Scan barcode
saoreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Kifah and Zafira, with all of their lines so deeply etched with the titles to a meaning, there are times when you find a story specifically mentioning its title and think it's a cliché, but this one was beautifully done. It's striking how the author honed the characters and their development. This deep understanding of feelings and emotions allows readers to relate to and identify with them. Reading this felt complete, and it is unquestionably endowed with perfection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Murder, Child death, Abandonment, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Torture, and Violence
kinsportch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, War, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content, Classism, Violence, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Child abuse, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery
christalbotheindl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Murder, Death, War, and Torture
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
saurahsaurus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, and Sexism
silentquercus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
deluna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Gore and Death of parent
readingelli's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, War, Blood, and Gore
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
- 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
4.0
This book was an incredibly satisfying conclusion to the duology. The stakes were just high enough. The themes of grief and social change and reconciling the past with the future were executed brilliantly. The main characters all got the perfect ending. I especially loved what this book did with Nasir and Altair’s relationship and how it played into the directions they took at the end of the book.
Zafira and Yasmine’s friendship also went in some heartbreaking and realistic directions. They had to learn to navigate change and betrayal and figure out who they were able to be for each other in the future. It was lovely.
And I love Kifah. Just in general. She’s wonderful. I also think that she comes out as ace/aro in this book, but I had to read the page three times to confirm what was going on, and I’m still not totally sure that’s what was intended.
A lot of side characters also got some very nice bits of development in this book.
I was deeply frustrated by the romantic subplot at a lot of points in this book, mostly for personal taste reasons. They just spend far too much time refusing to communicate with each other, which makes sense for their characters, but I do find it a little bit silly that they both spend so much time thinking about how perfectly they understand each other but they don’t talk to each other for about three hundred pages. When they finally DO communicate, though, the payoff is worth it. I just didn’t feel as invested in their relationship in this book as in We Hunt the Flame even though it was much more of a focus here.
I think my main issue with this book is the pacing. It REALLY drags for a whole long section and then picks up again very gradually, and then the ending is very fast-paced and the climax and resolution happen pretty quickly.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this duology to anyone looking for a mature YA fantasy (mature as in characters are older than in most YA and there are some complex themes but the content is very much PG-13) with intricate worldbuilding, a unique take on magic, an extremely compelling found family, and an enemies-to-lovers romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Misogyny
Minor: Child abuse
elnorastewart3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Torture, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Grief
cemeterygay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I absolutely adored this book but only one issue kept it from being a five star read for me. The pacing while all of the characters are in Sultan's keep before the big reveal with the Sultan is just way too slow for me. It was the only section where I legitimately struggled to pay attention to the book.
Setting that aside, I thought this was an amazing conclusion to the duology. A lot of depth that was needed for characters including for the main antagonist was finally provided. I like that the discussions of cycles of abuse and trauma were made way more explicit in a way I really enjoyed. I especially like how this book made discussions of sacrifice and morality way more prominent especially in Nasir's and Zafira's relationship.
I also genuinely enjoyed where both Nasir's and Zafira's characters were explored in this book and how they developed. Their relationship was so wonderful and I enjoyed how we got to the end of their romance arc. I especially liked the increased exploration of the relationship between Zafira and her sister and Nasir and his family.
I am intensely happy with how Altair's character developed in this book and the ending to his story is so intensely satisfying. He very quickly became one of my favorite characters in this book and so often I just wanted to give him a hug.
I love how the Lion of the Night develops as an antagonist and how his arc ultimately resolves. I love how we get to see added depth while still keeping him as a legitimately strong and imposing presence.
I also like how many of the side characters were given quite a bit more depth and exploration in this book.
We got a bit more worldbuilding but nothing compared to the first book but honestly that was fine for me because it didn't really feel necessary.
With the increased complexity of the themes in this book, the vivid writing style was really allowed to shine in this book. I also really enjoyed the conclusion of this book and I enjoyed how everything resolved.
This was an intensely satisfying conclusion and I'm happy I can recommend these books as a great duology.
Setting that aside, I thought this was an amazing conclusion to the duology. A lot of depth that was needed for characters including for the main antagonist was finally provided. I like that the discussions of cycles of abuse and trauma were made way more explicit in a way I really enjoyed. I especially like how this book made discussions of sacrifice and morality way more prominent especially in Nasir's and Zafira's relationship.
I also genuinely enjoyed where both Nasir's and Zafira's characters were explored in this book and how they developed. Their relationship was so wonderful and I enjoyed how we got to the end of their romance arc. I especially liked the increased exploration of the relationship between Zafira and her sister and Nasir and his family.
I am intensely happy with how Altair's character developed in this book and the ending to his story is so intensely satisfying. He very quickly became one of my favorite characters in this book and so often I just wanted to give him a hug.
I love how the Lion of the Night develops as an antagonist and how his arc ultimately resolves. I love how we get to see added depth while still keeping him as a legitimately strong and imposing presence.
I also like how many of the side characters were given quite a bit more depth and exploration in this book.
We got a bit more worldbuilding but nothing compared to the first book but honestly that was fine for me because it didn't really feel necessary.
With the increased complexity of the themes in this book, the vivid writing style was really allowed to shine in this book. I also really enjoyed the conclusion of this book and I enjoyed how everything resolved.
This was an intensely satisfying conclusion and I'm happy I can recommend these books as a great duology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Torture, Gore, Grief, Violence, and War
Minor: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse