~~Thank you to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for the ARC!~~

So, I didn't know that Sharma was a well established author before picking this up; the cover and description sold me instantly. I also didn't anticipate this being really, really amazing.

I know jack-squat about Hindu mythology, much less the Mahabharata, but from Sharma's worldbuilding and writing, I was able to understand and absorb this book's world so easily. The gods, the creatures, the stories, it all enthralled me so much because of how rich and deep it was. I'm even considering picking up India's grand epic myself just to understand more. It really goes to show what incredible worldbuilding and writing skills Sharma has!

The characters are also so delightful. Laila is an incredible protagonist with intelligence and snark, but the isolation and loneliness she had experienced for the majority of her life shows so much in her to, especially when it took over 200 pages for her to trust Karan (Not Ahvi. His name seemed to have changed, but I dunno why they didn't change it in the Goodreads description) once he (wrongfully) tried to kill her, and I don't blame her in the slightest. Her flaws are raw and believable, and I loved that about her. Karan is also a wonderful deuteragonist, as a guy who was misguided by ill intentioned familial figures who comes to accept he was wrong and loves Laila completely. Plus, their banter is very cute. I especially love the dialogue when Boo, Karan's cousin, comes into the picture; she is very much a delight.

I'm not Hindu or Indian, so I won't speak to the accuracy or faithfulness of this book from its inspirations, but I can say Sharma's passion and love for what she created here sincerely comes across. She revealed in her acknowledgements that it took over a decade for this story to be even considered due to racism, in plain speak. I loved that Sharma refused to give up on this story despite all the obstacles she had to face, and the fact it is going to be published, that I and many others, finally get to read it is something really special. That really ups this book's uniqueness in my eyes.

All in all, this was a great fantasy, and I very much love forward to whatever else Sharma has in store for this world!

What a RIDE! This story was a bit slow to start but when it picked up I didn’t want to stop reading. This story follows Laila and her aunts to America. Where Laila has been preparing her whole life for something. Little did she know that it will show up in the form of a very hot South Asian man. Together destinies entwine and they must figure out why their lives collided the way they did. This was such a good story. The Indian mythology was refreshing to read about and very interesting. The way the story progressed kept me guessing and the twist was something I wasn’t expecting. I can’t wait for the other stories it hinted at to come out cause I have questions with no answers at this point. Totally recommend