Scan barcode
niyou's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Kaikeyi was such a wonderful, complex character. I experienced the story and reactions alongside her: love, foreboding, (out)rage and joy. This book will stay with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
bluejayreads's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have to start out by saying that I have not read the Ramayana, although it is on my list of things to read eventually. So I had zero context going into this. But I do know I love reading books in interesting settings (ancient India certainly fits that bill) and usually enjoy vilified characters getting to tell their side of the story, especially when said character is a warrior queen fighting against society and the gods themselves to make her mark. I didn’t know if I was going to get an anti-hero or a heroine whose story got told only by her enemies, but I was excited to find out.
Kaikeyi herself was a fantastic character. As a woman, her purpose in life was to be married off; as a princess, she learned a lot about politics and diplomacy; as a stubborn sister, she convinced her brother to teach her to fight and drive a war chariot. She is also on-page aro-ace, making the eventual marriage an even worse prospect. And she also has a magic that lets her influence others’ thoughts and feelings, which adds an extra dimension to the politics. She wants equality for herself and other women, and she will use all the tools available to fight for it.
There is a lot of politics and diplomacy in this book. Normally that’s something I don’t enjoy, but Kaikeyi’s magic and its uses in getting her way made it tolerable and sometimes even enjoyable. I also love reading about characters who are good at what they do, and Kaikeyi is very, very good at what she does. I’m sure some of it is the magic, but she’s also had a lot of practice and is determined to make life better and more equal for women. Somehow even the fully political parts never crossed the line into dull.
I very nearly did not finish this book, and that is not at all the book’s fault. I’ve been under a lot of stress related to an unnecessarily complicated and frustrating move, and apparently my emotions are a little raw. As the book moved towards the end and things kept getting worse and worse as the climax approached, I nearly stopped – not because I didn’t want to see how it ended, but because I couldn’t handle the emotional intensity. I assumed it would have a sad, tragic, likely violent ending (again, have not read the Ramayana, but “vilified queens” rarely have happy endings in any mythology) and I liked Kaikeyi too much to want to watch that happen.
But I pushed through and I survived (and the ending wasn’t nearly as tragic as I expected). And I am very glad I stuck it out. Even without the context of knowing the Ramayana, Kaikeyi is a great book. I suspect that it would be even more interesting and engaging to someone who knows the original myths of the queen who is reimagined in these pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
Forced marriage, sexual content with dubious consent (mentions)savvyrosereads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Rating: 5/5 stars
A feminist retelling inspired by the Ramayana, Kaikeyi tells the story of Radnyi (Queen) Kaikeyi of Kosala and her journey through magic, motherhood, and the destruction (and salvation) of her family and kingdom.
“It was a child, freer than her mother had been.”
I adored this book! I love a feminist retelling, but it’s no secret that many of them have a tendency to be slow and a bit boring in sections. Not so here—Kaikeyi is action-packed and engaging from the very beginning, and Kaikeyi herself is a delight of a character who I was rooting for the whole way through. So much happens in this book that it isn’t easy to summarize (or even review), but I laughed, cried, and was thoroughly enthralled by the story and all the side characters (especially Kaushalya and Lakshmana, my faves).
I will also add that even though I went into this with pretty minimal knowledge of the Ramayana/any source myths, I never felt confused about the world or the events taking place. In fact, while I’m sure those who grew up with these myths will also enjoy the book, I think I was even more enchanted because everything was new to me—so if you’re intimidated by this book for those reasons, don’t be!
Bottom line: if you enjoy mythology and retellings, you absolutely have to read this one.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: feminist retellings; Hindu epics; fantasy meets mythology.
CW: War/violence/injury/death; death of parent; abandonment; discussions of infertility; discussions of child death.
A feminist retelling inspired by the Ramayana, Kaikeyi tells the story of Radnyi (Queen) Kaikeyi of Kosala and her journey through magic, motherhood, and the destruction (and salvation) of her family and kingdom.
“It was a child, freer than her mother had been.”
I adored this book! I love a feminist retelling, but it’s no secret that many of them have a tendency to be slow and a bit boring in sections. Not so here—Kaikeyi is action-packed and engaging from the very beginning, and Kaikeyi herself is a delight of a character who I was rooting for the whole way through. So much happens in this book that it isn’t easy to summarize (or even review), but I laughed, cried, and was thoroughly enthralled by the story and all the side characters (especially Kaushalya and Lakshmana, my faves).
I will also add that even though I went into this with pretty minimal knowledge of the Ramayana/any source myths, I never felt confused about the world or the events taking place. In fact, while I’m sure those who grew up with these myths will also enjoy the book, I think I was even more enchanted because everything was new to me—so if you’re intimidated by this book for those reasons, don’t be!
Bottom line: if you enjoy mythology and retellings, you absolutely have to read this one.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: feminist retellings; Hindu epics; fantasy meets mythology.
CW: War/violence/injury/death; death of parent; abandonment; discussions of infertility; discussions of child death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Infertility and Infidelity
emzireads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry and War
kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Stunning. This is my second major foray into works inspired by Indian mythology, and it is truly the vibe!! This follows a lesser known story in the mythos and turns it into a feminist piece of actual art. So nuanced, so emotional, so ASEXUAL!!!!!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Violence, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infertility, and Death of parent
erinmjustice's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Violence, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infertility, and Death of parent
kenziewhitener's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment and War
Minor: Death and Death of parent
sunlit_music's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Prose: Prose is succinct and elegant, and not a single word is wasted. It's easy to understand, with a sense of destiny being unavoidable, which adds to the mythical feel of the story.
Plot: We get to see the main character Kaikeyi, grow from a young and insecure woman, to a brave, confident and mature older woman who strives to bring peace, increase women's rights in her kingdom and prevent war. My favorite part was where she wrote letters to her relative (I think, her brother?) and he tries to reassure her.
I also really like the parts where she forms the women's council, and how the council helps women in her kingdom.
Characters: Characters are all well written, realistic, with insecurities, hopes and dreams. They feel ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. There's humans with magic powers, people who are blessed by gods, and the gods - and yet they feel relatable and human.
I like how Kaikeyi is allowed to be vulnerable and feel moments of self doubt. She questions if she is doing the right thing, as a ruler and as a mother.
There isn't much focus on the protagonist Kaikeyi's flaws (although she does admit that her over protectiveness harmed her children near the end of the novel), but there is focus on the other main characters' flaws - how they're unwilling to believe something bad about someone they care about, and howKaikeyi's son Bharat eventually reconciles with her and admits he was wrong to misjudge her.
What I especially like is how the novel depicts how people are in real life versus how they are portrayed in fiction and myth.
The part near the end where a woman shows Kaikeyi all the women she helped, after Kaikeyi is scorned and hated forexiling her son was incredibly emotional for me (I shed some tears).
I'm also glad for the nuanced characterisation. Most of the characters aren't completely good or evil - they have a mixture of good and bad traits like real people, and even the antagonist Kaikeyi's son Ram is somewhat redeemed near the end where he blooms into a better person and frees someone from an old spell/curse.
Mood: There's happy and sad moments throughout the entire book. I'd say the atmosphere is very tense and sad for chapters 31 to 36. It's not badly written (it's actually well written), just bring some tissues. The mood becomes lighter in chapter 37 onwards.
Ending: the ending and epilogue is hopeful, and makes logical and emotional sense. I get the impression that Kaikeyi is glad that the gods won't focus on her anymore, so she can live her own life. And I'm happy with that, because she's suffered so much grief and pain. She deserves to live her own life, free from what the gods have ordained for her.
Content warning for: Kaikeyi experiencing sexism from her son, her husband, other men and women characters (not sure if I should mention who, since it could get spoilery). Minor characters experience sexism too, but the narrative thankfully calls it out and makes it clear that sexism is not acceptable.
Verdict: I definitely recommend this book, but you do need to pace yourself (it is long, but worth it!). It is ok to take notes to keep track of who is who - there's a lot of characters and events, but they're all there for a good reason, plot or character wise.
Narrator for the audiobook: The narrator has a wonderful, smooth and expressive voice, and does different voices for each character wonderfully. She sounds natural and eloquent, and it's a pleasure listening to her narration.
Plot: We get to see the main character Kaikeyi, grow from a young and insecure woman, to a brave, confident and mature older woman who strives to bring peace, increase women's rights in her kingdom and prevent war. My favorite part was where she wrote letters to her relative (I think, her brother?) and he tries to reassure her.
I also really like the parts where she forms the women's council, and how the council helps women in her kingdom.
Characters: Characters are all well written, realistic, with insecurities, hopes and dreams. They feel ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. There's humans with magic powers, people who are blessed by gods, and the gods - and yet they feel relatable and human.
I like how Kaikeyi is allowed to be vulnerable and feel moments of self doubt. She questions if she is doing the right thing, as a ruler and as a mother.
There isn't much focus on the protagonist Kaikeyi's flaws (although she does admit that her over protectiveness harmed her children near the end of the novel), but there is focus on the other main characters' flaws - how they're unwilling to believe something bad about someone they care about, and how
What I especially like is how the novel depicts how people are in real life versus how they are portrayed in fiction and myth.
The part near the end where a woman shows Kaikeyi all the women she helped, after Kaikeyi is scorned and hated for
I'm also glad for the nuanced characterisation. Most of the characters aren't completely good or evil - they have a mixture of good and bad traits like real people, and even the antagonist
Mood: There's happy and sad moments throughout the entire book. I'd say the atmosphere is very tense and sad for chapters 31 to 36. It's not badly written (it's actually well written), just bring some tissues. The mood becomes lighter in chapter 37 onwards.
Ending: the ending and epilogue is hopeful, and makes logical and emotional sense. I get the impression that Kaikeyi is glad that the gods won't focus on her anymore, so she can live her own life. And I'm happy with that, because she's suffered so much grief and pain. She deserves to live her own life, free from what the gods have ordained for her.
Content warning for: Kaikeyi experiencing sexism from her son, her husband, other men and women characters (not sure if I should mention who, since it could get spoilery). Minor characters experience sexism too, but the narrative thankfully calls it out and makes it clear that sexism is not acceptable.
Verdict: I definitely recommend this book, but you do need to pace yourself (it is long, but worth it!). It is ok to take notes to keep track of who is who - there's a lot of characters and events, but they're all there for a good reason, plot or character wise.
Narrator for the audiobook: The narrator has a wonderful, smooth and expressive voice, and does different voices for each character wonderfully. She sounds natural and eloquent, and it's a pleasure listening to her narration.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexism, and War
meliroo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
mani's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail