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camiclarkbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
Exquisitely written book, Hafsah Faizal has true talent.
On an unrelated note, there were a lot of instances where a character gave a two finger salute and jogged backwards. Which seems very specific to me.
On an unrelated note, there were a lot of instances where a character gave a two finger salute and jogged backwards. Which seems very specific to me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical content, Blood, Abandonment, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
aas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Torture, Medical content, War, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Violence
julierambaeck's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? Yes
3.0
I feel like this was 5 books in one. So much happened, and at times I got extremely confused.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Torture and Fire/Fire injury
sammuraichan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Mental illness, and Sexism
Minor: War and Xenophobia
joensign's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Confinement, Sexism, and Misogyny
booksanna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
This book was a marvelous journey that brought the strongest emotions from the deepest crevices of my heart. This book had brought every heartwretching and soul-crushing theme together to bring the story of grief, of love, of light, of darkness, of abuse, of sorrow, of adventure, of companionship, and if magic. Saying I was not dissapointed is a major understatement. This book made me bawl my eyes out in one moment and burst out laughing in the next one Hafsa mam, I remember all the little remarks you made about Altair’s missing eye, and I cannnot recover at all. Lady you’re crazy, but i love your books. Also what was that moment when zumra was so broken and in the next line you dared to write “a camel snorted in the backround”. LIKE WHAT!. That was pure gold, do that again .
The characters were so developed and human. They felt like real immaginable characters that suffered and lived humanely. I loved Yasmene’s character and her friendship with Zafira. It felt so realistic and human, absolutely beautiful. I loved every single character and would write a whole paragraph for each. In fact, that is what i will do.
Zafira, the huntress, the fair gazelle, the main character. She is a marvel. Her passion to help those around her truly bled through every instance of her in the book. Her emotions and her titles were so well developed. Her pure heart truly stayed pure in the book filled with evil. I personally loved the fact that her relationship with Nasir and her position as a sultana was postponed. Oftentimes, after battle the main character reaches a happy ever after automatically without any troubles. This makes unrealistic. But Zafira is anything but unrealistic. Her fear of loosing Nasir, of the next calipha beeing discriminated against, of her beeing confined to a palace, these fears were so human and real. Her character development was so real and full of vurnability.
Nasir, the prince of death, the heir to the throne, the caliph of Sarasin. This guy is such a sweetheart. His character development was so fulfilling, I cried more than once just because of him. Realizing how far he has come from abuse shows that your abuse doesn’t define you. He is such an important character not just for Zafira’s development, but for the book’s development. He made this journey of restoring magic even more eventful and wholesome. I loved the ending if the book because the decision fit him so well. "People lived because he breathed" will always haunt me forever. So proud of him.
Yasmene was an unsusual character that i first was skeptical of. Now I realsie the importance of her in Zafira’s life and admire her strength even more. She truly added beauty to this book. Although her story didn’t start well, I know her life was meaningfull to Arawiya.
Altair, the son of none, the you know who. First of I love the way the neding mended him. It was truly the best choice for him to become the king. His light and story as always second deserved to end in glory. Even if he has one eye, he is glorious . His light and airy remarks were missed more than I expecyed and I loved the way the author played with his values in the book questioning his morals. Even the brightest people have the darkest moments. Also, can we appreciate the unending love he gave to almost everyone in the book. Like how kind can this man be? And how can he still joke while being shackled?
Kifah, one of the nine. She’s good very good. I love her character and her personality. She looked for vengeance and she found family. How beautiful is that. Her presence in the book was necessary and i lover bery much. Her character truly depicts a different kind of woman that doesn’t get represented a lot in ya literature and I appreciate her presence enhancing the story.
Anddddd the Jawarat. Nothing to say, except that Jarawat as a character was unexpected, but much needed. My personal favorite character.
Honorable mentions go to the random nurse lady, Aya, Jinan, Lana, Misk, Seif, Lion of the Night, Muzafar, and any other character that was too insignificant to receive a paragraph of writing. You guys were awesome too.
The setting, the plot, the ending, — flawless. I am speechless, and cannot describe in detail the mastery with which this book was written with.
The philosophy behind this was delectable. And the humor was good too.
In conclusion, I am not asking you to read this masterpiece (after reading the first one), I AM PLEADING WITH YOU. Please read this, for my and Arawiya’s sake, for Sultan’s teeth. You will not regret.
The characters were so developed and human. They felt like real immaginable characters that suffered and lived humanely. I loved Yasmene’s character and her friendship with Zafira. It felt so realistic and human, absolutely beautiful. I loved every single character and would write a whole paragraph for each. In fact, that is what i will do.
Zafira, the huntress, the fair gazelle, the main character. She is a marvel. Her passion to help those around her truly bled through every instance of her in the book. Her emotions and her titles were so well developed. Her pure heart truly stayed pure in the book filled with evil.
Nasir, the prince of death, the heir to the throne, the caliph of Sarasin. This guy is such a sweetheart. His character development was so fulfilling, I cried more than once just because of him. Realizing how far he has come from abuse shows that your abuse doesn’t define you. He is such an important character not just for Zafira’s development, but for the book’s development. He made this journey of restoring magic even more eventful and wholesome. I loved the ending if the book because the decision fit him so well. "People lived because he breathed" will always haunt me forever. So proud of him.
Yasmene was an unsusual character that i first was skeptical of. Now I realsie the importance of her in Zafira’s life and admire her strength even more. She truly added beauty to this book. Although her story didn’t start well, I know her life was meaningfull to Arawiya.
Altair, the son of none, the you know who. First of I love the way the neding mended him. It was truly the best choice for him
Kifah, one of the nine. She’s good very good. I love her character and her personality. She looked for vengeance and she found family. How beautiful is that. Her presence in the book was necessary and i lover bery much. Her character truly depicts a different kind of woman that doesn’t get represented a lot in ya literature and I appreciate her presence enhancing the story.
Anddddd the Jawarat. Nothing to say, except that Jarawat as a character was unexpected, but much needed. My personal favorite character.
Honorable mentions go to the random nurse lady, Aya, Jinan, Lana, Misk, Seif, Lion of the Night, Muzafar, and any other character that was too insignificant to receive a paragraph of writing. You guys were awesome too.
The setting, the plot, the ending, — flawless. I am speechless, and cannot describe in detail the mastery with which this book was written with.
The philosophy behind this was delectable. And the humor was good too.
In conclusion, I am not asking you to read this masterpiece (after reading the first one), I AM PLEADING WITH YOU. Please read this, for my and Arawiya’s sake, for Sultan’s teeth. You will not regret.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, War, Torture, Genocide, Blood, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
tinysierra's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Hafsah Faizal said, “here, you can have pain and suffering at every corner.” She took us for a ride with this one.
Did someone order slow burn?
It’s not my favorite trope personally, but there was no denying it was really well done.
Faizal writes such strong romantic and platonic bonds between characters. The way she writes about love… Whew. So many quotable moments. Also… casual aromantic representation in fantasy? Yes, please.
Again, I love all the characters. The zurma. Altair truly is the embodiment of sunshine. I laughed out loud so much at all their banter.
I think to truly appreciate this book in full, I’ll need to reread it after I’ve processed all that happened. It was good. I’m glad it was a duology instead of a trilogy.
Did someone order slow burn?
It’s not my favorite trope personally, but there was no denying it was really well done.
Faizal writes such strong romantic and platonic bonds between characters. The way she writes about love… Whew. So many quotable moments. Also… casual aromantic representation in fantasy? Yes, please.
Again, I love all the characters. The zurma. Altair truly is the embodiment of sunshine. I laughed out loud so much at all their banter.
I think to truly appreciate this book in full, I’ll need to reread it after I’ve processed all that happened. It was good. I’m glad it was a duology instead of a trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, War, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Grief and Misogyny
aklovekorn's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, War, and Sexism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Child death
gabydoesgrowth's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
4.5
This was a fitting end to a great story. I definitely think this was better than We Hunt the Flame. The pacing made more sense and the story felt like it was moving forward instead of just existing. I did sometimes get lost in the details a bit so I had to go back and reread chunks. The characters kept me committed to this story. I was so excited to see how each one grew and changed as they became a true zumra. I loved Zafira and Nasir’s connection, although I do wish we’d gotten just a bit more! But I do appreciate that this is a YA story and think it was well done considering the target audience. I was so hesitant to finish the book, I took a few days off from reading because I didn’t want it to end.
The ending to Altair and Nasir’s story was *chef’s kiss* and I was glad for Kifah, but I wish we had gotten to see more of Zafira post-journey. We know Aldair will be a great king and Nasir will be the best caliph he can be, but where does Zafira fit into that reality? I know she will carve out a space for herself to be independent and support the change that is already unfolding, but I wish we got to see how.
Ultimately, I really liked the duology and definitely see this as a re-read for me in the future.
Ultimately, I really liked the duology and definitely see this as a re-read for me in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Death, Violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Classism and Gaslighting