I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I normally love reading Canadian content, but I just didn't connect with this story. It's not a bad start to a fantasy series, I just won't be picking up the next one.

Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm a bit torn on this book. I wanted it to be really good, and in many aspects, it truly is; but in others, it fails to stick the landing for me.

The Good
The world building in this book is masterful. Bhathena skillfully weaves Indian mythology with an ancient Indian world and the result is a beautifully, immersive world. I felt myself stepping into the world every time I opened my kindle to read it and I loved it.

The Meh

The romance. It may just be me, but the romance between Gul and Cavas seemed a bit like a schoolyard romance in that they were more likely to trade insults to each other than inspire or dote on the other. I felt like good conversations between the two would have solved a lot of the juvenile fighting and bickering, but that may be something that's handled in the next book. As for this book, it was off-putting and I felt that the story would have been better helped by not having it.

The Really Meh

Gul. I was really put off by her false sense of superiority at times and an incident where she shames another girl for an event that wasn't her fault really rubbed me the wrong way. I also did not enjoy her "I'm not like other girls" attitude. I kept snidely thinking "Sis, but did you get picked" because she constantly did this. I don't want to call her a Mary Sue, but there were times where it felt like there was nothing that she couldn't do by sheer force of will.

There were also a lot of clichés that are pretty apparent if you're a heavy YA reader. Clichés aren't bad in and of themselves, but they're like seasoning: a little can go a long way.

I felt midling about this book and truly hope that the next book fixes some of the issues of this one.

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.

I liked the two main characters and how you got both of their points of view, I like how they each had their own story and agenda, but how they entwined together. I liked the overall plot of the book. Normally female characters annoy me a lot, but Gul didn’t. The book was captivating, and interesting through out. I do like rebellion against royalty type of books, I think they are thrilling and that there can be many variations on that theme. I am interested to see how it ends in the sequel.

A fabulous start to an epic fantasy series. Heavy backstory will keep readers in suspense as the author doles out tidbits of history, but nothing will prepare readers for the final plot reveal. Can't wait to see how this ends in book 2.

Hunted by the Sky
4.5/5 ⭐️ to Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena

Firstly, I’d like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for early access to the egalley! Honestly, this first came across as a very unassuming book, but this is a YA Fantasy that commands attention once you start to read. It is based on a medieval India setting, and the vibes and world-building go from there! The magic system was unique and beautifully demonstrated to us as the reader throughout the story and blended in so well with the setting and the characters.

Speaking of, this is a dual-perspective story that follows Gul, a girl who’s been on the run since her parents were killed by the king, and Cavas, a young man who is trying to get out of the tenements and save his father. After an ever-so-brief encounter at the bazaar, they find their fates (and even their hearts) entangled. Together, they embark on a quest for vengeance against the king and his elite force of warriors. They also join with a secret group of magical female warriors known as the Sisters of the Golden Lotus, who took Gul in soon after she was orphaned. Will they be able to infiltrate the palace, and will Gul fulfill the prophecy spoken about her ~ that a girl with a star shaped birthmark will overthrow the king and save the kingdom?

Overall, this boom surprised me in the best way! It did initially take me a littler bit to get fully immersed in the story and connect to these two MCs (hence 4.5 instead of 5 stars), but once I did I was in for an amazing ride! Not only was I really invested in the main plot, but the whole entire cast was so well developed. Each contributed purposefully to the story, had their own story arcs, and compelled emotional connections to the reader. Finally, I thought the pacing worked so well, and Bhathena gave us an ending that both satisfied and left appetite for the rest of the series. Good thing, because the cover reveal for the sequel recently released, and I couldn’t be more excited.

10/10 would recommend his book and series for fans of YA Fantasy, especially if you’re looking for MCs who are POC, and settings outside of those typical in YA now.

Set in a world inspired by Medieval India, Tanaz Bhathena's Hunted by the Sky has some of the best world-building I’ve read in a book lately. Intricately descriptive I was easily engulfed in the Kingdom and its cities including Ambarvadi, Jwala, Prithvi and Samudra. Bhathena made sure to create the kingdom with such a richness and it was one of the stand-out elements of the book to me. I couldn’t get enough of learning more about cities and loved the vividness with which the architecture in Ambar was described.

In addition to the world-building, Bhathena created compelling characters that I couldn’t get enough of. The main protagonist of the story, Gul, is smart, witty, stubborn and has a ferocity that has you rooting for her from beginning to end. There is also a vulnerability that shows whenever she speaks about her magic (and sometimes lack thereof) and in the way she thinks about the death of her parents, feeling guilt and grief that cannot fully dissipate until she’s completed her mission. While her thoughts are consistently consumed with her need for revenge, meeting a boy named Cavas one fateful night while in Ambarvadi’s bazaar.

Mistaking Gul for a pickpocket, Cavas pretends to be her mate in order to save her from certain punishment. The two share a passionate kiss and this marks a moment that the duo never forget - although they both wish to do so. While Cavas and Gul aren’t necessarily fans of one another in the beginning (aside from the lingering memory of their shared kiss), the relationship between the two blooms beautifully, creating a remarkable romance that many readers will latch onto.

With its striking backdrop and fascinating characters, coupled with political intrigue, class struggles between the magi and non-magi, an alluring romance and danger abound, Hunted by the Sky is certainly a book that should be on your self sooner rather than later!

I first fell in love with this book when the cover was first released. Isn't it just stunning?

A large part of this book is an old prophecy foretelling that a girl born with a star-shaped birthmark will defeat the evil ruler of their land. Gul, the protagonist, has spent her life trying to keep her birthmark a secret. Her parents always warned her against allowing anyone to see it and she grew up in fear of anyone finding out.

Very early on in the book, Gul's parents are murdered at the hand of the King and she is forced into hiding to keep safe. Luckily for Gul, she meets a group of women called the Sisters of the Golden Lotus who take her in and begin training her into using her warrior magic. But, the only thing Gul can think about is revenge for her parents.

Gul has gone through a lot as a young girl. She's watched people be killed for having a birthmark and has had to live with the same fear throughout her life. Then, she watches as her parents are murdered in front of her. Her drive for revenge keeps her going and she is determined to grow strong enough to defeat those who wronged her. Her strength made me fall in love with her as a character.

Cavas is the second protagonist that the book follows. It switches perspectives between the two characters in alternating chapters which I really enjoyed. I liked following a character that had magical abilities as well as one that didn't. Cavas has his own struggles he has to deal with. His mother passed away when he was a young child and he has been looking after his ill father ever since. I really admired his strength and his love towards helping his father as much as he can. Cavas had a big heart and I loved that he would do whatever he could to help those in need.

Gul and Cavas end up being drawn together and although at first they don't get on, they eventually come to an agreement with Cavas helping Gul gain access to the palace to enact her revenge. I personally was more drawn to Gul's story and past, but I did like the insight into Cavas's family (which I hope is dived into more in the sequel!)

It wasn't just the main characters that were strong though. All the secondary characters were very detailed and had such rich backstories that I just couldn't help but love them all. The Sisters of the Golden Lotus were particularly interesting and I enjoyed learning about them, their past and what they were aiming for.

The world-building was fantastic. There are four different kingdoms; Prithvi, Ambar, Jwala, and Samdura. The description and details about the world made it one of the strongest aspects of the book. I loved all the details and could really picture how the world was supposed to look.

I felt like some parts of the book were a little slow but I am beyond excited for the sequel! The intrigue of the prophecy, strong-willed characters and rich world-building kept me hooked. The ending of the book has only left me wanting more.

Definitely pick this one up!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

I chose this book merely for the cover, but I stayed out of curiosity. In this YA fantasy, Tanaz Bhathena weaves Persian and Indian mythology and history to create a fantasy world like no other. Gul, our main character watches in horror as her parents are killed at the hands of a ruthless ruler. Vowing vengeance, Gul joins a rebel group of women who help her understand her magic but will she be able to complete her plan when it comes time? Along the way, Gul meets Cavas, a young boy with his own story, and the chemistry between the two is undeniable.


Well, actually I may be stretching that last sentence a bit. I wasn't feeling the Gul and Cavas relationship at all. Honestly, I felt it was a bit boring. I was really interested in Gul getting her vengeance and fully embracing her magic. Anything else ( in my eyes, at least) was a bit of a distraction. However, love relationships aside, I would certainly continue on with the series to see what lies in store for the characters.

#HuntedbytheSky #NetGalley

Publication Date 23/06/20
Goodreads review 05/07/20

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher. for sending me a complementary arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hunted by The SKy is inspired by medieval India where people are divided based on whether they have magic or not. Years ago, a. prophecy was made that stated that a girl with star birthmark would lead to the demise of the tyrannous king, Lohar. Ever since then, the king's soldiers, known as the sky warriors, hunt for girls with birthmark and drain magic out of them in labor camps. When the sky warriors reaches Gul's doorstep and kills her parents, Gul has no choice but to run for her life. On her way, Gul meets the Sisters of Golden Lotus, who believe her to be the prophesied girl. They rescue her and bring her to their sanctuary where Gul trains to oneday to kill the king and get her revenge. Gul soon meets Cavas, a non magus from the tenements who works at the palace stables. Convincing Cavas to sneak her into the palace might be her only chance to get closer to the king but Cavas wants nothing to do with Gul. Despite of that, their lives get entangled with this deadly mission of vengeance and as the prophecy unravels, they discover many shocking secrets and conspiracies.

This book has such lush, vibrant and fascinating world. The culture is so beautifully portrayed - its rich and the 'desi' representation in this is everything I ever wanted. The descriptions of the outfits, the food, the cities, the buildings, the marketplaces - everything was absolutely impeccable and amazing. The author managed to create a very atmospheric setting that makes you feel like you are in the story itself and the use of 'desi' names and desi words make it more believable. The writing is very poetic.

However, even through the story starts with a lot of action, the pacing kinda becomes slow after a couple of chapters. For a long period of time, it felt like nothing was happening. I was expecting a lot more excitement but the plot kind of fell flat. The characters and their storyline could have been developed more. While I love Gul, I can't say the same for Cavas. I did not care much for him, nor was I invested in their relationship. Gul and Cavas seemed to lack chemistry and their romance felt very forced. It might be just me but I felt like there was a lot more romantic potential between Gul and Prince Amar.

I really enjoyed the ending. There were a lot of plot twists and unexpected things that happened and the pacing picked up really fast.

Overall, this was an 'okay' first book but it has a lot of potential. I would definitely read the other installments to see where the story goes.

I found this one ok but I did have a bit of a problem getting into. The story is good but just not great. I do know some people who will love this one more than I do so I have recommended it to them .

Guys. GUYS. Why don't you have this book yet? There can be no excuse now that it's out in the world. This is a tale overflowing with magic and revenge and girls taking the world into their hands and I couldn't get enough of it!

This is the second medieval Indian fantasy series I've started reading this year and I have no intention of letting HUNTED BY THE SKY be the last. To be fair, this one is actually a mix of Indian and Persian, which I thought gave this world a very unique feel. In this story, girls are kidnapped from their families if they have a mark in the shape of a star on them. All because of a prophecy that says the girl who bears this mark will be the end of the king. And the Sisters of the Golden Lotus, a female rebellion group with some interesting connections, believe that Gul, the girl starring on that <I>gorgeous</I> cover, is the chosen one. Now, hang on, don't go walking away because you think you're tired of that trope. Don't go, because you haven't seen what <I>this</I> book does with it. And it does not disappoint! I was so wrapped up in the story that I didn't even realize that was the trope until writing this review.

People in this world are divided by whether or not they have magic. Magi and non-magi. And, as you might be able to guess, one of these is more valued than the other, which is a real shame. Those without magic are shoved into tenements, which are essentially slums where they all struggle to get by. Over the years they have been stripped of many rights, like education. Magi, on the other hand, are not always much better. They still find themselves forced to sell their services at the flesh market for the opportunity to work. I loved the variety of magic in this world. Some people can whisper slash control animals, others can suss out the truth with a touch, wipe memories, conjure water and fire, and so on.

Now, we get a taste of either side. The magi and the non-magi. Girl and boy. Gul and Cavas.

<b>Gul</b> is introduced to us by watching her parents be murdered as Sky Warriors hunt for her. All on account of her star mark. When she is taken in by the Golden Lotus rebels, Gul spends the next two years plotting her revenge on the Major and the King who took her family from her. But there's a tiny problem in that she has no idea how to work her magic. It never showed like other magus children's and she struggles with figuring out how to bring it forth. She does have the ability to whisper to animals, which plays nicely into her character. I <I>really</I> liked Gul. She is a fierce young woman who knows what she needs to do and will do it, come hell or high water. I have no choice but to admire.

<b>Cavas</b> is a non-majus who works in the palace stables. But that is only his day job. His other task is sharing palace information with a mysterious stranger in return for the money to buy his father medicine. Together, they live in the tenements I mentioned earlier, and Cavas' father has contracted tenement illness. This lives him sick and weak, leaving Cavas to do what he must to keep him alive. I didn't like Cavas as much as I did Gul, but he's impossible to <I>not</I> like. He has a big heart and often thinks more about others than himself. When it suits him that is. Magi aren't too high on his list.

Which makes the relationship between Cavas and Gul so entertaining at times. Neither of them seems to like the other, but they are drawn together by what could best be described as fate. And when you consider <I>how</I> they meet? Wowee, it was inevitable. There is a grudging agreement on Cavas' side to help Gul get into the palace so she can enact her plans of revenge, and what transforms was really sweet.

Speaking of wowee, there were a lot of WOW moments throughout this story. The plot is surprisingly unpredictable. I thought I had it pegged a few times, and I love when I'm proven wrong. The events once in the palace, the <I>ending</I>, didn't see any of it coming. Now, while I really did enjoy this book—I finished the last half in one day and definitely see myself re-reading this in future—I did struggle to follow along sometimes. I don't know if I just wasn't paying attention or things weren't explained in a way that clicked for me, but there were a few people and a few action scenes I had troubling remembering or understanding. And of course, with how action packed this book is, you miss one thing, it makes a few things confusing after.

I really did love this book, and cannot wait to see what the sequel will hold!

full review at: https://fictionfixerreads.wordpress.com/2020/06/22/arc-review-hunted-by-the-sky/
The cover for this edition is GORGEOUS. To see a Desi woman prominently featured on a YA cover is great . There are beautiful descriptions of different locations, uniforms, and food (a LOT of drool-worthy food descriptions) that are unique to the cultures that Tanaz portrays. The prose is beautiful and poetic; the themed metaphors, prophesies, and allegories don’t feel contrived or pretentious. The worldbuilding is rich and lavish as well, and this book does tackle a lot of social justice themes which are prevalent and presented with awareness and thought, not just for shock value. That said, the pacing is just really slow, some characters seem underdeveloped or only lean towards one goal (they don't have sub-goals), some characters also have plot armor ex machina as well, there ARE lgbtq+ characters in this book but they’re side characters. Lastly, the love story was just so-so to me--not that it's a primary goal for the characters in the first book of a series. It wasn’t “so-so” because it’s heterosexual, but because it fell under a trope that’s commonly used and I feel like it relied too much on that trope to forge a romantic connection with the characters. The romance feels underdeveloped because of it
I think Hunted By the Sky is a beautiful and poetic introduction to The Wrath of Anbar series, with lavish worldbuilding and fantastical elements. However, the characterization of the main characters needs a lot more work so that their motivations aren’t just one-dimensional.

Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Teen, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A prophecy foretells the downfall of the cruel Raja Lohar of Ambar at the hands of one who bears a star-shaped birthmark and ever since, girls across Swapnalok with this mark have been disappearing. As Gul, who bears such a mark, flees her home, hiding from the Sky Warriors who murdered her parents, she runs into a group of rebels known as the Sisterhood of the Golden Lotus who take her in and train her in magic. Two years pass and though Gul can only just barely wield her magic, her thirst for revenge has not abated, and she is determined to find a way into the palace. Enter Cavas, a non-magus boy who lives in the tenements with his ailing father and is considering leaving his position in the royal stables to join the king’s army. A chance meeting at the bazaar on the night of the moon festival ends up with both of them being drawn into the plot as reluctant partners.

Hunted by the Sky inspired by Ancient India – this always makes me really happy because I’ve come across so few that use this kind of setting, considering it’s perfect for fantasy novels and especially so when done by an own-voices author. I recognized so many of the cultural influences and this book reminded me a lot, in terms of the feel of the world atleast, of The Candle and the Flame which I read last year. The magical aspects of this world are so fascinating with seemingly endless number of ways in which magic can manifest, from talking to animals, seeing the future, seeing ghosts and wielding dead magic (what that is exactly, I’m still not too clear on and would really like a proper definition rather than vague mentions).

As for our two main characters, though I feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface so far, I enjoyed them a lot. Gul is like the ‘Chosen One’ figure, the prophesied Star Warrior who is meant to take down the tyrant king, yet can barely access her magic and has spent her whole life running and hiding from those hunting her because of her birthmark. Cavas on the other hand, is just trying to keep his head down and do his job so he can take care of his father – he is a character who is very easy to overlook, but really shouldn’t be because he is turning out to be just as crucial to the plot – not to mention all the secrets about his past that are only hinted at in this book! The chemistry between Cavas and Gul on the other hand was rather lacklustre in my opinion and could have been presented better, not to mention, it felt quite rushed too. The side characters are just as interesting, from the Sky Warriors and their leader, General Shayla to the Sisterhood and of course, the secret group we meet at the very end of this book and I want to know so much more about all of them.

The pacing wasn’t the best and nothing very interesting happened until well past the halfway point, but curiosity alone will keep you reading, if only to delve deeper into this world and its characters. I would have liked to spend more of the story inside the walls of the fort itself and learn about the history of the world in more detail and if the initial chapters had been faster, this could have been done. I also found this ARC really hard to read because of poor formatting, so it took a while longer to finish than is normal for my speed.

Overall, this was a solid read and the ending, while not entirely unexpected, was still shocking (not to mention absolutely chaotic), and raises so many questions! Hunted by the Sky was an interesting start to a new series and certainly a unique one. I can’t wait to see where this story goes next!