I would give this a 3.5. While I adored Kaikeyi and love Vaishnavi Patel's writing, this book did not have as big of an impact on me. It was a good retelling of the Mahabharata and I liked how she wrote the characters. Parts of it just felt slow to me and it was hard to immerse myself in the story again if I took a break from reading it.

This is another incredible story by Vaishnavi Patel. I am a huge fan of her debut nove, 'Kaikeyi', and 'Goddess of the River' is equally enchanting. It incorporates beautiful mythological elements as well as dynamic and captivating characters. It sucked me in from start to finish!

Kaikeyi is one of my go-to recommendations for lovers of mythic retellings and one of my favorite books, so I was beyond excited to read Vaishnavi Patel's latest and it did not disappoint. The story of the Mahabharata has always been one of my favorites. I have read it several times over the years for both personal enjoyment and college classwork. Patel does an amazing job using the River Ganga as the narrator and main character in the story of war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. I absolutely loved her use of giving Ganga the ability to view memories as her waters sweep over some of the lesser-known players in the epic and giving the reader insight into their history and mindset.

Overall, the story runs like a river. At first it is faster moving, setting the course of its journey, then it meanders slowly for awhile, before rushing towards the waterfall of an ending. My only complaint is that for anyone who is not familiar with the original epic will most likely be confused by the extensive cast of characters. Since I read an ARC, I am unsure if a family tree is included in the final version, however I would highly recommend it for future printings if not there already. I found myself having to make a tree for myself for reference because my memory is not quite what it used to be.

For fans of Indian epics and feminist retellings. I highly recommend this sophomore novel and eagerly anticipate what the author tackles next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Vaishnavi Patel, and Orbit for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

A powerful reimagining of the story of Ganga, goddess of the river, and her doomed mortal son, from Vaishnavi Patel, author of the instant New York Times bestseller Kaikeyi.

Really well-written historical fantasy. I love learning about mythology that I wasn't taught in school. Loved it!

For the second time, Patel has taken me in with how thoughtful she is as she reimagines an Indian epic that she grew up with. Her consideration for the characters influences how her story unfolds and progresses. In Goddess of the River, we are taken on Ganga's journey as she is pulled from the realm of the gods to earth to be used for the advancement of humans, We see her confusion and anger as she tries to come to terms with what is now her reality and new existence.

Not until she has spent time alongside and as a human can she truly understand their greed and need to conquer, but Ganga does her best. When her path converges with that of the king of Hastinapur, a small part of her destiny begins. It is here that Ganga really learns of how it is she can interact and influence the path and trajectory of those around her.

Patel always ensures that her readers can be aware of the disparity in the existence of women in these times, and yet she is also going to highlight how these women can and do use their own talents, beliefs, and strengths to survive. I was held captive in this story and cannot waot to see what else Patel can transform.

I always think I might get tired of reading books centered on mythology, but then a book like "Goddess of the River" comes along and pulls me right back in. In this beautiful retelling of the story of Ganga, goddess of the river, Vaishnavi Patel narrates the tale of a goddess mother and her mortal son. Cursed to a mortal existence, Ganga marries a king and bears a son, but then is tragically separated from him while he's still an infant. The emotional and detailed events that unfold between mother and son are masterfully woven together by Patel. I now understand why so many people praised Patel’s previous novel, "Kaikeyi," and I plan to go back and read it right away!

This story was a reflection on what it means to be human, choosing between your heart and your mind, and the love a mother and son share.

Personally, I never understood the Mahabharata, but this story has given me a new perspective on the epic that I used to view as a war with some random side quests that make no sense. This perspective gave me a view of humanity for these characters that got so confused in my head as a child.

Without spoiling too much, I was so drawn to Ganga as a person more than her just being a river goddess. What she was cursed to live out put her on a path of discovering the nature of herself and humanity more than she had just witnessed it from her banks. The personification of a river is something I would have never thought I would be so fascinated with, but her character growth throughout the story made me so attached to her. At first, she started as a goddess trying to get out of her curse, but she grew into being a mother who just wanted to love and care for her son. Her love ended up causing other problems later on that she could have never foreseen, but she knew deep in her heart at the end that she was grateful to have had the journey she had.

I'm absolutely obsessed with this book and will probably reread it in the near future. Dare I say I enjoyed it more than Kaikeyi!

A reimagining of the story of Ganga, the goddess of the river. From the beginning that lands her on Earth and the mysterious godlings she cares for. How she ends up cursed, mortal, and married to a mortal king. This union births Devavrata and ends Ganga’s curse, sending her back to her river and forcing her to leave her son behind. Devavrata carries the legacy of his mothers curse and ends up taking an oath to never seek his fathers throne. An oath that sets in motion a war that will tear his family apart.

I am gonna start by saying that my knowledge of the Hindu Gods was really basic. Ganga was a goddess I hadn't known until I read this book. And I was really drawn into her story. I won't lie though, the middle part with all the time jumps between the POVs kinda threw off the rhythm of the story for me. That being said, I really enjoyed seeing things from Ganga’s POV, especially after her humanization. Her pull between her godhood and human emotions made for a compelling read. I will definitely be checking out more from this author in the future.

Rating 4.5 stars
*I received a review copy from NetGalley for my voluntary and honest review

Goddess of the River was a good novel, but it just wasn't for me.
Vaishnavi Patel writes a story about Ganga, who is a river Goddess, and the son she has while mortal who she watches grow up and influence the world around him.
The story is an interesting one but I had difficulty remembering the relation of some characters. I have since learned that there's a family tree in the published version and I feel that would have been immensely helpful for me to reference while reading if I had access to one. Without it I think I understood all of the connections but having revelations come out about some family bonds made it hard to keep track of.
The back and forward aspect was a bit hard to follow at times as the story covers decades. I did appreciate the chapter titles for this reason.
I preferred the story from Ganga's perspective so I enjoyed those chapters more. I feel the ending lost it's triumph a bit in the ordering of events, but it all came together.
I'm glad I read this but probably wouldn't read it again, as it didn't fully resonate with me.
3.25 stars out of 5.
Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook for the ARC for this book.

Another reimagining of a classic tale, I loved how the author took us through this story, I loved the interactions between the characters especially. It seemed to be so incredible real and moving.

This is an extremely hard book to rate, and I go back and forth on it. On one hand, I think it's beautifully written, and the author clearly excels at her craft in this regard. On the other hand, the first third of the book is painfully slow, with very little happening on the page (many years are summed up in just a handful of pages), which made it difficult to really connect with one of the main characters. At the same time, that distance in connection did feel somewhat purposeful, since that main character is a goddess who is very disconnected from humanity - but it didn't make for the most engaging read. I never really felt like I knew Ganga and the turmoil she was struggling with. However, once we reach the part of the book where we start getting Bhishma's POV chapters as well, I thought it picked up quite a bit.

The themes explored here are quite complex, and full of nuance. I left the book with no clear perspective on what the "right" solution was, understanding the grievances and harms from both of the two major sides in the conflict. Getting to know vulnerable (if still powerful) characters helped make explicit that none of the characters were meant to represent perfection, and I found the question of duty versus righteousness (and what even IS righteousness in any given situation - is there only one path, or multiple? does what is righteous change in every situation?) that was throughout the novel to be really interesting. I think readers who want clean cut "black and white" thinking will find this novel a challenge to that mindset. However, I do think some of the themes feel complex only because there are many, many themes, and some of them aren't fully explored, leading to some sense of overwhelm and confusion at points. I felt this weakened aspects of the novel. (Reading the author's note at the end gave me pause when she said what she was exploring thematically, because it wasn't the main theme that I noted at all.)

If you want characters that you can really connect with, this will also be a challenging read. All the characters and their decisions felt somewhat at a remove. Perhaps some of this is because this is a retelling/reinterpretation of the Mahabharata? I honestly couldn't say, not being familiar with the source text (although I will say - this novel certainly did make me want to learn more!). While it may have been because of the source text, I still think some of the remove from the characters did the novel a disservice, as it made their conflicts and struggles a little harder to relate to and understand.

Despite my critiques, I think Patel is a fantastic author, and definitely one I will keep reading. But I think this was a weaker novel than her debut. Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC; all opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Redhook Books for the digital galley in exchange for my honest review.

I was an immediate fan of Kaikeyi, and I enjoyed the follow up of The Goddess of the River. The writing style is flowing, and seems unending, as a novel about an immortal should be. I was not as captivated as I was with Kaikeyi, though that is probably due to the past and present storyline. I loved the past storyline that follows the goddess, but didn’t find myself absorbed in the present one.

I also loved the Kaikeyi audiobook, and I think a reread with audio would help me be better invested.

I enjoyed the time I spent with it and eagerly await the next novel from Vaishnavi Patel.

Vaishnavi has established herself as an auto-buy author at this point. Her retellings of Hindu epics with a feminist twist are just stunning. I love her writing and the way she gives perspectives and nuance to characters that don't typically get this level of attention. Goddess of the River was no exception!
I will admit it took me far too long to grasp the different names, who they were, and their role in the story. And outside of Ganga's perspective, I struggled to piece together the multiple layers, time jumps, and perspectives that were offered throughout the book. However, by the final third I was rolling along and anxiously awaiting to see how this epic tale would end. As someone unfamiliar with the original text, I wasn't sure how it would concude!
While I still prefer Kaikeyi, Goddess of the River ensures I will be reading whatever Vaishnavi decides to write.

This was a gorgeously written and immersive story. Lovers of mythology retelling are going to devour Goddess of the River, an immersive and thrilling story.

The writing and imagery was beautiful. I did have a hard time keeping track of the characters as the names change. I understand this was an ARC, and a digital one at that, but having a family tree provided would have been useful. Heavily character driven, and the plot possibly slightly unclear (I am personally a plot reader). But overall beautifully written and have a physical copy on my shelf.

An interesting look at humanity from a perspective of a God.

I liked that it was basically the Mahabharata condensed. Mythology retellings are always enjoyable for me!

This was a moving tale between mother and son- Duty vs Destiny.

My favorite re-tellings of epic tales are the ones that look at the interstitial spaces, and make you feel like you are seeing a version of real life. Madeline Miller does this to great effect in both [book:Circe|35959740] and [book:The Song of Achilles|13623848], but few of the other books that are also doing this right now have been as successful.

Where this book does have real moments, it is great, but so much of it focuses only on the events of the larger tale she is retelling, and these moments are less successful.

In Goddess of the River, Patel tells us a story about Ganga the River Goddess. This book is from her point of view. From how she came to Earth, the curse put upon her, her love and for humans, her understanding of them.
Ganga has a son with a human king. She watches as he grows from afar, trying to steer him from the evil parts of humanity. As time goes by both Ganga and her son grow in different ways. Her son navigates the politics, family distrust and betrayal. While Ganga attempts steer the hearts of people and to assist them as they come to her shores and cry out to her.
This is a book that has beautiful word building and story telling. I loved it so much that I have put another book by the author on my TBR

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. all opinions are my own

Thanks to NetGalley & Redhook Books for providing an ARC of Goddess of the River. See below for my honest review.

Goddess of the River is a great exploration of the Mahabharata through the river goddess, Ganga, and the impact of her curse culminating in a terrible war between cousins.

We follow Ganga through the decades as a river, a mortal, and a goddess. In her attempt to save her godlings from the sins of mortals, Ganga sends their souls on at birth rather than them having to live a mortal life. When caught before passing on the last of her godlings, Ganga is released from her mortal form and her son, Devavrata (later known as Bhishma), is raised as the prince of Hastinapur.

I know so little about Indian mythology to really speak to any accuracies of it, but I did really enjoy being exposed to these myths. This is in the same vein of mythological retellings as Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint. I would recommend it for anyone that enjoys myths and wants something different from the same couple of Greek myths that are retold over and over.

Thank you to Redhook books at NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel. Vaishnavi has a a very beautiful writing style. If you like mythological fantasy and retellings, this will be something you enjoy. I really liked the main female character, Ganga, her chapters kept me going.