Hunted By The Sky by Tanaz Bhathena - Review
7/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TWs: murdered parents, violence, discrimination (classism, slurs), implied sexual assault, attempted assault, dying parent, animal cruelty, blood
(TWs are ranked in order of severity, please take them seriously!)
Before anything, take a moment to scroll back up and look at that beautiful cover 😍 I don’t normally buy books based on the cover, but seeing my culture represented in such a gorgeous way made this an insta-buy for me (not to mention it was already in my TBR).
I guess I could call this an “own voices” review, but let’s keep in mind that Indian culture is very diverse and changes depending on region, so my interpretation is not going to speak for anyone but myself.
The author was actually inspired to write this book by two time periods in Indian history - Vedic India and medieval India. There’s a cool combination of court drama and desi royalty versus magical powers and distant gods. Bhathena also included elements of her Persian culture as well!
Imagine fantasy meets Indian royalty/mythology in a mystical world after a war and a 16 year old has to overthrow a tyrant. (Also enemies to lovers, badass women, ✨culture✨ etc).
On to the review ☀️
The Summary:
“Gul has spent her life running. She has a star-shaped birthmark on her arm, and in the kingdom of Ambar, girls with such birthmarks have been disappearing for years. Gul's mark is what caused her parents' murder at the hand of King Lohar's ruthless soldiers and forced her into hiding to protect her own life. So when a group of rebel women called the Sisters of the Golden Lotus rescue her, take her in, and train her in warrior magic, Gul wants only one thing: revenge.
Cavas lives in the tenements, and he's just about ready to sign his life over to the king's army. His father is terminally ill, and Cavas will do anything to save him. But sparks fly when he meets a mysterious girl--Gul--in the capital's bazaar, and as the chemistry between them undeniably grows, he becomes entangled in a mission of vengeance--and discovers a magic he never expected to find.
Dangerous circumstances have brought Gul and Cavas together at the king's domain in Ambar Fort . . . a world with secrets deadlier than their own. Exploring identity, class struggles, and high-stakes romance, Hunted by the Sky is a gripping adventure set in a world inspired by medieval India.”
TL;DR 16 year old Gul witnesses her parents’ murder by royal troops under order from a king terrified of a prophecy that spells his end, and she’s set on a path to revenge. Cavas is trying to save his father from a chronic illness and lives in the lower class of society just trying to survive, but when he meets Gul sparks fly and adventure ensues.
(It’s 1:30 am right now so please bear with me 😭)
Ok so on representation:
This is embarrassing - like really embarrassing especially considering I read the summary - that when I first started because of the switching perspectives I thought that Cavas was Gul for the first two chapters and that the main character was into women 😭 alas, this was not the case.
While the main couple is not confirmed to be LGBTQ+, much of the lore is. The story of the sun and the moon being lovers is so adorable and told in such a beautiful, simple way. There are queer background characters, and it’s not introduced in a weird way, it’s just a natural part of the world they live in (which was so great).
As someone who reads fantasy for escapism, reading this and knowing there was no racism or homophobia was a big plus for me ✅
Also Gul is dark skinned (from a fictional world but presumably Indian) with curly dark hair. I loved this because Indians with natural curly dark hair are not often represented in media, so this was great!!
I had trouble picturing what Cavas looks like, but I remember he’s also desi and has dark brown eyes and black hair. I didn’t know what “aquiline” meant before reading HBTS but apparently it means hooked or beak-like, and I think it’s a really pretty word for Cavas’s nose.
There was clear influence from Indian mythology and the Hindu gods, but also from traditional mythical creatures and foods. Even the outfits are fantastic- I can’t explain how it felt to read about a character getting ready for an event and pinning her dupatta in place. My heart felt warm and seen 💕💕
There is also (if I’m interpreting this right) a variety of religions present in the fictional world, some of which are similar to Islam, Hinduism, or Atheism today.
I loved how despite these different beliefs, people are able to get along. It’s more so the border disputes between rivaling kingdoms that cause trouble.
Imagining Gul running through the palace in a sari and her brown jootis just fulfills all of my childhood Bollywood dreams ❤️😭
What I Liked:
I didn’t think I was going to like this book as much as I did. When it first started, I had a hard time getting into it, and it felt a little slow. But about a quarter in things started picking up - and quickly. I really liked how HBTS avoided some of the typical pitfalls of YA fantasy when it comes to overthrowing governments/the chosen one trope.
Also the story just starts to pull you in and you can’t tell the writer is in her groove. I liked all of the references to desi culture and the clothing, and the imagery was really pretty. Diversity in fantasy means so much to me - more than just being represented in books we get to have magic and adventures and romance too, and I adore that.
I feel like it would make a really good movie, and also the WOMEN are so great. Every single woman in this book is very well written and what I would give to have Amira call me princess 😍 anyways… 👀
I’m actually about to read the second book (this is a duology!) because I’m way too invested in the plot now.
HBTS switches perspectives between Cavas and Gul, and I honestly found Cavas’s perspective more refreshing - maybe because he was more mature than Gul or because I related to him more, but he just had more interesting thoughts 💭
I also didn’t really like Gul at the beginning, but I stuck around to see if she got character development and Ms. Bhathena did NOT disappoint. I can’t wait to see how she changes from here.
Side note: Hunted By The Sky handles classism in a really interesting way, and it makes me so happy that it was printed in India because there’s an inter-class relationship & that’s a really important convo that needs to be had
Side side note: INDIAN MAGICAL GIRLS‼️
Why I couldn’t give it a ten:
I already mentioned this but I just had a hard time getting into it at first. There was a lot of lore specific/culture specific vocab that I wasn’t familiar with (but there is a glossary of terms at the back!)
This happens often when starting fantasy books, but the time it took to wrap my head around the world and who was who took longer than usual because new positions and groups kept being introduced.
Also, at the beginning Gul was kinda selfish and even though I really wanted to be on her side her actions were thoughtless. Her attitude when she was ten came off less as an actual ten year old and more as an older girl pretending to be a ten year old. She’s obviously not meant to be perfect however, and that’s okay. Her character development makes up for it.
Now this is a really big pitfall for YA fantasy romance and I can’t stand it:
Gul, the main character, has just turned 16. She never actually has sex but she gets into certain encounters that I felt uncomfortable reading about, knowing it was happening between two minors and written BY an adult.
Sadly, this is a common thing in YA fantasy (I’m looking at you, Sarah J. Maas). Oversexualizing minors in YA books needs to stop because it has a big impact on the kids reading - it wasn’t too bad in this book, so I still gave it 7/10. But please, do better.
Also tell me why enemies to lovers couples are always emotionally constipated 🙄 just tell each other how you feel already!! Communication, guys.
I sincerely recommend to fans of:
• The Shadow of the Fox series 🦊 by Julie Kagawa
• Tomi Adeyemi (Children of Blood and Bone)
• Sabaa Tahir (An Ember in the Ashes)
• Jodhaa Akbar (Bollywood movie)
• Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim
Despite its faults, I sincerely enjoyed this book enough to check out the second. I’ll comment an update when I’ve finished but I don’t know if I’ll give it a review. This was one of those books that I wish I had liked more because of the representation it brought to the table, and I think that it’s a genuinely good book, that fell into some difficult traps. Still worth the read 🍵
And as always, read the acknowledgments and author’s note!! They’re usually really sweet or include things about the book you didn’t know when you finished. Because it’s spoiler free and I really liked it, I’ve included Tanaz Bhathena’s note below:
Kinda badass ngl
Also if you aren’t familiar with the Gulabi Gang, please search them up and watch the documentary because they are so cool!!! A group of older Indian ladies who go around wearing pink and beating up domestic abusers.
I also really like that she describes the story as a brief journey through her twisted imagination - it deals with some rough and violent themes, and I feel like that fits. Excited to see what happens in the sequel! It’s called Rising Like A Storm ⛈
