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sangeethat's review against another edition
3.0
Okay. Just okay. Nothing spectacular and quite boring at the beginning. The middle is a lot better. Both the hero and heroine are meh. The side characters from Malti to Kali and waaaaay more interesting. Also the mythology is really badly thought out. The author uses Persian names in a south Asian fantasy. Its like a free-for-all, call it whatever you want, kind I writing. It's fine if you know nothing about South Asia but very jarring if you do.
tibbar's review against another edition
4.0
This book would have been perfection had Cavas, the love interest, not been so prone to whinging about everything. It really ruined any chemistry he might have had with Gul, the heroine. I feel that Gul made a strong enough character on her own with an interesting enough mission that the romance (using that term generously) could have been skipped entirely. Tanaz Bhathena did leave an opportunity for Cavas to become something strong, interesting, and powerful in the second book. I hope she takes it.
allthatissim's review against another edition
5.0
August 6, 2020: Can I say how much my #desi heart is happy after reading one of my most anticipated reads of the year? I.LOVED.IT.SO.MUCH ❤️ I always wanted to read an Indian inspired fantasy, by an #ownvoices author, as an ownvoices reader and this book fulfilled that wish of mine.
Content & trigger warnings: murder of parents, chronically ill parent, sexual slavery, classism & discrimination, animal cruelty, blood, and violence.
Representation:Indian mythology, ancient Indian setting, desi culture, sapphic side character
Hunted by the Sky is a fantasy inspired by medieval India. The large part of the story is based on the age-old prophecy in Svapnalok that promises a girl with star-shaped birthmark to overthrow the tyrannical ruler of Ambar, King Lohar. Gul's parents were killed by sky warriors, who came to kill Gul because of her birthmark, while saving their daughter. Juhi, the head of The Sisterhood of the Golden Lotus, then takes Gul under her protection where Gul gets her training to wield magic and forms her plan to take revenge from king Lohar. On the other hand, Cavas is struggling to survive by making a secret deal that can cost him his life. But a passionate encounter between Gul and Cavas, changes the course of their lives in a way they never imagined.
World-building certainly is one of the strongest aspects of this book. Svapnalok, or the 'world of dreams', is divided into four kingdoms: Ambar, Prithvi, Jwala, and Samudra; clearly inspired by the four elements of nature: sky, earth, fire, and water. The authentic mention of things like outfits (sari pallu, ghagra choli), food (prasad, kachori), salutations (didi) and greetings (shubsaver, anandpranam), made my desi heart super happy
Content & trigger warnings: murder of parents, chronically ill parent, sexual slavery, classism & discrimination, animal cruelty, blood, and violence.
Representation:Indian mythology, ancient Indian setting, desi culture, sapphic side character
Hunted by the Sky is a fantasy inspired by medieval India. The large part of the story is based on the age-old prophecy in Svapnalok that promises a girl with star-shaped birthmark to overthrow the tyrannical ruler of Ambar, King Lohar. Gul's parents were killed by sky warriors, who came to kill Gul because of her birthmark, while saving their daughter. Juhi, the head of The Sisterhood of the Golden Lotus, then takes Gul under her protection where Gul gets her training to wield magic and forms her plan to take revenge from king Lohar. On the other hand, Cavas is struggling to survive by making a secret deal that can cost him his life. But a passionate encounter between Gul and Cavas, changes the course of their lives in a way they never imagined.
World-building certainly is one of the strongest aspects of this book. Svapnalok, or the 'world of dreams', is divided into four kingdoms: Ambar, Prithvi, Jwala, and Samudra; clearly inspired by the four elements of nature: sky, earth, fire, and water. The authentic mention of things like outfits (sari pallu, ghagra choli), food (prasad, kachori), salutations (didi) and greetings (shubsaver, anandpranam), made my desi heart super happy
the_readingfox's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
booksthatburn's review against another edition
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: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Excrement, and War
trs01's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
olly_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
vickycbooks's review against another edition
5.0
THIS!!! WAS SO FANTASTIC WOW!!
Sweeping, magical, and with a heroine foretold to change the state of the kingdom of Ambar, Hunted by the Sky dazzles with its rich world and romantic nuances. I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel!
Sweeping, magical, and with a heroine foretold to change the state of the kingdom of Ambar, Hunted by the Sky dazzles with its rich world and romantic nuances. I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel!
veritas19's review against another edition
4.0
I loved that all of the POV's for this book were non-white and were Indian and especially that the story took place in a fantastical version of Medieval India. I do not often find YA books about characters from India, let alone written from their perspective without being a side character or having a white savior or being some sort of sidekick. It took some time to get into the plot and world build but I really enjoyed it, especially the last 100 pages or so. Great read for anyone looking for diversity and a fun fantasy read.