I wanted to like this more than I did. As someone who's familiar with Hindu lore, I loved the world building and the different characters depicted from our history. But if I had not known this history already, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it as much. I loved the set up and the descriptions but the romance was too stilted. I couldn't feel any chemistry between the lead pair and that was disappointing. I might still end up reading book 2 but it will require more nuances into Meneka who felt very 1D here

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

Overall, I couldn't connect with this book for several reasons.
1. Meneka, the FMC, was insufferable.
2. The story felt all over the place - there wasn't a clear storyline or wrap-up.
3. There was a lack of story and character progression - details were stated instead of described so it felt disjointed

I give this two stars and hope the next book performs better with world-building and story progression.

The Vibes:

—apsaras

—testing that celibacy

—falling in love with the mark

Heat Index: 6.5/10

The Basics:

When the revered sage Kaushika begins threatening the power of Indra, the celestial king sends Meneka to seduce him into breaking his asceticism and losing his strength. Meneka has her own agenda, and is determined to bring Kaushika down—but as she learns from and gets to know him, her charge may break her.

The Review:

Quick disclaimer—I'm not Indian or otherwise Hindu, and I can't attest to how this book relates to the legend beyond what I've read and (lightly) researched. With that in mind, I'm assessing this as a book independent of its inspiration.

Based on the legend of the Hindu sage Vishvamitra and apsara Menaka, The Legend of Meneka is a fantasy romance (happy ending included) that spends a lot of time actually considering the big questions. What even is asceticism, and is it worth it? Is that really how we become closer to our gods (and our goals)? Does self-denial make you a better (stronger) person?

And like... What about love and carnality in all this?

But, you know. It's also fun.

The book takes place entirely from Meneka's perspective. And I liked her—she's a classic "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way" kind of tragic vamp, a being who exists to seduce and destroy (albeit more emotionally than physically). Off the bat, we know she struggles with her being, her purpose. But it's less because she really morally doesn't believe in what she's doing, and more because she's infatuated with fellow apsara.

Yes everyone, Meneka is super bi, and it's super on the page (she's actually introduced seducing a queen), and I loved how it was handled. Queerness is casually portrayed through multiple characters, and Meneka, though she doesn't get physical with her marks anymore, alludes to other experiences with women. And.... then she falls in love with Kaushika. Imagine that! Bisexuality is just a thing.

There's this really lush world described, a poetic kind of magic. A lot of this is a thinky book, and to a point I kind of debate whether it's a fantasy romance or (as the back copy admittedly states) a true romantic fantasy. Kaushika and Meneka's love story is front and center, it's the crux of the book. But it definitely felt more like Meneka's journey than his. Which doesn't mean it's NOT a romance. This may also just be me going "Why can't we have a dual POV?"

And that is the one thing I thought this book was missing. I wanted to be in Kaushika's head. For a lot of the book, he's a fairly distant figure, and even when he starts to melt for Meneka that remains somewhat true. I get why, and it doesn't really take away from the book, but it does make his relationship to Meneka feel somewhat secondary.

That said....

The Sex:

What's really hot about this novel, aside from the general sensuality of everything described, is the Temptation. Kaushika is genuinely a stone wall against Meneka's seduction (... at first), which creates several funny scenes where she's like, literally banging her head against a wall in frustration. Initially, it's frustration over being unable to execute her mission.

It becomes frustration of a different kind.

The scenes here are explicitly, but described in a way that sort of folds into the general poetic vibe of the novel. Again, really sensual versus scorching. And it's also super satisfying to see Meneka, supposedly a creature of desire, finally experienced pleasure for HERSELF about HER. Kaushika's a giver!

This is, appropriately, an absorbing and meditative fantasy novel with a strong romantic throughline. I still haven't decided whether or not it's a Romance (happy ending aside) but it's definitely worth reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Kritika H. Rao, NetGalley, and HarperVoyager for the e-book ARC!

I enjoyed reading this title, mostly for the way it was written. The prose was absolutely astonishing and beautiful, even if I found the story lacking in intensity and interesting characters. As much as this isn’t a book I felt invested in, I will be revisiting this author in the future, for sure, due to the writing style that was just so immaculate. Even if the plot isn’t necessarily for you, give it a go just to experience it.

This was an amazing book. The pacing and characters were well developed which allowed for me to read and not get bored from it. The Legend of Meneka is such a wonderful read and I loved learning about this character, world, and so much more. Rao has a new fan with me and I can't wait to read more

This was interesting, I loved the Hindu mythology-inspired world and the worldbuilding. The fmc is a celestial dancer and seducer warrior who works on behalf of the lord of the realm. When we meet the fmc, she questions her loyalty to the lord after her last mission. She is sent to seduce a mortal sage who is gaining a lot of power and is threatening her lord and finds herself attracted to and falling in love with him. The mmc was good, but I wish there had been more into his thoughts and pov. The mmc practices magic and is a dimpled brooder which I always like. There was a lot of yearning, seduction, and wanting and I liked the cross between mythology and fantasy. Thank you Avon for this arc!

Read for:
- Enemies to lovers
- Hindu mythology
- Seductress fmc
- Romantasy
- Warrior fmc
- Sage mmc

I was excited to read this but man, this story was dull. Romance where??? The beginning also threw me off with the religious undertones. That's just a hard subject for me, personally. I enjoyed the mythology woven throughout, but it was hard to keep my interest. The pacing got pretty slow in the middle, and I ended up feeling quite bored. I think there are some who would really enjoy this, but it wasn't a favorite of mine. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

This was a beautiful, beautiful story and I loved it so much. The Legend of Meneka is a breathtaking romantasy steeped in Hindu mythology and follows Meneka, a celestial dancer (apsara) whose duty is to seduce mortal "marks" at the command of her king Indra. The marks are always those who have posed political challenges for Indra and threatened devotion in him in the mortal realm, which weakens his power.

Meneka desires freedom from the role of seducing mortals, wanting to live peacefully in her own realm. So in exchange, she agrees to seduce Kaushika, a mortal sage that Meneka finds out has amassed immense power.

From the moment Meneka meets Kaushika, I was absolutely captivated by their story. Kritika Rao transcends the bounds of typical romantasy tropes and instead concocts a sweeping, star-crossed lovers story - and it is definitely enemies to lovers to enemies... and then lovers? Meneka is everything that Kaushika loathes, and she herself has been taught that Kaushika is immoral. But despite their weariness to each other and no matter how much hatred is ingrained in them, their pull is undeniable. Kaushika's sense of self revolved around self-discipline and denial of love/pleasure, but Meneka chips away at his walls bit by bit. I adored Meneka. She is love personified - she loves her realm and her king but also cannot help but love the mortals and their land. She loves so fiercely and so deeply -- I wanted nothing but the best for her.

The pacing in the early-middle of the book was a bit slow at times as Meneka struggles to grasp a new magic, and the religious terminology is very frequent and hefty, and can be confusing for those who aren't familiar. There is a glossary, although I still had to do some extra research. That said, I enjoyed learning about Hindu mythology and I felt so immersed into this world.

Kritika Rao's writing is stunningly lush, and a big strength in this book is its imagery. I've found myself really enjoying mythology retelling as of late and this book delivered in every way. I fell in love with Meneka and Kaushika and can't wait to read more from this author. Thank you so much to Avon, Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this ARC! 📚

this was interesting! a mix between feminist retellings like circe and romantasy— i’m not sure this fully worked for me, though. i think it’s the circe/kaikeyi/etc part of the formula— i’m just not the biggest fan of those kinds of books; even the malinalli arc wasn’t super riveting for me, and i felt that again here, despite enjoying the romance and romantasy elements. still, i think this is a good option in the genre for anyone looking for more south asian fantasy.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Voyager for the ARC. This was such a beautiful read, from the characters, to the setting, to the magic, and the themes, and of course the prose. I love the journey that both Meneka and Kaushika go on throughout the book. I also love the complexity behind seduction as it is explored through the story, not just the obvious sexual variety, but the way so many characters throughout the book seduce each other in terms of belief and journey. Also the actual seduction and subterfuge and manipulation was done so well. I also love how tense and complicated Meneka's inner journey and outer conflict was. The arguments and fights between Meneka and Kaushika were so well written, I love how their relationship progressed through the book. It was also really cute and romantic at times. I love the way Hindu mythology and philosophy was intertwined with the themes of seduction and identity and devotion. The world building is rich, the mythological inspiration beautiful, familiar, but also fresh and unique, which I think is a strength present throughout all of Kritika H Rao's books. The emotional parts were also really well written, I cried so much during the last third of the book, I was just so moved by everything. This book seduced me. I cannot wait for the next book!

The prose is strong, the story is equal parts fresh and familiar, and the story is told well. Really good, overall!

(I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

What a fun romantasy! I liked the mythological background a lot, and the romance was great. Towards the end, I felt like the battle scenes and their descriptions were a little complicated, but I didn't have a problem with the writing style otherwise. Meneka was a really interesting main character to follow, and I liked her character development.

Indian mythical Background: Kaushika has been one of my favorite of the seven Brahmarishis. One who was born as a prince and warrior, he was quelled by Vashishta, another Brahmarishi, who used his staff to absorb even the greatest weapon (Brahmastra) hurled at him by Kaushika, When Kaushika attempts the ascetic penance required to become a sage, he encounters Trisanku, and since Indra refuses Trisanku entry into heaven creates another heaven and loses his ascetic powers. He begins his penances all over to be thwarted by Meneka and spends 12 years with her, she falls in love with him and bears him a child - Sakuntala, before resuming his original task of becoming a Maharishi and the second time, Indra sends Rambha who gets cursed. Finally after many more years of dedicated penance, he finally becomes one of the saptarishis as Vishwamitra or 'Friend of the Universe'

I am a fan of Vaishnavi Patel's novels and was expecting a similar connected yet moving rendition of the tale. Kritika has surprised me, and in such a wonderful way! She's delved into the role of the Apsara and etched each of the divinities as flighty, devious and balanced within nature. The exploration of love as a theme in devotion was superbly executed and the duality of rage and love with shades of acceptance, loyalty and trust have been mellifluously depicted.

The story begins with Meneka returning from a mission to seduce a devotee who strayed from the worship of Indra. Her inner dialogues and doubts that assail her, when she performs , form the crux of the story. She fancies herself in love with Rambha, the head apsara, and to earn her freedom, has to seduce kaushika to whom 3 apsaras have already been lost. Meneka gets recruited as a yogi and must contend with the mortals and their beliefs and her own self doubt.

You end up falling in love with Meneka, the immortal who is young at heart, and grows with her experience and survives her doubts. Her path to asceticism and acceptance of her emotions and status, the way she recovers from her fumbling and thrives in her newfound knowledge make this a beautiful and exulting read. Add in some spicy moments with sparks flying between the lead pair and my oh my - what a page turner she is!!!

A million thank yous to Kritika, Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this wonderful opportunity to revisit a well loved epic's retelling at the hands of a masterful storyteller!

An utterly lush and absolutely enthralling Indian mythological fantasy, this is a must-read book that captured my attention completely! With nuanced characters, a fascinatnig magic system, and an intricate plotline, this title is highly recommended to any and everyone! Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyage for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have been addicted to these fantasy novels that have inspiration from things other than the main stream (and overdone) concepts. I'm tired of beauty and the beast retellings, Greek gods, etc.. So as soon as I saw this, I knew I had to read it - and when I got the approval email I squealed a little bit. I read this in a day, the writing style was great. That being said, I wasn't a huge fan of Meneka in this story. I had to keep reminding myself that she's young (in her early twenties), but still - the book itself was great and I enjoyed it a lot.

I would pitch this book as Goddess of the River but romantasy

It doesn't have the same feel as the average romantasy, because it goes so much deeper. It's a retelling of a Hindu myth, and as such uses a lot of religious themes and I really liked how the author used both Hindu philisophy and this specific myth to explore deeper meanings of both love and seduction.

I don't think I've really seen this mentioned, but Meneka is bisexual and initially has feelings for another apsara, though her main romance is of course with Kaushika. The world also felt queernorm to me.

This book hooked me from the first page, which for me rarely happens. The author posted on Insta how in this book the first line didn't really change from the first draft, and I think it's a great first line.

The book opened with Meneka finishing her seduction of Queen Tara, a Queen who had plans for war and would forsake the god Indra. Meneka's task is to seduce her which will turn her away from these plans, and leave her a mess. Meneka hates it. And I love how this opening shows Meneka's character so clearly, because she truly feels awful about having to do this.

She returns to the heavens to report back to Indra, the ruling god, and she wants nothing more than to stay in that realm so she never has to seduce anyone else again. She asks Indra this, and Indra gets quite angry. But he offers her a deal: if she can seduce Kaushika, a mortal sage gaining too much power, then she'll never have to go on another mission. The catch: three other apsaras, each far more experienced than Meneka, have tried and they haven't returned.

Meneka enters Kaushika's commune, where he teaches other people with a talent for magic how to wield their power, along with the path of Shiva. Meneka and Kaushika have quite opposing ideals at first. Meneka might not like her missions, but she does love Indra and wants to serve him, while Kaushika hates Indra and thinks the god has failed humanity. But despite these differences, they find common ground and a romance develops.

The romance between Kaushika and Meneka develops slowly, but it feels very sensual. Seduction is a major theme, and while Meneka has to seduce Kaushika, Kaushika seduces people too, including Meneka, and not all seduction is of romantic/sexual notion. Kaushika pulling people into his quest against Indra is also characterized as a form of seduction.
The pair love each other even when they keep different ideas, as Meneka never agrees with Kaushika about his plans to wage war against Indra even if she gets where he's coming from.

I loved the writing style of this book. It's easy to read, but pretty, and delves very deep into emotion, of the character. To me, it felt very similar to Goddess of the River.

There are sex scenes in this book, but I'd say those are not solely there to be spicy, but also to explore the role of sexuality, sensuality and seduction in love, and place this in the context of the philosphy Meneka and Kaushika follow, and it introduces different ideas from Hinduism. Kaushika believes he must abstain from sex to achieve enlightenment and be able to wield magic (asceticism), whereas Meneka believes Shiva's wife Shakti is very important and that power also comes from Shiva and Shakti's love for each other. I do not know much about hinduism, but I think both these ideas are different traditions within hinduism.

I would recommend this book to fans of Vaishnavi Patel in particular, and to people who enjoy romantasy but would enjoy more depth and philosophy regarding love

I would describe this book as "lukewarm." While this was certainly readable, this definitely tends toward lower Adult or very upper YA. I actually had to check a few times while reading to see whether this was pitched as YA or Adult--and after reading, I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't quite hold up to the current standard of what I see in an Adult fantasy. I think this book would have hit better for me if some of the characters were aged down and scenes slightly changed (intimate scenes, etc) to suit a YA audience better because those things aside, that was what this book felt like. Adding sexual content and higher character ages is all well and good to satisfy the criteria of Adult fantasy, but when the themes, emotion, and frankly, plotline feel not out of place in a YA book, I don't feel it's ready for publication. While the prose was all right most of the time, Meneka's personality felt extraordinarily one-dimensional (and my god, did she whine constantly), the romance lacking depth and emotional intimacy, and the storyline/conflict simply serviceable. I did, however, think the worldbuilding was interesting, drawing upon a culture I'm not that familiar with, so I did like that. Ultimately, a disappointment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

I overall enjoyed the book and getting to dive into a story based on a cultural tradition I am unfamiliar with.

That being said it was a bit too YA for me (and this is hard to gauge until I dive into a book honestly). Our heroine felt a bit too juvenile and whiny/angsty for me to enjoy the plot.

The Legend of Meneka is not just a book with a beautiful cover. It’s a sweeping epic retelling (with some artistic license) of the Hindu religious story of Meneka who is an apsara for the king of the gods, Indra. Apsaras are seductive dancers who lure men and women to their ruin at the behest of Indra. (Almost like Greek Sirens but minus the boats.) So, if Indra is not happy with you due to a grave disobedience, the apsara is sent and your life plans go awry as this beautiful woman dances and casts illusions in front of you.

Meneka is having an identity crisis, however, and is struggling with being devoted to her Lord and duties but feeling guilt about the lives she is ruining. We read a few times how she never sleeps with her marks but they are all ruined just the same. She wants out and desires a life in heaven hanging out with her handler, Rambha who is like a master apsara that Indra loves the most. To get her freedom from this work she ends up agreeing to seduce Kaushika who is a powerful sage that is threatening Indra by teaching many against worshipping him. The problem is, that this sage is tough to defeat as he is very powerful. It also doesn’t help that he’s handsome. So begins Meneka’s adventure which leads to some magic, miracles, and mayhem.

I am an Indian American woman who was not raised in the Hindu religion and I had to do a deep dive of research in the middle as I was enthralled by the lore and characters the author details. You don’t need to do this but I felt it helped this detail-oriented reader visualize things a bit better. I loved how the story, while told from the POV of Meneka was still written with a cadence and language that reminds you of religious text. It had a beauty to it that was truly like the celestial beauty of Meneka. (Also, I love it when a book uses the word petrichor.) I was caught up and carried along which is always my goal when reading.

This book had no clear hero or villain as Meneka struggled to figure it out herself. It has a lot of names and locations and magical systems that can be confusing but any good fantasy reader will do just fine. It looks to be a series and I am excited as there was a bit of a cliffhanger. Don’t fret, as the story has a resolution but it will be great to see how some big things are resolved in the next book.

I definitely recommend this for those who want to hear a new grand story written by a BIPOC author.

I was provided this book as an ARC from NetGalley and I loved every minute of it.

As a south asian, I was super excited to pick this one up, especially with the blurb and mentions about Apsaras. It sounded dreamy, clever, and everything I would want in an Indian mythology inspired book. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me, mainly the main character Meneka. She wasn't an interesting character to follow, and she just seemed very whiny and complain-ey throughout the book, which got on my nerves pretty quick. I wish there was some depth to her personality, some greyness to her thoughts and some complexity to her character, but for this installment we didn't receive much in terms of character development. Overall, this was a good attempt, but I wish we were given a bit more to work with.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Everything in this review is my own opinion and has in no way been influenced by the writer, publisher, or Netgalley.