Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

81 reviews

onthesamepage's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I know that I was supposed to care a lot for these characters, but I can't say that actually happened, for the most part. A few of the relationships did hook me, but again, probably not the ones I was supposed to care for. I found the dynamic between Zafira and Deen really compelling. How much Deen cared for her was very obvious, and I have a soft spot for when people throw everything they are on the line to protect/care for someone else. The other relationship I liked was the one between Nasir and Altair. Not that Nasir does much other than brood, but Altair has a fun personality (except when he's deadly serious), and the more I got to see them interact, the more I started to care for their friendship. I know I'm supposed to care a lot about Zafira and Nasir, and their budding romance, but it honestly fell flat for me. Neither showed all that much personality or chemistry.

The Arabia-inspired setting was another highlight. The descriptions of the beautiful cities, the desert, but also the characters wearing keffiyahs gave me a lot of joy. Unfortunately, the (mis)use of the Arabic language didn't.

I'm a native Arab speaker, so of course I zoomed in on the Arabic. The way it's used comes across as someone who isn't a native speaker inserting Arabic words to add to the mood. It's not that the words were wrong, exactly, but they're not used quite right. Umm means mother, yes, but I would never refer to my mother as "umm" while addressing her. She would be "ummi"—my mother. The same applies to Okht, which should have been okhti, and also, why does this start with an O instead of a U like umm when the sound is the same? This annoyed me just as much as Leigh Bardugo's misuse of Dutch in Six of Crows. The Arabic felt clunky in some of the sentences, and the opposite of subtle. I didn't even need to know more about the island Sharr because its name told me exactly what its deal was.

Something I noticed in A Tempest of Tea was the excessive use of pet names. That happens here as well, although to a lesser degree, but I can't say I was all that happy to see "azizi" being used this often.

The last thing I'll mention is that there are parts where the author would chop up a sentence:
She fell
to her
knees. 
I'm guessing this is for emphasis. Thankfully it didn't happen too often, because it's definitely not something I like.

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niclantsov's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

3.5

 
"You and I are strangers, Huntress. Allies by circumstance. But in this moment, we are two souls, marooned beneath the moon, hungry and alone, adrift in the current of what we do not understand. We hunt the flame, the light in the darkness, the good this world deserves."

I had a hard time getting into this book. It was surely a different fantasy sub-genre to what I used to read. This was more of an Arabic-inspired myth(?) fantasy. Here we learn of the culture and the terms to it, which was a bit of a struggle for me in the first 20/25%. However the pace was kinda fast so it did do some justice. It started to catch up on the 30%ish I think, and from there the plot started to thickens.

I also liked that the romance in this book was merely a subplot, and it was sewn beautifully:
 He pause and met her eyes. If a poet were to describe them, he would say to look into her eyes was to see the sea's first glimpse of the sun, drinking its reflection with endless ripples.

The characters were amazing, and their banter was literally what I lived for. The writing was also poetic and alluring. Overall a 3.5/5 it's a great start for a series, looking forward to read the second one! 



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lupalionessa's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Upon my reread of this book, it truly has become a comfort read for me, thus the 5 stars. Technically the pacing, etc. should make it a 4 star but this book scratches all of my itches and therefore I love it.

Within the first few chapters, continuing on throughout the book, it is evident what pieces of media inspired Faizal. The Hunger Games, Shadow and Bone, LOTR, and Assassins Creed are all pieces of media referenced, in ways some may say are heavy handed. But, I love all those series so it was nice to have those tropes again, this time in the wonderfully crafted land of Arawiya. 

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll blush, you’ll flip through the pages quickly! Can’t wait to read the sequel finally. I love Altair the best btw.

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rafacolog's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0


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melani_e4's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Don’t read it if you’re looking for a HUGE romance plot or something, romance is more of a sub-plot here and im sure that in the second book the romance is more prominent, but both books are long af. That’s all the warning I’ll give but apart from that I REALLY LIKED IT, the world building is amazing and the characters development is even better, i genuinely enjoyed it. 

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amandaplease50's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think I’m just reiterating what other reviewers have said but the first 1/4 ish of the book was slow. I had a hard time getting into it. But one I did it didn’t take too long to read. 
I enjoyed all the characters throughly and I feel that some criticism of the flatness of supporting characters will change in the second book. 
But there were parts where I felt so much was happening I missed something and ended up rereading certain sections. For a first novel though honestly it’s a great story to build off of so I’m really excited to read the second book. 

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cortanasreadingnook's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny 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

5.0

This is an fantastical story of retribution and vengeance built upon the stories of ancient Arabian Mythology. I loved the culturally rich world, bursting of vibrance, picturesque imagery, and incredible prose. Zafira is irrefutably one of the strongest female characters I’ve met out there, with equal parts a remorseful daughter, loving sister, all balanced out making her the powerful Huntress of Demehur. Nasir’s character is just as interesting and multifaceted, and he was written extraordinarily well for the Prince of Death. This is without a doubt one of those enemies to lovers stories with lots of tension and angst, their longing fueled by proximity and circumstance. All of the persons found in this book live up to their names with their personas, fun found family banter, and hilarious dynamics. For everyone complaining that they couldn’t follow a single thing in this book, it’s understandably so that you’re used to eurocentric world-building and have never ventured into a story written by a POC author. It’s not an excuse to treat this book like it’s the worst thing you’ve ever read because there’s Google, and language no matter of what origin is not gibberish. Moreso, my familiarity with the Arabic language helped ease me into the world  of Arawiya, and I’m excited to know where the story goes next. 

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aas's review

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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


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mattyb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75


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izzysreading's review

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I don't really like YA and sadly this one has some of the tropes and typical phrases that I don't want to hear or read about anymore. I hope the author comes out with an adult fantasy book because her writing is amazing and the world seemed quite interesting.

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