The Oleander Sword fulfills the “green” square on CBR17 Bingo.
I read and reviewed this book for the first time back in 2022 and it still has me absolutely devastated and sitting here filled with feelings. Luckily this time around I have The Lotus Empire at hand and don’t have to wait to find out what happens next for Priya and Malini!
The Oleander Sword takes place a year after The Jasmine Throne and is a story full of the ripple effects of war and the desires of those in power. It’s hard to think of any of the characters as “good,” and that’s truly one of the beauties of this book, and series. Everyone is working towards their own goals and beliefs – and the power of belief in this book is another fascinating thread to pull on. There are three Big religious orders in the Burning Kingdoms – the Parijatdvipi who follow the Mothers who sacrificed themselves to fire to free the world of the Yaksa, the Ahirayani who follow the Yaksa who came from another universe and planted themselves here and hollowed out their followers, and the Alori who follow the nameless who sends their believers prophecies and inklings of what the future holds. These three forces are all moving different people and shaping the world in big and small ways.
I love the romance between Malini and Priya, even as it is such a tragic and violent thing in so many ways. Even when they’re allied, they’re still on opposing sides and the way those conflicts play out are just so beautiful. Even as Malini and Priya hurt each other and love each other to the best of their abilities, there is so much beauty.
Tasha Suri’s writing is just so lush and the world she’s created is hard not to dwell on. It’s definitely not a world I’d personally want to live in, given the violence and horrors of it, but it’s certainly one I love visiting via reading! The characters are all so unique and with such nuanced motivations. I cannot wait to see what she’ll write in the future (and I have an arc of her upcoming The Isle in the Silver Sea which I’m already hearing amazing things about and cannot wait to dive in after I finish Burning Kingdoms trilogy!).