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?) 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.

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 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 withrage in her heart and the army of loyal men by her side, deposing her brother is going to be a brutal and bloody fight. What can I say to sum up The Oleander Sword? It’s the weakest of Tasha Suri’s five books for me, but based on how it’s set up, I expect that book three will be a lot better. I will read it, definitely. Nevertheless, I’m bummed. C+.

Declared the rightful empress of Parijatdvipa by the prophecy of the nameless god, Malini embarks on a vengeful path to usurp her brother and lay claim to her throne. Meanwhile, Priya, now an elder of Ahiranya and thrice-born priestess, gambles the extent of her power to eradicate the rot taking hold in her country. Set apart by their respective roles, Priya and Malini’s destinies remain forever entwined, but as Malini’s campaign to depose her brother takes a brutal turn, coming together may be the only option to truly achieve what they both desire. War wages and the deeper Priya reaches into her power to turn the tide, and Malini turns to pent-up rage, the cost of their advance blooms into something truly deadly. 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. Harley&Roz: I think Tasha Suri has said something similar–that as a queer woman of Indian descent it was very hard for her to see herself represented when she was younger. The Burning Kingdoms trilogy was her dream project and she never thought she’d be in a position to publish it. As for Priya, she is now a temple elder in Ahiranya, with considerable magical powers including the ability to halt the spread of the rot that plagues Ahiranya’s people and its crops. She leaves the politics to Bhumika, who is far more adept at them, and focuses on that. While she misses Malini badly, she accepts that life has taken them down two different paths. Even if Malini asked her to join her, Priya doesn’t feel she could abandon her people when they need her aid. TS: I’ll also try and avoid spoilers but… frankly, I wanted to bring Malini and Priya’s yearning to the forefront, even when a significant amount of Plot ™ was happening that stopped me from focusing on them. The letters allowed me to delve into that.

About this book

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! Stars. This did suffer some from second book syndrome, but I freaking loved it anyway! The Jasmine Throne was my favorite adult epic fantasy book last year so I could not wait to read this and while this book wasn’t quite as good -as it did slow down some in comparison- I really enjoyed it and I’m in love with this series. I personally had a really rough last week which included a bad pet scare and I spent a lot of time at emergency doggie vets (Lady, is still with us but we are waiting on tests to know more) so there were many times I just needed a great story that would transport my mind to another world and that was exactly what this book did. It was the perfect book at the right time for me and I could not be more thankful. It was also so beautifully written that even if I didn’t always love the story choices, I just didn’t mind. Onto the characters, who are the beating heart of this book, and whom I ADORED. Of course, I have to start with Priya and Malini, whose dynamic just blew me away. The Oleander Sword is a much more romantic book than The Jasmine Throne, and it is so much the better for it. I say this not just because I love reading romance, but also because the romance adds a real sense of stakes and gravity to the story. Priya and Malini's romance is tender and heartfelt, extremely personal to both them, but at the same time it's inextricable from the political power dynamics that they find themselves instrumental to. Their relationship cannot exist outside their political circumstances precisely because it is very much part of shaping those circumstances. And let me tell you, it is just SO damn compelling to read about!!!!!! The intimacy! The honesty! The angst! More than anything, I found it all to be incredibly moving. Suri has such a deft hand when it comes to writing about these characters' feelings and vulnerabilities; they never feel anything more, or less, than human. I already wasn’t the biggest fan of most side characters in The Jasmine Throne, and the sentiment carried through The Oleander Sword. Rao, Aditya, and the rest of recurring pov characters don’t really offer much; they’re not easy to get attached to and are occasionally very irritating. Chandra seemed like a formidable force in The Jasmine Throne through Malini’s painful memories of him, but in this book, I almost wish Tasha Suri hadn’t given him a pov, because all it did was reveal him as a petulant idiotic child. Winner of the World Fantasy Award, The Jasmine Throne has been hailed as a series opener that will ‘undoubtedly reshape the landscape of epic fantasy for years to come’ ( Booklist, starred). Now, Tasha Suri’s provocative and powerful Burning Kingdoms trilogy continues with The Oleander Sword.