?” Though Chandra doesn’t answer the question, Kartik does, in his heart. Malini is the purest girl he’s ever seen.

TS: I am writing the third book! I’m afraid pandemic stress hasn’t entirely released my brain, but I love this series and it’s really been a comfort (as well as a source of stress in its own special way). I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This complex fantasy has multiple POVs that really help to give a full scope of the empire’s activities. Although Malini, Priya, and Bhumika tell the bulk of the story. Malini’s character development was exceptional. There is no easy path for her. She’s definitely my favourite. As much as it pains me, I fell out of love with the story, the world-building, and the characters that I had grown to care for in the first book. Suffice to say that I will no longer continue reading this series…however, this does not mean you should follow my lead. Chances are most fans of The Jasmine Throne will actually love The Oleander Sword, it just happens that I am a contrarian so this sequel and I did not hit it off. The Oleander Sword follows the path The Jasmine Throne laid out for Malini, a prophesied empress at war with her brother, and Priya, thrice-born priestess and Elder of Ahiranya. The Jasmine Throne saw them parted as Malini started her quest for vengeance against the emperor, gathering allies and starting a war to determine Parijatdvipa’s fate, and Priya, Elder of Ahiranya, trying to find her footing with its new independence and using her newfound powers to keep the rot plaguing her country away.This book started a bit slow but that wasn’t a very big issue as there is a huge cast and it took me some time to remember the details from book one and to familiarize myself again with all the names. That said, I wasn’t immediately hooked to the story as I was with book 1, but once I got to the second half of the story I couldn’t put it down. stars. How I love this series. I’m a big fan of epic fantasy stories and this series really stands out for me. It is so imaginative and it’s weird to say but I feel like I can really see the colors and surroundings when I read this. It’s inspired by Indian culture of which I don’t know very much so that might be one of the reasons why this feels so different to me. Anyway, I need more. The prophecy of the nameless god--the words that declared Malini the rightful empress of Parijatdvipa--has proven a blessing and curse. She is determined to claim the throne that fate offered her. But even with the strength of the rage in her heart and the army of loyal men by her side, deposing her brother is going to be a brutal and bloody fight.

TS: I love Wuthering Heights, and remixing it in What Souls Are Made Of gave me the chance to use it as a vehicle to talk about a lot of things that matter to me: the complex, important multicultural history of Britain and of South Asians in Britain; the atrocities of the nascent British Empire; and the difficulties of overcoming familial trauma that’s exacerbated by geopolitical forces outside of your control. It was fun! The fascinating world is gradually re-introduced and then developed further in this sequel. However, while the writing style remains captivating and easy to follow, it also takes on a flowery flair filled with excessive details. Despite this, there are still many unanswered questions regarding various elements of the magic system, including the powers granted by the deathless waters. This book also sees an increase in the points of view (POVs) compared to the previous book. This dragged down the story's pacing and made it less engaging, as some POVs add little to the story. In Ahiranya, Bhumika is left to deal with not only the rot plague, and the turbulent and fragile rulership of a freshly freed country, but with an old threat reemerging, from the Age of Flowers, who threaten to consume everything the three women fight desperately to protect. Janine: guess I should first introduce myself as other half of Harley and Roz. I’m Roz, pleasure to meet you. And easily, easily, better than the first book! Which is not to say that the first book was nothing less than very good, it’s just that this book was viciously, breathtakingly stunning and I can’t think of a single bad thing to say about it.DR: Can you talk a little bit about how Priya and Malini came into your life? What was the genesis for The Burning Kingdoms? Priya’s characterization once again felt like a walking conundrum to me, and even to herself, as she struggles with her love for Malini, and how it is often in contrast to what she must do for her own country and belief system. This time around, I found the romantic relationship between Malini and Priya to be less forced. Author Suri does a great job showing the complexity of their leadership roles and the impossibility of their desires in the face of the former. The prophecy of the nameless god—the words that declared Malini the rightful empress of Parijatdvipa—has proven a blessing and curse. She is determined to claim the throne that fate offered her. But even with rage in her heart and the army of loyal men by her side, deposing her brother is going to be a brutal and bloody fight.

We also got a lot more of Rao and can I just say, it's just Rao pinning after another guy after Prem. Suri please give my boy a break. First, he lost prem, now Aditya. Rao has been through A LOT. The book is like a war on all fronts, and no one is safe from them. As the story progresses, it starts to spin out into a beautiful, chaotic web of insanity that leaves you wondering what is going on here! But it doesn’t stay wonderful for too long. As the threads that Tasha has been weaving the whole time start to come together, you look at the tapestry she’s spun, clear that we’ve only seen a fraction of what’s coming. There is some action, but it mostly focuses on the characters and the difficult choices they must make to save their people. Their chosen paths once pulled them apart. But Malini and Priya’s souls remain as entwined as their destinies. And they soon realize that coming together is the only way to save their kingdom from those who would rather see it burn – even if it will cost them.

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I think Malini is being hollowed by the Yaksa and will gain the ability to enter the sangam. I think she and Priya may eventually even meet in the sangam. DR: So I know we can’t talk about themtoomuch, because spoilers. But we learned a bit more about the yaksa in The Oleander Sword, with a few pretty mind-blowing twists. Was the history of the yaksa and the Age of Flowers something you laid out before working on the series? (And will we learn more about them in book 3?) All of my anticipated reads are proving to be absolutely amazing and I love that so much for me! The Oleander Sword, sequel to The Jasmine Throne, is a much-anticipated novel for many readers this year because boy, what a cliffhanger was that! I was so happy to have been approved for an e-ARC via Netgalley and safe to say, it’s a delight to have read it. Suri's incandescent feminist masterpiece hits like a steel fist inside a velvet glove."—Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun Chapter One then begins and the story shifts to the present day. When we last saw Malini, she had just used an opportune moment—Rao’s revelation of the prophecy that she would be the one to name Parijadvipa’s next leader—to crown herself as Empress. Now Malini travels with an army comprised of soldiers and princes from all the kingdoms of the empire. All the kingdoms except Ahiranya, Parijatdvipa’s oppressed former enemy.