I liked the magic system! The base of the book being Hindu mythology made for an interesting diversion from the European mythology we often see.

Therein ends the things I liked. Meneka was whiny and repetitive to the point where I wasn’t really interested in whether she was happy at the end. I also think this would have worked better as a single book - I certainly won’t be back for the second book in the duology.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the ARC.

This was a beautiful retelling of a Hindu myth, which has left me curious to learn more about Hinduism mythology. I struggled with what rating to give the book because I really wanted to give it 4.5 stars but that isn’t an option but ultimately I decided on a 4 stat rating. What kept it from being 5 stars for me was a kind of rough and halting start. I understand the need for explanation of things for background for folks who don’t already know the myth and movements in the dances but I just felt it could have been done in a more flowing way so it didn’t feel more like a random footnote mid line. I can’t wait for the second book in the duology, I feel like it will be a solid 5 stars and I can’t wait to see how it ends since I am refusing to learn more about the original story so I can be surprised.

Watching Meneka grow into her own person is so realistic and heartbreaking when she learns new truths about herself and others. The way the author slowly revealed more and more details about each characters past really made you feel like you knew them since it was how any new relationship is created as more trust is found between people. I’d highly recommend this book for anyone who is is looking for a mythology based romantasy outside the norm.

I thought this was a good read and the writing is done beautifully. The pacing in the beginning was a little slow for me and I found some of the terminology a bit hard to follow but that is only because I’m not familiar with it. Overall I liked the plot and characters. Thank you so much to the author, publishers and NetGalley for the ARC, I will recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me. I loved the idea of diving into Hindu mythology because I’ve lightly touched on it in my own research. The book is strong in that aspect. However it really falls flat on its characters. I never truly connected to Meneka, even when I was desperately trying to do so.

I think this could have been such a cool discussion of religion and sexuality, but it never worked for me.

I wanted to really like this but it was just okay. Meneka and Kaushika were a cute but felt a little rushed and i wished we was more of them together and it would have been fun to see things from his pov rather than just Meneka. Meneka was a little naive at first but she learned quickly. The story had a lot of promised but i just couldn’t really fall in love with Meneka like i wanted to.

The Legend of Meneka by Kritika H. Rao is a blend of myth retelling and romantic fantasy.

Meneka, an apsara, has been tasked with seducing Kaushika, a sage intent on challenging Indra, lord of the storms and king of the devas. Apsaras are celestial nymphs, beings of lust, beauty, and dance.

I knew of apsaras through my art history studies, but I had never heard of Meneka before and her story intrigued me. Rao set out to expand on Meneka’s myth giving her a voice and a story. Originally, Meneka is little more than a footnote in Kaushika’s legend. She is tasked with seducing him, distracting him from his meditations. She is successful and ends up falling in love and they have daughter together. However, once he learns her true nature, he curses Meneka to be separated from him, knowing that this would be the worst punishment. Rude.

Now, Meneka has her own legend of love and strength. Her story is rich in Hindu religion and culture and focuses on her learning to be her own person.

I appreciated the unique magic system and the blend of mundane and heavenly.

3.5 out of 5, but rounded up to 4 for review sites. The prose was beautiful and descriptive, but there was a lot that could have been cut and the story would have benefitted. That being said, I am interested in reading the second part of the duology.

"thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

The Legend of Meneka by Kritika H. Rao is a beautifully woven tale that blends mythology and fantasy in a captivating way. The characters are rich and complex, and the plot is full of twists that kept me hooked from start to finish. The world-building is vivid, and the story explores themes of destiny, love, and self-discovery with depth and emotion. If you’re a fan of immersive fantasy with a touch of magic, this book is a must-read!

As someone who isn’t familiar with Hindi mythology, I was excited to immerse myself into this world. The world building and magic system was completely different to anything I’ve ever read before. I did enjoy that aspect of the story. There were certain points where I felt like a lot of information was being dumped on me and this is where I was extremely grateful for the glossary that was included.
I’m giving this book 3 stars because the romance aspect of this book just kept me wanting more between the MCs.

I couldn’t stop turning the pages of The Legend of Meneka. Meneka’s struggle between duty and desire hooked me right from the start. She’s not just a seductress; she’s a woman on the brink of breaking free from the chains that bind her to Indra, the king of heaven. What stood out to me was how her journey is both a love story and a fight for personal freedom. The chemistry between her and Kaushika is electric, but it’s their emotional connection that really got me. I loved how Meneka, despite her power, feels so vulnerable with him. The tension between her loyalty to Indra and her love for Kaushika adds a rich, complex layer to their romance, making it one of those rare reads that isn’t just about the love story, it’s about discovering who you really are

I absolutely love reading hindu mythology retelling and inspired books. This one was a total treat as the writing was phenomenal and the characters were amazingly penned down by the author.
The narration was smooth and easy to understand. I absolutely love it.

Honestly, this is a neat reimagining of a fundamental Hindu myth from the feminine POV, and it interrogates who is telling the original myths, while also recognizing the issues of control and consent that comes with Meneka's missions. This is a neat read that comes out this winter, and is definitely worth a readthrough when it comes out.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️A rich tapestry of stardust, sensuality and imagination that captivates to the very end.

Read The Legend of Meneka by
Kritika H. Rao if you like…

🌹 mythology
🌹 magic
🌹 spice
🌹 self discovery
🌹 enemies to lovers


🩷HER🩷
She is seduction. A weapon. A soldier. And she hates every minute of it.

💙HIM💙
He is powerful. The enemy. Her mark. And he makes her question everything she knows.

📖 THEIR STORY 📖
Meneka’s job is to make people fall in love with her. And every time she does her job, a little piece of her heart breaks.

She makes a deal to do one final job, and if she succeeds she will never have to make anyone fall in love with her again.

The only problem is her last job, Kaushika, is handsome, powerful, and seems to be seducing her.

Will she win her freedom by capturing his heart, or lose her own heart to the enemy?

Get your copy now! (release date 1/21/25)

And thank you to @kritikahrao and #NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Legend of Meneka.

If you like being transported to beautiful, magical new worlds and love stories based on Hindu mythology that make you discover and embrace your truest self, you’ll ❤️ LOVE ❤️ this book!

Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the arc! I really like Kritika H. Rao's writing style, and their debut was one of the most innovative series I've read recently. The Legend of Meneka is no different—despite it being a retelling of a myth I'm quite familiar with, it was really interesting to see how Rao brought life to the characters and the world. There were a few moments where I didn't fully buy Meneka's character arc or the romance, but I think the second half of the book (especially the last 30%) really upped the star rating for me. Overall, I will continue to be a fan of Rao's work, and I can't wait to see what they write next!

I really enjoyed reading this story. I cannot wait for Kritka Rao to write more. Thank you so much. I would suggest this to anyone who enjoys fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley, and especially to Avon and Harper Voyager | Harper Voyager for allowing me to read thi book!
I cannot regret it to my students due to it being too mature for them, but I very much loved it.

I do think the plot was weaker than what we've seen in Rages, but I do love the characterwork of Meneka, an her struggles with seeing herself as a separate being from what she must do as an apsara. She tries very hard to stick to her morals , and remain herself as she knowingly destroys others as she's been ordered to do, all while knowing that what she does is for the betterment of the world.
After all, it must be.

She volunteers herself to go on a dangerous mission in the attempt to gain some more freedom for herself so she might stay some more with her crush, her apsara mentor. She's beautifully bi, and I love how just... normalized it is for her, something also seen in Rages.

Gorgeously written, but I feel things felt as if they wrapped up too well for a sequel... and then the hook was made for the next book. It seemed if you finished it a few pages before, it could stand as a stand-alone.

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager US and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

I read Legend of Meneka despite it being labeled a romance fantasy because I love Kiritika Rao's other series and Indian mythology. With the amount of spice in many modern series romance can mean so many different things. Sometimes it just means there are a few sex scenes.

Come for the romance stay for the magic. Legend of Meneka is a magical tale of mythology and self discovery that explores various Hindu gods through the tale of one Apsara on an impossible mission.

If you have watched enough spy TV series you've seen this before. An undercover mission to seduce a mark. What typically comes next is familiar but things aren't so simple.

What is the source of magic for a celestial being? What about a spiritual mortal? All these questions are explored in detail in this poetic and engrossing tale. I was engaged from beginning to end and seduced by the explosive ending. You won't want to miss this. Though I am excited for the eventual sequel this stands on its own.

This was a fascinating take on the apsara, Meneka and her relationship with her mark, Kaushika. I was once again reminded how complex Hindu mythology and religion is, and that I really need to dive deeper into this in order to fully appreciate this retelling. While there were elements that I liked, others made me scratch my head at and wonder why that route was taken. 🤔

Meneka as a MC was a bit hard to pin down for me. She’s devout to her lord, Indra, but feels herself questioning her role as an apsara and why sex need be her first choice of weapon. I really liked the idea of a femme fatale figure questioning her own role and abilities, but man her almost constant inner turmoil felt like it never really resolved itself or developed until the last 5 chapters and then BOOM! Self discovery! 😮‍💨

Look, as much as I love being skeptical of romantasy, I do love me a good enemies-to-lovers trope here and there. The banter between Meneka and Kaushika was great and I loved the petty and subtle insults they constantly threw at each other. I also loved the deep philosophical debates they got into as it really helped me better understand Hinduism better. And the sexual tension towards the end? 👩🏻‍🍳💋

The other thing that kind of irked me was that of Rambha’s role in Meneka’s life. She just felt slightly off in her love for Meneka (basically a child compared to her immense age) and her gaslighting Meneka just didn’t sit right with me. 😑

All in all though, I still really enjoyed the plot and that ending? Yea, I’m going to need that sequel tomorrow. 🤯

Huge thank you goes out to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this retelling in exchange for an honest review, and to the author, Rao, for really taking me for a wild ride in philosophy and the art of sex in Hinduism. 🤭

Publication date: January 21!

Overall: I’m back and forth between 3.75-4/5 ⭐️

I was excited to read “The Legend of Meneka,” as I’m always curious to learn more about ancient stories, and I wasn’t familiar with the apsara legend. However, this one fell short at every turn. Meneka is a seductress, using dance and magic to entrance; this is a plot point in so many stories, but this book gives no additional nuance, and really doesn’t examine the trope at all. Meneka herself is a fairly flat character and her motivations don’t make any sense to me. She is sent to seduce the unseduceable: Kaushika, a sage. She embeds herself in his compound, trying to gain his favor, and in theory, a romance starts to brew in which it’s supposed to be unclear who is seducing who. However, there’s just no chemistry at all. Kaushika himself holds no allure, he’s just an asshole who happens to be there. The plot was very thin and predictable, I just didn’t enjoy anything in this book. Certainly a disappointment.

The Legend of Meneka is a Hindu mythological retelling, with a touch of romantasy. This book was more fiction than reality, but it was a fun read nonetheless. I liked seeing Meneka's inner thoughts, and her struggle between faith and loyalty and love was interesting to read. I'm not sure this is truly a retelling, more like a re-imagining, but I still enjoyed this book.

I kind of struggled with this one but ended up enjoying it okay

I know a bit about hindu mythology but am in no way an expert on the subject. I didn’t have issue following the lore, there are no info dumps and the world building was my favorite part. The plot feels a little disjointed at parts, but the story goes smoothly once into it.

Meneka however.. was not very likable and a little bit on the insufferable side. She’s complex and wonderfully bi but I really couldn’t connect with her. She goes through much character development but even by the end, I was still not very okay with her.