Vaishnavi Patel writes a compelling debut novel that tells the story of Kaikeyi, a daughter born among sons who leaves her kingdom to marry the ruler of another. Kaikeyi grows into a courageous and determined woman who participates in ruling her new kingdom and helps empower women. I loved seeing Kaikeyi navigate many different relationships, including her brothers, her husband, and the other queens. There's also an element of magic in this book, and I enjoyed seeing Kaikeyi learn to use but not rely on this ability. Although the pacing was a bit slow, this was a lovely debut novel and I hope to read more from Patel!

This book was a captivating retelling of the life of Kaikeyi from Ramayana. This is my favorite book of 2022 so far and a book I am highly recommending to all of my friends!

3.5 stars

The first half was a very solid 4 stars, and the second half was more like a 3 stars. I think this is a very solid debut, and overall, I really enjoyed my time with this book. I am not familiar with the source material beyond a few Google searches, so do keep in mind that I am not rating or reviewing this book in relation to how well it serves as a retelling, but just as the story contained within these pages.

I really enjoyed the writing style - while it was not really anything special in terms of being lyrical or beautifully written, I thought it was very captivating and easy to read. I feel like I've read a lot of debuts recently where sentences just felt clunky and difficult to understand, so this really felt like a breath of fresh air. I also loved the way that the narrative felt like Kaikeyi was telling you a story from the future, as well as the use of oral storytelling via other characters throughout the book. It's one of my favourite narrative styles, and I think that Patel pulled it off very well.

I also liked the themes a lot - this trope (?) of a woman in a deeply patriarchal society, doing whatever she can to fight that in order to make things better for the next generation is one that I personally really enjoy. That being said, I did feel like while it started off subtle and woven in seamlessly into the text, in the second half the theming felt a little too on the nose for me. It didn't really negatively impact my enjoyment, but it was just something that contributed to me liking the first half of the book more than the second one.

In terms of the plot, this isn't the most plot-heavy book, but I also don't think I expected a lot of plot either so I didn't mind. However, I will say that I had some issues with the pacing. I felt like the book really dragged on around 2/3 of the way in, but then the ending was so rushed. As a result, I feel like some of the character and relationship developments were rushed and not satisfying, and there were a number of moments in the last couple of chapters that I felt like should've evoked an emotional response of some sort, but I just didn't really care by that point.

In terms of character work, I think that Kaikeyi is a really well-developed character, and overall I really enjoyed her character arc. I do feel like unfortunately, the side characters did not receive the same treatment, so it was a bit of a shame. I also really loved the focus on the female friendships that Kaikeyi develops throughout the first half of the book, but I do feel like that really drops off significantly in the second half, which also explains why I preferred the first half. I do want to note also that Kaikeyi is asexual, and I always love seeing ace rep in my fantasy books so this was a plus for me.

Overall, I thought this was a strong debut novel, and will definitely be keeping an eye out for Patel's future works. If you are into mythological retellings, feminist fantasies, and godly shenanigans, I think you'll really like this one.

'Kaikeyi' by Vaishnavi Patel

Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for an ARC for my honest review.

This was a spellbinding story inspired by the Ramayana. I found this book to be a captivating retelling of Kaikeyi's life-story, from her perspective. It helps us to understand what she endured and how this helped her make the decisions that she did. It was mesmerizing and I loved how she portrayed her empowerment of other women. The binding magic she used was a unique way to see and improve her connection with others. Some people may take issue with the changes she made from the original, but all in all, it was an excellent tale.

This book was FANTASTIC! For a debut with such an intense topic & time period, this was written absolutely wonderfully. The writer did a great job in her weaving of the story, the perspectives and points of view were so layered and thought-provoking that I found myself immersed for quite a while and enjoyed every minute of it. My one and only reason for not giving this a perfect rating is because some of the language/writing was almost TOO modern for it to fit in this time period retelling/perspective. For example, Kaikeyi's inner dialogue says a couple of times "I almost fell out of my chair" - this is a very modern saying and just seemed to stick out amongst the rest of the story's writing :) Excellent story nonetheless, and highly recommended!!

Good vs. Evil: Kaikeyi: A Novel

As children, my brothers and I voraciously read the colorful and dramatic comic books of the Ramayan, one of the sacred texts of Hinduism. I was excited to read Kaikeya because I wanted to see how Vaishnavi Patel’s debut reimagined the Ramayan from the perspective of Kaikeyi, one of its most vilified queens.

But first some context.

Hinduism’s holy trinity are Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver) and Mahesh (the Destroyer). These three gods ensure the circle of life is maintained in the cosmos. However, when the balance between good and evil on Earth tilts toward evil, Vishnu is said to take an avatar (yes, that’s where the word originates from) on Earth, to restore the balance.

The Ramayan, is the story of Rama, the most popular of Vishnu’s avatars. Rama’s goal is to destroy the evil Ravana and restore the balance between good and evil on Earth. (The Mahabharat, another of Hinduism’s scriptures, is also about the battle between good and evil, where Krishna has an extensive discourse with Arjuna, who is having serious doubts about going into battle against his evil cousins.)

Back to Kaikeyi. Let me start with what I enjoyed about the book. The character of Kaikeyi is engaging and well crafted. I loved her relationship with her twin brother, Yudhajit, and with her sister wives. The fight scenes were great, especially the charioteering ones which were exciting and reminded me of the old Hollywood epics like Benhur. The concept of the Binding Plane, a colorful visualization of Kaikeyi’s ability to manipulate others, was unique and intriguing.

My disappointment in the book stems largely from the subversion of the characters of Rama and his arch opponent Ravana. I’ll avoid spoilers, but, in her attempt to create well rounded characters, Patel loses sight of what the Ramayan is originally about, the battle between good and evil, both on an epic scale and at the individual level where we are all faced with choices that could be regarded as “good’ or ‘evil.’ I would have loved to see Kaikeyi grapple with these choices rather than have the original scripture turned on its head.

There is much to enjoy about this book, if only it were entirely fiction, and not based on a religious text beloved by 1.2 billion people.

Thank you to Redhook Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this interesting read.

3.5 I think this was a generally good book, albeit slightly disappointing. Overall the characters were very interesting, complex and well-written. The description was beautiful and it did make me wish I was there with the characters, which is, to me, an indication of great writing.

There were some really great moments in the story that showcased the way men around Kaikeyi treated her, no matter the nature or strength of their relationship. It described so painfully her feeling of powerlessness, but also of guilt—even though usually things were not at all her fault. It was raw and authentic and I think a lot of women can relate to that deep gut feeling of never being truly in control.

The dynamics between the characters were the best part of the book. It really went into depth with how complex love and family can be, and it left a lingering sense of exhaustion in me, to go through the high and lows of her relationships with her.

However, I was left wanting more. It is important to mention that I started this book knowing very little about Kaikeyi and the Ramayana, so maybe if I knew more about the original story before picking up this novel I would have had more realistic expectations. But basing myself off the book’s synopsis, and even the first part of the novel, I kept waiting for Kaikeyi to reach her full potential. As the story goes along, she feels more and more passive, which I found a little odd. I was expecting her to really use her power and for the story to culminate in some large hero/villain character arc. But it felt that she used her power quite scarcely actually, or anyways, not as much as I thought she could. It is explained why she must be careful with her power, but I kept waiting for the story to become more exciting. For a book that’s more than 400 pages and that spans over decades of the character’s life, it felt like it was mostly a lot of talking and the focus was much more on Kaikeyi’s role as a wife and mother, than as a powerful godforsaken queen.

I still think that it is a good book, and if you go into it knowing the original story and expecting a more character-focused than plot-focused novel, I do believe you can love this book. I wish I could have enjoyed it as much as others seem to, and I still had a good time reading it, but it was not what I was expecting and it made the experience a little less exciting. I may still recommend it depending on what exactly a reader is looking for, but it won’t be at the top of my lists.

Source: NetGalley

What a beautiful story! kaikeyi is such a powerful woman. I love how she takes us through her journey; battles, struggles to make changes in her world but you experience her sorrows; such emotion.
I found myself in the gardens, palace rooms, traveling through country side, running into monsters and witnessing all the magic in every page. This was a slow read but worth every minute. Gods, goddess, demons, deities so many beautifully retold tales. 💞💞

Thank you Netgalley for this wonderful opportunity to read this copy in exchange for my honest review.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I have been so excited to read this book. Going into this story, I knew nothing of Kaikeyi or the Ramayana and couldn't wait to see where this story took me.

I loved every minute of Kaikeyi's story and I would highly recommend this book. It has definitely made me interested to go look up more information on her and her story.

#kaikeyi #netgalley #vaishnavipatel #historicalfiction #readmorebooks

When I saw the cover of debut author Vaishnavi Patel's Kaikeyi, I knew this was going to be the one. Doctored as a loosely based magical-realism biography, we get a prism perspective of India's most beloved and disgraced Queen in her era.

Serving as a retelling, I appreciated this tale. It showed a girl who quickly realized that she didn't have the same opportunities as her counterparts and sought to change it. She negotiated her way to the top, but she also made sure to help women along the way who felt they needed power and counsel from their Queen. Thus, Kaikeyi started a women's empowerment movement, one of the first of its kind in Ancient India.

The text is rich, like Daughters of the Moon Goddess, has a yearning search for understanding the God's power and mission like in The Poppy Wars, and it's a retelling that I will do more research on heavily, so this is grade A in my book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook for the arc.

I really liked this book, and the fact this is a debut book makes me so excited for future works by Vaishnavi Patel. I read that it is a retelling from the perspective of Kaikeyi, who is a villainized figure from the epic Ramayana. I know that she was villainized in the Ramayana, but I don't have an in-depth knowledge, and I think that enhanced my reading of this book maybe.

At the heart of this book are the actions and thoughts of the protagonist Kaikeyi. Patel's use of the first-person is a great choice, and added to that is the style in which Kaikeyi is telling us an introspective and retrospective story. It made for an in-depth view of Kaikeyi's thought processes and actions, selling the reader what is true for Kaikeyi, especially when dealing with the deeply misogynist society she lives in. I loved that, and this narrative style really made the characterization vivid. Moreover, the book takes us over years of Kaikeyi's life, and while the pacing is slow, it did not disrupt the flow of the story.

The other characters are all seen through Kaikeyi's eyes, and it made for a really good source of conflict. The limited perspective only allowed us to judge others through Kaikeyi, and so when Kaikeyi makes mistakes or asserts her judgements, other characters might disagree with her. I liked this very human way of depicting conflict.

The writing style used by Patel in this book is beautiful, and from the first line I was captivated. I love the flowery language since it added to the beauty to the worldbuilding. As well, it added to Kaikeyi's characterization, making her entire story sincere and heartfelt.

Because Patel beautifully and meticulously built up the characterization and the story, the rather fast-paced ending felt too abrupt for me. The only gripe I have with the book was I wish we could've had more of a stretched-out resolution.

Overall, this is a really good debut. Since I'm only basing this review on my superficial knowledge about the Ramayana and Kaikeyi, I do recommend reading other reviews, especially from Hindu readers who would be more knowledgeable about the original text. Patel includes in her author's note the sources she referred/used for research in writing this book, and I will be reading up on those.

Ingenious and absolutely beautiful retelling of the Ramayana with the deserved spotlight on one of the most vilified queens, Kaikeyi. It's difficult to believe that this is a debut from Patel-- the writing is exquisite and rich and atmospheric. It pulls you in. It makes you root for this misunderstood character. It rewrites her story and makes it one worth reading. For fans of Circe and Ariadne, highly recommend!!!

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book for review.

I LOVED this book OMG. I went into this story not knowing ANYTHING about Hindu mythology, but don't let that deter you. This story is so amazing. I am definitely interested in learning more about the characters from their story and the gods that they worship. This was honestly incredible.

Kaikayi is the story about a young girl who is given to a king by her father and twin brother as his bride against her wishes. While she eventually grows to love him, she strives to keep her individuality and control over her life while changing the future for those less fortunate in her kingdom. Kaikeyi is a badass. She is a woman who wants to change the future of those around her all while being the best mother, wife and friend as possible for someone who has been ignored by the gods for her entire life.

I would recommend this to anyone. It is beautiful. I really enjoyed the pacing of it. I feel like we got to spend a decent amount of time with Kaikeyi as she was growing up and throughout the important moments of her life. I also really liked the foreshadowing the author did in the beginning of some of the chapters where Kaikeyi recounted and wondered if these were the moments that set her on her end path. It was really captivating.

I absolutely loved this book and I would be interested in picking up more books from this author because this was an incredibly beautiful debut.

A refreshing take on an ancient epic character. There were parts where I felt the writer could have done a bit more homework about some of the many meanings and versions associated with the events of the Mahabharata. But, overall, this is a good way to introduce readers to this famous, enduring Hindu epic and to retell it from a feminist perspective.

This one is difficult to review, because it's on the verge between liked and disliked. The book is told from the Kaikeyi's point of view, showing her childhood, marriage to Dasharatha, and eventually the decision to do something that changes everyone's life.

For the points that I really enjoyed: I loved the magic, the Binding Place. It's such an interesting concept and the execution of this plot point was really well done, showcasing the relationships of everyone, especially when we could see the difference between real and forced relationships. I also really liked the core of the culture; I knew very little about Kaikeyi and Rama and when I went to research it, I saw how fascinating the story is. Since the book is based on them, the core of the book is really compelling. I liked how Kaikeyi started to change the world slowIy with the help of others - that was one of the best executed points for me. I also liked how the gods and goddesses were active characters in the book.

But, it's really easy to tell that it is a debut. Kaikeyi can learn to do everything really easily and fast. She learns to manipulate the magic in 2 lines, becomes an incredible warrior, an amazing politician, and is the best wife in few sentences (she even learns to beat the inventor of a game in a few days - 2 sentences in the book). By trying to redeem Kaikeyi (I didn't think she needed redemption in the original), the author tried to make her such a strong fierce woman, that she stopped being human capable of mistakes and having to learn things. There is no tension, I always knew she would be the best at everything and be capable of doing everyhting alone. And in trying to elevate Kaikeyi, the author makes everyone that disagrees with her as a villain - the world loses its grey area, and it's either good (Kaikeyi's side) or bad (everyone that disagrees with her). Another point is that every conflict (until the big conflict in part 4 that was better done) is resolved really easily and fast. When the tension is starting it's already ending because the conflict is already being resolved. There are some characters (Sita for example) that I was really disappointed how they were portrayed.

By the end, I liked some plot points, really loved the world and the magic, but the execution and the characterization were a bit of a letdown.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

This is one of the first books I've seen compared to [book:Circe|35959740] that actually deserve this juxtaposition. Take this with a grain of salt since I've never read the [book:Ramayana|141152], but Patel has taken a relatively minor character and shown Kaikeyi's role from her own POV. While I really enjoyed the beginning and the idea of the <spoiler>binding plane (is this in the OG <i>Ramayana?</i></spoiler>, the rest of the story felt quite drawn out until the very end. As such, this took me ~3 weeks to get through since I kept putting it down. I also agree with another reviewer that wrote "Kaikeyi’s empowerment to rise above the patriarchy diminishes everyone around her into shallow harsh depictions" - this definitely felt true, as everybody else that is "good" in the OG story suddenly turns "bad", and vice versa. I would have preferred to have a little more subtly here.

I voluntarily obtained a digital version of this book free from Netgalley and Redhook Books in exchange for an honest review.

Kaiyeki was my BOTM selection! This cover is gorgeous! And jeez as usual the patriachy! Growing up with 7 brothers and an indifferent father she struggles to be heard. When her father and twin decide who she should marry she starts to find her voice.

There is so much god touched gifts and politics throughout. I love mythology and haven't heard the original story of Kaikeyi but I love a redemption story cause if she's been vilified this will make you understand her motivations. And any woman fighting for equal rights, education for women and men keeping promises will always be a martyred witch and not the savior Queen they should be. 

It seemed nothing she did would go the way she thought. I loved the binding plane that her power existed on and the way she would build and influence her relationships with it. She seemed to be asexual or just not interested in her husband only his cuddles but she tried to be what they wanted.

Thank you redhookbooks and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Kaikeyi was beautifully written, elegantly plotted, and not at all what I expected. I blew through the first two thirds or so extremely quickly, but a change towards the end of the book made it difficult to keep going.

Kaikeyi, the title character, was absolutely wonderful. She was strong, determined, confident, creative, intelligent, and firm. I absolutely loved her character’s journey and how she took a stand for what she believed in. Her process of learning to take control and hone her abilities was fantastic.

Taking place over Kaikeyi’s entire life, the book conveyed the passage of time very well–something important when years-long leaps were made fairly frequently. The plot had a feel similar to a folk or fairy tale, fitting with being a retelling. The style of telling was slightly formal, and the setting in lands with magic and gods felt just right.

While I loved the first 60% or so of this book, the choices that were made in terms of the plot and side characters towards the end did not continue what I had been enjoying. I know this was an adaptation of sorts, but explanations for these choices felt far too sudden and convenient with little to no buildup. Ultimately, Kaikeyi was a great book. But the ending fell a bit flat for me. 3.5/5

This book was a breath of fresh air! There were so many great things about this novel that I don't know where to start. If it was the magic, personal struggles, triumphs, love and so much more. Give it a try!

Descriptionn

Before she was cast as Indian mythology’s most jealous queen, she had her own story....

The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, Kaikeyi is raised on stories about the might and benevolence of the gods: how they churned the vast ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality, how they vanquish evil and ensure the land of Bharath prospers, and how they offer the devout and the wise powerful boons. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, listens as her own worth is reduced to how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear.

Desperate for some measure of independence, she turns to the texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. With this power, Kaikeyi transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior, diplomat, and most-favored queen, determined to carve a better world for herself and the women around her.

But as the demons of her childhood stories threaten the cosmic order, the path she has forged clashes with the destiny the gods have chosen for her family—especially that of her beloved son, Rama. Kaikeyi must decide if resistance is worth the destruction it will wreak…and what legacy she intends to leave behind.

In the spirit of Circe, Ariadne, and The Witch's Heart, this stunning debut reimagines the life of Kaikeyi, the vilified queen from the Indian epic the Ramayana. It is a tale of fate, family, courage, and heartbreak—of an extraordinary woman determined to leave her mark in a world where gods and men dictate the shape of things to come.
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I really enjoyed this book digging into the back story of a commonly villanized female character. The author did an amazing job fleshing out Kaikeyi's background, intentions, and stressors. I found myself unable to put this down and was really wrapped up in the world V.Patel created. It's an epic of it's own and is very worthy of a read. I highly recommend picking this up!