Reviews tagging 'Death'

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

99 reviews

brelynnhess's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, and Misogyny

tinysierra's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Kaikeyi is a beautiful story. It took me a moment to really get into the book, but once I did, I felt Kaikeyi’s frustration, joy, heartache. Vaishnavi Patel did a beautiful job crafting the story through Kaikeyi’s eyes. She was such a great main character. 

Kaikeyi is aroace, which was incredibly well done. The words “aromantic” and “asexual” are not used on page, but the text is clear.
Aromantic quote:

“They thought me shy when it came to such matters, for I would sit back quietly, but in fact I had nothing to add. No such feelings for Dasharath, or any person, had ever surfaced in me. I was comfortable with my husband, loved him as a dear friend, but the pull of romance meant nothing to me. I could be happy for those in love, but I could not understand.” pg 198

Asexual quote:

”For when I thought about the acts Manthara described, or when I studied the illustrations in some of the more well-hidden recesses of the library, I felt only indifference. I had heard serving girls talk in whispers and giggles about men they found charming, or how it felt to steal a covert kiss with their betrothed. I thought of Dasharath and searched for the same desire within myself, but nothing ever emerged.” pg 98

I loved the sense of sisterhood between the wives. I loved that the children were cared for equally by all of them. It was so achingly beautiful. 

I personally liked that although there was pregnancy, it wasn’t talked about deeply.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Murder, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and War

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Infertility, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

lucystolethesky's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Sexism, Death, Child abuse, War, Misogyny, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Child death

Minor: Blood, Infertility, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

bitter_critter's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was my first experience reading an Indian fiction and I can confidently say it did not disappoint. I genuinely loved that a twelve year-old child's inner thoughts sounded like that of a twelve year-old. Same for a young adult and mature adult. It really shows the natural growth of people, maintaining a sense of emotional realism and smooth, age-based transitions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death and War

Minor: Violence

trilli_pop's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

glowhoya's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

wish i could eat this book. impossible to put down, lush, full of wonderfully complex characters. palace intrigue + gods + magic, everything you could ever want. powerful story about connections between people and the weight of our decisions.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, and War

Minor: Death of parent and Death

elderwoodreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

A truly special fantasy epic. I am not familiar with the source mythology so I can't comment on the faithfulness of the retelling but I absolutely adored this as it's own story. I love the exploration of motherhood and womanhood in this story and what it means to do things for the greater good even if you cannot do everything. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, Abandonment, Grief, and War

Minor: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Blood

alsira98's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, War, and Death

julierambaeck's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I LOVE WOMEN!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Death of parent, Death, Sexism, Murder, and Grief

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Pregnancy, and Child death

matcha_pages's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed seeing Kaikeyi as a woman who chooses power over freedom. She defies convention when it comes to the gods because they've never helped her.  She's also hypocritical, stubborn, and manipulative. She's great as the anti-hero.  But all the other characters felt so one dimensional, which was disappointing because we know they're also conflicted.

The book also felt longer than it actually was and I was hoping for more action to help break up the long sequences of domestic drama. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Death

Moderate: Violence and War