Kaikeyi has been compared to Circe because both are retellings of an oft-villainized character featured in an epic, but it does not have the same elements as Circe. I would actually compare the story to three other reimaginings - Half Sick of Shadows (A reimagined story of the Arthurian court), She Who Became the Sun (a historical reimagining of the Hongwu Emperor), and Grendel (retelling the story of Beowulf from the villain’s perspective). The world building was more akin to Half Sick of Shadows. Just like the Arthrurian retelling, we get to see the cultural and institutional misogyny in Kaikeyi’s world and we get a better idea of her motives and what drives her.
Patel wanted to bring a “brave, determined, and ultimately flawed character” to life. I believe this can be well debated among readers as time goes on - did Patel portray a flawed but human character capable of redemption or did she actually create an Antihero? The first part of the Kaikeyi’s story in her homeland shared themes of She Who Became the Sun. Kaikeyi recognizes that as a female, she is already subjugated to a lower caste. Power, validation, knowledge, and freedom of choice from her father and the court system is limited to her. Much like Zhu, Kaikeyi prizes these and at a young age she becomes determined to have them for herself. Kaikeyi’s morale and motivations are questionable during this first part, as we see her rely more on manipulation (even if it were through magic) in order to get what she wants. The second part of the novel reminds me more of the 1971 Grendel, where the world, the gods, and the fates at large have swept Kaikeyi into their chess game. As Kaikeyi evolves, her motivations are fueled less by her own desires and more for her love of others. Nevertheless, she becomes an outsider in both homes. Kaikeyi’s actions, intentions , and character are used against her in order to bring about the Gods’ desired outcome and her alienation becomes pitiable.
As I went through the story, my opinion of Kaikeyi flipped back and forth between the redeemable and the antihero. Kaikeyi, for all her desires and actions to help other women, also quickly distrusted other women. She was very close to Manthara, and Manthara was the person who had to encourage her to open up and trust other women. Kaikeyi rarely stepped beyond her female inner circle to form relationships with other women. She often voiced her insecurity and felt other women were looking down on her. This inner strife came more after encountering females than males. I’m unsure whether this was due to her internalizing sexism or her fearing other women obtaining/wielding the power she craves for herself - this best illustrated by her relationship with Kausulya, Dasharath’s first wife and mother of Rama. First person narratives often allow for an unreliable narrator to tell their story while giving the reader the choice to believe them or see more to their story.

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this story as much as I hoped I would. Patel introduced a lot of elements in the story but many ultimately fell flat.
The first chapter of Kaikeyi built a world that was very much against her in order to justify her actions, but as the story progressed the reasons became one dimensional. Many of the male characters who denounced women and proselytized generations after them about their evils did so because simply they either hated women or they needed a scapegoat. Rama’s portrayal flipped between cult leader and indoctrinated control freak in order to justify Kaikeyi’s request to exile him into a forest for 14 years. Kaikeyi’s closest relationships with males suffered from this polarity. Her relationship with her twin brother Yudahjit explored gender roles and expectations. He was her biggest supporter and most empathetic to her until he wasn’t. Dasharath was the most progressive and open to her ideas until he wasn’t. Towards the end the story pretty much set up Kaikeyi to be blameless. In fact, the misogyny threaded through the society seemed to be a product of deux ex machina more than anything else.
Patel had the opportunity to create new retellings for Manthara and even Sita, Rama’s wife, but fell short. Historically Manthara is seen as the instigator for Kaikeyi’s actions, a woman worthy of denunciation in retellings. Patel illustrates her as a wise nursemaid maid and mother figure throughout the story, but she fails to show how Manthara eventually becomes vilified in history as she has done so for Kaikeyi. I found Patel’s bent on Sita’s story arc to be fascinating, creating a tragedy from the get go. I’ve read many stories that explored the detriment of Sita being held as the ideal woman along with critiques of the purification ritual she had to endure to prove her commitment to Rama. However Sita’s story in Kaiyeki became muddled in the events preparing for the epic war.
This was a huge undertaking by Patel to retell the story of Kaikeyi and give her depth. Patel added a lot of elements, but left many to be desired. I’m wondering if Patel’s story would have benefited if it were split into a series.

Rating: 3.5 stars - An ambitious debut novel reimagining Kaikeyi and the world of the Ramayana. The story started off strong but tapered off midway through.

A spectactular feminist story of Kaikeyi, the only princess of Kekaya, as a retelling of the traditional Ramayana story. She pushes back against the social narrative that her only worth is in her marriage and becomes a force, using magic she has to pull at the bonds she creates with others to influence them. While I was not familiar with the traditional Ramayana story, I was able to follow along as Kaikeyi went from voiceless girl to wife, mother, warrior, diplomat, and queen. Kaikeyi is an admirable female lead, and I greatly enjoyed her journey. This was a fantastic debut by Patel and I am very intrigued to see what she writes next!

Thank you to Redhook for the gifted ARC!

As someone whose previous knowledge of The Ramayana came mostly from the 90s film A Little Princess (I know, I know…), I had been excited about this book release for a long time. I love all the Greek mythological retellings that have been published recently, but I have felt for awhile now that I need to expand my horizons. After reading about the author, I knew I could trust her expertise on the source material and I really admired her approach to this project. Now that I’ve finished the book, I can say that it succeeds on its own as a fantastic and beautifully told story. There’s this creeping sense of foreboding the entire time, of course, and parts of the book are painful to read, but the character of Kaikeyi is so compelling that I just had to follow her story through to the end. I would recommend this book widely to fans of literary fiction, historical fiction, and speculative fiction and folklore.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an e-arc!

DNF @ ~150 pages.

Kaikeyi was one of my most anticipated reads for 2022, but I struggled to get into it. I tried for over a month and simply could not connect. That said, there was nothing wrong with the story and I did appreciate the writing and the plot (from what I read), but I just wasn't enjoying it for some reason.

This is such a beautifully written book, and I found myself absolutely immersed in it and not wanting to leave. It's at once a heartbreaking and hopeful read. I really enjoyed the magic system, and I found Kaikeyi to be a sympathetic, though flawed, character.

This book is a reimagining of the vilified queen from Hindu mythology. In the classic Ramayana, Queen Kaikeyi is portrayed as a jealous queen who wants her son Bharata to ascend the throne. This retelling focuses on Queen Kaikeyi from childhood to her quest to carve a better world for herself and the women around her.⁠

I'm a sucker for a retelling or reimagining of a classic story or a myth. Even though I had never read the epic Ramayana, I knew I had to get my hands on this one. ⁠
⁠
This feminist reimagining of the Indian epic Ramayana checks all the boxes. It's got great character development, an interesting plot, lots of family drama, and a bit of magic. It gets five stars from me.

While this story ended up being a little too long for me, it was still a very good read. There was excellent character and world building by Patel and I loved Kaikeyi's story. Well deserved for she was a MC that paved the way for the women around her. Headstrong and unwilling to back down when spurned by the gods, she paved her own path and made her own luck. Through her own blood, sweat, tears, and a little bit of magic, she was able to become her husband, the king's, most trusted advisor, an advocate for the women of her country. She fiercely adored her family and friends but the way this story interwove the mythology, she was a well deserved character for a story.

While this book is great and I really loved Kaikeyi as a character and could feel weighed down why her own responsibilities and choices I thought this was (somewhat) supposed to redeem Kaikeyi? How am I supposed to root for someone who doesn't like Kheer??? THATS THE MOST VILLAINOUS THING I'VE HEARD IN MY LIFE. (Yes I know that its was done deliberately for the sake of the birth of the twins- Its still not right to not like kheer).

Beautiful writing. Fantastic storytelling. Solid worldbuilding. Engaging characters. Kaikeyi was wonderful.

I am not all that familiar with the Ramayana (I read it for a class in college, but that’s the extent of my knowledge), but I enjoyed this reimagining. I always find it interesting to explore the motivation of side characters.

I don’t feel like I’m familiar enough with the Ramayana to comment extensively on Kaikeyi plotwise, but I’d be curious to hear others thoughts on the portrayal of Rama in this. The characterization didn’t really match up with my very slim knowledge of him. I’m not really a huge fan of retellings vilifying one character in an attempt to make another’s actions more justifiable. I’m not familiar enough with portrayals of Rama to know if that happened here though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC!

After reading this, I can confidently say that Vaishnavi Patel KNOWS how to write a character. She knows that they don't have to be perfect for you to root for them. Beautifully written book that packs a lot of punches. Definitely excited about what this author wants to do next. A perfect debut.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for letting me receive an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been wanting to read more non-Greek/Roman mythology retellings and as someone who has never read let alone heard of the Ramayana, I’m so grateful to have been given the opportunity to read this story before its release date. In one of those rare instances of reading a fantasy standalone, Kaikeyi was able to include everything from malicious gods and goddesses, powerful female (and male) friendships, warring kingdoms, and a protagonist with a unique ability that I haven’t seen before in other books. I also enjoyed the treatment of the gods as not necessarily good or benevolent beings. Instead, many of them conspire against Kaikeyi and her allies every step of the way; it kind of flips other traditional fantasy stories on their head since I usually see gods treated as the good guys. It did feel like the pacing along with the shifts of time made certain events confusing. Maybe it’s just me, but this caused the ending to get confusing and felt a bit rushed.

4/5

I love novels that are based on mythology! Before reading this I knew nothing about The Ramayana, but I understand that Kakeyi was not the heroine she is portrayed to be in this story. I think that makes me love the book even more. For so long, we have been fed these FICTIONAL stories in our cultures that oftentimes assign either the hero or villain role to characters. But we know that a lot of times, life isn't always as simple as that. We also know that stories tend to be told differently when its not just men who write them.
This is my first time reading anything that is based on a Sanskrit epic, but in m hoping it won't be my last!

Explosive, complex, and utterly beautiful. I've read the reviews comparing KAIKEYI to other retellings of historical literary figures like CIRCE, and I'm just here to confirm that is 100% the vibe here too. And gah, does Vaishnavi Patel ever write like the best of them.

Like many Western readers, I wasn't familiar with the source material going in, so I can't comment about KAIKEYI's commentary on the RAMAYANA. I don't know what changes were made, or how certain characters were altered. But to avoid spoiling anything, I *can* say this is a breathtakingly fast-paced tale of a warrior, mother, and queen who navigates her own ambitions, abilities, and alliances against the pull of a divine fate that rushes her (inevitably) toward a tragic clash with those she loves the most. It's about power and the patriarchy, gods and mortals, and I loved it with my whole heart.

Vaishnavi Patel, whatever you write next, I will be there for it.

More of a 4.5 but I’m definitely rounding up.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Kaikeyi is my most anticipated book of 2022. I have been excited to read it since the announcement and once that absolutely stunning cover reveal happened, I was only more eager to get my hands on it. And I was so so happy when I won the advance copy in a giveaway. But I’m also a mood reader and despite reading Part One of the book many weeks ago, I put it down and could only get to it now. But I’m glad I was in a much better mood to appreciate this book as it deserves.

First thing that comes to mind how much the cover and the writing complement each other. Not only is this book beautiful on the outside, the writing is absolutely gorgeous and it feels like the author took meticulous care in crafting every single word. The pacing is slow despite the story covering the main character’s life from childhood to atleast her 30s and more, but it only accentuates the connection we get to make with the main character. I also liked how the time skips were seamless and it was quite palpable on page that the characters had grown and changed in the time we couldn’t get to read about. The magic system with the binding plane and the threads connecting people was also something I found very unique and I was amazed at how well the author was able to integrate these elements into this story. And this lovely writing was made even better by the masterful narration of the audiobook by Soneela Nankani. She is very good at expressing the various emotions of the characters and I was so engrossed listened to it, that I walked more than I usually do as part of my daily routine.

If you have any knowledge of the Ramayana, you know that Kaikeyi is the most vilified person in the epic. But the other view is that it was her destiny to make those choices so that Lord Rama would be able to exercise the duties for which he had taken a mortal form. Which is why I was excited to see how Vaishnavi would create a backstory for Kaikeyi and would we see her in a sympathetic form. And I was right. The author explores through the story the patriarchal world of the times and how women are constrained and sidelined in every matter, the only explanation given that it is ordained in the scriptures by the gods. The author gives us a story of how women can try to work within these constraints to achieve a sense of agency over their own lives, gain some power and maybe help other women with their issues. The one thing I will take away from this book is the female solidarity and how women working together for each other’s betterment is so much more powerful than vying for the affections of a man and being against each other. We also have themes of power and destiny vs free will, how the heady feeling of a higher purpose can twist one’s notions of justice, and how a strong teacher with wrong ideas can corrupt the minds of even the best of pupils. There are also quite a few important changes from the original epic and while some are the author’s choices, some are just little known regional variations of the Ramayana, but I’m now used to reading retellings and reimaginings of epics, so the changes don’t bother me, as long as they work for the story the author is trying to tell and they work perfectly here.

Coming to the characters, Kaikeyi is our central figure and she is so very well fleshed out that she feels like a real person. She is the only sister to seven brothers and from her childhood, she is made aware subtly and deliberately that she doesn’t have the same choices like her brothers, and it is her duty to do what she has been told by the men in her life. But she is not one to live life according to what others deem it, and endeavors to learn every skill within her purview, so that she can be as independent as possible. She is helped much in this by her twin brother Yudhajit and their’s is a beautifully written and loving sibling relationship. They encounter many ups and downs but I loved their bond ultimately remained strong despite distance separating them.

The relationships she carefully inculcates after getting married is also wonderful to read about. She is asexual and maybe even aromantic, but ofcourse these terms aren’t relevant to the times and the author does a marvelous job depicting this integral part of her personality without using any labels. That’s why I thought her relationship with her husband Dasharatha was written with a lot of care, because despite her sexuality, she values her marriage and utilizes the power being a radnyi gives her to make small and incremental changes in the kingdom, working to solve the problems of people no one cares much about. The bond between the three wives of Dasharatha is also depicted wonderfully from initial apprehension and distance to a gradual development into almost a sibling bond, and this formidable sisterhood is majorly responsible for the reforms that happen across the land. Kaikeyi also has immense love for all children and she hardly shows any partiality towards her own son.

In the second half of the book, the proceedings gradually move to include our main characters of the epic and we get to see the author’s versions of Rama, Sita, Ravana and the others. Rama is kind of a negative character in this book and while quite a few reviewers have felt it was wrong to depict him like that, I am not one to gatekeep an author’s vision. But his character felt true to the world the author has created. He is conflicted between wanting to listen to his mother’s teachings and believing in the words of a charismatic teacher who believes in his godly destiny. He is definitely not easy to like and very misogynistic who wants to adhere to the scriptures, but Kaikeyi believes he can change given time and opportunity and we want to believe in her conviction. Sita on the other hand is not exactly helpless but is implored by the gods that her duty is to follow her husband, even if she doesn’t agree with him, and his attitude towards women doesn’t help matters. I felt that we didn’t get enough page time with her, which is also the same for Ravana, who starts off as much more sympathetic but we see bits of his issues at places, which foreshadows his future descent into evil.

However, this is Kaikeyi’s story and it didn’t bother me that the heroes and the villains of the epic weren’t fleshed out here. The major story of the epic is also not part of this book because it’s not relevant to Kaikeyi’s life. If you are looking for a mythology reimagining story of one of it’s most infamous women, which is feminist and tells us the tale of people who never get talked about, then this book is perfect for you. If you are someone who loves beautiful prose and delicate characterization, and doesn’t mind critically looking at the epics we have grown up with and questioning our traditions, then you might find this to your liking. But if you think Lord Rama or Sita or anyone else can’t be depicted outside of what we know from Valmiki’s Ramayana, then this is definitely not for you. I myself really enjoyed my experience of reading this book - and have so much more to say but want to leave this review at a reasonable length - and I hope I’ll get a chance to reread it because I want to annotate this one for a change. And I’m also really looking forward to see what Vaishnavi’s next project will be.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I would give this 4.5 stars. Having grown up learning about the Ramayana, Kaikeyi was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I am happy to say it lived up to every expectation and then some! Although I found the beginning to be a little more slow-paced than I was hoping for, the story picked up and completely engrossed me after I read a little further. The magic system was easy to understand and the author seamlessly blended a cast of characters and series of events that were both present in existing versions of the Ramayana and new to develop Kaikeyi's story. I love the author's willingness to embrace controversy as she critiques some characters that are usually beloved, and the constant threads of feminism were beautifully woven in. I admire Kaikeyi's strength in fighting the traditional religious patriarchy that attempts to antagonize her every move. Plus, the story gets bonus points for asexual representation!

While I don't think knowledge of the Ramayana is necessary to understand and appreciate this story, I feel that knowing the source material improved the experience for me. There are some changes from the Valmiki version, but they don't take away from the plot or overall message. If you are looking for an amazing mythology retelling that makes you reshape your view of the original story, I highly, highly recommend this. Even if you're not familiar with the Ramayana beforehand, I encourage you to pick up this book for the fantastic storytelling and the opportunity to immerse yourself in an epic from another part of the world. Vaishnavi Patel has done a fantastic job with this novel, and I am so excited for any future books she may release.

Kaikeyi by Vaishnevi Patel. Pub Date: April 26, 2022. Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟. Even though this book is LONG, it’s a great novel full of mythology, fantasy, history and family dynamics. I really enjoy reading mythology because I find it intriguing and fascinating. Kaikeyi is no exception. I loved the focus around a female character during a time period where females were deemed inferior to males, even though they are powerful forces. It was interesting to learn about her world where gods and men were dominant and how she finds her voice and stance. I really enjoyed this one! Thanks to @netgalley and @redhookbooks for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley #redhookbooks #bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #igreads #kaikeyi

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel is one of my favorite books this year. It is empowering, beautifully written, and timeless. It is the kind of story that sucks you in and also makes you think. I highly recommend it to fans of Circe by Madeline Miller and other epic historical fantasies.

The book follows the life of Kaykeyi, a yuvradnyi (princess) of Kekaya. Throughout her life, she contends with the way others see her due to her gender. This begins with her father and seven brothers and then eventually her husband and sons. Not content to seek power only for herself, Kaikeyi fights for women of all classes throughout the book and works to bring about societal change. Unfortunately, as with many fights against injustice, her progress is met with backlash from an unlikely source. In this way, the story feels timeless. It's relatable in ways that are achingly familiar. The book itself is a statement about giving a voice to a woman from mythology who's name is known but who's story is erased by the power of a man. That it exists in such a thoughtful way is empowering and leaves the reader wondering about all of the much-maligned women who have been silenced by the backlash of history.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I also purchased a physical copy of the story because it certainly one worth reading again and again. I would love to do it with a bookclub.

So I wanted to give this one a try because it is VERY different than the books that I normally read. But I was just not a fan. I do love trying books that are different for me. I just couldn't connect with the story and I just could not finish. I know this is just a me thing. I am happy that I gave this book a chance on this book. I think I might give it a try again sometime.

WOW. This was SO GOOD! If you loved Circe or Madeline Miller books and or generally want a fresh cultural story then this is the right book for you! Thanks so much for a chance to read this.

I have such a love for retellings and mythology in general. Although, I haven't read Ramayana to compare it to, I can say for a story I did not know, this book has led me to want to read the classic in the future!

"I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions - much good it did me." This book was so beautifully written and has so many quotable parts to it. Kaikeyi is the only daughter of seven kids and raised in Kekeya. She was raised on stories of the gods, but her prayers go unanswered. She's determined to make the world a better place for women and future generations.

I really enjoyed the fact that there was court politics that Kaikeyi and the sister-wifes were involved in and seeing what came into fruition throughout the story and at the end. Kaikeyi definitely has her faults, but what she chooses to do with her powers she feels is better for all the people despite the major outcomes that occur. I loved the magic aspect and the different gods in this book. I loved the fact that Kaikeyi can be seen as asexual as well, where she loves Dasharath deeply even if she doesn't desire him like other women desire men. Also, their relationship was one for the books from the beginning, he absolutely revered Kaikeyi, often seeking her council in major decisions and including her in wars, and creating a spot on his council for the kingdom. Let alone the work she did with the Kauslaya and Sumitra.

Overall, I really loved this book from start to finish!! I would highly recommend this to others looking for mythology/classic retellings with a strong, independent woman, court intrigue, romance and relationships between characters, gods, godstouched, and god forsaken destinies.

Disclaimer: I received Kaikeyi as an ARC and I'm voluntarily leaving this review.