Here to Slay

by Radhika Sanghani

Kali has a lot to deal with. Her crush doesn't notice her, her parents love her cousin more, and a big family wedding is overshadowing her 16th birthday. So, she really did NOT need a demon appearing in her bedroom and for the fate of the world to rest in her hands. It turns out that all girls named after the Indian demon-fighting goddess Kali are imbued with special powers, and are destined to fight demons. At least she's not alone in this mess - she's got the very cool, very confident K to teach her how to be a demon slayer. Now, if only she could also figure out how to slay at life...

Genres: Fantasy, LGBT, Young Adult, Lesbian

260 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2024

About the author

I'm an author, journalist and screenwriter. My latest novel THIRTY THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MYSELF is coming out in January in the UK and US. I've also written two YA novels VIRGIN and NOT THAT EASY.
I'm a freelance journalist for publications like the Telegraph, Daily Mail, Grazia and Glamour. I'm also a body positive campaigner and founded the #sideprofileselfie movement. In my spare time, I also teach yoga and created a volunteer initiative to paint elderly ladies' nails for Age UK.

Reviews

[Lora X · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot! The characters are wonderful and well rounded, even the (partly annoying) side characters showed different layers of their personality which is really impressive since it is a quick read.
Getting to know the Indian culture in this way was a lot of fun and oh my goodness, K is such an amazing character! (The usual struggle: „Do I want to be *with* her or do I want to *be* her?“ 😅)
Kali is also really cute and in some way relatable, which made my past/teenage me cringe from time to time because she felt a bit too called out. 😂

If you like the mixture of badass and weird young women being badass and weird with a great dose of humor, questioning social norms and expectations and a heartwarming LGBT+ story I encourage you giving it a try - this book deserves a lot of love. 💕

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much fun!! Buffy the Vampire Slayers meets Indian Mythology - the crossover I never knew I needed! Throw in a sprinkle of feminism and my LGBTQ+ babes and you’ve got yourself a winner! There’s nothing gayer than dating someone you share a name with and I’ve always said that!

Kali was such a great protagonist. She embodied the teenage feeling of always being out of place. Watching her discover herself was really lovely.

This was going to be a 4.5 Star book for me but the final quarter didn’t quite hit the way I wanted it to. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad in the slightest, I just didn’t fully love it, especially compared to the rest of the book.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this greatly and would definitely recommend!

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holy shit! Here to Slay contains! So! Many!! Exclamation marks!!!!! I'm serious guys! SO! MANY!!! Of them!!
Yes so that bugged me just like the number of commas that were missing I mean honestly how can you miss so many commas? I know British authors have problems with them more often and put or don't put them in strange places, but dear me, this was on a whole different level.

And apart from that, there is soooooo much teenage angst. Oh my goodness, I just can't even. It was waaaaay too much angst for me. I don't think I've ever come across such an amount of it before. It's as if the five most important characters have enough of it for the whole of Europe. What the fuck? Honestly, I'm surprised and proud of myself that I even finished this book. Because apart from there being such an enormous load of it, it was also done in a very explicit way, as if it was being shoved down my throat. I nearly changed into foie gras myself. All the characters are going through so much and talk about it with one another (or not) in very odd ways - I can't imagine people actually having these kinds of conversations in the way they have them, using those words and phrases. Maybe I'm entirely wrong, of course, but to me it at least felt very unrealistic.

I also think I discovered two plot holes. The first one is that Kali says that something happened over a year ago with the demons, but she only turned 16 less than a year ago, so that's impossible - unless I misunderstood her meaning. And the second one is: How on earth did those demons get all the partners of all Kalis in one place at the same time, if they need to kidnap them from all over the world? That's just impossible.

There are good things about Sanghani's too, though. Most of the characters themselves are nice, such as Kali herself, K, Joe and Rihanna. Even Hayley is not too bad - sure, she definitely has some problems, but she feels real and that's what counts. And the demons and archery were fun as well. Basically, as long as there was none of the teenage angst or hormones playing up, it was a nice book. But it never took long before those other elements took over...

6/10

[Katheryn Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kali has never been thrilled about being named after the Indian goddess of death, destruction, and doomsday, but she likes it even less when she turns sixteen and discovers that all Kalis are born to become demon hunters…

Here to Slay is such a fun read, which puts a fresh spin on a familiar genre. While some of the story’s twists were a little predictable, I can’t really complain since it’s intended for a YA audience. Not quite a five-star read for me, but one I really enjoyed.

[Rain · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[EVAN · Rating 3 out of 5]

INDIAN YURI😍

[Rebecca R · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Kali turns 16, everything in her life starts going wrong: her RE teacher reveals the story of the bloodthirsty Hindu goddess that she is named after and all the popular kids start calling her ‘Doomsday’, including her crush. Then her 16th birthday celebration is overshadowed by her perfect cousin’s engagement party. And to top it all off, she is attacked by a demon in her bedroom the same night. But this is no coincidence, she is destined to be a demon slayer, together with all the other women and girls called ‘Kali’ and one of them, the stylish and enigmatic ‘K’, offers to train her in demon slaying. Will Kali embrace her inner bloodthirsty goddess and help the other Kali’s to defeat the demons once and for all?

I absolutely adored this story, a hilarious, action-packed, empowering and inclusive adventure, perfect for fans of Buffy, Polite Society and Never Have I Ever.

This is also a pitch-perfect ‘teen’ story - ideal for KS3.

[Olga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Radhika Sanghani’s Here to Slay is a whirlwind of teenage chaos, Indian mythology, and queer joy, wrapped in a vibrant, demon-slaying package. Kali is your typical 16-year-old—until her birthday spirals from awkward family drama to full-blown supernatural battle. With a demon to defeat and a legacy rooted in the fierce Hindu goddess Kali, our heroine learns to channel her inner warrior with the help of the effortlessly cool, non-binary mentor K.

This book is unapologetically bold. It celebrates Indian culture, weaving mythology and goddess worship into a modern British setting. The LGBT+ representation is joyful and natural, adding depth to an already compelling cast. And oh, the humour—Kali’s awkwardness and K’s swagger create a delightful dynamic that kept me grinning.

A brilliant blend of action, heart, and cultural pride.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4/5)

Recommended for: Anyone craving a YA story that’s inclusive, energetic, and utterly unique.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here to Slay is easily one of my favourite YA reads this year - with action as well as lovable characters I really enjoyed this fun, fast paced book. The cultural and LGBTQIA+ representation was incredible and really well done for younger audiences - and adults alike! It’s so important for YA books, such as this one to be readily available and encouraged in schools, young kids and teenagers need this kind of diverse representation at their impressionable age! I genuinely really liked this book and will definitely be interested in any further publications from Sanghani.
(Thank you so much to ED Public Relations and Knights Of Media for the review copy of this book!)

[Olive Belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was cute and had a nice lesbian romance, as well as exploring lots of aspects of the lgbtq+ community in a very positive way, and also exploring the lives of people of colour trying to remain proud of their cultures in predominantly white areas.
the book itself however was probably aimed at readers slighter younger than myself (17), so a few things seemed cheesy to me. BUT this book would probably be great for a slightly younger reader

[Amberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started and finished date - 21.11.24 to 23.11.24.
My rating - Three Stars.
I liked this book but I didn't love it. Both The atmosphere and the writing was fine also the paced of plot was okay. The cover of book was stunning. I mix feeling about the characters, I like the characters but they feel younger than they actually were and they needed to be flash bit more.

[Gurleen Kaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been a bit since I've read this but I remember liking it a lot. The characters were nice and it is your typical person becomes a little bit older and now has to save the world type story. The relationships were lovely

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ordered into my library thinking it was a graphic novel! But still absolutely loved this YA novel so much. Loved the characters, the humour and the Buffy influences.

[Adele BB · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! It doesn’t shy away from things that many people do ( like periods or LGBT+ ). It’s a fun story and it’s very well written!

[Victoria Storey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It dealt with quite a few themes, that teenage girls have to go through, but with a fantasy twist.

[Nicolle Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Anna-Lena Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a ton of fun. Very much for a teen audience, but I had a lot of fun reading it anyway. I'll keep an eye out for more books by the same author.

[Shaan Kaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a really interesting concept. It wasn’t conventional and it certainly wasn’t one you would see willy nilly. But it was unique I’ll give you that.

I liked the different portrayal of religions. The way foreign words were tossed around. You don’t really see that anymore.

The characters are interesting. I think you could tell from the cover what would happen between them, well I mean I did. The characters were interesting and while I did get annoyed at them from time to time they were ok overall.

I wasn’t really into it at first but at page 200 I was reading the book like it was my job (I’m still in high school). So I think the author did a good job of the action at that point.

Generally, the book was ok. Not at all what I was expecting but sometimes that’s ok.