The Legend of Meneka

Rao (The Surviving Sky) delivers a spellbinding romantasy that reimagines Hindu deities. Meneka is a 23-year-old apsara, or celestial being, who seduces and kills targets given to her by Indra, the lord of heaven. After completing her most recent mission, she asks Indra for her promised reward—freedom from his service—but he angrily denies her request and instead assigns her a perilous new job: seduce Kaushika, a powerful mortal sage with abilities that rival Indra’s own. Failure to defeat Kaushika and stop the spread of his influence among humans before a significant celestial event will result in Indra losing power and Meneka’s city, Amaravati, disappearing. Meneka succeeds in seducing Kaushika, but she falls into her own trap, developing strong feelings for the sage as she comes to realize there’s more to him than Indra led her to believe. Now Meneka must decide where her loyalties lie. The fascinating magic system draws deeply from the Hindu pantheon while the gripping plot never lets up on the treachery, betrayal, and steamy scenes between Meneka and Kaushika. Romantasy readers won’t want to put this down. (Jan.)