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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
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:
Yes
"Stranger isn’t it," said Nasir, who was never one for contemplation. "How the darkness brought us together, and the light will let us fall apart?"
"We’re not falling apart. We hunted the flame on Sharr, set free the stars across the skies, but it was only ever the dawn of our zumra. Now we make sure that light doesn’t go out. Forever. Together."
As I sit here reflecting on this duology finale I can't help, but feel unwilling to write it because I don't want to say goodbye to the world of Arawiya. This book had so many of my favorite things: the found family trope, a strong female character, female friendships, strong sibling bonds, banter, enemies to lovers romance, THE ONE BED SCENE (that was a gift I didn't expect and I am so grateful, Hafsah!!!), a dark brooding male love interest who becomes utterly bewitched by the main character.
There were so many Zafira and Nasir moments that made me want to scream because they couldn't communicate. BUT when Zafira said that she understood how his thoughts had been overlooked and wanted to hear his words, UGHHHHHH. Nasir DESPERATELY needed to hear that. There were also many moments that felt like I was being set on fire because they were full of sexual tension, and I was very pleased by these moments. The kiss on the horse, their conversation in the inn room, AH! Nasir telling Yasmine, "If I hurt her, I will bring every weapon at my disposal and lay them at your feet for you to do to me what you will. If I hurt her, I will no sooner carve out my own heart than dare draw breath again.”
She was silent.
“Do you understand?” he prompted.
“You love her.”
No, he did not love her. The word for what he felt for Zafira bint Iskandar did not yet exist.”
Personally, I lost my mind a little bit there. Had to pause and breathe for a second. *screams* In We Hunt the Flame Nasir calls himself a poet of death, but some of his internal thoughts and declarations of love to Zafira or about her to others felt very poetic. I was like, "the fuck are you trying to kill me with these poetic declarations of love because it is fucking working."
I am still struggling to collect my thoughts because I read the novel so quickly, but I had to know what happened next. When Zafira got shot in the chest, I refused to believe she died. I don't know if I just bypassed some of the stages of grief and landed in denial, but that's what happened. I just could fathom her being gone. Nasir's reaction is what hurt most.
From the part when Aya called Benyamin roohi and I learned their different meanings, I just knew that it was the same for Zafira and Nasir. "Habibi was for friends and love that was real enough.
Hayati was when love became an all-encompassing thing. Deeper and deeper, until one became the other’s life.
Roohi was when a soul twined with its match and loved with the force of a thousand suns. When it slipped beneath the heart and tangled in the very fibers of an existence."
So when Nasir said, "He left behind half of his soul and the whole of his heart." OUCH that stung.
Moving to happier moments, I adored all the moments between Zafira and Kifah, Altair and Nasir, Zafira and Lana, Zafira and Yasmine, and amongst the zumra. It made me feel alive to see them experiencing moments of love and friendship amidst all the death and war. All of Nasir and Altair's banter, Altair's quips, I was cackling. Zafira and Kifah comparing men to fish, oh I cried. Seeing Nasir and Altair internally vocalize their love for each other made my heart soar. I love that they have complementary powers: "You'll have me. No matter how thick the night, I will always be there to light your way." I was crying at this point.
When Zafira didn't quite seem interested in being sultana, I started thinking of potential alternatives. I saw no future in which the two of them weren't together, but then I thought about how much care Altair put into his work in Arawiya, and I realized he deserved to be king. My belief that he was going to be sultan/king was solidified whenever he said power begets pain because according to the introductory poem that was said by the king. I had started paying attention to those quotes when I reread WFTH before WFTS, and so I kept frequently checking on the quotes to see if I remembered if they had been said, so when this one came up, I knew.
I was grateful for more background on Haider and Anadil and their various relationships. I enjoyed the complexity of Anadil as a person and her choices. I couldn't believe I forgot she still had her heart and could offer it whenever the fifth heart crumbled. That moment when magic returned was powerful. Then, when she accepted being an advisor to Altair and said she regretted how she had treated him. It was long overdue but needed to be said.
Altair had my heart aching throughout this book. I hated that he got left behind and how alone that made him feel. I wanted them all to give him a hug whenever they saw him again. I would gladly read a novel about the zumra hanging out. Kifah accepted a position as his sword of the sultan. WHAT AN ICON. I loved that Nasir wanted to be the caliph of Sarasin and that he mentioned that Altair visited frequently in the few months he'd been in charge and brought Kifah with him because seeing the zumra split really fucking sucked. UGH, but he will do so much good for Arawiya as its leader. He has proven how he is capable of so much good and compassion and love.
And then Zafira leaving Nasir and Yasmine telling her what she needed to hear. UGH made me so mad and then so happy. I was so pleased to see her enter as her cloaked hunter form because Nasir knows her so well he recognized her immediately. AHHHH what an entrance. AND THE KISS AND THEN "I hear Sarasin is in need of a calipha." BUT THEN I GOT CHEATED OF A WEDDING AND WEDDING NIGHT WHICH WAS A LOW BLOW. Did I like what I got? Yes. Did I want more? UH DUH.
I'm already thinking about rereading the book. It's gonna happen, it's just a matter of when. I'm so so so so glad I chose to reread We Hunt the Flame before reading We Free the Stars because 1) WHTF was my favorite read of 2019 and 2) it made the stakes and the characters' emotions and my own connection to We Free the Stars more visceral and deeper than it would've been if I hadn't. The last few chapters of the book now live in my head rent-free, particularly the last two. UGH Nasir "my heart cannot contain it" Ghameq.
Rereading WHTF also made me recognize details that I hadn't before, like the written parallels between chapter introductions and the reversal that Hafsah included in the last few pages of We Free the Stars about the first two lines of the first novel: "People lived because she killed," "People died because he lived." THEN, in WFTS we see those phrases again, "There was a scar at her breast, and another in her heart, for people had died because she lived."
"Fear made his love grow. To fear was to live and to strengthen. It was maddening as it swelled in his heart, and yet, amid all his feelings was one more, stirring foreign and raw: contentment. I once loved, he had inked on his wrist. I will again, he inked on the other. He opened his palm and a plume of shadow curled to life. It was a reminder: people lived because he did." UGH I LOVE VERBAL LITERARY PARALLELS. This made me so damn happy to see side by side.
"We’re not falling apart. We hunted the flame on Sharr, set free the stars across the skies, but it was only ever the dawn of our zumra. Now we make sure that light doesn’t go out. Forever. Together."
As I sit here reflecting on this duology finale I can't help, but feel unwilling to write it because I don't want to say goodbye to the world of Arawiya. This book had so many of my favorite things: the found family trope, a strong female character, female friendships, strong sibling bonds, banter, enemies to lovers romance, THE ONE BED SCENE (that was a gift I didn't expect and I am so grateful, Hafsah!!!), a dark brooding male love interest who becomes utterly bewitched by the main character.
There were so many Zafira and Nasir moments that made me want to scream because they couldn't communicate. BUT when Zafira said that she understood how his thoughts had been overlooked and wanted to hear his words, UGHHHHHH. Nasir DESPERATELY needed to hear that. There were also many moments that felt like I was being set on fire because they were full of sexual tension, and I was very pleased by these moments. The kiss on the horse, their conversation in the inn room, AH! Nasir telling Yasmine, "If I hurt her, I will bring every weapon at my disposal and lay them at your feet for you to do to me what you will. If I hurt her, I will no sooner carve out my own heart than dare draw breath again.”
She was silent.
“Do you understand?” he prompted.
“You love her.”
No, he did not love her. The word for what he felt for Zafira bint Iskandar did not yet exist.”
Personally, I lost my mind a little bit there. Had to pause and breathe for a second. *screams* In We Hunt the Flame Nasir calls himself a poet of death, but some of his internal thoughts and declarations of love to Zafira or about her to others felt very poetic. I was like, "the fuck are you trying to kill me with these poetic declarations of love because it is fucking working."
I am still struggling to collect my thoughts because I read the novel so quickly, but I had to know what happened next. When Zafira got shot in the chest, I refused to believe she died. I don't know if I just bypassed some of the stages of grief and landed in denial, but that's what happened. I just could fathom her being gone. Nasir's reaction is what hurt most.
From the part when Aya called Benyamin roohi and I learned their different meanings, I just knew that it was the same for Zafira and Nasir. "Habibi was for friends and love that was real enough.
Hayati was when love became an all-encompassing thing. Deeper and deeper, until one became the other’s life.
Roohi was when a soul twined with its match and loved with the force of a thousand suns. When it slipped beneath the heart and tangled in the very fibers of an existence."
So when Nasir said, "He left behind half of his soul and the whole of his heart." OUCH that stung.
Moving to happier moments, I adored all the moments between Zafira and Kifah, Altair and Nasir, Zafira and Lana, Zafira and Yasmine, and amongst the zumra. It made me feel alive to see them experiencing moments of love and friendship amidst all the death and war. All of Nasir and Altair's banter, Altair's quips, I was cackling. Zafira and Kifah comparing men to fish, oh I cried. Seeing Nasir and Altair internally vocalize their love for each other made my heart soar. I love that they have complementary powers: "You'll have me. No matter how thick the night, I will always be there to light your way." I was crying at this point.
When Zafira didn't quite seem interested in being sultana, I started thinking of potential alternatives. I saw no future in which the two of them weren't together, but then I thought about how much care Altair put into his work in Arawiya, and I realized he deserved to be king. My belief that he was going to be sultan/king was solidified whenever he said power begets pain because according to the introductory poem that was said by the king. I had started paying attention to those quotes when I reread WFTH before WFTS, and so I kept frequently checking on the quotes to see if I remembered if they had been said, so when this one came up, I knew.
I was grateful for more background on Haider and Anadil and their various relationships. I enjoyed the complexity of Anadil as a person and her choices. I couldn't believe I forgot she still had her heart and could offer it whenever the fifth heart crumbled. That moment when magic returned was powerful. Then, when she accepted being an advisor to Altair and said she regretted how she had treated him. It was long overdue but needed to be said.
Altair had my heart aching throughout this book. I hated that he got left behind and how alone that made him feel. I wanted them all to give him a hug whenever they saw him again. I would gladly read a novel about the zumra hanging out. Kifah accepted a position as his sword of the sultan. WHAT AN ICON. I loved that Nasir wanted to be the caliph of Sarasin and that he mentioned that Altair visited frequently in the few months he'd been in charge and brought Kifah with him because seeing the zumra split really fucking sucked. UGH, but he will do so much good for Arawiya as its leader. He has proven how he is capable of so much good and compassion and love.
And then Zafira leaving Nasir and Yasmine telling her what she needed to hear. UGH made me so mad and then so happy. I was so pleased to see her enter as her cloaked hunter form because Nasir knows her so well he recognized her immediately. AHHHH what an entrance. AND THE KISS AND THEN "I hear Sarasin is in need of a calipha." BUT THEN I GOT CHEATED OF A WEDDING AND WEDDING NIGHT WHICH WAS A LOW BLOW. Did I like what I got? Yes. Did I want more? UH DUH.
I'm already thinking about rereading the book. It's gonna happen, it's just a matter of when. I'm so so so so glad I chose to reread We Hunt the Flame before reading We Free the Stars because 1) WHTF was my favorite read of 2019 and 2) it made the stakes and the characters' emotions and my own connection to We Free the Stars more visceral and deeper than it would've been if I hadn't. The last few chapters of the book now live in my head rent-free, particularly the last two. UGH Nasir "my heart cannot contain it" Ghameq.
Rereading WHTF also made me recognize details that I hadn't before, like the written parallels between chapter introductions and the reversal that Hafsah included in the last few pages of We Free the Stars about the first two lines of the first novel: "People lived because she killed," "People died because he lived." THEN, in WFTS we see those phrases again, "There was a scar at her breast, and another in her heart, for people had died because she lived."
"Fear made his love grow. To fear was to live and to strengthen. It was maddening as it swelled in his heart, and yet, amid all his feelings was one more, stirring foreign and raw: contentment. I once loved, he had inked on his wrist. I will again, he inked on the other. He opened his palm and a plume of shadow curled to life. It was a reminder: people lived because he did." UGH I LOVE VERBAL LITERARY PARALLELS. This made me so damn happy to see side by side.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Yes
It's the fast paced adventure with intense eye contact that you're looking for
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Satisfying sequel. Prose was still way too purple for my taste, but I liked the characters. Loved the ace representation in Kifah.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes