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rnbhargava's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
4.25
I loved so much about this Ramayana expansion and partial retelling. The highs and lows are dramatic and I love this book for it. I also love that the title character’s mind is where we exclusively reside in for this retelling given she’s usually depicted as a wicked stepmother type in many Ramayana variations. Seeing her extended family, early days of her marriage, her bonds with her fellow wives and the community of her adopted home Ayodhya. Seeing her build bonds and falter in others. Seeing her reconnect with others across time. I liked the recontextualizinv of Ravana too. The depiction of Rama is done for a specific reason and I kind of loved that surprising shift. I’m sure it ruffled some but I think fine, it’s merely one retelling so if you dislike it, disregard it. The family bonds really define the narrative here and it’s so good to read through. The characterizations of Kaikeyi’s fellow wives could have been expanded but then I guess it would take away from being solely Kaikeyi’s point of view.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Racism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, and War
The question of free will/manipulation is central to the abilities used by the title character and an few other individuals. The title character is asexual so depending on how you see it, the few sex scenes in the plot could be understood in a few ways. There is definite misogyny throughout the book, even from males that are mostly supportive of progressing rights for women. There’s a specific point in showing it that way. Going against the patriarchy and redefining society happens in time.marioncromb's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
An enjoyable read and an accessible introduction to Hindu mythology/the Ramayana epic - the worldbuilding is in some sense the same mental adjustment/ treated as in any fantasy novel, you don't need to know any background beforehand, though it does add extra depth/foreshadowing to know the basic plot points of the Ramayana.
Initially i was worried about reading one of these 'feminist retellings' - there have been many that arent particularly any good, written more because its a bit of a trend.But i had none of those frustrations with this, it was very readable, and felt it had something substantially extra, but also honoring the orginial myth, to offer.
The mechanics of Kaikeyi's magic in the Binding Plane is well done, it adds an additional 'visual' element to her bonds and manipulations. My favourite bits were where she's using those skills politically, juggling lots of people's needs to gain power and help people. She was also flawed enough in a realistic way that it wasnt annoyingly mary sue or being frustratingly dense just to avoid plotholes.
Always nice to see an aroace MC, and also the strong friendships she had with the other wives as well as her husband. I also liked the way the fantasy elements were introduced slowly - at the beginning you can even get the impression that maybe the 'gods' are just religious mortals over-interpreting random occurences or gaslighting people.
Initially i was worried about reading one of these 'feminist retellings' - there have been many that arent particularly any good, written more because its a bit of a trend.But i had none of those frustrations with this, it was very readable, and felt it had something substantially extra, but also honoring the orginial myth, to offer.
The mechanics of Kaikeyi's magic in the Binding Plane is well done, it adds an additional 'visual' element to her bonds and manipulations. My favourite bits were where she's using those skills politically, juggling lots of people's needs to gain power and help people. She was also flawed enough in a realistic way that it wasnt annoyingly mary sue or being frustratingly dense just to avoid plotholes.
Always nice to see an aroace MC, and also the strong friendships she had with the other wives as well as her husband. I also liked the way the fantasy elements were introduced slowly - at the beginning you can even get the impression that maybe the 'gods' are just religious mortals over-interpreting random occurences or gaslighting people.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Sexism, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Rape, Grief, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Fire/Fire injury
lucystolethesky's review
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
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
margaret_k30's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Sexism, and Murder
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse
samburkhouse's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, Death, and War
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
amaranth_wytch's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Sexism, War, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Pregnancy and Child abuse
fareehareads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It's funny how many times I picked up this book and put it down now that I've actually finished it, because wow. I've stumbled upon my favorite read of this year thus far. This book is absolutely gorgeous. I love a good mythology retelling especially when told from the female perspective since most myths (from any culture in the world really, take your pick) often use women as ploys, foils, distractions, and of course villains in the man's epic tale.
Kaikeyi of Kekaya is not that simple. This retelling is from the Indian epic: Ramayana which has been told and retold may times over, similar to the Greek retellings we see saturating the publishing world today (I'd especially say to Medusa & Circe fans that you'll love Kaikeyi). This myth gives credit to and fully shapes this strong character who, in most depictions, is described as an evil stepmother figure that callously banishes Rama and causes pain across the land. In Kaikeyi's tale, we see a rounded human being that was often disrespected, belittled for her sex, and forsaken by the gods she fervently prayed to her whole life. We follow her life as she makes one calculated decision after the other to do best by her children, her kingdom, her people, specifically the women of her kingdom. She expands women's rights in a way that is almost seamless and such an incredibly cathartic inclusion for me as a reader, I'd love to see more fantasy novels that acknowledge small changes in kindgoms as well as large ones, it makes for a more well rounded setting (and is just so much more entertaining to read).
The worldbuilding in this story is just incredible and I have to gush about it. As Kaikeyi is growing up in her home land, Patel does such an incredible job solving a problem I see in so many fantasy epic stories make. They often brush past or rush through the growing up part, choosing instead to have a time skip and not really show what a lone kid in a large castle was up to. Instead, Patel embraces the still quiet moments, and shows us just how much Kaikeyi is up to. We watch her learn how to control her abilities, how to bend people to her will and how to practice restraint, we see what her day to day life is like when she starts training with Yudhajit and after her mother leaves we see as she slowly takes up house duties as a yuvrani (young queen), how her brothers defer to her, how her father barely acknowledges her until she needs to marry etc.
Reading this book was like flipping through a very detailed character study, and that's not a criticism, it's what made me enjoy the story even more. By the time she reaches adulthood and motherhood, I know Kaikeyi well. I understand her character motivations and it makes me root for her even more. Which is of course the point of framing a narrative around a character whose perspective is never often spoken about but damn it needs to be reiterated that this book is as clever as it is entertaining.
The finite details, the threads weaved between people binding them to her and to each other, the politics of men and women, the beasts and legends and myths, it was an absolute delight to read. I loved every second of this book. The prose is excellent, the story is engaging throughout, and without knowing the original epic I could see the bones of the story that is obviously in front of me, but Kaikeyi's version breaths such different air into it in such an artful manner, I was absolutely taken by it.
Definitely bump this higher on your TBR, I don't know why more people don't sing praises for this book, it deserves it!
Kaikeyi of Kekaya is not that simple. This retelling is from the Indian epic: Ramayana which has been told and retold may times over, similar to the Greek retellings we see saturating the publishing world today (I'd especially say to Medusa & Circe fans that you'll love Kaikeyi). This myth gives credit to and fully shapes this strong character who, in most depictions, is described as an evil stepmother figure that callously banishes Rama and causes pain across the land. In Kaikeyi's tale, we see a rounded human being that was often disrespected, belittled for her sex, and forsaken by the gods she fervently prayed to her whole life. We follow her life as she makes one calculated decision after the other to do best by her children, her kingdom, her people, specifically the women of her kingdom. She expands women's rights in a way that is almost seamless and such an incredibly cathartic inclusion for me as a reader, I'd love to see more fantasy novels that acknowledge small changes in kindgoms as well as large ones, it makes for a more well rounded setting (and is just so much more entertaining to read).
The worldbuilding in this story is just incredible and I have to gush about it. As Kaikeyi is growing up in her home land, Patel does such an incredible job solving a problem I see in so many fantasy epic stories make. They often brush past or rush through the growing up part, choosing instead to have a time skip and not really show what a lone kid in a large castle was up to.
Reading this book was like flipping through a very detailed character study, and that's not a criticism, it's what made me enjoy the story even more. By the time she reaches adulthood and motherhood, I know Kaikeyi well. I understand her character motivations and it makes me root for her even more. Which is of course the point of framing a narrative around a character whose perspective is never often spoken about but damn it needs to be reiterated that this book is as clever as it is entertaining.
The finite details, the threads weaved between people binding them to her and to each other, the politics of men and women, the beasts and legends and myths, it was an absolute delight to read. I loved every second of this book. The prose is excellent, the story is engaging throughout, and without knowing the original epic I could see the bones of the story that is obviously in front of me, but Kaikeyi's version breaths such different air into it in such an artful manner, I was absolutely taken by it.
Definitely bump this higher on your TBR, I don't know why more people don't sing praises for this book, it deserves it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Misogyny, Classism, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Grief
not_asha01's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore
madzie's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Epic. Emotional. Poignant. Patel weaves an irresistible story with characters so compelling you will want to follow them everywhere. She retells a classic story with enough innovative twists to blow your mind and make you reconsider the story in a new light. Though rest assured, you don't need to know about the Ramayana to enjoy this novel. Helped along by her vivid, voice-filled, yet easy-to-read writing, Patel approaches relevant topics of what it is really like to be a woman in society and how women have been reclaiming their stories for generations. However, thankfully Patel never stoops to tropes of making women the villains of each others' stories, instead highlighting the power of their relationships and friendships. Her approach to ideas of power and how humans have handled it reaches deep and offers new insights. On top of it all, Patel perfectly entwines queer themes in a way we desperately need them, highlighting ace and aro realities and how fulfilling our lives and how epic stories can be without romance. Circe used to be my favorite retelling, but I have to say this book has blown it out of first place (with love).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Death of parent and War
kw05's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and War
Minor: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Sexism