The Oleander Sword is absolutely a step up from the previous book, both in craft and in plot.

I absolutely love how much more the magic leaned into horror, and the overall feeling of it all being a tragedy only made the experience more interesting.

The characters' dynamics become way more interesting and the whole book carried this air of tenseness where you slowly realise that really no one is safe.

My only point is that the ending didn't make that much of a sense. I felt as if it only happened in such a way to create a specific conflict for the next book, which gave a silly aftertaste to an incredible book.