Simone and Her Books

It’s been such a good reading year for me and after finishing Kaikeyi, I can say that I’ve found another favorite of 2022. Filled with magic, adventure, political intrigue, feminist themes, and a woman who believed her fate was much bigger than what was foretold, I think everyone will truly appreciate Kaikeyi. Thanks Orbit Books for the gifted read.

Here’s more about Kaikeyi

“I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions—much good it did me.”

So begins Kaikeyi’s story. The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on tales about the might and benevolence of the gods: how they churned the vast ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality, how they vanquish evil and ensure the land of Bharat prospers, and how they offer powerful boons to the devout and the wise. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, listens as her own worth is reduced to how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear.

Desperate for some measure of independence, she turns to the texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. With this power, Kaikeyi transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior, diplomat, and most favored queen, determined to carve a better world for herself and the women around her.

But as the evil from her childhood stories threatens the cosmic order, the path she has forged clashes with the destiny the gods have chosen for her family. And Kaikeyi must decide if resistance is worth the destruction it will wreak—and what legacy she intends to leave behind.

A stunning debut from a powerful new voice, Kaikeyi is a tale of fate, family, courage, and heartbreak—of an extraordinary woman determined to leave her mark in a world where gods and men dictate the shape of things to come.

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My thoughts

While I’m not the leading expert on Ramayana, I had some idea of how the story goes before I started reading the book. I knew that Rama is supposed to be the hero. I knew that Kaikeyi was essentially the wicked stepmother that condemns him to exile for 14 years in the forest, to fight evil monsters, and then return to become king of Ayodhya. I expected to watch Kaikeyi and shake my head at all the nefarious ways she tried to gain control and power, but what I ended up doing was feeling so bad for her. I felt empathy for the villain, but the uncanny part of the story is that she actually isn’t the villain. In fact in her small way, she was a hero.

I think one of the downsides of villain stories and myth retellings is that you end up seeing the exact steps a villain takes to become the person they’re portrayed. The evil queen was evil because people made her evil. The wicked stepmother had no choice but to be wicked. However, Vaishnavi Patel approached Kaikeyi in a different way. Instead, she shared a villain that’s only flaw was loving her family. She shared the story of a woman redefining her role in the kingdom that didn’t listen to her and giving voice to the voiceless. There was no evil in Patel’s Kaikeyi, just a series of unfortunate missteps that led to her losing almost everything.

And that’s how you garner the level of empathy you feel for Kaikeyi throughout the story. It shapes itself into its own story creating a modern tale of empowerment and strength. It’s less about how she wickedly banishes Rama so that her son can become king and more about a woman who lived in a world that granted her no power and she did what she could.

Let’s not forget that Kaikeyi’s biggest passion outside of her family was bringing a voice to the voiceless; namely to the women of this time. Beholden to older beliefs that women are child rearers, home carers, and any choice they make is an offense against their beliefs and the gods. I loved that Patel explored this throughout the book not only for Kaikeyi, but for the people she served. It’s truly the biggest component of the book that lends itself in ways I didn’t even see by the end.

The magic in the story is also incredible. Aside from the monsters and gods that make appearances throughout the story, the magical power Kaikeyi has was also very interesting. I won’t get into the details of it because it plays such an important role in the story. I want you to read about it and see how it works itself into Kaikeyi’s life. And it really weaves itself throughout the book not as a tool for manipulation (which is what I thought because she’s supposed to be the villain), but as a tool of self-assurance; that what she’s doing is the right thing and that she can help others with it as well.

Each of the characters are also so well written. They play such vital roles in Kaikeyi’s life and you can see that enforced through her bonds with them. I loved that there were men in her life that loved the change she was bringing. I loved that her husband, Dasharath, was supportive of her work in the city. I also loved that there was opposition; that the ways of the past continued to encroach on the progress she’s led. I loved that it didn’t come easy for her and that she had more to protect than just her family. Even the gods and goddesses that made their way into the story were elegantly written to give the readers an understanding of their power and their intelligence.

The story is almost poetic in its writing and the pacing kept you reading on. There were moments where I didn’t want to put the book down! That’s always a good sign that the book has my full attention and my mind isn’t wandering off on some menial task I needed to accomplish.

Overall, Vaishnavi Patel has written something truly special. It’s a story that will win over the adventure seekers and fantasy readers, but it will also speak deeply to those who feel hopeless and bring a level of light to those who are wandering in the dark.

It’s my first read from T. Kingfisher and I think I’ll be reading more from her in the future. If you’re a fan of unconventional stories like The Princess Bride or Shrek, then I highly recommend this one.

Here’s more about Nettle and Bone

After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.

Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.

On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra’s family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.

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My thoughts

This is my kind of fairy tale. It’s a little bit dark, a lot bit hopeful, and features an interesting group of misfits that all work together to storm the castle.

The story sets off running as we follow Marra, our heroine, around the banished lands in search of bones. What does she needs the bones for? Well, she needs them to resurrect a dog. Yes, she’s making a dog out of bones. It’s the first task of three that she’s willing to do in order to garner the help of a gravewitch. If she’s able to get the help of the witch, then she can begin her journey to saving her sister.

The beginning jumps between what Marra accomplishes for the witch and what’s already happened. Marra is the third princess from a super small country. Her older sister is married to the prince of the Northern Kingdom and deeply abused by him. While Marra is a princess, she’s been spending the last half of her life in a convent in the Southern Kingdom waiting out her fate. But after seeing the state of her sister and seeing that no one is willing to help her, she’s taken it upon herself to try and save her from a cruel husband and a life of pain.

As Marra completes the impossible tasks for the gravewitch, they head off with a demon-possessed chicken and come across a disgraced knight who can’t go home, and a fairy godmother who’s only good at casting curses on children. Together, they plan on storming the castle, saving the queen, and breaking whatever spell that lives on the land and keeps the cruel prince’s family in power.

Most of the story is the journey to the castle. Marra comes across the different characters of her group as she gets closer to her sister’s new kingdom and you see a glimpse of this world through their journey. The world building was exquisite. I was worried that some things would be sacrificed because of the length of the book, but there was no exceptions for world building. You can really imagine this place with strange monsters and weird magic all throughout it. It felt like a real place you can visit and while this wasn’t the highest of high fantasy novels, it was nice to escape from reality for a little while. Dogs made from bones and monsters who can play a song to dance your teeth out of your mouth, it was such a wild ride and I found myself enjoying every minute of it.

It’s a lot of fun following Marra and the group through their world in hopes of saving Marra’s sister before it’s too late. Each character is so inspired and hold their own personality. I can imagine the faces they made and the language that they use feels spot on with their personality. I even liked that the chicken had a personality. The fun part is that they were so flawed; as flawed as Marra herself. The gravewitch was just a snarky old lady who takes care of her demon-possessed chicken. The disgraced knight was looking for something to fight for after being banished from his own kingdom. The fairy godmother who can only do bad, but wants to be good. They all had flaws, but I loved seeing them be more than that throughout the story.

It was interesting to watch Marra grow so much from the character she starts with to the character she ends up. At first, she’s timid. She’s spent most of her life in a convent embroidering tapestries and helping birth babies. Then, she goes off to save her sister without a clue where to start and fosters help along the way. Nothing comes easy to her and she does fail a few times, but I love that she’s not willing to quit especially since her sister’s life is on the line. I feel like the strength of the people she collects as she’s journeying to the capital really lend to help pull her from her own shell and become the stronger person she is. At the end, she knows who she is. She knows what she wants. And she’s done playing puppet to a family who only see her as a bargaining chip.

Of course, it also deals with some bigger themes of domestic abuse and violence. Hearing Marra’s sister dealing with the pain her husband doles out and the lack of help from the people around her, I really felt for Marra and her situation. It would hurt me to see my sister in such pain and going to such destructible lengths to avoid it. I definitely would leave my life as a nun to help her even if I didn’t even know how to help her.

Quite a fun story and definitely the kind I love finding myself dreaming about. I may not want to get in the way of that chicken, but I will definitely read more from T. Kingfisher.

This is my first John Gwynne and I have a feeling it won’t be my last. The level this book took it when it comes to fantasy and world building was definitely worth not understanding a bit of the Norse language.

Here’s more about The Shadow of the Gods

After the gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrið.

Now a new world is rising, where power-hungry jarls feud and monsters stalk the woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power for those brave – or desperate – enough to seek them out.

Now, as whispers of war echo across the mountains and fjords, fate follows in the footsteps of three people: a huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman who has rejected privilege in pursuit of battle fame, and a thrall who seeks vengeance among the famed mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.

All three will shape the fate of the world as it once more falls under the shadow of the gods

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My thoughts

I’m always intimidated when it comes to big high fantasy books because I’m worried it’ll be confusing and hard to follow. Trust me, I’ve had so many fantasy books that I’ve had to start again because I couldn’t really get a grasp of it from the start. But The Shadow of the Gods was different in a good way. It wasn’t complicated keeping it to a three-person max with narratives and kept you pretty entertained throughout the entire story.

The story starts off in a world where the gods are dead and no one cares. Because of their ruthless fighting throughout their time alive, the people of this world want little to do with them and want to live their lives in peace without them. Anything to do with the gods is shunned or destroyed. The Tainted (god-born humans who also have their power) are mostly enslaved or killed because of who they are on the power they possess. Most of them are trying to just live their lives, but others are looking for reparations for what people have done to them.

There’s three main characters in this one and a dozen other side characters that these three interact with throughout the story:

Orka – a former warrior whose now a mother and homemaker. When her son is kidnapped by a mysterious band of troublemakers, she sets off to find him leaving a path of death and destruction in her wake. My favorite line from her was “I am blood. I am death. I am vengeance.” to give you some idea of her bad assery. I think Orka was my favorite character from the entire story.

Varg – a former thrall (which I think are the enslaved people of this book) whose looking to avenge his sister’s death. He doesn’t know much of what happened, but he’s determined to find a witch to help with seeing her final moments before she died. He comes across the Bloodsworn, a band of warriors who kill monsters, hunt for treasure, and protect the lands. And as he becomes one with them, more is revealed about himself.

Elvar – a warrior of the Battle-Grim group. They’re basically guns for hire looking for treasure and enslaving Tainted people to sell to wealthy land owners. Elvar is trying to prove that she’s more than what her father has planned for her.

The more I sit on this story, the more I learn that I loved it. The Viking vibe with the Norse mythology was truly a unique concept to explore and it was probably my favorite part of the entire story. This book isn’t for the faint of heart. I honestly found myself grimacing at more than a few of the battle scenes because of the graphic level of blood and death happening. And I’m pretty good when it comes to graphic violence having been exposed to it since I was a little kid. But wow, John Gwynne goes really deep into the descriptions making sure that nothing is incorrectly portrayed.

It’s also supremely well written. Aside from the Norse language that I couldn’t understand (and no glossary), it was so visualized, plot-driven, and interesting to dive into. The pacing is a bit slow in some areas and I definitely felt a lull here and there, but there’s so much action taking place either contributing to the overall plot or just happening to the characters that you won’t be bored. I mean, I devoured this book over four days and it’s not a small book.

I will say, you need to pace yourself with this book because it took a while for the plot to show itself. It also took some time for the characters to really mean something to the overarching story. It might have just been me, but I kept expecting things to come together much sooner than it did. But this seriously is one of those stories you need to sit back and let it be told and trust that the author will deliver what you’re waiting for.

And the ending was superb. The last 100 pages of this book was the most intense part and I can see it all culminating to the big reveal, which didn’t surprise me, but definitely the part I was anticipating the entire time.

Overall, this was such a great start to a new epic fantasy series. You get all the characters, their personal development, the world building, and bigger plot points. And at the end, you get this glorious sweet treat that really sets you up perfectly for the next book. I can’t wait to read the next one.