The Legend of Meneka strikes at the heart of Indian Mythology about an apsara (celestial dancer) who was sent to seduce a sage but falls in love. But this story is more than just a romantic fantasy seeped in heartbreak and betrayals. It's a story about a woman realising her own power, not just the magic of her dance forms but her worth that is more than seducing her mark. Meneka's story just like a lot of female mythology characters isn't one that's known to all. We know about the sage who is popular in Hinduism but we don't talk about the woman he fell in love with. It's amazing to see literature give voice to these women and their stories.

I really like how this author focuses on retelling the stories of characters from Hindu mythology who are wives or lovers of "wise men", whose canonical story always reduces them to "she was so hot, no gods or men could control themselves and for that she was somehow punished". I enjoyed how this was done with Ahalya in a dazzling and inventive Sci-fi setting of floating ashrams in the author's previous work, and Ahalya has incredible agency in her story and is allowed to be terrifyingly competent and flawed. This story about Menaka, apsara and grandmother to the king Bharat (after who India the country derives its Hindi name), doesn't do much in terms of creative worldbuilding and just straight up retells the story with a bit more fleshed our and vivid depictions of the original elements of the story. So Amaravati, Indra's domain, gets the Marvel Asgard treatment, as do the Apsaras as a legion of sexy, magical spies and infiltrators. The book opens in the middle of Menaka using her skills to seduce and neutralize a queen who has, gods forbid, notions of being formidable on her own. Immediately afterwards we see Menaka returning home to the City of Immortals wanting to quit and stay with her best friend, mentor and secret lifelong crush, another apsara named Rambha. But the doomed flaw of retellings in that despite that fantastically sapphic opening and setup, you know where this is going and it's AWAY from all the lesbian visibility. Reinterpreting Vishwamitra as Kaushika, the green flag sage in a forest hermit, does take the sting out of any potential repeat of the original rapey vibes. That said, it's difficult to see Menaka falling for him, when she is constantly casually expressing a preference for the ladies, no biphobia intended. It is ultimately a story about reclaiming agency and unlocking your own potential when you're being used as a tool for the purposes of those who you love and idolize, and there is so much good discussion on the nuances of divinity in the Hindu pantheon that is hella inclusive. So I applaud the author for doing that, but I'm afraid a casual reader of fantasy would find that too dense and infodumpy. For context, I'm someone whose first encounter with the fantasy genre was Hindu mythological stories, specifically the story of Shakuntala, Menaka's daughter (spoiler alert, but also has terrible luck with men showing up in forests and screwing her over). And even I struggled to remember the context of this specific corner of the pantheon because it either predates or postdates other more well known stories. That said, I'm still impressed by the sheer effort it took to construct this story in a fresh way, despite the leaps of logic it had to take to close the gap between the old and the new. If you like the works of Vaishnavi Patel a la Kaikeyi, etc. you might really enjoy this as well. However, I'm DEEPLY skeptical of this not being a standalone and having a planned sequel, because stretching a solid retelling into a second book is where the previous work by this author went wrong for me.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I did not find myself clicking with this. I ended up DNFing because I couldn’t see myself enjoying it. I don’t think it’s a bad book, per say. I just wasn’t at all what I expected.
The summary promises the story of Meneka, an apsara, a celestial dancer who seduces mortals in order to manipulate them in the name of Lord Indra. The plot follows her last seduction, after which Lord Indra has promised she can go free — but, of course, she ends up falling in love with her mark.
The book is being marketed as adult, with blurbs from Shannon Chakraborty and Thea Guanzon that heavily feature the word “sensual.” The tagline is “Seduction is her weapon. Love is her destiny.” With this in mind, I had expected an exploration of Meneka’s relationship with her “profession,” as well as the implications of being forced to seduce someone. In a real world scenario, we would probably call Meneka a victim of human trafficking or of forced prostitution. I thought this could be a very interesting medium in which to tell this story, especially since it heavily relies on Hindu mythology, which I don’t think has been featured to its full potential in fantasy.
However, I found that the writing style was a lot more YA-ish than I expected. It was jarring, due to the heavy subject matter, and I think it was to the book’s detriment. I was being told a lot of Meneka’s feelings from the first chapter. There was little mystery.
Eventually, I realized that this wasn’t for me — I don’t think the writing style works as a medium to tell the story. I’m sure that there could be very interesting things further along, as well as a nuanced interpretation of Meneka’s situation, but I just didn’t think I could buy into it with the writing style. I didn’t finish the book, but I wouldn’t discourage anyone from giving it a go, especially if YA is more your thing!

Legend of Meneka is a fantastic read, a wild adventure full of love, hope, devotion, and wild emotion. The novels overall message is that love comes in every shape and form, and all of it is divinely inspired and worthy of celebration. It spins a grand tale of learning to love oneself as much as one loves others. That love comes with its own difficulties and is a practice as much as an emotion.

The story begins with a young beautiful celestial who struggles against what she is told is her nature, of lust and devouring appetites. Meneka is a gentle and tender being who loves as deeply as she questions the world around her. She struggles to understand and see herself for who she is, much like any other person. As she grows into herself and learns more about the truth of the works around her she finds herself in emotional turmoil trying to reconcile the many parts of herself, which, i find deeply relatable and that many readers will love and feel with her.

Meneka and Kaushika's romance is organic and bursting with raw chemistry; their personalities oppositional yet complementary. The transition from enemies to lovers progresses naturally and healthfully. I enjoyed that this romance though the pair squabble and fight never enters abusive territory. They both learn an grow from one another and bring out the best in each other. Each page makes the reader yearn with Meneka for ger budding forbidden love for her target. At times the innocent and pure pining from her to Kaushika reminded me of my own first crushes and made me blush at times.

I loved how this story ended and it brought together all of the emotions and to me ends with hope and love. There is a wide variety of queer characters; nonbinary, trans, gay men, gay women and I loved all of them. The representation is organic and tender, the characters are all their own people and matter to the plot instead of being tokens or cheap punches.

The only reason I marked this 4 out of 5 is some of the smut is written a bit clumsy for me personally. Phrases like "just there" , "my entrance", "my folds" , "tongue savaging" zonked me out of the scenes that took several hundred pages to build. They weren't bad and I was excited to read them after so much thoughtful build up and masterful pining.

Otherwise a great read!

Thank you to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for this ARC. I did DNF @ 48%.

The Legend of Meneka is about a celestial dancer named Meneka, sent to Earth to seduce and destroy Kaushika who is a threat to the deity Indra. I thought the Hindu mythology was fascinating. I went in with very little knowledge about it so reading the beautifully described mythology was great. I also enjoyed the exploration of the idea of blind devotion and loyalty to any deity or religion.

However, as other reviews have noted, I felt this book didn't pick up until about 30% in. Throughout my time reading I was really struggling to connect to Meneka or Kaushika and the developing connection between them.

I think the writing and story are good but the characters were just not for me this time. I'd recommend to fantasy and romantasy readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publisher's Inc for the opportunity to read and review this arc. I got a little rambly while I work through my thoughts. Apologies.

REAL RATING: 3.5 stars

The truth is, I am a bit torn about this book. If you are looking for a VERY spicy book, this is not it. There is only one scene, but the build-up is pretty great.

The Legend of Meneka is essentially about a crisis of faith and self-discovery. I felt invested in Meneka and Kaushika as characters. I enjoyed delving into Hindu mythology for the first time in this way. I advise anyone who reads it to take the time to read the Glossary. You're going to need it.

I liked the book. I feel invested in the world, characters, and plot enough to want to read the sequel. It was easy to get swept up into this world and carried away by Meneka and her journey. I think that she will be a very relatable character for women who are still in their "not a girl, not yet a woman" phase of their lives; for women like me who are still learning about themselves and accepting what they learn.

Meneka's character development is a circle rather than a linear tale of self-discovery. It is natural that a newfound sense of self and newfound convictions should be tested, especially in a story like this, but the fact that she kept spiraling back to the beginning of her development became a bit tedious. By the second or third test, you should be able to stand on your own two feet a little better. It got to the point that she started coming off as indecisive, wishy washy, and whiney. I wanted to see her learn to accept herself and become her own person rather than a being who is a slave to her devotion to this or that man. She gets there in the end. I was really pleased by where she ends up in her internal journey at the end, and for me it was worth the back and forth.

REGARDING THIS THOUGH, I think that it is vital to remember that these are not "men" that she is dealing with, but god-like men or literal gods. She was essentially born a slave to Indra. She suffers from that mentality. Her purpose as an aspara and her very existence is a test of her devotion to him. When she starts to loathe her purpose and her devotion frays as a result, of course her sense of self is completely unraveled. Maybe it is natural that she is a little all over the place before she makes REAL progress in her development. I understand that the back and forth might annoy some readers and that's why I wanted to address it and offer this perspective in my review. I've noticed a lot of people bringing it up in theirs.

Kaushika's character development is really good.

As for the love story.... my feelings about it are fairly complex. I was invested in it, even heavily at times. On the spicy side of things, the build up and the execution were wonderful. However, I do have some contradictory feelings about the actual romance. The characters admire certain traits in each other, but there is no indication that anything beyond lust binds them. There is a lot of telling about how perfect they are together rather than showing. They are on two completely separate journeys, they have different ideologies. There is not really a bridge there. While opposites can attract, that doesn't mean that it works and lasts. There has to be a bridge.

ON THE OTHER HAND!! This is book one in a duology. You can't judge the arc of a love story too harshly when you only have half of the puzzle pieces. So it is very possible that, without the secrets between them, this will be built on going forward. I feel like I trust the author to do that even though this is my first time reading her work. She seems very interested in the exploration of the self and I really think that the whole story, all together, is going to be great.


Final notes. I finished this book. I enjoyed this book. It has some flaws, but every book does. I would recommend this book to others. I think that the good outshines the bad.

The Legend of Meneka takes you on a journey of magic, love, betrayal, & self-discovery. I was unfamiliar with this mythology and enjoyed learning about new deities in this well=crafted tale. I was instantly drawn into the rich descriptions & world building. Meneka is an apsara, a celestial being on a mission for Indra to destroy the sage Kaushika. Her devotion to Indra is tested as she explores her prana & what she's capable of doing without her celestial magic. Her connection with Kaushika leads her on a journey of self-discovery. It's easy to get swept up in the fantasy & romance.
Coupled with the stories of the Hindu tradition this is a must read for anyone who is fascinated by mythologies from around the world.

3.5⭐

LOVED:
- The mythology as a whole. The dichotomy of the immortals vs the immortals and how they coexist was interesting
- Meneka was a really well fleshed out character and I thought her journey of self-discovery was interesting and enjoyable to follow
- The prose was gorgeous. Honestly, the prose greatly outweighed the execution of the story, in my opinion. I’ll talk about it about in a later section, but this book took quite a while to really take off and then it felt like a whirlwind. If not for the beauty of the prose, I don’t think this book would have been able to sustain that
- Kaushika was also a pretty interesting character. I am, probably unsurprisingly, not super away of the real life mythology of his character, but I found his character development to be pretty fascinating.
- This book is queer without feeling forced (though there could be some arguments of this book having a bit of queer baiting, I think that's a matter of personal opinion)

LOATHED:
- There’s a lot of characters in Kaushika’s camp to keep track of and I don’t think they were unique or discernible enough from each other. Honestly, I wanted a bit more personality from nearly everyone in this book with the exception of the love triangle.
- The depiction of seduction felt really flat at some points. I was really fascinated by Meneka’s ability to unearth another person’s inner lust and that in itself was really intriguing, but the actual seduction aspect was really…confusing, honestly. It wasn’t really explored beyond the inner lust and I wanted to understand the actual process of Meneka’s seduction as a power
- Why is she all of a sudden “in love” with him? Is this a fault of the original mythology or is it just a fault of the romantasy genre? This felt like it was just more prolonged lust than anything, especially “love”. What about him informed her “falling in love with him”? And recognizing that she *was* in love with him? I just don’t understand
- The progression of the story is really clunky. I mentioned this a smidge earlier, but with how lovely the prose is, it’s a bit disappointing that the story is just lacking really solid momentum. The middle act drags quite a bit and the beginning doesn’t really get you into the story effectively enough to be fully immerse, in my opinion. Again, the prose is beautiful enough to keep you going, but I wish that the story progression matched that level

LONGED FOR:
- I really wished for more with the depictions of her dance power in this story. It’s so important to Meneka’s being, but the descriptions don’t follow the beauty of the rest of the prose. It feels like the author was really holding back in describing the act of the dance itself. And that’s a bummer to me. It’s such a wonderful concept and so deeply rooted in Hindu culture (like the majority of the rest of the book, obviously)
- More exploration/exposition into the relationship between the immortals and the mortals, if not just the relationships among immortals. It’s so interesting to me and maybe it’s more ingrained in the actual mythos of the story, but I think more of the politicking of those two factions could have been really interesting
- More description or exploration into why and how Kaushika falls for Meneka beyond just the obvious “she hot”

Will I read the next one? : Possibly. Like I’ve mentioned ad nauseum, the prose is just so good. I think it depends on the stoyr, but if it’s another mythology retelling then I will probably check it out

*Thank you to Harper Voyager, NetGalley, & the author for providing this ARC!

I am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

This was an eventful read. Having never explored Hindu mythology before, I was completely engaged from the beginning.

The chemistry between Meneka, an apsara (a celestial dancer and seducer), and Kaushika, a mortal sage on a mission to create a new heaven, was enthralling. Their relationship evolves from enemies to lovers and back to enemies due to the circumstances surrounding their union. While the pace was a bit slow, it allowed for necessary character and world-building. As Meneka seduces Kaushika, she begins to fall for him and questions everything she has been taught and her purpose.

I appreciate the author's foresight in including a glossary at the beginning of the book. For those unfamiliar with Hindu mythology, this was a lifesaver.

Kritika H. Rao is an author I haven't read before, and I am pleased to add her to my reading list.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Kritika H. Rao for the ARC of this book.

This book has everything. Dancers as spies. Seduction as a weapon. A great protagonist and a conflict that kept me engrossed until the end. Love it.

across the mortal and immortal realms, celestial dancers, known as apsaras, are revered for their beauty and magic. as one of these apsaras, meneka knows there’s more to it than that. lord indra, king of heaven, uses her and other apsaras to seduce his enemies for his own gain. meneka hates what she does, so she strikes a deal: she will seduce a mortal sage, whose growing power threatens lord indra, and she will be allowed to forego future missions. it seems easy enough, but as meneka gets to know the sage, kaushika, she starts to feel like killing him won’t be as easy as she thought.

as a huge fan of the “i was sent to kill you but instead i’m falling for you” trope, this book seemed like something i’d really enjoy. sure enough, the angst levels were perfect for this adult romantasy. i also love reading about mythology, so i was excited that this book was rooted in hindu mythology. i don’t read a lot of books based on this type of mythology, so i wasn’t familiar with the apsaras that are the main point of this book, but i really enjoyed reading about them in this novel.

i would recommend this to adult romantasy readers, especially if you enjoy mythology! i’m looking forward to book two.

The Legend of Meneka by Kritika H. Rao is a compelling retelling of a Hindu mythological story. While it diverges from the original tale in several ways, the author skillfully captures its essence. Readers looking for mythological retellings beyond the usual Greek stories should definitely explore this novel.

The lore of Meneka and Kaushika (later known as Vishwamitra) is widely known. Meneka, a celestial Apsara, is renowned for her role as a seductress. Kaushika, a sage with the mind of a warrior, seeks justice and aims to challenge the Gods for their powers. Exhausted by her role, Meneka desires freedom. Indra, leader of the Gods, offers her one final mission, seduce Kaushika, and promises she will be free from further assignments. But as Meneka returns to Earth, she finds herself transformed by the very task she hoped would end her servitude.

The author's inventive spin on this tale captures its complexities with a refreshing twist that breathes new life into familiar lore. The core essence of the story remains intact, which I deeply appreciated. It is spicy, erotic and filled with angst. However, the narrative could benefit from tighter editing; repetitive sentences, phrases, and musings occasionally disrupt the flow. Despite this minor critique, I’m excited to see where the author takes the story in the sequel.

Thank you to Harper Voyager for providing this book.

This was definitely not for me. I was not familiar with the story of Meneka prior to this, though I have some knowledge of Hindu mythology, so maybe if I had been, I would have enjoyed it more. But taking it as a standalone romance set in a fantasy setting, I did not enjoy it.

The positive: the elements drawn from folklore, like the apsaras and sages, were interesting, and I generally liked Meneka as a character. I liked the queernormative world, and the way magic is described at points

The negative: I did not really *buy* the romance. It felt hard to find the scenes of Meneka and Kaushika together to be romantic, knowing how much each of them were lying to one another. It felt like the turning point of her interest in him as more than a target was realizing that he was attracted to her (a famously beautiful immortal) without her using her power of magical seduction to enslave his mind, which did not feel romantic to me. To me, the two lacked chemistry and the smut scenes felt more uncomfortable, toeing the line of consent with the lack of knowledge, than romantic. It could be that I just never liked Kaushika, finding him cold, arrogant, power-hungry in his inability to listen to other sages or take advice when it doesn't involve him doing something he wanted to do all along. His non-apology at the end made me feel like I did throughout the book--he causes harm and then says, "IF I did something wrong, I will atone" but I don't think he had real growth. The pacing was also very slow, with a lot of repetition, only to have most of the action occur in the last 20% of the novel, and I don't really understand the ending.

This was an incredibly good read! The story was beautifully written and the characters were flushed out really well! Definitely worth the read!

4.5 Stars (considering the average rating, I'm rounding up)
One Liner: Full stars for the Shiva chapter

Meneka is one of the apsaras of Indra’s court and a powerful weapon. Her power is the art of seduction – to use dance and illusion to defeat Indra’s enemies and prevent heaven from losing its magic. However, Meneka no longer wants to do this. She wants to stay in Amaravathi, Indra’s kingdom, and use her talents there.
However, Indra offers her a deal – seduce Kaushika and prove her devotion to Amaravthi. Meneka agrees knowing the new mission is near impossible. Kaushika may have become a sage but he was a well-feared Kshatriya with warrior instincts. By channeling the same intensity, he becomes a sage with tremendous magic and seems to be intent on waging a war against Indra.
Will Meneka be successful in her mission or will she get more than what she bargained for and at what cost?
The story comes in Meneka’s first-person POV in the present tense.

My Thoughts:
Though I’m wary of retellings exploring Hindu Puranic and Ithihasic stories, I did want to try this after someone recommended the author’s previous books. The lower rating scared and worried me. NGL, I postponed this to read closer to the pub date as I didn’t want a repeat of Kaikeyi.
Thank my stars, this is nothing like Patel’s Kaikeyi (this is a compliment). All those comparing this book to that nonsense in a perfumed package have absolutely missed all the nuances that make this a Hindu book, a contrast from Kaikeyi which is nothing more than a distorted and colonized take on something sacred to my culture. I know a lot of people compare the two. Heck, even the official promotion does it. But for me, both books are poles apart.
Presenting this book using popular tropes has done it a disservice. I know, readers need a checklist these days; the tags are important; the comparisons are important; even more than the book itself. But, a book is much more than its tropes.
Enemies to lovers, romantasy, cozy fantasy, spicy, et al… well, the tags are right but only if you know the core context. Otherwise, these won’t make sense.
Legend of Meneka is not just lust, seduction, or spice. It is an exploration of sringara and Kama at physical, emotional, spiritual, and cosmic levels. It is the celebration of the union of divine masculine and divine feminine without which this universe wouldn’t exist. When it talks of Shiva and Shakti in terms of lingam and yoni, it transcends the mortal desire for flesh and sexual gratification. It is the pulsing life that ensures the universe thrums with neverending energy to prevent self-destruction. Without the union of Shiva and Shakti, there is no life, no prana, no jeeva; no prakriti. Love is too small a word to encompass the relationship of Shiva and Shakti. They are two halves of a whole, the Ardhanareeshwara, the perfect balance of divine masculine and divine feminine.
Though the author uses the word lust in the story, she switches to the actual term in her note –Kama. Lust doesn’t define Kama as it is only a part of it. Kama is one of the Purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha) and a part of our lives. We have only reduced their true meanings with our incorrect translations to English. Lust might be a sin but Kama is necessary and has to be balanced with Dharma and Artha to travel the path of Moksha. It is not limited to physical and material aspects; it never has been.
When something so intricate and integral to Hinduism is removed from its framework, the result is a diluted and surface-level narrative that limits the story to the physical realm. Those unfamiliar with the core details miss out on the nuance; it doesn’t exist for them. It’s much like how yoga became a billion-dollar industry of stretching exercises with fancy and exotic names. It has no soul. The same with this book. When the Hindu framework is removed/ ignored/ avoided, this is a weak YA story of a whiny heroine and a grumpy hero.
Before I dive into the details, let me share a short version of the original. From what I know, there isn’t much detail since this isn’t an individual story but is mentioned in different places as a part of the backstory.

Summary of the Original
So, Meneka is one of the three celestial apsaras – Rambha, Urvashi, and Meneka. They live in Indra’s kingdom (heaven with a capital city named Amaravathi) and dance in his court to entertain others and themselves. They are also spies and seducers whenever necessary.
Kaushika aka Vishwamitra is a king who became a rishi to become the best rishi in the world. He wanted to become Brahmarishi (think of it as a topmost title) and be called this by Vashishta. Kaushika as a king once visited Vashishta’s ashram, and something happened. His ego was hurt. This makes him determined to be the greatest rishi (never mind that the concept of being a rishi is to denounce such traits). He attains a higher state through penance but loses it when he helps a king called Trishanku by creating an exclusive heaven for him (pride again). He starts fresh again and wants to show Indra and others what he is capable of.
Indra isn’t going to sit idle, right? He sends Meneka to disrupt Kaushika’s penance. If Kaushika had really given up worldly pleasures, he wouldn’t be swayed and might become worthy of the title he seeks. If not, well…
Meneka goes to seduce Kaushika and the result is their baby girl Shakuntala. Meneka leaves the newborn baby outside Rishi Kanva’s ashram and returns to heaven. Kaushika starts his tapasya once again, finally proves his worth, and becomes Vishwamitra the Brahmarishi.
Here, the cookie-cutter version makes it seem like Kaushika and Meneka had a one-nighter or a fling. However, it was likely to be an affair that lasted a solid few months or maybe years that ended with Meneka’s pregnancy or Shakuntala’s birth.
The second half dealing with Indra sending Meneka to Kaushika is provided as a backstory in Shakuntala’s story in the Mahabharata (Adi Parva). The first half is narrated in the Ramayana.
The author took different versions of this story and used creative liberties to spin a tale of magic, love, lust, seduction, and power strongly rooted in Hinduism.
While her MMC retained the core traits of Kaushika, she gave her own spin to Meneka (which is where I believe things went a bit south).

Characters
Kaushika is a Kshatriya turned Brahmin. The blend of both has given an advantage and a disadvantage. I don’t use the terms in the ‘caste’ sense. Not even varna or jati. I talk of them as gunas (personality traits). A Kshatriya is a warrior born and trained to protect, rule, and govern, and spends most of his years as a grihasta (a married man). A Brahmin is leaner born and trained to study, acquire knowledge, gain wisdom, and attain a balance of mind that prevents partiality, pride, anger, and grief. It’s a life-long tapasya to constantly improve oneself; not for accolades but for the peace felt when one separates themselves from the rest of the world.
Those who know Vishwamitra (even the movies/ TV version is enough) can easily see Kaushika. The aloof grumpy hero with a temper is not an archetype. It is him. It is who he is, and has always been. The author retained his essence perfectly. I had zero issues seeing him as I read the book.
She did the same for Indra – who can be a villain, hero, or both. He is a complex deva with an abundance of grey shades. Rambha is much like how I expect an apsara to be.
I think the issue lies with Meneka’s characterization. Since we don’t get much information about her, the author created someone vulnerable and naïve possibly to showcase her growth. A great idea. However, the execution does make her sound whiny at times. While I can see her conflict, I don’t think it makes much sense when you ignore the Hindu framework. She pales as a new adult who whines and cries and cannot decide what to do. But within the framework, she presents the conflict of dharma. I think using the word loyalty in place of devotion for Indra might have helped. After all, he is my god even if he is not my God.

Themes
The book deals with many themes like loyalty, love, friendships, devotion, dharma, etc. The core of it is finding oneself. I wouldn’t have minded if Meneka found herself earlier than she did. I prefer strong FMCs, so there have been instances when I wanted to shake sense into her. Still, when it happened, it was beautiful. Diversity is another theme that blends with everything else. The devas would hardly bother with the gender rules humans like to define! They accept everything as natural. Beautiful!
The book has spice but only around 2.5. That may not be enough for those who want a spice romantasy. It works for me as I can see the elements of sringara rasa, which is integral to my culture. It is one of the nava rasas (nine flavors, to put it loosely). It blends romance, love, lust, desire, seduction, sensuality, and erotica but is a lot more than these. English really doesn’t do justice to the word. There’s no exact translation. For an apsara, sringara is in every fiber of her being. She is it. In the book, their interactions are a heady blend of everything with a good dose of vulnerability. Maybe more spice might have helped but it is not necessary. What we get here is a slow dance where every move is full of eroticism that stems from genuine feelings.

World-building and Magic System
The world-building is also Hindu. It is colorful, vibrant, rich, and full of life. Be it Amaravathi or Kaushika’s ashram, opulence or earthy, everything is inherent to my culture. Even though the choice of kurta-pajama as costumes took a while to get used to, the saris, jewelry, topknots, dhoti, etc., are familiar and comforting. I love the use of scents to describe the characters. I could feel and smell them. Star anise for Rambha – what a choice! Potent and spicy, exciting and mysterious, and a touch of sweetness with a bite that can draw blood; most importantly, it should be used in small quantities or it will overpower the dish.
Magic is inherent to our essence. It is the prana that keeps us hoping and living. In the book, magic comes from prana (the source of life). It is represented by the elements (fire, wind, water, and earth), the pancha bhootas that sustain life.
While it may seem silly for ‘love’ to be the key, it is apt. It is the truth. For an apsara, it is the most vital differentiating factor. It couldn’t have been anything else. Nothing would make sense other than love. It is this love that resulted in the birth of Shakuntala.
I could easily visualize every scene in the book, be it the setting, the intimacy, the dance, or the magic. It helps that I know what a Kalpavriksha is or what Sri Yantra looks like. Not being familiar with these elements will make a difference to your reading experience.

Shiva and Ending
I’m not a crier when I read books. I read too many words a day for them to touch my heart. So, when a book makes me teary-eyed, I give it grace marks. But this made me cry; not for the characters. I was a little annoyed by Meneka but then. The tears had everything to do with Shiva in that one chapter. The tears are a response to the beauty of love for Shiva. The author must be a Shiv bhakt. You cannot fake bhakti like this (at least I think it cannot be). Words carry intentions that seem through at a point. All I feel here is love and devotion that comes from deep trust; not something we are expected to display but something that’s a part of our soul. I can only hope I’m right. If book two proves me otherwise, it’ll be a lesson I have to learn.
The ending is open since the whole thing will conclude in the sequel. Meneka has decent growth, so I hope it sustains and increases in the next book instead of crashing to zero and starting again. The stakes are high, and I prefer we have a heroine capable of more transparency and self-reflection. Don’t turn her into a new adult again. Let her continue to bloom. And… give us a beautiful chapter with Shakti.

To summarize, The Legend of Meneka is an unapologetically Hindu story filled with symbolism from the culture. It doesn’t pander to the western readers and not many will understand the nuances. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
There’s a glossary at the beginning (a great idea) and the final version will have a map as well. Don’t miss the author’s note. It might help understand the book a little more (if you couldn’t).
Thank you, NetGalley, and Harper Voyager, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Inspired by the famous Hindu mythology romance story between a celestial dancer named Meneka and her task to seduce a human sage named Kaushika only to find herself torn between her devotion to her god and her heart. Asparas are celestial dancers known for their beauty, allure, and magic. They are all trained as weapons and warriors and forced to seduce and destroy marks for her Lord Indra, the king of heaven. Meneka is tired of what she does and the state she leaves her marks in, all she wants is to be freed and to stop being forced to do the bidding of Lord Indra for his political gain. When Meneka asks for her freedom to be with another woman she loves Indra is furious and nearly punishes her but she negotiates instead: if she can seduce the mortal sage who is growing in power that threatens Indra he'll give her her freedom. The only thing Meneka knows about mortal sage is that his name is Kaushika and that he has defeated two of her sisters and turned them into stone and cursed them... and that he is bent on a mission to destroy Indra. Meneka joins Kaushika's hermitage but finds her drawn in by him and rather than seducing him she finds herself being seduced as well. Meneka has never fallen for a mark but with a war looming and Meneka's loyalties being pulled in either directions... where will her heart go and how can she stop the war? This one was definitely an interesting read as I was not familiar with this mythology/story before hand and learning about it was really fun. The story itself was unique for sure and I do think that it's a fun read for fantasy romance/mythology romance lovers. The romance was a sort of slow burn/insta-lust with some spice and then a sort of "enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers again" kind of vibe. Its the first book in the duology and I am curious how the second book ends. The kind of funny aspect of this book was how heavy handed on the "love is the answer to everything" thing it had going on, I mean yeah sure, but also ??? Overall, I do think that fantasy romance readers will have fun with this and should add it to their tbr.

Release Date: January 21, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Harper Voyager for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A coming of age story, an epic love story, a war against the gods, a questioning of identity and of choice and ones place in the world.

This was so well written, the characters have a lot of depth and plenty of flaws and so much inner turmoil. The characters aren’t always lovable but they are believable and real.

A story about a woman who was destined by birth to serve the god Indra in the form of seduction and dance, who would give anything to be free of this job she never chose for herself. In desperation she chooses and impossible mission: seduce the powerful sage that could rival the gods power himself, and bring the sage to his knees in exchange she will be free of the missions Indra sends his apsaras on to seduce troublesome humans.
Meneka uses her wit and cunning to do her missions without seducing her marks in the traditional sense. She fully intends to do the same with this powerful sage, except she discovers she might be falling for him. As she lives and works at his hermitage and learning to be a sage with other disciples, she gets to know kaushika, the sage who is her mark for this mission, and learns he is so much more than just a vengeful heathen.
While she falls for kaushika she struggles with her own sense of self and her existence. Feeling she fails at being an apsara like she was born to be, but not knowing how to be anything other than herself. She feels guilt and shame and anger for being pushed into this life without any true choice in it of her own. She vows to not take the choice away from her marks either, at least when it comes to sexually seducing them. As she struggles with herself and her mission, the war building between kaushika and Indra builds until finally coming to culmination. But there’s so much more going on behind the scenes just waiting to be revealed.

My only downgrade for this book is the ending. I felt like there needed to be more. I understand the ending that was given but it wasn’t a satisfying true ending, feeling like a whole second book could be added easily. It felt like the first book in a series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the eARC.

The Legend of Meneka by Kritika H. Rao is a captivating retelling of the Hindu mythological figure Meneka, an apsara renowned for her beauty, allure, and role as a celestial dancer, famously sent by Indra to seduce the sage Vishwamitra and disrupt his growing spiritual power.


This is my first time reading a book based on South Asian mythology and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Legend of Meneka tells the story of Meneka, an apsara, a celestial being who serves as dancers with the power to seduce and bring out the lust in others. She is tasked with the mission of bringing down the sage Kaushika, a sage who threatens the lord of Heaven Indra with the power he is gathering in the mortal realm. Throughout the story, Meneka struggles with her role as a weapon in seduction while craving her own freedom


Her time in Kaushika's hermitage allowed her to grow as she gained new perspectives and bonds with the people around her. Although her relationship with Kaushika begins with distrust and caution, Meneka finds herself drawn to his empathy and passion. As she falls for him, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, challenging her loyalty to Indra and longing to carve out her own destiny. For the first time, she begins to have her own way of thinking, free from the beliefs of what Indra pushes upon her and the other asparas whom he sends out on missions. She sees the wrong to both Indra's and Kaushika's ways, no longer blindly following Indra's commands.

Although I believe that their love began with lust, it turned into something much deeper as they learned more about one another and it did turn into real love. The romance is written in a more slow-burn way, but the sexual tension between them was well-written and i found myself kicking my feet at times as their relationship only grew and developed.

I am usually not a huge fan of romances centered around lust and seduction but at the same time, after reading the author's note and doing my own research, I understood that it is an important part of the religion and culture of Hinduism. I’m grateful this book introduced me to these ideas in such a compelling way. I am excited for the sequel (which I initially had no idea about) and I can't wait to see what is in store for Meneka and Kaushika

Another book about how the power of love can save us?? 😒 I loved the writing at first, but the plot became very bogged down with Meneka’s inner turmoil in a way that was unproductive.

This book unfortunately did not hit the mark for me. Meneka's had such inner turmoil throughout 90% of this book, and then all of a sudden, she just KNOWS things. It was incredibly exhausting to hear her constantly doubt herself and tell herself she needs to think about things and then she just.. doesn't. She tells everyone that they need love in order to truly be complete on this journey but then doesn't act this way for herself. Also the romance was incredibly weak and fell flat. Yes the main characters were attracted to each other, but that was it. Unfortunately I will not be reading the second book.