“You must know that power is a magic like any other. It demands sacrifice.”

This series is undeniably god-tier fantasy. The Burning Kingdoms is an Indian-inspired series about morally grey lesbians fighting back against patriarchy and the evils of empire while also falling in love, written with beautifully evocative prose. I’ve been obsessed with THE JASMINE THRONE since I read it last summer and THE OLEANDER SWORD has been one of my most anticipated releases of 2022. Now I’ve been utterly destroyed by the second book and honestly, I would gladly do it all over again.

Suri has braided together politics, faith, ambition, love, and loyalty into a twisting, captivating story, playing off the pieces set in book one, ratcheting up the odds in the final chapters of book two, before finishing with a heart-stopping ending that’s a perfect setup for an epic book three. I’m not going to get into plot specifics to avoid spoilers but I love how she builds on themes of power and family and sacrifice, leaning into the messy and the complex, pushing her characters to their individual extremes and elevating the odds for everyone. There were some plot points I guessed from the foreshadowing and others that were a total surprise and had me screaming. Malini and Priya are as fierce and stabby and lovable as ever, and I cannot wait to read more of their story.

It’s such a joy to read an unapologetically feminist series with a full South Asian cast, where the characters are allowed to be their glorious complicated selves, where imperialism is explored but whiteness doesn’t dominate, where women have their vengeance against infuriating and insufferable men, where queer love blooms powerfully in secret intimacy. It’s brilliant and thought-provoking and absolutely gorgeous to boot. Inject Suri’s writing into my veins and I will die happy. Thanks to Orbit Books for the eARC! Now the intolerable wait for book three begins!

Content warnings: many kinds of violence, death, suicidal ideation/completed suicide

This is such a unique world and I am so thoroughly in love with everything about this series. Can’t wait for the final book

This is one of my favorite books of the year. I loved how much this sequel expanded on the world, the characters and the magic system. Also the romance was done so well and I loved the pining and angst that it brought. I can not wait for the next installment in this series.

Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. This book was a monster and I'm so glad I found my way back to it. The things I loved most about the first book carried over and got amplified by the sequel. Each character feels so real and honest and even more fleshed out by the end of this book. I love that we got more expansion of the world that Suri created because it is lush, and magical, and I think the world building was my favourite part of the first book. The dynamic between the lead characters was so intense and at times had me holding my breath. I loved where Tasha Suri took the relationship and can't wait to see where it goes further.
Such a strong sequel I'm so glad i didn't give up on it, and read it when I did.

Everything about The Oleander Sword worked for me. It's such an ambitious novel; it takes big leaps--with its characters, its plot, its worldbuilding--and it sticks the landing with every single one of them. The world feels so much more expansive in this installment, which is exactly what you want out of a sequel. Because Suri has already adeptly laid out a solid foundation for her world and characters in the first book, the sequel allows us to delve more into that world, and to get a broader view at how its pieces fit together.

Already purchased a copy! I was in a bit of a slump for a while, but this broke me out of it. Hard to review without spoilers, but I love the plot and character development. A perfect continuation after the first novel.

The worldbuilding! The tension! The twists! I can shout about all the amazing things in this book all day. If you haven't read the Jasmine Throne, highly recommend reading that one first. All of the elements that made that book so strong are back and better than ever in this sequel -- with added stakes, and intensity, and huge consequences from book 1 that I loved seeing play out on the page. Highly recommend!

After the conclusion of The Jasmine Throne, I knew the tone and plot of The Oleander Sword were going to be different. At the end of The Jasmine Throne Malini escapes her imprisonment and begins her quest to overthrow her brother Chandra, the emperor of Parijatdvipa. Meanwhile, Priya remains in Ahiranya to rule alongside Bhumika as temple elders. With the separation of our two main characters and the expansion of the plot beyond Ahiranya, The Oleander Sword promised high stakes and a bloody battle for the Parijatdvipan empire.

Plot & Story Focus

One of my favorite parts of The Jasmine Throne was the development of Malini and Priya’s relationship, so I was worried about how their separation would affect my enjoyment of the sequel. I was also curious to see how the overall feel of the story would change as the focus moved from the characters’ relationships to the war for the empire. It turns out my worries were unwarranted. The Oleander Sword continued to revolve around its characters and their conflicts, even as the plot expanded.

Although The Oleander Sword continued to develop its characters and relationships, there’s no doubt it drifts further into epic fantasy than The Jasmine Throne with its widespread worldbuilding, epic battles, and the introduction of world-ending conflict. In my opinion, The Jasmine Throne toed the line between epic and high fantasy, because even though the conflict and worldbuilding spanned across an empire, most of the focus was aimed at Priya and Malini’s budding relationship. The story was always going to expand, but it does give The Oleander Sword a different feel than The Jasmine Throne.

Malini’s path of conquest was the main source of conflict in the story. I’m going to be honest, I usually don’t pay attention to large battles far beyond “swords, yay!”, and The Oleander Sword delivered in that area. What I loved most about this plotline was getting to see the conflict and tension between Malini and her allies.

Malini wasn’t the first in line for the throne, and unlike Chandra, she didn’t have powerful priests to back her claim to the throne. The only way she had any chance of defeating Chandra was by gaining powerful allies. We learn in The Jasmine Throne that Malini spent her time before being banished gathering allies, and The Oleander Sword is really where we get to see the results of her networking. Unfortunately, the promises she made to gain those allies were the promises of an emperor. Throughout the story, Malini must plan assaults against her brother’s armies while placating the allies she needs to defeat him. The tension this created made for an exciting story. I loved seeing the decisions Malini was forced to make, and the different side of her character it brought out.

Writing Style

I was incredibly impressed by how well Tasha Suri continued to weave together all her characters’ motivations and stories into the narrative. I enjoyed the multi-pov style in The Jasmine Throne, but I think The Oleander Sword is a much better example of how this writing style can bring empire-wide plotlines to life. While The Jasmine Throne mostly focused on Malini’s imprisonment with a few “side” plots, The Oleander Sword follows multiple conflicts that will determine the fate of the Parijatvipan Empire.

Tasha Suri also has a very vivid and elegant writing style that gives her stories a magical feel. It makes the story flow at a very gentle pace without getting boring. I also love how her depiction of certain scenes makes them linger in my mind like my own memories. When I think back to my favorite moments in the book, it feels like I was actually there.

When I finally decided to pick The Oleander Sword back up after classes ended, I decided to get the audiobook because I thought Suri’s writing would be best to listen to. I was right. Listening to The Oleander Sword audiobook was like being wrapped in a warm blanket and being told a bedtime story (albeit, a very dark and bloody one). After I finished listening to The Oleander Sword I decided I needed to go back and read the series from the beginning as audiobooks.

Characters

In terms of characters, The Oleander Sword continued with The Jasmine Throne’s themes of unlikely allies, the sacrifices it takes to gain power, and the development of our favorite sapphic power couple: Priya and Malini. There really wasn’t much room for improvement, in my opinion, but one difference between the first and second books was that the side characters felt more compelling. Bhumika was an especially interesting character to follow as she faced the consequences of seizing the power she needed to reclaim Ahiranya. I also really enjoyed seeing more of the relationship between Rao and Aditya. I wasn’t expecting there to be such a close, loving bond between the two, so it was a pleasant surprise. Whenever I reread the series, I want to pay more attention to Rao’s perspective because I missed some of their relationship dynamics just because I wasn’t looking for them. I was more focused on Priya/Malini, Priya/Bhumika, and Priya/Sima.

Speaking of, I loved getting to see more of Sima in The Oleander Sword. She got sidelined in the first book, but she has a lot of potential as a character. In this sequel, Sima demonstrated that she is exceptionally loyal and charming. One of the saddest parts of the book for me was seeing Sima struggle to hold on to her relationship with Priya as Priya continued to become more powerful and untouchable. Sima wanted to be the one to protect Priya, but how can you protect one of the most powerful humans in the empire? As the series continues, I’m really interested to see how Sima changes as a result of Priya’s choices. I think she has the potential to become a key player in the third book of the series.

Series Flow

Another thing that stood out to me in The Oleander Sword was just how perfectly it acted as the second book for a trilogy. This sequel reached an exciting climax for the original conflict while seamlessly weaving in new antagonists to set up the finale. In my experience, sequels often transition the original conflict to the third book for the finale or they only focus on setting up new conflict for the finale. In both cases, the second book in a trilogy can become dull because all it does is act as a transition between the first and third books. But The Oleander Sword managed to set up the final conflict without taking away from its own plotline.

You’ll Like This Book if You Enjoy…

Epic fantasy
Multi-POV books
A large cast of characters
Compelling and conflicted relationships

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book.

While I loved the first one, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the sequel too! I don't usually have high expectations from sequels but this one will definitely stick with me for a while, maybe even longer than the first book.
Tasha Suri creates such an amazing world, that, as a South Asian myself, I find myself immersed in, in a way that feels authentic without repetitive.
I excited for the final book in this trilogy!

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC of this title. I enjoyed reading this title. Would recommend for my library.

I really liked the continuion of the story but it was a little harder to read then the Jasmine Throne. I also wish the climax had a little more intensity but it was still a good read, overall

Tasha Suri has absolutely knocked it out of the park. The stakes were raised, I never knew what to expect and the complex relationship dynamics were top tier. Tasha Suri is a beautiful writer and I love her lush (and creepy) worldbuilding.
I literally cannot wait for the finale.

Fabulous fantasy world building. Love the female protagonists. Can’t wait for the next book to come out!

In one of my favorite fantasy series, Tasha Suri knocks it out of the park yet again with this second installment. This series is a wonderful balance of tension, political machinations, high stakes, and complex character relationships. I can’t wait for the third book!

This was definitely a worth follow-up to the Jasmine Throne. I like the characters and, while I do get bored with the political stuff occasionally, the story is too good not to continue.

This sequel picks up with Malini on her war path and Priya working with Bhumika to secure the country to Ahiranya. However, as the gods conspired behind the scenes to their own designs of conquest and war, Malini and Priya find each other once again in a balance of power and love. Meanwhile Bhumika tries to maintain power while not only her people and neighboring countries, but the gods themselves, appear to conspire against her.

This was okay. The pacing is slow and the writing feels heavy. So while I really liked the first third of it, the middle really really dragged for me. The end was fast paced and engaging, however. But this is a story of violence, war, and sacrifice, so it's hard to enjoy. For me the magic system feels super opaque, as well.

This sequel was bleak and I think was supposed to be filled with heart twisting and triumphant moments. But because of the pacing, I had a really hard time getting invested in the characters. I think folks that loved the first book will definitely enjoy reading about their favorite characters and the decisions they have to make. I will probably end up reading the next book to see how the story continues.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit books for the gifted e-book!

The Oleander Sword was a gripping sequel to the Jasmine Throne. It was fantastic to see where our characters were going to end up and had me frantically flipping through to find out what was going to happen next. Avidly awaiting the next one in the series!

Thank you so much to Orbit and Netgalley for giving me a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start off by saying that this was an extremely difficult rating to decide on. I kept hesitating between multiple star ratings before finally landing on 4 stars. The main conflict I had was that, while it is a stunningly written book, it never really knocked me off my feet the way I expected it to. I could read a passage and think to myself "wow, this is heartbreaking", but I never really sobbed the way that I was hoping to.

I still love the character relationships in this, especially the way that Suri writes love in such vastly different forms: sisterly love, brotherly love, romantic love, platonic love, veneration, etc. It is by far the best part of the series, and it was these vulnerable moments of love that made me feel the most. I did tear up from time to time and I did pause every once in a while to sit with a specific passage that stuck with me.

This is why it was (and still is) difficult for me to determine how I feel about this book. It took a very long time for me to get through it, and I didn't have that burning desire to keep reading late into the night. I read whenever I found the time and motivation, and at some point I was ready to just get through it. But it's hard for me to explain why.

There are some truly beautiful moments in the story, and the relationship between Malini and Priya is almost absolute perfection. And yet, even with all these great scenes and passages, I would often start the next chapter and instantly get bored again. I wanted so much to adore this, but I think the series simply isn't for me.

All that being said, I still want to keep reading, because it has piqued my curiosity enough that I now have to see it through. And I still believe wholeheartedly that this is a good and well-written novel, which is why I settled for a 4-star rating. I completely understand why people love this and why it has such stellar reviews, which is why I couldn't in good conscience give this less than 4 stars. Although I wanted to be a lot more engrossed in it than I was, I cannot actually point to any specific issue I have with the book, or any specific thing that I would change.

Overall, this is one of those rare occurrences where, although I wouldn't rank it in my personal favourite reads of the year, I would absolutely recommend it to somehow who I know would love it.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2022 and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it! I've been in a fantasy slump for about a year but falling back into this world felt natural. Tasha Suri writes a specific type of fantasy that feels easy to get into without feeling confused of all the politics, charcters, and magic system. The romance in this series grips me and leaves me thinking about them even while I'm not reading. And the quotes from this!!! Absolutely incredible! Only lowered a star rating because I felt like I was pushing myself to read the last 100 pages.

My thanks to Orbit books, Tasha Suri and Netgalley.

I'm a big fan of fantasy and this sequel did not disappoint.

I did have some mixed feelings about it. 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.