Red Sapphire

The Sita Chronicles #1

by Ashley Mayers

The young, timid dreamer, Supriya Rutherford Ramachandran, always wondered what happened to her father and her grandmother when they disappeared without a trace just weeks before she was born. But, when she discovers a hidden box of letters in the attic of her family's San Francisco Victorian, she quickly realizes that perhaps, she rather would not know. As Supriya uncovers a dark family secret, a surprising supernatural identity, and a frightening cache of uncontrollable power destined for her, a diverse otherworldly ensemble must help her overcome incredible odds to master the burden of her new self-awareness while the fate of all humankind rests precariously in her hands.

A captivating saga featuring interwoven stories across generations, cultures and continents, RED SAPPHIRE pays homage to its roots in the beloved Indian epic, The Ramayana, with an enchantingly vivid and unabashedly global tale. As key figures from the ancient Hindu pantheon join modern counterparts in present-day San Francisco and WWII India, RED SAPPHIRE brings together a delightfully complex counterpoint of thrilling arcs into an emotional narrative punctuated by mesmerizing imagery, philosophical dilemmas, and tender human stories.

RED SAPPHIRE is the first book of the seven book series THE SITA CHRONICLES.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult

434 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2015

About the author

Ashley Mayers graduated with Honors and Distinction from Stanford University. Since then, she has used every opportunity to travel the world, from working on an archaeology dig in Sicily to working for Google as a regional trainer in Asia, based in India and Singapore. Throughout her travels she was inspired by the beautiful diversity of Southeast Asia, and she is happy to be able to combine many years of vivid cultural experiences with her humanities education and her love of fantasy literature to create THE SITA CHRONICLES. She now lives in San Francisco.

Reviews

[Reading Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very grateful to have received this book from Ashley Mayers,in exchange for an honest review of Red Sapphire,which turned out to be a wonderfully,engrossing novel.The story centres around Supriya Rutherford and her family as she begins to unravel the mystery behind her father and Grandmother's disappearance and the power her destiny holds.Through this discovery, she uncovers much more.

Red Sapphire is a fantastic book due to complex characters,an exciting plot and great writing.The Indian folklore, The Ramayana is weaved into the plot of this book which was done really well and was really interesting.I loved how the characters of the folklore played a part in the plot and how their backstories were fleshed out.My favourite character was by far,Supriya as she's brave and strong but also caring.Her development as the story progressed was fantastic, especially towards the end as it left lingering questions about how the ending would effect her in the next book.

The first few chapters were a little tedious but the novel picked up shortly after.I throughly enjoyed the story and the unpredictability of how things were going to happen.The switch between Supriya's narrative and her Grandmother Sabrina's letters or letters addressed to her, was an excellent addition to the novel as I anticipated reading the letters.This worked so well as it was like an extra story being told within the plot.

Overall,the book has a slow start but once it gets going, it is incredibly entertaining.The story and characters are fantastic and I would love to read the next book in the seven part series.Thanks again to Ashley Mayers for sending me out this book.

[Anika Shankar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I normally don't write reviews of books that I read, but I was going on and on about this series that I came across at a local bookstore in SF, and my boyfriend was like 'why don't you just write a review online.' So here it is:

I read all three of the available books in this series in less than two weeks. NOrmally, I do NOT have time to do something like that, but one night I was awake literally all night and finished it at 10am the next mornign (I ended Violet Sapphire around 7pm and told myself 'okay, I will just peek at the beginning of 'white'' and by the next morning I was done. I haven't done that since college).

I'm going to write reviews for each book, because they are all works in their own right, but I want to start with Red, because I actually ended up rereading it after I finished "White" (I NEVER do that!), and it was so much better the second time around. Red seemed interesting the first time around becuase there were a lot of subtle mysteries and I cared about the characters by the second chapter, especially Supriya. As an introvert myself I LOVED that the main characters were intellectual, reasonable, nice and kind of socially awkward, but were able to be the heroes (more realistically than a lot of characters out there at the moment I think) - especially Supriya and Shaheen. I think this is what a lot of people liked about Bella in Twilight, except that these characters actually have personalities (and they do not need to pine away for a vampire to have an ounce of self-worth). I'm not saying that they don't struggle - especially Supriya - and by the end of the third book it is so clear why her life is so hard, and I actually have a lot more respect for her than I did after reading Red for the first time. I loved the descriptions of India. I've been to INdia many times myself to visit family and I loved how it captured the fun craziness without making it too mysteriously exotic in a fake way. It was actually a very real representation of the India that I know (mainly south of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, even though the parts of the story in India are mostly in Kerala in western south india). Red was so jam-packed full of detail that at first it was hard to keep it all straight, and I wondered if some of it was superfluous (you know, just filling in pages with descriptions Charles Dickens style) but after finishing the third book I was amazed by how unique the series is, and how good REd is at setting up a seriously complicated web of stories that are only hinted at even by the end of its climax.

A few things I want to point out to anyone who is considering starting this series that I was thinking the first time I read Red: 1) I thought the timeline was wrong. Shanti was born during WW2 and I thought the author was just really sloppy. I was soooo wrong. This is an awesome subtle detail that when I reread the book after book three made it feel like a completely different book in the best way possible. 2) I felt like the narration was a bit weird towards the middle of REd because it's in the first person (told by Supriya) but then she was narrating scenes that she didn't experience. I realized in Violet and then when I went back and reread REd that this is acutally part of the plot and is explained in the first chapter. I definitely recommend that readers pay close attention during chapter 1 of book 1, because I breezed over it the first time I read it, but it actually explains a lot about the lore of the series in subtle ways, including why Supriya is able to narrate scenes that she didn't personally witness. 3) question everything! I thought that when certain details seemed a little funky that the author was just being sloppy (like I did with the timeline), but so many of these details were off for a reason that was explained in book two or three (although many still aren't explained yet and I can't WAIT to find out more!). So, here it is. My super long first online review. This series is shockingly good, much better than I realized even as I finished the first book, and I highly recommend it.

[Carrie]

I won this book from Goodreads First Reads. Review coming soon.

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I an not a true fan of this style of book, but I am willing to try a recommended read. I was pleasantly surprised that it is a very enjoyable read, not a bad tale after all.

[Toni L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy, what a great book. The adventures the characters
had and with many more to come. Hopefully the next books
in the series will be just as good. Will let you know.

[Alka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so let's do a book review of the first book of the series The Sita Chronicles - Red Sapphire. But first, let me start with how I got hold of this book in the first place. So, someone in my Facebook reading group shared the link of this series available free of cost at Amazon Kindle version. And since I had just got my new Kindle few days back and was loading whatever book I got, I saved this too. Funny, right?

(Read more book reviews at my blog Ethereal Jinxed)

However, what mainly attracted me to start reading this particular series was that it's based on Sita from Ramayana. Having previously read The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Divakarni based on Draupadi's character, I was ready to explore another story with a mythological female at the cusp. To be duly noted is the fact that Red Sapphire is a fictionalized version set in modern times but interlinked with Ramayana at the core. All main characters that you have heard of, are all present here in one form or another.

Now, to talk about the book. It is brilliantly written if you can simply ignore the excruciatingly slow start and a rushed end. A crisper editing was definitely required to cut a few pages in between. But somehow I liked the book - the characterisation of everyone and the parallels it drew from the characters we had grown up reading, rather watching every Sunday morning on DD1 - Sita, Ram, Hanuman, Ravan, Shurpanakha and the traitor Vibhishana. Hoping that the flaws are mitigated in the next book - Violet Sapphire.

[Janet Arroyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to thank Ashley Mayers for my free copy of "Red Sapphire" in exchange for an honest review. Wow, I really enjoyed this book. It took several chapters for me to really get into the flow of the book because initially the information was more like a foundation. Once the foundation was built, I thought I was on a "skyscraper" metaphorically speaking. This book is outstanding. I learned about an ancient Indian epic, " The Ramayana". A folklore that I was unaware of until I read this novel. I love a good verses evil book. I loved the strong female characters that were portrayed. This book was not lacking in action or adventure. There was magic, shapeshifters, science, archeology and medicine. This book explored political unrest and war. This book gave me a personal message as well. There is good and evil in the world but we as humans always have the option to choose which path we will take individually. This book is a fantastic read. I recommend to everyone. This is also "Book 1 of The Sita Chronicles", I look forward to reading the whole series!!

[Gothie BioVenom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book by the author, and I want to start off by saying a huge thank you for doing so :)
I really enjoyed this book, it's made me feel better about YA.

It's super well written, the characters are realistic and had realistic reactions to the events.
I loved the independence and the strength of the female characters and that the main character Supriya didn't need to be saved as such. But she also wasn't this super powerful "I can do anything on my own" all of a sudden either.
The mythology of the book was also well written and interesting.
I loved that the few scenes that took place in India didn't have an "exotic wonderland" setting that a lot of YA has been doing recently.

All in all this was great.
Diverse, realistic and strong characters, a super interesting world and an interesting storyline :)

[Sherri Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a FABULOUS read!! I was fortunate enough to win this book as part of Goodreads FIRST READ program and couldn't be happier that I received my copy.

I almost never give "5 stars" so giving this book a "4 star" rating should indicate how wonderful it is. The story just flowed so well and the characters were very real and relatable - characters you care about and can't wait to find out what will happen next.

I HIGHLY recommend this to those who enjoy great writing as well as a book that spans cultures and time/history.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally a book with female characters that are not white, "christian", pretty and dumb! It's a miracle in this day and age! Some diversity and a main character that is not a sniveling idiot. Throw in some good character growth, loads of mystery (the book assumes the reader has a brain and can be patient), a non-western rooted plot and a healthy dose of ass kicking and you got a pretty darn good book. Great work, looking forward to more!

[Verona Eekma - de Vries · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so so great! I absolutely love the world building. I'm really impressed. The ensemble cast of characters is so fantastic! They all have interesting backstories and distinct personalities. I'd loved them. The writing is great, story is really awesome, pacing on point. It was freaking close to being perfect, and I can't wait for the sequel! I'm rating this book 4.5 stars.

[Ariqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book through goodreads giveaways.

I really enjoyed Red Sapphire. An interesting look into this culture that provides relatable material and an entertaining read.

It starts out pretty slowly and the time jumps threw me off, but when it did pick up, I was hooked.

Definitely interested in reading more books in the series.

[Stef · Rating 5 out of 5]

won on goodreads

excellent! love the characters, great plot, great writing style

alot to read into also

[Wendy McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

Loved it! The author does a great job exploring a very complex traditional story, while also managing to tastefully and sensitively explore modern issues surrounding feminism, xenophobia, war, and politics. Characters are well developed and the story pulls you in deeply and fully. Looking forward to reading more of this series.

[Rudra Chandak · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a Percy Jackson-style storyline for the Indian mythology of Ramayana, Ashley Mayers presents the modern-day life of Supriya Rutherford Ramachandran who comes face-to-face to her family's past secrets intertwined with the Ramayana which is true and very much alive in the present times. With Ram as a powerful mortal who has to take multiple births in order to defeat the evil corruption that is caused by Ravana, using the red sapphires as their weapon against the shape-shifting alien-like Rakshasas, Supriya becomes a part of the legend of the rebirths of Sita as the guardian to an important secret.

The story is a little slow to pick up. Supriya's background and her excitement on discovering India are well explained, however her trip to Italy lacks its punch, and she the most basic revelation of her involvement in the mythology only comes around half-way through the book. Ram's repetitions of the same 'what to do' become a little boring. However, the book culminates into a greater battle of light vs darkness in the end (which is less materialistic than the Percy Jackson or other similar books, but pretty much on the greater lines of Indian mythology). Overall, as a standalone, it is a pretty big book with only a limited action, however, I hope the other books build up on it better.

P.S. - The appendix section explaining the characters and terms of Indian mythology is well-defined to bring a non-Indian (or anyone who isn't familiar with the epic) to terms.

[Sangeetha T · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh yay white woman writes about Indian goddess cos she travelled to India once.

WHAT IS THIS DISGUSTING APPROPRIATIVE BULLSHIT? How do you bloody white women get away with stealing other peoples cultures, portraying them so horribly wrong and then making money of that?

This woman should never be allowed to write another novel.

Someone please stop her.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Sapphire (the Sita Chronicles, Book #1) by Ashley Mayers (Good reads author) Among authors and publishers, a new trend is setting in which the author narrates his understanding of Great Indian Epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Some popular authors are Ashok K Banker, Chitra Diwakaruni Banerjee, Amish, Ashok Sharma, Devdutt Pattanaik to name a few. Philosophy of Ramayana is depicted between dialoguers between Sharbhanga and Ram Sharbhanga- ‘Under the Pole Star sits Shiva on a mountain of stone covered with snow. No grass grows there, but his bull, Nandi, does not complain. Nandi does not fear being eaten by Shakti’s tiger either. The snake around Shiva’s neck does not fear being eaten by Kartikeya’s peacock and it does not seek to eat Ganesha’s rat. Clearly, that is a place where there is no hunger. In Swarga there is prosperity, but no peace. I seek peace, I seek Kailas. That must be heaven.’

‘You describe Vishnu: who has no hunger like Shiva, but cares for other people’s hunger. He is not driven by rules. He functions in affection.’ ‘‘Brahma, Indra, Vishnu, Shiva. Where can we find them?’ asked Lakshman. But society needs rules, until everyone can be Vishnu. Otherwise everyone will remain Indra,’ said Ram. ‘Indeed,’ said the sage, impressed by the young prince and his wife. ‘Brahma, Indra, Vishnu, Shiva. Where can we find them?’ asked Lakshman. ‘In your mind, Lakshman. We are all Brahma. We are all Indra. We are all Daksha. We can be Shiva. We can be Vishnu too,’ chuckled the sage, shutting his eyes and smiling in peace.
Ram said, ‘I see things differently. I see plants feeding on elements, animals feeding on plants, and animals feeding on animals that feed on plants. I see those that eat and those that are eaten. Those who eat are afraid that they may not get enough. Those who can be eaten are afraid they will be consumed. I see fear everywhere. In a perfect society there should be no fear. To achieve that is dharma.”
This book is about the young, timid dreamer, Supriya Rutherford Ramachandran, always wondered what happened to her father and her grandmother when they disappeared without a trace just weeks before she was born. But, when she discovers a hidden box of letters in the attic of her family’s San Francisco Victorian, she quickly realizes that perhaps, she rather would not know. As Supriya uncovers a dark family secret, a surprising supernatural identity, and a frightening cache of uncontrollable power destined for her, a diverse otherworldly ensemble must help her overcome incredible odds to master the burden of her new self-awareness while the fate of all humankind rests precariously in her hands.
The narrative of the Book has twists and turns which bind the reader. A movie can be scripted on the book but the principles of the great Indian Epic Ramayana should come as a conclusion. The lessons from Ramayana have been mentioned in the above note.
It is a good read book.

[Bharat Krishnan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book doesn't know what it wants to be.

Perhaps it was unfair to read this right after finishing The Storyteller's Secret, but in my opinion this book does not respect its readers. There are some issues with grammar and spelling that may be the fault of my eBook, but on the whole the story just doesn't seem real. I made it 10% through, and my key takeaways were that it didn't seem like the author had had this book read by anyone who actually grew up in India and that the author is very patronizing to the reader. By that, I mean the author assumes the reader has absolutely zero knowledge of India. I don't think this is the case, but even if it is the book still doesn't make sense as it's called "The Sita Chronicles" and yet almost nothing is explained about what the Ramayana is within the 10% I read.

If you are looking to learn about India and its culture, I implore you to seek out The Storyteller's Secret instead.

[Irene O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

You never know what is coming.

Wow what a brilliant book, it shows the Gods of Hinduism and how they translate into modern day life. When Supriya goes to India for the first time she experiences something that hurts and the memory is buried deep in her psyche. Getting chance to work on an archaeological dig she travels Sicily, she meets some unusual people and memories begin to surface. Back home there are terrible secrets that have been withheld from her and she was find them out to understand what is happening now.
A must read for all lovers of supernatural worlds and how they connect to our own lives.

[Jaelyn Cobain · Rating 3 out of 5]

The alternate chapters of this book refers to two different timeline of a family. One is current and tells the story of Supriya, a young smart and adventurous young lady. Supriya's love for archeology had landed her in a project in Sicily where she meet Giovanni (who is actually a Hindu God, Hanuman) who present her with a 'Red Sapphire Crystal Necklace' as a good luck charm.

While in Sicily, things took a turn when Supriya tried to save her friend Mindy from her abusive boyfriend Jeff. Mindy was actually a creature that addressed Supriya as Sita. This is how her adventure begins uncovering the truth about her self.

[Charitha Natta · Rating 2 out of 5]

With better editing, this book would've been a lot better. The premise is very interesting, but the way the story has been developed sounds too contrived. At one point, it reads less like a novel and more like the wishful thinking of a teenage girl. This idea has a lot of potential. I wish the author all the best for her future endeavors.

[Kerry Dillenburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible!

Mayer's writing captures you and brings you along the amazing journeys of three generations of the women in a family cursed with the responsibility of protecting all human life.
Highly highly recommended.

[Arti Deshpande]

An engrossing take on The Ramayana

This book is such an engrossing take on The Ramayana that I am thoroughly impressed. I also loved how the unfairness in Ramayana is spoken about in clear words in this book.

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the set-up, the Ramayana, and the plot. The writing is OK .

[Primrose Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can find this review at my blog : Messing With Imagination

Title : Red Saphhire (The Sita Chronicles #1)

Author : Ashley Mayers

My Rating : 3.5 / 5 stars

My Review :

The Sita Chronicle’s foundation lies on the story of “The Ramayana” which is an ancient Indian epic. The story follows the battle between the ancient Ramayana characters in the modern generation. Supriya Rutherford Ramachandran is 16 years old and lives with her mother in San Francisco. She always wondered what happened to her father and her grandmother when they disappeared without a trace just weeks before she was born. But, when she discovers a hidden box of letters in the attic of her family's San Francisco Victorian, she quickly realizes that perhaps, she rather would not know. Supriya finally uncovers a dark family secret which involves an ancient legend. As she discovers a frightening cache of uncontrollable destined for her, a diverse otherworldly ensemble must help her overcome incredible odds to master the burden of her new self-awareness while the fate of all humankind rests precariously in her hands.

The author has done quite a good job in framing a story by taking inspiration from an ancient legend. Even though the book’s story revolves around the legend, it is quite unique in its own.

The book started out quite well and the author’s way of writing grabs your attention. I especially loved how the author had intertwined the letters of Grandma Sabrina with the present day story. The letters were really well written as it gave a very good insight into the past events even though they were short and made the story clear for the readers.

The only big problem that I had with the book was that I couldn’t connect with the main protagonist Supriya, she was quite a weak character. For a person with a very strong past life she felt to be quite a confident-less fellow. All the other characters were really good and I loved each of them in the story. From Supriya’s friend Shaheen to the Rakshashas, all were realistic and were justifiable in the plot. I would have loved it more if Rama’s character was given more importance, it felt as if Rama was hardly in the book and being a young-adult book, I was hoping for some romance between the main characters but the story’s plot didn’t have room for it which was quite sad. But the ending of the book gives hope for their romance in the next part of the series.

I felt the book was a bit draggy; the author could have cut short the story to some extent. Many things were unnecessarily added for the plot to be dragged on, at some point I even got bored but surprisingly things took a turn and held my attention. It may not be the best book you come across, but the author has done justice with the book and the ancient legend's modern battle. The best thing I liked about the book was that the plot was believable.

I would suggest this book for anyone who is looking at a different take at "The Ramayana" and people who are interested in young-adult books linked to historic legends. I am rating it a 3.5/5 stars.

Note: I won this book through Goodreads giveaway and I would like to thank goodreads & especially the author Ashley Mayers for painstakingly sending me a signed copy of her book all the way from U.S to India.

[Sanhita · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fantasy. I knew the genre before I started.
The beginning, upto halfway, the story is gripping. It fleets between the protagonist Supriya, a young girl living in the US and letters to and from Sabrina, her missing grandmother, written in her younger days around the time of the second WW, which Supriya finds in her home. The story builds up beautifully of course with some fantasy thrown in which links the story with the characters of Ramayana, as young Supriya visits Kerala in India to meet her paternal grandparents.It's there that she experiences some supernatural incidents, which leaves her puzzled.
Strange incidents keep happening with teenager Supriya in Sicily where she goes to help in excavation of an arcaeological site. gets to know the magical characters involved her life. This includes Surpanakha who attacks her in Sicily but she gets rescued by Ram and Hanuman again. After this the story takes a turn to become more "action packed" as in action movies, with fights, shoots, with some magic of the the important characters of Ramayana like Ram and Hanuman getting involved, all happening in San Fransisco. Hanuman being a shapeshifter ( the word reminds me of the beautiful album by the same name by Santana) add to the confusion of the police and they all get branded as terrorists.
It all moves through too many of fights and runs and Ravana, the greatest shapeshifter of all makes an appearance, after kidnapping Supriya and her mother. But when Hanuman meets Vibhisan, ravana's brother at Ravana's den after overpowering Ravana (they can't kill him yet as they don't have sufficient number of red sapphires, the only weapon to kill the Rakshasas)and slaps him on the back and calls him "Vibhi", the bottom fell off for the story for me.
It's the first book in the series of seven. I'm still debating whether to pick up the second!

[Ying · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. I have been interested in the story of The Ramayana, and the mythology that surrounds it - and this book takes the story of the Ramayana and brings it to the modern world.

The tone of the book is young adult, but the length is very fantasy. Even though it's only 434 pages, it felt like a very long book. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, it was a great read. It was a different kind of young adult-fantasy novel than I normally read. I think younger readers (15-21) may also enjoy this book, but might lose interest due to it's length.

I liked that we mainly followed Supriya, but we learnt about her family's history through letters that she found as a child. If we had only followed Supriya I think I would have found ti harder to get through the book. Also I liked how independent Supriya was. She was no damsel in distress, or at least she tried her very best not to be. She stood up for herself, and she was intelligent. Can't say how refreshing it is. :)

This book did a good job of bringing in an old mythology and putting it into the modern world. The introduction of "gods" who fight an ancient war through humans is a common theme, but I think the author did a good job of bringing the mythological beings into the modern world. I found myself really interested in the background of all the characters, I was very intrigued.

The climax of the book felt rushed, and I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the rest of the book. But overall I still enjoyed reading it. There are like 6 other books in the series, I wonder how many of them I will get through.

Got this book (and the rest of the series) for free during a deal on Amazon.

[Sumith Chowdhury · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you love reading fantasy novels that touch both ancient and modern times, look no further! Read this. By blending ancient heroes and villains spread across generations with the modern world of science and archaeology, Ashley Mayers has created something very elaborate and unique. You'll learn plenty about Indian mythology (beyond Rama and Sita, the alluring rakshasa race) with plenty of context for beginners, and the perspective of what the days of WWII may have been for people in the Indian subcontinent (through letters). And of course, the modern age of witch hunts and social struggles in San Francisco, which is a main setting in the novel.
Looking forward to reading more of the saga to see how this multi-layered adventure unfolds!
This is a very interesting, extremely well-written story that is the first part of a series. I am looking forward to continuing on with the saga. There is some back and forth through time (story-telling not time travel), which I sometimes find confusing, but it is very well done here, and pretty much essential to the nature of the story. There are lots of interesting contemporary characters along with the characters drawn from Indian mythology. The action scenes are are just about right - explicit but not too gory. I wish I knew the characters better, but that may come in future installments. The writing and imagery are wonderful. This book is very original and looks to have been written by a seasoned professional.

[Gayatri Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS SERIES!!!! Got it for free on Amazon. I got the first four a few months ago and then all of the rest last week. I'd been waiting and waiting to finish it! I like the second half of the series better than the first because the first few books its hard to tell exactly where its going, but once I got through the fourth book which was easy because they are fast reads even though they are kind of long and they get longer, I was in love - Neha, Neha, Neha! I love Neha! I want her to be my sister!!! Supriya I didn't love at the beginning but by the end I did. She is such a different character by the end of the series!!!! I loved that this was totally different take on the ramayana but not limited to that at all cuz it turns into a bigger epic around kali yuga. I loved that there were lots of different settings and the political stuff was kind of spooky with everything thats happened in the last few months.

[Lynda Lippin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Contemporary Continuation of The Ramayana

I wasn't sure about this book at the beginning, but ultimate it drew me in, and I am glad I stuck with it. The Red Sapphire is the weapon that Rama uses against Ravana and other Rakshasas. The story centers around the Ramachandran family and their relationship to this ongoing battle.