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!

You can tell yourself whatever story you want to about yourself. p182

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. I love a good unlikable character, especially one that I connect with. I had ghosted him last summer, and we had not spoken in nearly a year. I was something between a wife and an ex-wife, between who I had been and who I would be next. p12

2. I adore that this main character, who shares the author's name, eschews femininity as it relates to expected gender roles and behaviors. It's refreshing to read about a woman who is so direct about her imperatives.

3. For such a serious book, it has very funny moments! Sarcasm is this author's secret weapon. The last directive on our tour was a reminder that Moksha was an alcohol- and drug-free zone. There had been some Russians recently, and, well . . . p74

4. Anjana/ Ranjana was glowering at me in this way I remembered baby Naina looking at me, with alien obstinacy, a gaze not of pure discovery but of fury that the world was so befuddling. I was relieved to find myself moved. I was a woman who could hold a baby, halt a baby’s tears. p115 These moments of meaning the character collects, which allow her to grow, are sometimes deeply profound. the randomness it one of the best aspects of this narrative.

5. This book made me feel so many things. It wasn't like a Rollercoaster or a whirlwind, but something more elegant than that... I'm just saying, if you get mad while reading this book, just hang in there with it. It will surprise you more than once!

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. This will be an uncomfortable read for some readers who are inexperienced with racial or cultural discomfort.

2. The plot is a little soft but not so much that it's convoluted. It inches forward while also gyrating around its trajectory. The story is interesting, but it feels like it changes its mind often. *edit My description of this plot's shape was correct, but not my assessment of its strength. It's freaking brilliant. But it might catch you toward the end!

3. Did she just use "ironically" wrong? What is ironic about white teenage girls smoking cigarettes? I mean, I just don't get this, any ideas fellow readers?

4. This book is just packed with unscientific crap about women's periods, like syncing and chocolate cravings. She laid the groundwork for this, considering the characters' shared and mounting antiwestern sentiments. *edit The author ends up calling this out herself through the main character's arc.

5. The mother worship in the second half of this book is nauseating. I wonder how these characters would treat a woman who was infertile, childless, and past childbearing age? Possibly as invisibly as the fmc considered herself in the book's first half? *edit The author ends up balancing this out by the end of the book: “Motherhood isn’t, like, noble,” she said. “It’s really undignified. And I’m so anxious, all the time. I see death everywhere. Ways Luc could die, or Gor could die, or I could die...." p

Rating: 🏔🏔🏔🏔🏔 /5 homes in the thin air
Recommend? Yes!
Finished: Nov 1 '24
Format: Digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
🏙 contemporary fiction
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 family stories, family drama
👭🏽 women's friendships
💇‍♀️ women's coming of age
👶🏻 women's choice to become mothers
🫄 conception and infertility

Thank you to the author Sanjena Sathian, publishers Penguin Books, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of GODDESS COMPLEX. All views are mine.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC!

Available March 2025.

Whew. This was a truly wild journey through the world of pregnancies, cults, drugs, and traumatic brain injuries. When 39 year old Sanjana comes home from a year long stint in Bombay researching an old religous figure, she is forced to confront everything she ran away from - a failed PhD, strained family relations, a failed marriage, and above all, her own fertility. She starts to get messages from...herself? And thus begins an unravelling and reckoning with what it means to be a modern woman. This book is both hilarious and equally disturbing, resonating with the double consciousness of what it means to be a modern woman. I could not put it down! Highly highly recommend.

Goddess Complex by Sanjena Sathian was such a compelling and well thought out read. I was engrossed in the story right from the start and found the writing to be so beautiful yet so raw and honest. It felt like very personal storytelling and I think this will be a must read for a lot of readers.

I was lucky enough to win an e-ARC of GODDESS COMPLEX by Sanjena Sathian in a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and happy Halloween season!

In this captivating and introspective narrative, Sanjana Satyananda’s journey is a literal and metaphorical quest for resolution and identity. The book beautifully balances themes of personal growth, regret, and the societal expectations surrounding motherhood, marriage, and the conventional life path.

The protagonist, Sanjana, is brilliantly flawed and deeply relatable. A year after leaving her actor husband, Killian, she finds herself at a crossroads. Living in the shadow of her "perfect" sister while juggling the pressures of her crumbling anthropology dissertation, she embodies the struggle of those who feel left behind by their peers who have seemingly followed the prescribed life script of family, career, and stability. The tension between Sanjana’s academic aspirations and her unresolved marital issues adds a layer of complexity to her character, making her internal struggles all the more poignant.

The mystery of Killian’s disappearance drives the plot forward, blending elements of suspense with existential reflection. As Sanjana embarks on a search to find him, she’s haunted by strange and unsettling phone calls from women seeking her advice on pregnancy—a surreal touch that adds to the book's psychological depth. The novel explores the consequences of life’s major decisions, particularly those involving parenthood, and what it means to choose one path over another.

What truly stands out is the clever and hauntingly vivid depiction of the “road not taken.” Through strange and symbolic encounters, Sanjana confronts the life she might have led, one filled with the joys and burdens of motherhood, which challenges her to re-examine her values and desires. This speculative aspect of the novel adds a layer of intrigue and serves as a striking metaphor for the uncertainty we all face when wondering "what if."

Overall, this is a thoughtful and compelling exploration of identity, choice, and the often-unspoken pressures women face regarding fertility and the expectation of motherhood. The book will resonate with readers who enjoy a blend of psychological drama, mystery, and deeply personal storytelling, leaving them questioning the roads they’ve traveled and the ones they left behind.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.