Hunted by the Sky was one of my favorite fantasies of last year and I was very excited when I received the advance copy from the publisher. I've been in a bad slump for a few weeks now and trying to keep my mind off reality by binging cdramas, but finally decided that it was time to catch up with my arcs. And what better way to get out of my slump than a highly anticipated desi fantasy.
I will be honest, my memory is very bad these days and I couldn't remember too much of what happened in the first book. So it took me a bit to get into the groove of the story, but I also got slightly bored in the first fifth of the story. There were quite a few training montages and lots of harsh internal monologuing, which made the pace a bit slow and not very engaging. But once the turning point comes (mentioned in the blurb), the story finally picked up the pace as well as intensity, finally engaging me deeply, with a drive to know more. The writing is otherwise wonderful as expected from the author, perfectly capturing the feelings of rage, despair, doubt and all other myriad of emotions in the various characters. However, I did expect that we would get to know more about the world beyond Ambar and maybe even meet other royals and people, but unfortunately the author sticks to one kingdom only. Not that it took away anything from the existing story, it just could have been more expansive and interesting.
It also took me a while to warm up to Gul and Cavas again. The story starts a few months after the end of the first one, and their relationship is already changed. They are both very mentally strong and loyal people, but it seemed like one would drown in his own desire for revenge and the other in her fear of killing innocents. I still believed in them individually as well as together, and their combined magic was fascinating to watch, but I still felt it wasn't explored enough because they were separated for most of the book. However, the separation also enabled them to fight harder for their survival as well as start believing in each other more, which I really liked, so I guess that was perfect for the plot.
But their interactions with the side characters were my favorite part of the book. There are many of them, each with their own eccentric personality, their own flaws and motivations. It was fun to Juhi and Amira again, their imprisonment terrible to experience but it does nothing to dampen their fierceness. We also get to know new characters like Subhog, Esther, Sami and many other women as well as specters who are lively and fun. I also enjoyed seeing Amar in a completely new light, and just watching everyone experience his thoughts and his honor and hope for a bette future.
In the end, this was a good sequel/finale for this duology. I especially liked the ending because it neatly wrapped up the story, there was enough foreshadowing for the climax which made it more satisfying, and we also get to see a glimpse of the future which was interesting. There were some great action set pieces and wonderful character moments, making this a series I would definitely recommend - especially if you are looking for a new kind of chosen one story by a POC author.
