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bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse
elnorastewart3's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Grief, and Death of parent
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
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.
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and War
Minor: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
mypatronusisajedi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Violence, Murder, and War
Minor: Misogyny
solouncapitulomas's review against another edition
- 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
This book was just, wow. People said it was better than the first one but I was dubious in the begging...what a dumb bitch I was, I truly lived up to the hype and I am so glad I read it now, books like these should be getting adaptation and more hype (instead of a certain culture appropriator I will not even mention), I will forever hunt for the feelings I had while reading this book. Sometimes I think I outgrew ya fantasy or ya in general and then books like these two come and I realize this might never happened fully, as long as I can keep finding jewels like Sands of Arawiya I will continue to reading young adult and enjoyed it. And yes I did scream with the one bed trope in this book, I am simple like that. Deal with it y'all
Some quotes I enjoyed a lot:
“Sacrifice was nothing but death in a romantic farce. ”
“How long did one have to live before death became a wish?”
“There was a kind of sand, rare in the desert, that appeared as harmless as normal sand until it sank beneath one’s feet, swallowing the unsuspecting, worsening the longer they struggled, loosening its grip only when they did the opposite. That was how grief was. The longer one wallowed, the more it hungered.”
“Or perhaps that was the greater evil, having power in your hands but being powerless to alter a reality.”
“The moon crowned her in starlight and cloaked her in magic. The stars faded in envy of her radiance. There truly was nothing—no one—more beautiful.”
“Wrath and rage burn quick as fire. Vengeance is the only fuel you can keep going for more than a century. The longer it takes, the sweeter the revenge.”
“It was easy to believe that anyone who did not speak of suffering did not suffer.”
“Carving out one’s heart for a stranger and wishing for theirs in return is no easy feat.”
“Only few can look at a monster and see its humanity.”
“Perhaps worse than abuse was waking up to the fact. The realization, striking and unmooring, that the norm one had lived was not at all normal.”
“Why was it that victories were forever riddled with loss?”
“Power once rested in their hands, wealth adorned every angle of their sight. None of them remembered the shroud has no pockets.”
“To live was to swear the oath of death.”
“Wars could wage and swords could cut and arrows could pierce. None of them compared to the pain of a well-poised word.”
“They say the soul cannot rest until it finds its match. Then it ignites.”
“We were not born to fight, but our cradles were built from struggles and hardship. Pens, swords, sticks—weapons shoved into our fists as soon as we’re old enough to grasp them. So we fight, because the world will cut our throats otherwise. We fight, because we won’t go down without one.”
“Hope was the beast that could never be slain, the light that blazed in every harrowing dark.”
“Knowing you can lose something is what makes it more precious.”
I was listening to Yellow Filler Beat & Glory And Gore by Lorde while writing this review
'kay, I'm out
Bye
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse
martynelson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
michellemaas's review against another edition
- 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
I'm going to start by saying that We Free the Stars is one of the most quotable books I have read to date. Hafsah Faizal has such a beautiful way with words and that alone deserves a star before any other factors are even considered.
Another thing that is super close to my heart: asexual representation. In recent years the entertainment industry has come a long way in terms of representing the LGBTQ+ community but despite seeing a bunch of cute lesbian and gay couples, I NEVER see any asexual characters (or it isn't outright mentioned/discussed). Oftentimes characters are thrown into unnecessary relationships since romance is a huge driving point and I appreciate that Hafsah Faizal made Kifah an interesting and alluring character without needing to put her in a romantic relationship. The way she described asexuality was also so good.
Next there's Nasir and Zafira. One of my main critiques for the previous book was how Zafira and Nasir got over their qualms of each other without any real explanation for why. It was purely based on lust, Zafira being emotionally stunted after the death of her friend and Nasir latching onto the first person to show him affection. I am so happy that Hafsah Faizal deepened their relationship in the sequel. We got to see that slow-burn that she was going for in the first book because their relationship had to fester from lust to love. It was a beautiful journey (even if the beginning was a little questionable). Also, that ending. We all saw it coming but when I tell you I was a pile of squishy feels . . . just perfect.
The last relationship-related point I want to make is about Yasmine and Misk. I know I sound repetitive but I loved and appreciated that Yasmine was not magically fine at the end of the book. The author "sacrificed" a perfect ending that was wrapped up with a neat little bow to show that grief does not go away because other things in your life get better.
Then, I enjoyed The Lion of the Night as a villain. He was not purely a monster and while the author made it clear that his tragic past did not justify his actions, it gave us a better insight into him as a character.
Lastly, I want to shout out all the side characters like Altair, Lana, Yasmine, etc. My version of this book was 700-odd pages (as opposed to the 400/500-something of the first book) and I was apprehensive since a longer book doesn't always equal a better book. While I still don't know if all 700 pages were necessary, I am glad that the author went for a little bit of a longer book to explore the development and fleshing-out of the side characters. I feel that my reading experience was thoroughly enhanced by the fact that I had more knowledge of the side characters than an off-handed description as most other novels do.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Animal death and Slavery
jackiepreston's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse
hayy6747's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
nefariousbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment