We all know how much I adored Tanaz Bhathena's debut novel A Girl Like That. So, it should come as no shock to anyone that I was absolutely excited for her first dive into fantasy. Boy, oh boy, did Hunted by the Sky live up to every hope I had.


Hunted by the Sky
by Tanaz Bhathena 

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date: June 23rd 2020
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.


For some reason, it won't embed the playlists for me anymore, and I can never see if it does or doesn't. Click here if the playlist is not showing up.

My process for these playlist remains the same. I read Hunted by the Sky and thought, "What if this was a show or a film? What would be playing at the most pivotal moments?" In or out of context, this list of tracks felt right for Hunted by the Sky.


You know those types of novels that hum with electricity? You can almost feel it before you even pick up on the story. Hunted by the Sky is one of those books. Not only does it zap readers with electricity, it engrosses them immediately. Tanaz Bhathena knows how to write poignant stories--she knows, too, how to craft a beautifully unique world that is luxurious with intrigue and culture.

Fantasy is at its best when it borrows real life elements, and the author allows these elements to linger with magic. The stories amplified by excellent world-building, inclusion, and characters who drive the plot onward with their actions and dynamics. Fantasy is at its best when it feels vital to your health to flip one more page, and then another, and then another.

Hunted by the Sky gracefully tackles all of these things. It takes key notes from life, and from real cultures, and keeps their essence intact while blending them seamlessly into a whole other system. It makes the story fresh but still familiar.

If you have any doubts about Bhathena's incredible talent and knack for stories, know that they are without reason. I know she is known for her contemporary novel, A Girl Like That, and some people have a hard time wrapping their heads around genre hopping. But, trust me: Hunted by the Sky is every bit as good as her contemporary. It is a true-blue-fantasy.

Tanaz Bhathena solidified the theory I had after concluding A Girl Like That: she's only just getting started.

And, indeed, Hunted by the Sky is only just getting started.

I'm going to need the next installment of this planned duology immediately. No joke.

Hunted by the Sky is joining the ranks of some of the most imaginative, enthralling, young adult fantasy novels of the year. And believe me when I say this: it's unlike anything I've ever read before. Even in its moments of standard structure, Hunted by the Sky remains utterly unique. This was the kind of story I'd read before bed and, once I was tired enough, it felt not unlike I was jolted from the most vivid of dreams.



Born in India and raised in Saudi Arabia and Canada, Tanaz lives in Mississauga, Ontario, with her family.