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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
🍷﹒⟢﹒𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄﹒
𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴! 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 :)
we free the stars concludes the tale of zafira and nasir as they fight against the lion of the night to restore magic to arawiya. the lion has taken over control of nasir's kingdom and holds the final key to bringing magic back in his chest. in the end, they succeed in killing him and everything goes the way it should.
i have to admit this was better than the first book but not by much. it seems to me that the author has the same struggles with writing. i haven't read any of her other works so i cannot confirm that it's the same across all her books, but from what i can tell she consistently struggles with pacing and character development. i found parts of this book to be more appealing than the first which i'm grateful for since it made it slightly more enjoyable to read, but other parts made me want to slam my head into a wall.
i'm still not really sure what exactly happened in this book. like before, the writing is so thick and dense at times with random plot twists and changes in perspective that it's nearly impossible to follow what's going on. the pacing was off as well. we got like 40 pages of zafira and kifah going to buy the si'lah blood but then like 4 pages of the lion getting the heart planted into his chest. so much time was spent detailing scenes that just weren't necessary so it took away from the actual important things that were going on. it was so genuinely frustrating because all the things i actually WANTED to read about were just glossed over.
the characters were lacking in depth once again. the romance was BORING, even more so than the first book. zafira is quite possibly one of the most annoying fmc's i've ever had the displeasure of coming across in my entire life. she could not make up her mind about what she wanted from nasir and her bipolar back and forth bullshit genuinely enraged me. it got to the point where i wished they wouldn't end up together because nasir deserves better than that.
romance aside, there was still just no development from any of the characters at all. nasir suddenly decides he doesn't want to hurt anyone and be the prince of death anymore, but like i don't understand when he actually reached that conclusion. there was no build-up towards it at all. altair had the potential to be a really complicated character too, given that he was abandoned by all his friends, his dad is the evil lion of the night who keeps him chained up, and his mother is one of the sisters who hated him his whole life and favored his brother. he was perfectly set-up to become a villain, or at the very least have some kind of identity crisis, but that never happened because "he's the light to nasir's dark." whatever.
the ending was so anticlimactic and it made me gag because of the sickly sweet power of friendship that saved the day. you mean to tell me that the lion, the same guy who handed their asses to them on sharr, who is now powered up with the magical heart, got demolished by a beam of shadows and light??? and turned into a fucking tree?????? and then somehow the heart he had that they needed to save the day died but anadil had the last one even though there was supposed to be five and she magically made that number six????????? like it was so ridiculous and they only won that fight because the lion has daddy issues and because they're the good guys so obviously they have to win. LAME AF.
the story wasn't all bad and it did have its redeeming moments, but damn am i dissapointed with how it turned out. i was really looking forward to this duology and it was just a major flop. can't say i'd ever be interested in reading anything by this author ever again. 🤷♀️ all i can say is thank god it's over :D
ʚ 2.5✩ rounded up ɞ
🍷﹒⟢﹒𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱﹒
not excited for this tbh :/ it's nearly 600 pages too
𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴! 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 :)
we free the stars concludes the tale of zafira and nasir as they fight against the lion of the night to restore magic to arawiya. the lion has taken over control of nasir's kingdom and holds the final key to bringing magic back in his chest. in the end, they succeed in killing him and everything goes the way it should.
i have to admit this was better than the first book but not by much. it seems to me that the author has the same struggles with writing. i haven't read any of her other works so i cannot confirm that it's the same across all her books, but from what i can tell she consistently struggles with pacing and character development. i found parts of this book to be more appealing than the first which i'm grateful for since it made it slightly more enjoyable to read, but other parts made me want to slam my head into a wall.
i'm still not really sure what exactly happened in this book. like before, the writing is so thick and dense at times with random plot twists and changes in perspective that it's nearly impossible to follow what's going on. the pacing was off as well. we got like 40 pages of zafira and kifah going to buy the si'lah blood but then like 4 pages of the lion getting the heart planted into his chest. so much time was spent detailing scenes that just weren't necessary so it took away from the actual important things that were going on. it was so genuinely frustrating because all the things i actually WANTED to read about were just glossed over.
the characters were lacking in depth once again. the romance was BORING, even more so than the first book. zafira is quite possibly one of the most annoying fmc's i've ever had the displeasure of coming across in my entire life. she could not make up her mind about what she wanted from nasir and her bipolar back and forth bullshit genuinely enraged me. it got to the point where i wished they wouldn't end up together because nasir deserves better than that.
romance aside, there was still just no development from any of the characters at all. nasir suddenly decides he doesn't want to hurt anyone and be the prince of death anymore, but like i don't understand when he actually reached that conclusion. there was no build-up towards it at all. altair had the potential to be a really complicated character too, given that he was abandoned by all his friends, his dad is the evil lion of the night who keeps him chained up, and his mother is one of the sisters who hated him his whole life and favored his brother. he was perfectly set-up to become a villain, or at the very least have some kind of identity crisis, but that never happened because "he's the light to nasir's dark." whatever.
the ending was so anticlimactic and it made me gag because of the sickly sweet power of friendship that saved the day. you mean to tell me that the lion, the same guy who handed their asses to them on sharr, who is now powered up with the magical heart, got demolished by a beam of shadows and light??? and turned into a fucking tree?????? and then somehow the heart he had that they needed to save the day died but anadil had the last one even though there was supposed to be five and she magically made that number six????????? like it was so ridiculous and they only won that fight because the lion has daddy issues and because they're the good guys so obviously they have to win. LAME AF.
the story wasn't all bad and it did have its redeeming moments, but damn am i dissapointed with how it turned out. i was really looking forward to this duology and it was just a major flop. can't say i'd ever be interested in reading anything by this author ever again. 🤷♀️ all i can say is thank god it's over :D
ʚ 2.5✩ rounded up ɞ
🍷﹒⟢﹒𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱﹒
not excited for this tbh :/ it's nearly 600 pages too
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I can see why the author said this book took them on a journey to write. It was a beautiful, bittersweet finish to the series that captivated my full attention. The story is a poignant reminder that every happy ending in life will always come at the sacrifices we make to get there. This book reminds me of the adage that life’s sweet and happy moments are that way because we come to understand loss and sacrifice to see them. All the stars, all the feelings, completely worth the read.
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh purée. Il m’a fallu 300 pages pour me remettre dedans, mais une fin comme ça ne m’a jamais autant satisfaite ! J’ai pas pu m’arrêter de plonger dans le livre. Alors que d’autres sont pour moi comme une torture, le dénouement de celui-ci était aussi doux qu’une caresse. Parfait.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was just boring. The first book wans't that interesting but any potential curiosity was just gone for the second book.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
We Free the Stars is the sequel to Hafsah Faizal’s debut novel, We Hunt the Flame. Readers return to Arawiya, and Zafira, Nasir, and others make the journey back from Sharr to begin the second part of their mission to bring magic back to their people. But of course, there will be no smooth sailing for the team as they struggle with broken alliances and missing pieces to complete the task.
Read my review of Faizal’s first book in the duology, We Hunt the Flame.
Read my entire review of We Free the Stars on The Nerd Cantina.
Listen to my interview with author Hafsah Faizal on Episode 128 of The Nerd Cantina Show podcast.
Read my review of Faizal’s first book in the duology, We Hunt the Flame.
Read my entire review of We Free the Stars on The Nerd Cantina.
Listen to my interview with author Hafsah Faizal on Episode 128 of The Nerd Cantina Show podcast.
