I'm surprised at how different this book is now -- I read an earlier copy years ago and loved it. It's even more mystical and heartwrenching! Definitely reccing it to everybody

This book was amazing.I spent all the holidays reading this book. It has drama, family and royal intrigue. It has magic and gods and mythology. The main character is strong but tender. The pages watch her grow and learn and deal with the norms of her time. You feel the main character’s passion and pain and wonder at her discoveries. The journey of a young woman from a girl shunned by her father and abandoned by her mother who becomes a great woman in a new land. The trials and tribulations of Kaikeyi as a sister, wife and mother are chronicled with love, dignity and vivid descriptions. The interplay of the characters was documented with skill and passion. This is a book to read and savor.

If I could give this book more stars I would, I would provide it with endless stars because this book has become into my all time favorite story ever. Growing up with the knowledge of Ramayana it made it easy for me to recognize the characters, I had went into the book thinking I knew what to expect, but boy was I wrong.

This book had exceeded my expectations in the best way possible. The way Vaishnavi Patel had managed to write Kaikeyi made me fall in love with a character who I despised my whole life. And it's not only Kaikeyi that the readers manage to fall in love with; but every single character. The author just has a magnificent way of writing that catches the readers attention and allows them to fall in love.

Even Ravana I felt an attachment to. I enjoyed the way she had delivered the human sides of the gods who no one seem to question and the rules that were followed. This book has so many things that I enjoyed and I know others will too. A powerful feminist Queen, ace representation, stories and lores from hindu mythology, and much more.

I will be recommending this book to everyone, I enjoyed it so much that now that I've finished I feel empty.
Amazing! Can't wait to read m0re of the authors works in the future.

One of the best books I read all year, hands-down. I love this book so much. (I'm an ace historical fiction reader who loves mythology but has read herself into a Greco-Roman slump, and just LOOK at this book. It was written just for me, and I am grateful!)

KAIKEYI is an immersive, fast-paced, blisteringly entertaining book that reimagines the life of its titular character, a minor and highly villainized character in the Ramayana. Kaikeyi the character is complicated and yet impossible not to root for, and her fight to balance her desire for righteous power with the needs of her family had me glued to the page. Equal parts court intrigue, tender family saga, and standoff against demonic and divine forces, this book grabs hold of you and doesn't let go until it's done. I read half of it in one night. Fans of THE WITCH'S HEART, THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE, and CIRCE won't want to miss it.

Also! Can we talk about the asexual representation in this book? Historical fiction with an asexual lead?? Do you know how long I have waited for such a book?? It's so good. So, so good. I felt seen and heard and welcomed by this book.

Buckle up and get ready for me to recommend it at the top of my lungs until April. I'm about to become insufferable.

Amazing. Show stopping. Incredible. Never been done before.

FRTC - all I'll say for now is that I am well and truly obsessed.

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

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel is a stunning #ownvoices feminist retelling of an Indian myth. The story revolves around Kaikeyi, starting when she is a child and continuing on her path as queen. From childhood, it's clear that Kaikeyi is special.
She can access a special place called The Binding, which allows her to affect the bonds between her and other people, and in turn, their thoughts and emotions.
Along her path to queenhood, she does her best to help the women around her, forging sisterhoods in the most unlikely of places.

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 that introduces us to the setting:

"I WAS BORN ON the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions—much good it did me.
In Bharat, where the gods regularly responded to prayers and meddled in mortal affairs, the circumstances of my birth held great promise. This did not matter to my father, who cared only that my brother Yudhajit followed me into the world minutes later under the same lucky stars. Regardless of birth position, Yudhajit, being a boy, was the heir to the Kekaya kingdom. I was but a dowry of fifty fine horses waiting to happen. For each of my mother’s subsequent pregnancies, my father made sacrifices to the gods, requesting sons. In return, he was blessed with six more healthy boys, portents of future prosperity."

Overall, Kaikeyi is a wonderful retelling of Indian mythology that will appeal to fans of Madeline Miller and Shelley Parker-Chan. I went in not knowing anything about the original myth that this story is based on, but I enjoyed it a lot. I think knowing the original myth may enhance one's appreciation of this retelling, but I was just fine without it. One highlight of this book is how readable it is. With historical epics, it's easy to have so much plot that it becomes confusing. I never felt confused here. I was fully invested in Kaikeyi's story, and I never felt like there was any filler. Every chapter felt important to the plot as a whole. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of mythology, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in April!

I'm a huge fan of authors giving women from mythology a voice. I'm not as familiar with the Ramayana beyond the name and the basics, and I had definitely never heard of Kaikeyi before. This book fleshes out her character and backstory, showing her life and motivations for exiling Rama for ten years. I loved Kaikeyi's character, she's intelligent and brave and loving and it's her compassion that forces her to act. While slow to start as the book moves through her childhood, things do pick up. Though it's the attention to the characters that really drives the book, and is done so well.

As an Indian reader and someone who's been absolutely loving the recent trend of books that redeem the female characters of myth, I was immediately drawn to Vaishnavi Patel's Kaikeyi. As you may have guessed from the title, this book tells the story of Keikeyi, the character from the Indian epic the Ramayana, who is vilified for exiling the prince Rama to a forest for fourteen years in order to set her own birth son on the throne.

I have to admit, I didn't know a whole lot about the Ramayana before diving into this story, but that didn't dampen my enjoyment at all. I loved Kaikeyi's growth throughout the novel, and I especially enjoyed her relationship with her four sons, including her stepson Rama.

The author does such a great job of fleshing out Keikeyi's story that I almost forgot she isn't actually the hero of the Ramayana. This book will have you sympathizing for her (and also constantly wringing your hands in frustration at all the terrible decisions the men in her life make).

This was one of my favorite reads of the year and, with that gorgeous cover, I'll definitely be adding this one to my home library.

Thank you to Redhook for a copy of this ARC.