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booksthatburn's review
I like the narrator for Gul's portion. This isn't the first audiobook performance I've listened to by her and I like her style. What kills it for me is the male narrator. The performer for Cavas has a voice which sounds like he came straight from working on a Trump impression to do this audiobook. It's annoying during the main narration when he's portraying Cavas's thoughts and speech. Then, it becomes even worse when any female characters speak, as he gives them grating falsettos which are only barely differentiated. Luckily, Gul narrates much more of the book than Cavas does, and if I had access to a printed edition of the book I would have switched to that as soon as he first spoke.
Setting aside the audio for a moment, I can't stand Gul. She was fine but a bit annoying, then midway through she shamed a girl for what she thought was a history of sex work but turned to actually have been rape and other abuses while a small child. Gul ended up apologizing and the only thing I liked about it is that the other person didn't accept the apology. Even if she'd been correct that it was sex work and consensual, that still would have been awful to try and shame her for it. In terms of the writing for the other girl, she was wielding that history of sexual abuse to try and say Gul wasn't ready or tough enough because she hadn't suffered enough as someone who'd "only" had her parents murdered in front of her.
The oppression olympics are noxious, I have zero emotional investment in Cavas (supposedly the love interest but at over halfway through I'm not seeing that yet, he's just a boy who's there), and I don't like Gul.
Setting aside the audio for a moment, I can't stand Gul. She was fine but a bit annoying, then midway through she shamed a girl for what she thought was a history of sex work but turned to actually have been rape and other abuses while a small child. Gul ended up apologizing and the only thing I liked about it is that the other person didn't accept the apology. Even if she'd been correct that it was sex work and consensual, that still would have been awful to try and shame her for it. In terms of the writing for the other girl, she was wielding that history of sexual abuse to try and say Gul wasn't ready or tough enough because she hadn't suffered enough as someone who'd "only" had her parents murdered in front of her.
The oppression olympics are noxious, I have zero emotional investment in Cavas (supposedly the love interest but at over halfway through I'm not seeing that yet, he's just a boy who's there), and I don't like Gul.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Trafficking, Blood, Violence, Xenophobia, Bullying, Gore, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Sexual content, Child abuse, Cursing, Sexual assault, Excrement, War, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, and Child death
maregred's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, War, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Sexual assault, Torture, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, and Murder
nitya's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Give me ALL the desi fantasy books written by desi people (and NOT white anthropologists/white saviors) please!!!!
The pacing was a little rough, especially at the beginning, but the ending scenes definitely made up for it. And the instalove might not appeal to everyone but I didn't mind it here. The use of Hindi and Urdu worked so well (even for the words I didn't know - thankfully there's a glossary).
I can't WAIT to dive into the ARC for the sequel!
The pacing was a little rough, especially at the beginning, but the ending scenes definitely made up for it. And the instalove might not appeal to everyone but I didn't mind it here. The use of Hindi and Urdu worked so well (even for the words I didn't know - thankfully there's a glossary).
I can't WAIT to dive into the ARC for the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Genocide, and Slavery
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
decklededgess's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
trigger warnings: death of parents, torture, bigotry, abuse, sexual assault, slavery, sex work, misogyny, violent animal attack
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the cross of mythology and fictionalized fantasy throughout and the use of multiple South Asian languages to create the worldbuilding. I was a bit underwhelmed by the chosen one plot but not so much that it was boring. I have yet to read enough brown chosen one tropes before they get tiresome. I think this book would have been far more enjoyable had the narrator been able to pronounce literally ANY of the non English words INCLUDING the names. She could do only the basic ones and even then they sounded a little off. Publishers if you could be so kind as to find narrators who KNOW PRONUNCIATIONS that would be great. Especially when these books are SET abroad. South Asian American stories are different. American accents are part of diaspora. They are not part of indigenous South Asian stories.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the cross of mythology and fictionalized fantasy throughout and the use of multiple South Asian languages to create the worldbuilding. I was a bit underwhelmed by the chosen one plot but not so much that it was boring. I have yet to read enough brown chosen one tropes before they get tiresome. I think this book would have been far more enjoyable had the narrator been able to pronounce literally ANY of the non English words INCLUDING the names. She could do only the basic ones and even then they sounded a little off. Publishers if you could be so kind as to find narrators who KNOW PRONUNCIATIONS that would be great. Especially when these books are SET abroad. South Asian American stories are different. American accents are part of diaspora. They are not part of indigenous South Asian stories.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Vomit, and Violence
readswithcocktails's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I would 100% recommend this book to a seventh/eighth grader who is into fantasy novels! It is a little slow in the beginning because of all of the world building (basically, it suffers from what the first book in many fantasy trilogies suffer from). I don't know if I loved the two POV structure.
For me, this book is somewhere in the 3-4 range , but I'm rounding it up to 4 because most of the things I didn't enjoy about it were because I'm an adult reading a YA novel and <sigh> teens are exhausting. But this book isn't for me, and I can think of a number of 6-9th graders in my life who would enjoy it.
For me, this book is somewhere in the 3-4 range , but I'm rounding it up to 4 because most of the things I didn't enjoy about it were because I'm an adult reading a YA novel and <sigh> teens are exhausting. But this book isn't for me, and I can think of a number of 6-9th graders in my life who would enjoy it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Trafficking
loveleighreading's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"The sky will fall, a star will rise
Ambar changed with the kings demise
Her magic untouched & unknown by all
Marked by the star, she'll bring his downfall"
Being a girl born in the Kingdom of Ambar with a star shaped birthmark is a curse, one that Gul knows all too well. Shortly after the brutal murder of her parents at the hands of a sky warriors, she is saved by the Sisters of the Golden Lotus. While the Sisters are determined to train her in warrior magic to be able to one day fulfill the prophecy, Gul can only think of revenge.
Cavas is a lowly non-magi, who works in the palace stables for a measly wage. To help pay for the medication his terminally ill father desperately needs, he has taken on a rather risky side job of selling palace secrets.
The initial meeting of these two was not at all tame, their tempers & the temperatures rising with each new encounter. Cavas cannot afford to get wrapped up in her schemes, & Gul cannot afford any distractions no matter how tempting. But fate or the Goddess seems to have other plans.
The mix of Indian culture blending with a fantasy world was a wonderful reading adventure for me. There were so many things I was unfamiliar with, like items of clothing or food, but at no time did I feel removed from the story for my lack of knowledge. Bhathena's explanations and descriptions made it very easy for me to imagine this world & these characters.
While I loved her found family in the Sisters & the colorful world of the palace, my favorite part of the story was the romance. Gul & Cavas lit up the page from their very first meeting & you could feel the heat between their every interaction. I cannot wait to get more of them in the sequel.
ARC was obtained through Goodreads Giveaway
<a href=https://booktriggerwarnings.com/index.php?title=Hunted_by_the_Sky#Trigger_Warnings>Book Trigger Warnings</a>
<a href=https://loveleighreading.tumblr.com/post/625133256971616256/favorite-july-read-hi-my-loves-this-is-my>Tumblr Blog</a> <a href=https://www.instagram.com/p/CDS3okBAZNp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link>Instagram</a>
Ambar changed with the kings demise
Her magic untouched & unknown by all
Marked by the star, she'll bring his downfall"
Being a girl born in the Kingdom of Ambar with a star shaped birthmark is a curse, one that Gul knows all too well. Shortly after the brutal murder of her parents at the hands of a sky warriors, she is saved by the Sisters of the Golden Lotus. While the Sisters are determined to train her in warrior magic to be able to one day fulfill the prophecy, Gul can only think of revenge.
Cavas is a lowly non-magi, who works in the palace stables for a measly wage. To help pay for the medication his terminally ill father desperately needs, he has taken on a rather risky side job of selling palace secrets.
The initial meeting of these two was not at all tame, their tempers & the temperatures rising with each new encounter. Cavas cannot afford to get wrapped up in her schemes, & Gul cannot afford any distractions no matter how tempting. But fate or the Goddess seems to have other plans.
The mix of Indian culture blending with a fantasy world was a wonderful reading adventure for me. There were so many things I was unfamiliar with, like items of clothing or food, but at no time did I feel removed from the story for my lack of knowledge. Bhathena's explanations and descriptions made it very easy for me to imagine this world & these characters.
While I loved her found family in the Sisters & the colorful world of the palace, my favorite part of the story was the romance. Gul & Cavas lit up the page from their very first meeting & you could feel the heat between their every interaction. I cannot wait to get more of them in the sequel.
ARC was obtained through Goodreads Giveaway
<a href=https://booktriggerwarnings.com/index.php?title=Hunted_by_the_Sky#Trigger_Warnings>Book Trigger Warnings</a>
<a href=https://loveleighreading.tumblr.com/post/625133256971616256/favorite-july-read-hi-my-loves-this-is-my>Tumblr Blog</a> <a href=https://www.instagram.com/p/CDS3okBAZNp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link>Instagram</a>
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery and Animal cruelty
Minor: Sexual assault
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