Reviews tagging 'War'

The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

62 reviews

mar's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i have to wait HOW long until the third book??? 😭😭😭
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brynalexa's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Much more adventurous than the first book. The ending was full of twists and heartbreak. Amazingly devastating. 
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greymalkin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

What a gorgeous and fascinating world Tasha Suri has created!  I really enjoyed Jasmine Throne but I like Oleander Sword even more.  The writing is smoother and more assured, and the characters finally  have just enough power and momentum to start making really big choices.  

I enjoyed the evolution of Malini and Priya's relationship since it was always going to be complicated and messy and it's good that the book embraced that.  The only thing I didn't really like was the forced ending.  I completely get that they needed to set this up for the third book but it felt jarring and not very believable.  I wish it had been the other way around where Priya watches as the yaska puppet her body and kill Malini and the horror and grief hollows her out completely to let the yaska in.  And so Priya flees, not knowing that Malini actually lives due to the mothers keeping her alive (and of course they exact their own price from Malini- perhaps Malini's love or memories of Priya).  That would feel more in keeping with the emotional tenor of their relationship- where Malini keeps having to give away pieces of herself and Priya keeps having to bow to to a great power even as it sickens her, and this could be the "rock bottom".  Oh well.  It was still an excellent book!
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lady_valhella's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am always rooting for love. This is kinda what this book keeps repeating. Love of family, love of a life partner, love of a bestie, love of a mother, love of a child. And the things we do for love. 
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leanne_miron's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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hailstorm3812's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A great second book that doesn't fall into the second book sag a lot of series do. It builds on the first book with both plot and relationships while introducing new elements to carry us forward. I got really attached to Bhlumika in this book. She's just so tragic and I love her. Also the ending was phenomenal and I can't wait for the next one.
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sayhar13's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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delvainy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was so fun, until it wasn’t and then it hurt in the best way. I found myself caring for almost all of the characters deeply. That’s  honestly not the smartest idea when you’re reading something that has a war going on in it, but I couldn’t help myself. The end of this kind of reminded me of the end of Crier’s War which is my favorite book, so I got a bit of a (sick) kick out of that. I’m very glad to own the book and cannot wait for the next one to come out. 
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scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

No Second Book Syndrome detected here! While the first book seemed to introduce us to the magic and the associated extensive world-building, this one seemed to focus more on the politics. Not only that but this one is more or less Malini's story while the first was Priya's. And these ladies absolutely gutted me. It was an incredible follow-up to The Jasmine Throne, and ends in a devastating cliffhanger.

Much like the first book, there were a number of different POVs but the quantity of different people were scaled down in comparison to the first. As a matter of fact, I think going back and rereading the first might make more sense now after reading this one and knowing who are or were the key players, either those who make it into this book or died in book one. I'm completely invested in seeing this through to the end.
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nightmarebees's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

the first 150ish pages felt slow, which could’ve been either me being bored with war politics or me desperate to have my lesbians back together. once they were back in the same space though? damn. the complexity of a relationship that cannot be separated from a history of colonization between the nations of the partners. the realization that your gods have never cared about you, and that realization only coming once it is too late to stop them from destroying the lives of their worshippers. bhumika is my mom now
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