"Kaikeyi" is a first-person retelling of a famous mythology from a female character's point of view. Though I'm not familiar with the original tale, I'm certainly interested now! I typically struggle with first-person narration in adult fiction, and though the pace of this book in the first 80 pages or so was rough for me -- it felt like a lot of info-dumping via narrative -- I came away a fan of Patel and this book.

My favorite parts of this novel are how richly detailed the scenery is. At every point in the book, I could picture (and often smell!) the beautiful landscapes Patel creates. It truly felt like escaping into another world and I think that's a talent all on its own.

Retelling mythology -- particularly such a maligned character -- is no easy task. I appreciate that Patel didn't go the route of making her main character a completely innocent bystander, but instead a complicated woman who did her best with what she had.

I look forward to selling this one at my bookshop!

I loved this retelling of the Indian myth of Queen Kaikeyi. I had no introduction to this story previously but was captivated by this story. It's my understanding that this particular story has been shared through generations with a few differing outlooks on it. It was refreshing to read a retelling that showed the empowerment of young women as we follow the protagonist as she herself navigates through her lifetime faced with challenges as she grapples with her gift.

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel is derived from the Indian mythology epic, the Ramayana. The original Sanskrit poem attributed to sage Vilmiki tells the story of Rama, one of the central events his exile and triumphant return to Ayodhya. Kaikeyi's main (minor) role in the classic is that of that of the evil stepmother. Instigated by her serving lady Manthara, Kaikeyi the third queen forces the king of Kosala to pass the throne to her birth son Bharata instead of the rightful heir Rama and exile Rama into the forest. This myth retelling attempts to tell the story of Kaikeyi from her perspective.

<i> The sages will tell of a righteous prince who cleansed the world of asuras, and perhaps deign to mention his heartless mother who exiled him.

Before this story was Rama’s, it was mine. </i>

Just like the original goes into the childhood exploits of Rama, Kaikeyi kicks off the story when Kaikeyi is fourteen, the princess (yuvradnyi) growing up amidst seven prince brothers in the kingdom of Kekaya. She has been told her queen (radnyi) mother left (later we find out the truth), her father favours the sons and is stern with her. I wasn't too taken with this part of the story or the writing, it's like 'neglected privileged coming of age royalty' story. As for Kaikeyi's newly discovered magical powers, it smacks too much of mind manipulation/control to me. I don't see much difference between what she does and what Rama does later with their powers to sway people.

I started to come onboard the Kaikeyi ship when she formed the Council of Women with her fellow radnyi in Ayodhya, Kaushalya and Sumitra. Finally some attention on lives of ordinary citizens instead of petty power squabbling in the palace halls. I also appreciated the author explaining to us various Indian folklore and myths along the way via Kaikeyi: the story of Matsya and Manu, of Savitri and Satyavana, Ahalya and Brahma. Kaikeyi becomes ever more aware of the injustices and inequalities faced by women. She herself strains at the limits of her power even as the third radnyi of Kosala, constrained by the traditionalists. One of my favourite parts of the story was her being the royal charioteer and warrior in battle, bravely saving the life of her husband Raja Dasharath.

I'm somewhat familiar with the concept of asuras, rakshasa, apsaras and the churning of the ocean of milk after seeing depictions at Angkor Wat but it is still fascinating to read about the machinations of power among gods, goddesses and them. The concept of being gods-cursed or gods-touched features strongly in the book. Kaikeyi discovers the role that the gods and goddesses mean for her to play and she does her utmost to protect her loved ones and prevent war from breaking out.

The crux of the story explains why Kaikeyi asked for those two boons from Raja Dasharath, keeping him to his promise to make her son heir. The bones of the original epic are intact but it gives space for motive and intention. Yes, it's a powerful feminist retelling with ace rep. After reading Kaikeyi, I'm more interested than ever in tracking down a similar vein of retelling the story of Sita, such as The Liberation of Sita by Volga (P. Lalita Kumari) and book:Bhumika: A Story of Sita by Aditya Iyengar. Sita is depicted in the original as the pious virtuous wife of Rama, needing to be rescued after being kidnapped by the ferocious Ravana of Lanka. Repudiated later by Rama, I see parallels between her story and that of Ahalya and Brahma. Women placed in untenable positions whose stories are reduced to supporting the main male hero, these are their voices. I love Kaikeyi for this reason.

For those who like mythic fiction and myth retellings, Kaikeyi is a treat.

Thanks to Redhook Books for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Found it hard to get into at first, but it picked up after a while and once it did it was highly entertaining!

I wasn't familiar with the mythology which is probably why I had hard time getting into it... I was trying to get familiar with the setting. It was a compelling story once I managed to find that connection.

“I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions—much good it did me.”

All I knew of Kaikeyi before this, from my casual reading of the Ramayana, was that she was the villian. An evil and jealous stepmother who callously exiled her son, Rama. So after hearing about a story being told from her point of view, to have the truth as she saw it, I knew I had to get this book!

What Patel did here is spectacular! Truly! This epic story was everything one wants in a retelling! It felt so true! Kaikeyi’s story picks up from when her mother is banished and ends sometime after the banishment of her son.

I love that the story is presented in such a way that adds such a layered character landscape to Kaikeyi. She’s brave and stubborn and pushy and determined but she’s also unsure, defensive and distrusting, in other words a character who is complex and real!

My favorite part of the book was the idyllic ‘part 1’ where we really see Kaikeyi take charge and blossom from a wild free princess to a wild free queen who knows how to play in the game in order to get what she wants! Which I absolutely adored!

I can’t wait until everyone can read this book and fall in love with this lush and fresh retelling!

“Before this story was Rama’s, it was mine.”

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eArc for review!

Of all the mythological retellings, Kaiseyi is my favorite. A beautiful story told in a unique new voice. Since this is a debut, I can’t wait to see what the next masterpiece will be!

I have always been fond of mythology retellings so when I heard about this, I immediately went to request an arc. And thank you Netgalley and the publisher for granting me it.

The story started a bit slow but I was so interested about the myth and the character that it did not bother me at all. Actually, I even loved it. The slow build-up for everything is exquisite. And the end... I was gasping

I believe this is one of my favorite 2022 books!!

I love Vaishnavi Patel's style! It's reminiscent of Madeline Miller and all the lovely authors that have lent their voices to recent retellings. The narrative is lush with description and satisfied my recent craving for literary fiction. I wasn't familiar with the story of Kaikeyi previously, and I adore that there's a highly anticipated mythological retelling outside of the Western canon. I've already mentioned this title to a few people with similar interests, and I can definitely see myself putting it into the hands of anyone interested in non-Western mythology, retellings, or a more literary style.

At this point you all know how much I love mythology and mythological retellings. This is a story of the life of one of the king’s wives in the time of the Hindu Gods, who played a pretty large role in Ramayana (a very important Hindu religious text). Despite having grown up hearing about Kaikeyi, there isn’t much told beyond she was the reason that so many bad things happened. I love that Vaishnavi Patel weaved such a beautiful backstory for her and she showed that she wasn’t really a bad person. My mom was with me while I was reading this book and it opened up such a great conversation between the two of us about how we really don’t know what happened and we just know what we’re told, which is true I’m sure with any religion. She was so impressed with what I told her, she pre-ordered herself a copy even though English isn’t her first language. I don’t think you’d need to have any background in Hindu mythology to enjoy this!

Thank you @netgalley and @redhookbooks for the DRC but all thoughts are my own!

Kaikeyi has truly been one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time! I have to admit, I went into this book never having read the Ramayana, and having no knowledge of Kaikeyi. While it made for a little slower of a read as I looked people and places up along the way, it didn’t stop me from enjoying the book at all.

As a child, Kaikey’s father, the king of Kekaya, banished her mother from the kingdom. As she grew up she saw more and more injustices towards women in the world around her, and decided that she would do whatever it took to create a better, more independent life for herself. Using her powers discovered in childhood, while feeling abandoned by the gods, she fought endlessly for herself and for the rights of all the women in a world that caters to men.

There’s so much depth, so many relevant themes, and genuinely moving moments of loss and love, and so much woman power in this book, I can’t even express everything in this review. So what I will say is READ THIS BOOK! You will feel angry, sad, and hopeful. You’ll cry, you’ll shake your head, and most of all you’ll be thinking about Kaikeyi and this retelling of her story for a long time.

This retelling was absolutely perfect. I’m not familiar with Hindu culture or this myth, but I found it powerfully enlightening. I found Kaikeyi a empowering protagonist. Highly entertaining and thought provoking.

This was... amazing. Thoughtful, nuanced, intriguing. I realized halfway through that I didn't know as much about the original story as I thought I did... and it didn't actually affect my enjoyment. I've always enjoyed reading books like Wicked or The Mists of Avalon that rewrite the story of a female character who is generally maligned and this was... even better.

Add in the ace representation and the atmospheric writing, and that's why I rated it five stars. I'm going to go find out more about the original story - I'm familiar with Rama and Sita and the story of Diwali but not Kaikeyi's role - and then reread!

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Kaikeyi is such a delightful retelling, and a wonderful debut, and I devoured it whole. I found that I deeply empathized with Patel's depiction of Kaikeyi and I really enjoyed the complexities of the characters and the situations presented. I also absolutely loved the Binding Plane, which was an interesting use of magic in a gods-filled world, and appreciated the subtly woven in aspects of asexuality in the novel. There is something deeply compelling to me about stories that show the characters trying their best with the information they have and coming into conflict with one another, while also creating more problems, and I think Kaikeyi did an excellent job showing that.

This is one of the best books I've read in 2022 and it will stay with me for a long time.

A mythical retelling from a culture that isn't ancient Greece!! Kaikeyi focuses on a pivotal moment in the Ramayana where the third wife of a popular raja favors her own son for the throne over the sons of her former radnyis, thus banishing the charismatic, heroic heir-presumptive Rama.

Kaikeyi is gods-touched, scorned by the very powers that control her world. However, she discovers a unique capability for entering The Binding Plane, a space where she can see her connections with other people as tangible cords. Overshadowed by her seven brothers and forced to marry a distant ruler, she learns to use her magic to gain influence and power over her newfound court. I also appreciated that Kaikeyi was portrayed as asexual, and that this aspect of her identity doesn't discourage her from forming a strong bond with her husband, fellow queens, and children.

4/5: A feminist reimagining of an ancient Indian epic, Kaikeyi is a great new installment in the growing genre of feminist myth retellings!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved reading this book! I found the writing to be very insightful and interesting. I was intrigued by the premise and I enjoyed reading it from start to finish.

This was SO good! Absolutely loved it.

I will be honest and say at first I was afraid I’d grow to not-like Kaikeyi but NOOOO god I loved her character. She is my favorite kind of strong female character. She’s multidimensional, she has both ambition and kindness, strength and vulnerability.

All the different relationships between the characters were well thought-of and very interesting. Kaikeyi’s bonds with her brother(s), son(s), husband and fellow wives were all well executed and all different from one another. I particularly enjoyed her complex relationship with Rama and her comradery with Dasharath and the wives.

The lore and magic system were very simple to understand, just the light touch needed to take the story where it needed to go. I also really liked the feminist touch which I found cleverly executed. The writing was also very good. It was clear and pleasant to read. The story was well-paced with the only exception being the last ~10% which I found felt a little rushed. We spend the entire book diving into Kaikeyi’s life throughout the years only to come to an abrupt ending, leaving us (or at least me) a bit dissatisfied.

This was overall a great read for me!! I went in without prior knowledge of the original myth (or hindu mythology) but it was never a stop to understanding the story and it has definitely made me want to learn more about it!

In full disclosure, I had very little prior knowledge of Hinduism and so can not speak to the accuracy of how that religion or the people who practice it are portrayed in this novel.

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel is heart wrenching tale of one woman's struggle to be true to herself and good to her people in a world where her values are not the same as those of the people she loves. Kaikeyi becomes the third wife of a ruler in a foreign land because she is led to believe she can still be independent and driven despite the traditions of her culture. When faced with struggles she uses magic to make her way to a place of stature no woman has achieved before her. However, despite the influence she wields, Kaikeyi soon learns that it is the bonds between family which prove to be the most powerful forces in her life.

Enjoyable book which grabbed me quickly and kept me engaged throughout. Patel's characters are complex and reveal the complicated emotions we deal with when personal beliefs conflict with love for family. I will definitely be onboard for any more stories down this vein that Patel puts out in the future.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book is compared to Circe, but I think it's far better in terms of both writing and story. Patel's prose flows and builds a beautiful picture of Kaikeyi, from the girl to the queen. Definitely looking forward to more from Patel.

This is not a bad book…but it’s also just not one I’m interested in finishing. I’m not invested, and I don’t know why, because everything about this seems catered to my tastes. And yet the thought of continuing makes me feel exhausted – not because the book is a heavy slog – it really isn’t – just… I just don’t care how the story is going to end.

Unfortunately Kaikeyi’s story is just too familiar – the princess frustrated with the limitations that come with womanhood in her culture, who learns to fight in secret, who is smarter than those around her but rarely appreciated…etc. And it’s not fair, because we haven’t seen that format/these tropes with a Desi protagonist before, but that doesn’t change the fact that I feel like I’ve read this story 100 times, and Kaikeyi doesn’t feel like it’s doing anything new.

Maybe if I pushed through further – I’m quitting at 26%, 6% after my usual cut-off point – it would turn into something new; after all, I don’t know anything about Kaikeyi as a mythological figure. But I don’t feel any desire to keep reading – just guilt that it didn’t work for me.

I think readers who loved Circe by Madeline Miller will love this to pieces – Kaikeyi has a very similar tone and vibe, and the voices feel comparable too. And I do urge other readers to give it a try, because it’s even odds that this is more a me problem than a book problem.

If you enjoy reimagined myths, you will enjoy this book. I really appreciate the rich details of the story and the description of Kaikeyi's discovery and development of her powers. I would love to read more books like this.