Hunted by the Sky (The Wrath of Ambar, #1)

by Tanaz Bhathena

Gul has a star-shaped birthmark on her arm, and in her kingdom, marked girls are disappearing. Gul’s mark caused her parents murder at the hands of the king's army, and forced her into hiding. When a group of rebel women rescue her to train her in warrior magic, Gul only wants one thing: revenge.

Cavas is ready to sign his life over to the king’s army in exchange for money and medicine for his sick father. But when he meets Gul in the capital’s bazaar, their chemistry grows, and he becomes entangled in a mission of vengeance - and discovers magic he never expected.

• ISBN10: 0374313091
• ISBN13: 9780374313098
• Publish Date: 1 July 2020 (first published 23 June 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 7 July 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

**Enter to win a copy!!** (Ends 7/1/20)

It must be said: This is one of the most amazing book covers ever. I could stare at it all day really. Glad we got that out of the way. The story is told in dual POVs; that of Gul and Cavas. And it details how Gul finds herself at the epicenter of a prophecy, how Cavas gets involved, and a plan to take down the king.

What I Liked:

• ► The characters were wonderful! I really loved Gul, she was such a fierce spirit! Forced to run when her parents are killed while she was being hunted because of her prophetic birthmark, she is a survivor. She's taken in by a group of warrior women who are not about killing young women due to random bits of skin pigmentation, and I love them so much too. Cavas is much more reserved, especially initially. He'd do anything to save his ill father, and really isn't about anything that will get in his way.



• ► The world itself was very captivating. I loved the setting, I definitely was able to get a feel for Gul and Cavas's surroundings, and I loved that part! Imagining all their locations was easy to do.



• ►Quite high stakes for sure. I mean, they are killing girls and women because of birthmarks for goodness sake! So yeah, it seems like high time someone put a stop to this! The problem is, the royals are very brutal, so this adventure won't be an easy one. Even with the rebel assistance, it's a big ask.

What I Didn't:

• ►I didn't fully understand the magic system/world. Like, on a surface level I could get it, but it all went much deeper than that. And then I started to just... not care as much and skim those parts a little. But I think that also ties into my other issue...



• ►The pacing felt a bit off. There were some parts that seemed to drag, and then some parts where I was getting whiplash from all the excitement. And this may just be me personally,  but I don't like either lags or a breakneck pace.

Bottom Line: Great characters in a high stakes, vivid setting that was dragged down for me a bit by pacing issues.