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doodeedoda's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Sexism, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
nadiaherondale's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I've been thinking for days what to say in my review because I liked the series in the core, I was engaged with the characters, I ended up liking the world building even though I was a bit confused about it at first, but to be fair the writing bored me. The over prosaic narrative sometimes took me out of the story and I had to read some parts several times to understand it (granted English is not my first language, but I have studied it for 20 years and I've never had any problems reading other books). I think the book (and the series) is good, just that the writing style is not for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, War, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Death
tahsintries's review against another edition
emotional
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Blood
bri__'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The last part of this book was great but I definitely found that alot of the middle was dragged and that caused me to take a week in completing this book. The writing is impeccable and the plot is insanely complex.
I loved Nasir so much throughout this series but I found Zafira to be a very complicated character to deal with due to her tendency to run away from her problems (being her relationship with Nasir). Yes there was some partial enemies to lovers in this duology but he fell in love with her during their time on Sharr so I wouldn't say it was that long a period of time. As stated already I did enjoy the ending, I'm just disappointed we didn't get to see more of the possible dynamic between Altair and Yasmine or the actual effect of magic among the community since we only got to see snippets.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, War, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content
Minor: Child death and Infertility
marie_reads_again's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, and Blood
Moderate: War, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
maeverose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Murder, Confinement, and Gore
Minor: Grief and Misogyny
Loss of control over your thoughts and actions is a pretty big theme throughoutsam_crl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
I don’t even know how to begin. This book was beautiful. It was soul-shattering and beautiful. I seriously did not think this series could get any better from the first book but well, I was proven wrong.
Hafsah Faizal spins such a breathtaking story that you never want to leave. And I loved how these characters weren‘t your usual heroes, they weren‘t without flaws, they had their fair share of them, but yet you couldn’t help but fall in love with every single one of them because they didn’t seem like just some characters in a story, they were real, complex beings with their own struggles and demons to overcome. The zumra will forever have a special place in my heart.
Seriously, if you haven’t read this yet, this is your sign. It is now one of my favorite series of all time (that list is increasing steadily) and that‘s coming from someone who‘s not a big fan of the enemies to lovers trope! But in this, the love story just seemed so incredibly real and honest and the slowburn was slowly unaliving me but that‘s okay. Also, there are rarely occasions where I think, "Ugh, men," in a good way, but while reading this? It just shows that fictional men written by women are simply superior.
If you‘ve made it to the end of this very long review (sorry, the book was just so good), congratulations!
Now read the book.
Hafsah Faizal spins such a breathtaking story that you never want to leave. And I loved how these characters weren‘t your usual heroes, they weren‘t without flaws, they had their fair share of them, but yet you couldn’t help but fall in love with every single one of them because they didn’t seem like just some characters in a story, they were real, complex beings with their own struggles and demons to overcome. The zumra will forever have a special place in my heart.
Seriously, if you haven’t read this yet, this is your sign. It is now one of my favorite series of all time (that list is increasing steadily) and that‘s coming from someone who‘s not a big fan of the enemies to lovers trope! But in this, the love story just seemed so incredibly real and honest and the slowburn was slowly unaliving me but that‘s okay. Also, there are rarely occasions where I think, "Ugh, men," in a good way, but while reading this? It just shows that fictional men written by women are simply superior.
If you‘ve made it to the end of this very long review (sorry, the book was just so good), congratulations!
Now read the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, War, Animal death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
Minor: Child death
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-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
4.0
We Free the Stars was such a rollercoaster - and I'm still unsure whether that was a good thing or a not-so-good thing.
With the first book, I was worried that it would take me a long time to get interested in it. I thought it would be slow and a little tedious, but I was quickly proven wrong. It was fast-paced and there was always something interesting happening. There was fantastic chemistry (see: tension) between the protagonists, and the supporting cast was so intriguing. However, this sequel was everything I thought the first would be... and that wasn't great.
Unfortunately, it took me until I was over halfway through this book to actually begin getting interested in the story. It held a much slower pace and the chemistry/tension that was there before was so flat and almost unappealing because of Nasir's sudden obsession with Zafira. He went from fighting feelings to becoming like a little lost puppy that wanted to follow her wherever she went and get her attention no matter what. Maybe that would be cute in a romance book, but as the "Prince of Death" or whatever, it didn't seem fitting.
Just like with the first book, my interest was mostly in Altair. I'm still holding out hope that there will be a spin-off for him because he only became more intriguing as the story was spun. The twisty-turny ending had me all the more fascinated by him and what could happen in the future.
One thing that hit me in an odd way was how much of these books (but specifically this one) felt like an Arabian Shadow and Bone. I realize that people tend to compare almost every fantasy book to S&B, but I'm speaking from a very objective standpoint. Most of the time, I don't feel as though books are modeled after older fantasies, but this one definitely seemed that way. That being said, there was a lot about the similarities that I really liked, since the Grishaverse is actually my favorite collection of books. It just kind of struck me as odd every once in a while when I noticed something that was super similar.
I can't say that it was a truly phenomenal conclusion to the story, but I did really enjoy the very end and the way that it didn't try to wrap everything up too perfectly. I will also say that this book is filled with some breathtaking quotes. So, if you're looking for a duology that has interesting magic and great vibes, pick up the Sands of Arawiya.
With the first book, I was worried that it would take me a long time to get interested in it. I thought it would be slow and a little tedious, but I was quickly proven wrong. It was fast-paced and there was always something interesting happening. There was fantastic chemistry (see: tension) between the protagonists, and the supporting cast was so intriguing. However, this sequel was everything I thought the first would be... and that wasn't great.
Unfortunately, it took me until I was over halfway through this book to actually begin getting interested in the story. It held a much slower pace and the chemistry/tension that was there before was so flat and almost unappealing because of Nasir's sudden obsession with Zafira. He went from fighting feelings to becoming like a little lost puppy that wanted to follow her wherever she went and get her attention no matter what. Maybe that would be cute in a romance book, but as the "Prince of Death" or whatever, it didn't seem fitting.
Just like with the first book, my interest was mostly in Altair. I'm still holding out hope that there will be a spin-off for him because he only became more intriguing as the story was spun. The twisty-turny ending had me all the more fascinated by him and what could happen in the future.
One thing that hit me in an odd way was how much of these books (but specifically this one) felt like an Arabian Shadow and Bone. I realize that people tend to compare almost every fantasy book to S&B, but I'm speaking from a very objective standpoint. Most of the time, I don't feel as though books are modeled after older fantasies, but this one definitely seemed that way. That being said, there was a lot about the similarities that I really liked, since the Grishaverse is actually my favorite collection of books. It just kind of struck me as odd every once in a while when I noticed something that was super similar.
I can't say that it was a truly phenomenal conclusion to the story, but I did really enjoy the very end and the way that it didn't try to wrap everything up too perfectly. I will also say that this book is filled with some breathtaking quotes. So, if you're looking for a duology that has interesting magic and great vibes, pick up the Sands of Arawiya.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
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
riley_ratatat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Suicide attempt, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny and Sexism