What an incredible honour to have the opportunity to read the sequel to This Monster of Mine 🤩 TMOM was one of my favourite books last year, and I've been aching to know how their story would progress.
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Let me just say, as incredible as I thought TMOM was, This Blade of Ours well and truly surpasses that. It's easily one of my favourite sequels ever! This is only the second book I've read this year, and I can already tell this is going to be my top book of 2026 🤩
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TBOO navigates the political fall out after the events from book one. I was completely swept up in the political intrigue. Shalini has masterfully crafted this story together for maximum impact. There are so many twists and turns and not a single one I could have guessed.
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I felt this whole story on a soul deep level. I was living and breathing it through the pages, and that's the feeling that is so rare that readers chase ❤️ I genuinely think this series needs to be made into a TV show. I would absolutely binge it and then hyper obsess over it!
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The yearning between Sarai and Kadra is exquisitely done. They are the epitome of true love. They aren't perfect, but they try and they hold one another up so they can be the best version of themselves.
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I would sell my soul to get my hands on a prequel to this book - and apparently one exists! So please, powers that be, bestow upon us the gift of a prequel 🙌
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Thank you so much Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC via NetGalley and for giving me the opportunity to share my honest thoughts.

Wow wow wow!!

Where do I even start with this one…

If you thought the first book was chaos this one delivers consequences. The story picks up after everything fell apart but instead of any relief we are given tension and grief.

The relationship between Sarai and Kadra is just chefs kiss! They are messy and intense it’s not just love it’s survival love!

The whole story was very emotionally intense all the way through. And the ending was very bitter sweet powerful and really stayed with me after I had finished.

If you love dark fantasy, morally grey characters and a romance that aches then you neeed to read this!!

From the first chapter Shalini manages to pull me right back into the story.

After finishing TMOM I found myself unable to pick up another book. It wasn’t quite a slump but rather I just didn’t want to read anything else other than its sequel TBOO. And a personal thanks to Shalini herself for allowing me the privilege to read this masterpiece. From here on forth, I will be reading anything she puts out into the world!!

To start, this has got to be a perfect conclusion to this duology but also bittersweet in the fact that I’m going to miss Kadra and Sarai.

TBOO picks up a few months after the events at the end of book one, ‘The Unraveling’. The story once again focuses on the political aspects whether that be the manoeuvring or the impacts of other’s decisions. The book itself is very heavily centred on consequence. We see a lot of how both one’s past and present actions can affect each of their lives.

Both Sarai and Kadra struggle with the consequences of their actions—Sarai with the aftermath of the decisions she made during ‘The Unraveling’ and whether or not she would feel guilty for neglecting certain groups while being occupied with the events of book one; all of this plays on her mind throughout and Kadra battles with his memories of his childhood; whether the decision he made back then, if he had chose differently might have made a difference for the present.

Our leads contemplate their moral understandings and I think this was such a great way for Shalini to write these characters. It brings them to life, makes them more real and easier to relate to.

Sarai once again is the embodiment of what everyday strength looks like (to me at least). As a woman she struggles with trying to earn respect from others, to be see as someone worth listening to and to be given the same consideration as a man. She battles daily to be heard, and wishes she had more power just to be given an ounce of respect. What I love about her is that while she’s dealing with guilt, trying to appease the masses and investigating the source of the beetle outbreak, she still feels as if she’s letting people down. She tries so hard just to be seen as nothing more than Kadra’s ‘lover’ in the eyes of others. Also, her growth in this book was also wonderful to see as at the start and throughout the book she mostly craves her own power but when presented with the opportunity she refuses and comes to the realisation that she’s better off without, she already has all the power she needs!

Kadra. Oh my dear, Kadra! I’m so happy that we were able to get his PoV in this book. Thank you Shalini!!! I loved getting to know his character better. His backstory is just as heartbreaking. This man truly has my heart. In TBOO he juggles being magus supreme and the new headmaster while dealing with the outbreak and his own consequences and moral consciousness. Slowly his past is revealed where we get a better understanding of the presents events but it also gives us the ability to understand the struggles Kadra went through as a child and the things that shaped him to be the brooding man we know and love. He finds himself contemplating his actions back then and how they have resulted in his brother and Dalvia coming to hate him. While he feels guilt he soon comes to realise that the longer one delves on the past they may overlook the present.

Sarai and Kadra’s relationship is so wholesome. I loved how Sarai—even though she knew Kadra was keeping things from her—was patient with him and allowed him to open up to her when she was ready. Their love was not and could not be dwindled. They had each other’s backs and was one another strengths—they’re a true power couple.

Finally, I enjoyed how Shalini concluded this story. Kadra and his brother were able to come to an understanding and reconcile their relationship. Dalvia’s ending was bittersweet and the plot twist around her was unexpected. I loved being back in this world with these characters, it was fun to see side characters again like Anek, Cassandane and even Harion.

Overall, everything from world-building to TBOO being a natural consequence in and of itself to TMOM is what truly makes this series one of the best. Shalini’s writing is so entrancing; she knows how to weave a story together. I think the moral of the story is that while we read about the characters, we ourselves are also contemplating what the true cost to power is; how justice has its limits and that every action has a consequence—good or bad.

4.5 stars!!

Thank you to Shalini, the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC!

This book said get in loser, we’re going to dismantle this sick ass system and you’ll pay in tears. But you’ll enjoy it.

I am so obsessed with Shalini and I want to read her receipts because it’s the most beautiful, poetic and stomach turning prose!!!
This blade of ours is the second book but god, I was thrown into the deep end. So intense and suffocating- but in a good mood setting way. I love that we pick up where we left off but wow! This raised the bar. This monster of mine was a favourite and this blade of ours joins my 5 star reads!!!

This Blade of Ours pulled me in straight away with its mix of momentum and emotional depth. The story isn’t driven by fights alone. A lot of the tension comes from legal manoeuvring, political pressure and the consequences of decisions made in rooms where words matter more than weapons. That slower, strategic kind of conflict gives the book a weight I really enjoyed.

The emotional side is just as strong. The characters feel shaped by their pasts and by the systems they’re caught in. Their choices aren’t simple, and the book gives space to the guilt, loyalty and responsibility they’re carrying. It treats those moments with honesty rather than melodrama, which makes them land harder.

The moral questions running through the story are handled with the same restraint. It doesn’t try to tidy anything up or tell you what to think. It lets you sit with the cost of power, the limits of justice and the impact of doing the “right” thing when every option has a price.

It’s a fast, engaging read with real emotional and ethical substance, and it stayed with me long after I finished.

You all know how much i loved This Monster of Mine . In fact, I loved it so much that the first thing that I’ve done after closing it was to dive into the ARC of This Blade of Ours . And what can I say ? It’s perfect conclusion to a perfect duology. We have a more layered world building , politics even more complicated thanks to the presence of the religious aspect .

I think that TBOO it’s a slightly darker book than his predecessor and that mostly it’s a book about consequences .Good or bad every choice has its consequences no matter how good were the intentions behind it,and you can see it in the weight that every character between the pages .
It’s no big news that I love Kadra and Sarai but here, between deep scars ,they shine .With decision they evolve , face the consequences and never give up. And Kadra’s past ? I didn’t need to suffer this much , thank you very much.

Before I’ve talked about consequences and the first thing that I’ve thought after closing the book it was that This Blade of Ours was se natural consequence of This Monster of Mine : it’s painful, intimate , it keeps you on your toes and hilights every aspect the was brought up in the first book ,also it felt so harsh and human that I couldn’t hate the villains despite everything they’ve done.
And at the end of the day ? It’s everything I could’ve asked for and I’ and apparently it seems that I’m not able to let these books and characters go even if It’s been weeks since I finished it!