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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4.75/5 stars
The Sands of Arawiya is now one of my favorite YA series. I did not expect to love these books as much as I did, nor did I expect to fall in love with all these characters. I’ve seen this compared to Six of Crows a lot with its elements of found family and with Nasir and Zafira’s relationship that shares many parallels with Kanej. I definitely agree that if you love Six of Crows you would love these books. However, I would also distinguish this series because it deserves to be loved within its own right. The storytelling is brilliant—I love Faizal’s style of writing and she manages to flesh out a fairly large band of characters. I already enjoyed Zafira and Nasir’s relationship in We Hunt the Flame, but I fell in love with their romance in this second book as we got to see the emotional connection and the understanding they shared. Nasir’s journey in particular was one of my favorites as I am always a sucker for a morally grey character who believes he is undeserving of happiness, finding it anyways. Zafira’s journey also stood out to me. Her connection to the Jawarat was something I was initially tentative about storytelling-wise but quickly came to like. I loved the contrast of her, the “pure of heart” facing the dark parts of herself as Nasir was working on redemption and rejecting the influence of the Lion and his father.
I have so many thoughts so here are some in brief:
-Kifah: A character I initially just thought was cool ended up being so much more than that. Also the aro/ace rep!
-Altair: Did not expect to love him as much as I do now. His and Nasir’s sibling relationship is also a highlight for me.
-So many beautiful lines of writing that I would sometimes pause and reread it to truly appreciate it.
-All the relationships! I love that just as much value was placed on the friendships and familial relationships as it was the romantic ones.
-Found family—will always be my favorite trope and this story delivers it wonderfully
The Sands of Arawiya is now one of my favorite YA series. I did not expect to love these books as much as I did, nor did I expect to fall in love with all these characters. I’ve seen this compared to Six of Crows a lot with its elements of found family and with Nasir and Zafira’s relationship that shares many parallels with Kanej. I definitely agree that if you love Six of Crows you would love these books. However, I would also distinguish this series because it deserves to be loved within its own right. The storytelling is brilliant—I love Faizal’s style of writing and she manages to flesh out a fairly large band of characters. I already enjoyed Zafira and Nasir’s relationship in We Hunt the Flame, but I fell in love with their romance in this second book as we got to see the emotional connection and the understanding they shared. Nasir’s journey in particular was one of my favorites as I am always a sucker for a morally grey character who believes he is undeserving of happiness, finding it anyways. Zafira’s journey also stood out to me. Her connection to the Jawarat was something I was initially tentative about storytelling-wise but quickly came to like. I loved the contrast of her, the “pure of heart” facing the dark parts of herself as Nasir was working on redemption and rejecting the influence of the Lion and his father.
I have so many thoughts so here are some in brief:
-Kifah: A character I initially just thought was cool ended up being so much more than that. Also the aro/ace rep!
-Altair: Did not expect to love him as much as I do now. His and Nasir’s sibling relationship is also a highlight for me.
-So many beautiful lines of writing that I would sometimes pause and reread it to truly appreciate it.
-All the relationships! I love that just as much value was placed on the friendships and familial relationships as it was the romantic ones.
-Found family—will always be my favorite trope and this story delivers it wonderfully
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i finished We Hunt the Flame thinking : this is the best book i’ve ever read. and then Hafsah Faizal writes We Free the Stars.
this book was literal perfection, there’s no other word for it. her writing never ceases to amaze me ; as someone whose first language isn’t english, i tend not to notice this kind of thing as much, but it was such a delight to read because of her prose.
the characters are so well written and developed too, i fell in love with every single one of them. thank you miss Faizal for creating my all time favorite book boyfriend, Nasir Ghameq ! my standards for men are now higher than they’ve ever been !!! and the ROMANCE ?! immaculate !!
this is a WELLLL deserved 5/5 and definitely the best book of 2021 so far. i just know it’ll take weeks for me to get over it !!
this book was literal perfection, there’s no other word for it. her writing never ceases to amaze me ; as someone whose first language isn’t english, i tend not to notice this kind of thing as much, but it was such a delight to read because of her prose.
the characters are so well written and developed too, i fell in love with every single one of them. thank you miss Faizal for creating my all time favorite book boyfriend, Nasir Ghameq ! my standards for men are now higher than they’ve ever been !!! and the ROMANCE ?! immaculate !!
this is a WELLLL deserved 5/5 and definitely the best book of 2021 so far. i just know it’ll take weeks for me to get over it !!
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don’t usually prefer the second book but I absolutely loved this one!
I did find it a little hard to get into but I think I was just daunted about the size of the book.
However, as I kept reading I kept getting sucked further and further into the storyline, the characters, and the perfect tension between Zafira and Nasir.
The twists were absolutely amazing (even though I could predict some) and I read the last third of the book so fast!
I’m not great at talking about the deeper thoughts behind the character’s motives but all I know is that each scene was so well written that I felt like I was experiencing their feelings alongside them.
4.5⭐️
I did find it a little hard to get into but I think I was just daunted about the size of the book.
However, as I kept reading I kept getting sucked further and further into the storyline, the characters, and the perfect tension between Zafira and Nasir.
The twists were absolutely amazing (even though I could predict some) and I read the last third of the book so fast!
I’m not great at talking about the deeper thoughts behind the character’s motives but all I know is that each scene was so well written that I felt like I was experiencing their feelings alongside them.
4.5⭐️
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-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
Sure, was this book slow? Yes. Did I still love it and couldn’t stop reading it? Yes.