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I've joined the Creator Accountability Network (CAN) as a provisionally credentialed creator! The provisional period is three months long, and at the end of that time I'll be fully credentialed if nothing disqualifying comes to light.  I'll be excerpting details from their website as the best way to explain what this is and what it means for me as a content creator and for you as readers and audience members. The short version is that I've undergone ethics training as part of the credentialing process, and that if you feel my actions have harmed you (now or in the future), you can report harassment, abuse, or other harm to CAN. Quotes in the rest of this post are from CAN's website as of August 16th, 2025. Here's the long version: From CAN's mission and purpose statements:  "The Creator Accountability Network empowers Community Members to build trust with Content Creators through ethical training and credentialing, victim-centered reporting of unethical...
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The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri (The Burning Kingdoms #2)

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 with the strength of the rage in her heart and the army of loyal men by her side, deposing her brother is going to be a brutal and bloody fight.

The power of the deathless waters flows through Priya’s blood. Thrice born priestess, Elder of Ahiranya, Priya’s dream is to see her country rid of the rot that plagues it: both Parijatdvipa's poisonous rule, and the blooming sickness that is slowly spreading through all living things. But she doesn’t yet understand the truth of the magic she carries.

Their chosen paths once pulled them apart. But Malini and Priya's souls remain as entwined as their destinies. And they soon realize that coming together is the only way to save their kingdom from those who would rather see it burn—even if it will cost them.

TITLE: The Oleander Sword
AUTHOR: Tasha Suri
PUBLISHER: Orbit
YEAR: 2022
LENGTH: 512 pages 
AGE: Adult
GENRE: Fantasy
RECOMMENDED: N/A

Partial Queer Rep Summary: Lesbian/Sapphic Main Character(s).

*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book. 

DNF 31% in.

I generally have trouble keeping track of names, and the dizzying array of point-of-view characters made it too difficult to continue, especially in combination with the slow pacing. It makes it feel like too many people are talking and nothing is happening. Even the very brief battle wasn't enough to help. I tried to read it for two months but it started feeling like a chore so I stopped.

Partial CW for sexual content (brief), alcohol, sexism (graphic), misogyny (graphic), excrement (brief), blood, violence (graphic), body horror, fire/fire injury (graphic), war (graphic), murder, animal death, suicide (not depicted), death (graphic).

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A woman in blue and gold strides through draping green silks, holding a sword by her side


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