Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

31 reviews

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.

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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

sarah_speaks's review

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Death

Moderate: War and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage

scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.0

As a South Asian reader with Hindu family members, I'm not a stranger to the story of Rama and Sita and how their return to Ayodhya is marked by the celebration of Diwali. So, I jumped at the chance to read the retelling of the story from the POV of the allegedly wicked stepmother. I absolutely loved how the author told her story. I do agree that the pacing at some points felt like it dragged and many parts made me wonder why it was even written in but I suppose in the long run, it added more depth to Kaikeyi's motives for every decision she took. I already knew the ending, of course, but the story gave one hope that it would change and things would work out. I do believe there were also strong aromantic and asexual vibes with the MC which was a delight to read as a South Asian ace myself!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Misogyny, War, Death, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pregnancy and Infertility

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

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

errie's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Sexism

Moderate: Infertility, Abandonment, and Religious bigotry

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

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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

alexisgarcia's review

emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

4.5

i really loved this. the characters were so well rounded and i loved the development they had. the plot was so interesting and i really enjoyed reading it!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Grief, Blood, Child death, Sexual content, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Infertility, and Death

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Grief, Murder, Sexism, Violence, Death, Misogyny, and Death of parent

Moderate: Infertility, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Chronic illness, Acephobia/Arophobia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Medical content

Minor: Xenophobia, Animal death, and Child abuse

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and War

Minor: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Sexism