Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the advanced copy! 3.5 stars! At first, when I started reading this was a five star read for me. As someone who does not want children, I absolutely loved the main character. It’s so rare to read a book where the main character doesn’t want children (and I loved how she didn’t have a change of heart by the end!). I loved how she was such a strong character and didn’t care what anyone thought and was just trying to survive her thirties and figure out the messiness of life. But the second half disappointed me. I really wish it went into a different direction (I don’t want to give it away). But overall, the writing was fantastic and really reminded me of Ottessa Moshfegh. I recommend this book to fans of Ottessa Moshfegh and Melissa Broder or Megan Nolan.

When I started this book, I thought the author was trying to impress. The first sentence was overly bizarre to the point of pretentiousness, followed by descriptive phrases like "Pepto-Bismol pink" and "snow globe synecdoche." But once the book found its flow, it either lost that edge or became assimilated into Sanjana's personality, which I found to be endearing despite being overly negative at times.

Ultimately, this book blew my mind; the author did end up impressing me. She's a brilliant storyteller who crafted an interesting narrative while tackling big topics like feminism, abortion, motherhood, identity crises, and tumultuous family relationships. I found myself relating to much of Sanjana's inner journey, and I think most readers can find at least something to relate to with the wide net Sathian casts.

One thing I do have a question about is the fact that the author gave one of the characters her own name. Maybe it speaks to how personal the story was for her, but I thought it was an interesting choice.

This book is one of my new all-time favorites. The author's writing ability is some of the best I've encountered, her storytelling just as great. But what really captured me was her ability to weave deeper meaning into the text in a way that was both layered and natural. 5/5, I hope this book takes over the internet this year.

MY FRIENDS. This book was gripping and magnetic - a total fever dream of a book. I had read Sanjena Sathian's "Gold Diggers" (which I also very much enjoyed), but this was so different and fresh.

This is the story of our protagonist, Sanjana Satyananda, who is going through a bit of a spiral after the breakdown of her marriage. We watch as she has prickly exchanges with her friend Liz and her sister, both of whom are in very "together" and domestic parts of their lives in contrast to her current experience. Sanjana is trying to formalize the end of her marriage, but as luck would have it, her husband Killian (a white man who really took his alleged Indian ancestry to heart) is missing. This is the story of how she ends up in increasingly bizarre scenarios in pursuit of Killian and a clean-cut divorce.

There are elements of unreliable narration here that I LOVED - it was done in such a fresh and dizzying way, I found this to be an unputdownable read that is so unlike anything I've read before. I highly recommend!

This starts with the classic tale of a chaotic FMC going through a tough time, but really comes into its own when the strange occurrences start ramping up and we dive headfirst into psychological thriller vibes with a side helping of feminist satire and black comedy.

The unravelling of the truth is delightfully unsettling and was an unexpectedly perfect backdrop for Sathian’s insightful commentary on childbearing and the right to choose.

As a woman that doesn’t have children and doesn’t intend to, the premise of Goddess Complex sounded interesting. Sanjana has an abortion after her husband gets her pregnant and she doesn’t want to have children. She is then left dealing with being in a position that’s in direct opposition to what women have been told they should want, to be married with children. It’s a stigma that’s dated that makes women question their purpose and self worth if it’s something they don’t want. In Sanjana’s case, her formerly feminist best friend is expecting and then to add insult to injury there’s someone who appears to be masquerading as her that appears to be pregnant by her husband that she isn’t yet divorced from. So naturally, Sanjana decides to go back to India to find her husband and Sanjena, the pretend Sanjana. Then it gets really weird. While it’s plausible it feels surreal, and beyond normal reality. I already wasn’t a fan of Sanjana’s entitlement and behavior (and I still want to know why characters like this are pitched by by marketing publicists as prototypical millennials) but this made the book unappealing to me. By the end it returns to a sense of more normalcy but it was hard to pull myself out of the fever dream of what happened in India. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Two and a half stars.

I liked the beginning of this novel, which centers on protagonist Sanjana, a "messy," recently single woman who in some ways seems self-assured, as in her desires not to have children, but in other ways seems stunted and unable to become a full-fledged adult. The book becomes stranger as it progresses and Sanjana discovers that her ex is dating a somewhat more attractive (and possibly pregnant) doppelganger named Sanjena. (Note the similarity not only in the characters' names but to the author's own). From there, Sanjana tries to track down her ex to obtain a divorce and becomes enmeshed with Sanjena through this process.

From this point, I found the book bizarre and it didn't read like a thriller, although there are some strange and slightly chilling plot points, to be sure. I saw it through to the end and while Sanjana does evolve, I didn't feel invested in her story or its conclusion.

2.5 stars, rounded up

I'm feeling a little sad to rate this book so low. The first half of the book was quite good. It was a good look at motherhood and pregnancy, and the pressure that women like our main character Sanjana feel from those around them. Sanjana is the daughter of Indian immigrants whose relationship was the result of an arranged marriage, and her views surrounding marriage and motherhood are influenced by this background. I felt like the first half of the book did a pretty decent job weaving all these topics together and digging into Sanjana's feelings on them.

In the second half of the book, though, the analysis just felt way shallower. Once in India, Sanjana goes into a daze and stops thinking so hard about pregnancy, even though she is surrounded by women who are trying to conceive (which is in sharp contrast to how she felt around her friend Lia in the first half of the book). We also get what I would consider a "villain monologue" towards the end that would have been a great segue to talk more deeply about the pressure many women face to become mothers, but Sanjana's strongest reaction to that is basically just thinking, "I understand why she feels that way and I don't blame her". I don't think Sanjana needed to have her own monologue on the subject, but a bit more than what we got would've been nice.

There were also some writing choices in the last parts of the book that just left me feeling dissatisfied. First was the fact that a few of the things Sanjana did in India were motivated by her thinking "it felt natural" to do. Each time that type of descriptor popped up, my immediate reaction was, "Why, though?" Also, going back to the lack of depth, the ending just felt a little too neat. I can get that Sanjana's experience with Sanjena in India probably helped her figure out a lot of her complex feelings around motherhood, but I don't feel like we got to see that. While in India, she spends so much of her time in a haze that there's not much room for her to consider her own feelings. And so, when the ending comes around and she's seemingly made peace with a lot of her problems from the first half of the book, it just felt unsatisfying.

Much like her earlier Gold Diggers, Sathian's Goddess Complex is a contemplative and humorous saga, both dreamy in its storytelling and cutting in its cultural criticisms.

Sanjena Sathian’s Goddess Complex is a rare gem—an intricate and thoughtful examination of women’s choices around motherhood. Sathian navigates this deeply personal subject with nuance, avoiding easy answers and allowing her characters the space to grapple with societal and internal expectations.

What truly shines is her portrayal of relationships between women. From friendships to sistehood and to rivalries, she captures the transformative impact of pregnancies, babies, and the decision to have children with stunning authenticity.

Beautifully written and emotionally resonant, Goddess Complex is a powerful exploration of identity and connection that lingers long after the final page. A must-read.

I enjoyed this book! it brought up so many real issues that women are questioned about all the time. Fertility, motherhood, gender norms, etc. It was a nice read and talked about some deep issues, and it was just very introspective, I liked it!


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

A totally original voice, and such a treat! This really, really good book is not well served by its cover and title. It is not "chick lit" as the title implies. It's not just for brown girls as the cover suggests. I noticed that there were no reviews posted here when I requested this book. But I had a hunch that, even though I am a white boomer professor of psychology, this book was for me too. I was right.
This author is smart, clever, insightful, funny, and her story is by turns poignant, wildly unpredictable and utterly believable, I loved her point of view on her millenial friends, their reification of parenthood and the gender issues they grapple with, and her immigrant mother's take on all of this. Ms. Sathian handled the mystery of Killian's disappearance brilliantly. I didn't begin to guess what happened until well into the second half of the story, and the main character's gradual dawning of awareness was skillfully drawn. It's a wild ride that briefly goes off the rails at minor points but I was willing to give this author all the degrees of freedom to experiment with the directions she took because the writing was just so good. I laughed so much. And I learned so much. Thank you Ms. Sathian for one of the most enjoyble reading experiences I've had in a long time. Thank you Net Galley for the chance to read the galley proof. Plea to her publisher - market it more broadly. It deserves a wide audience.

Loved this book. It was funny, smart, and unexpected. It opens up conversations about love, motherhood and belonging. There were moments where the pacing felt slightly off, which I think happens in books that rely on a major twist. I'm excited to see this book come out next year! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

So well written I was immediately drawn into the story.The twists and turns surprised me kept me engaged from first till last page.#netgalley #penguinpress

ooo! I liked this one a lot. it was bordering on suspense/thriller (which I didn't expect) without ever getting corny, which I always appreciate. really creative premise with lots of unpredictable twists. loved the themes of feminism and motherhood and race and culture.

I do think it could've gone a little deeper at times - some of it felt a bit half-baked and rushed, especially towards the end, but all in all I thought it was a super fun ride, and I was captivated from start to finish.

thanks netgalley and penguin for the arc <3

This book has such a twisty plot! I couldn’t put it down. The more I read, the more I loved this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Press for providing me with a review copy.

Whoa. This was a trippy ride.

I went into this thinking this was another one of my favorite micro genres- “women who don’t have their shit together, but are completely content in bucking the system”, but this was so much more.

I’m not going to say much because the fun is in the surprise, but that switch in part two?!

I’m still not 100% sure what I just read, but I enjoyed it.

I love a strong misunderstood lead character. The lead character in this story will have you frustrated while also rooting for her. I loved the first half but will admit I was a little thrown off by the second half. It took me a while to get into the groove of the later chapters. Overall I really enjoy this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book. This book was incredibly interesting, and the fact that the author wrote herself into the book (author-as-character) is completely attention grabbing. I loved the first half of the book, but the second half of the book had too many twists and turns, was a little hard to follow, and felt a little bit half-baked. There's so much to get into here and I feel like it just needs a little bit more work to make it perfect. The ending is a little bit abrupt, and there's a bit of a lack of self-reflection by Sanjana on her experiences in the God Complex, that after the book ended my first reaction was "what?"

Regardless, I love this author and I feel like her writing just speaks to my brain sometimes, and I'll always be the first to pick up one of her books.

This book really spoke to me and the characters (and their missteps) reminded me of people I know. I appreciate a lead female anti-hero, though if the main character was my friend, she would drive me crazy. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for a book discussion since there's a lot to unpack. I didn't previously read Gold Diggers, but am adding it to my TBR list.

This was an interesting read--one that kept me captivated in the first half but had me a bit lost in the middle. I think the psychological pieces were a nice addition, but they seemed so different to me than when I was reading the book's first half that it took me a while to continue mustering through. The ending was nice, though, which I appreciated. Also, love the nod to the author's name--very clever!