A review by nonesensed
The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

Malini leads an army to overthrow her cruel brother Chandra and to claim her now prophecy supported position as Empress. Priya remains in her place of birth, using temple given magic to hold back the rot and support her fellow Temple Elder in ruling their people. But neither Malini's army nor Priya's magic is invincible and before Malini finds herself summoning Priya to her side. Because surely her winning her war is a surefire way to secure Priya's home as well? Surely no equal threat is brewing in Priya's home? 

Tasha Suri is so, soooo good at writing a) characters to root for, and b) villains to love to hate, and this book took that up to eleven! The rest I have to say is spoilers, so if you want to avoid those, just know that if you enjoyed book 1, book 2 is definitely worth reading too.

Okay, so what's not to love here? This book has it all! Malini writing secret love letters to Priya and hiding them instead of sending them. Priya immediately coming when Malini calls. Bhumika doing her best to save everyone to the point of sacrificing her very personality. The yaksa returning and proving to be eldritch abominations utterly uncaring of human life. Malini winning her throne and murdering Chandra, only to lose her other brother to holy fire and Priya to involuntary betrayal. In short, I can't wait for book three!!!