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charmingreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
4.0
okay, so, i just finished this book. at like 2 in the morning. it’s great! the characters are really well developed and interesting! altair is by far my favorite character. i love his personality and humor. the plot twists were nice too! i only guessed two of them and even then they were still surprising! i definitely recommend this book if you like slow-burn enemies to lovers, fantasy, and a diverse cast of characters!!
age rating: 15+
age rating: 15+
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Child death
sunlit_music's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
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
4.0
Characters - the main characters are all realistic, flawed, funny, and brave. I like Zafira's family best, especially Yasmine's great sense of humour and warmth. Also loved Altair being funny and charming, and how he has hidden depths. The romance was developed slowly over time, and felt natural and believable. It became much more touching towards the end, and I was cheering for the two leads to become a couple at the end of the book.
The antagonist - At first I thought the antagonist was the Sultan, but it turned out there was another antagonist who was even more frightening and personal.
What made me happy was the fact that the main characters work hard at righting the wrongs they had done, and showed that they were capable of improving.
I didn't mind the fact that the antagonist was related to two of the protagonists, it made the story more emotional and intense, and didn't feel unnecessary.
Pacing - pacing is slow at the beginning of the book, but that's ok. The slow pacing gave me time to get to know the characters and care about them more. The pace becomes much faster at about the halfway point of the book, where all the main characters band together to find the missing magic book, the Jarawat. Pacing at the end of the book (the big battle) was fast paced and exciting.
Plot twists - the plot twists made a lot of sense and added richness and depth to the world building, religion and magic. Each time a character is revealed to have a hidden connection to another character, and you realise this is why the characters care about each other so much. Plot twists at the end were especially emotional and rewarding. All plot twists were there for a great reason, and were emotionally satisfying.
content warning for: death of a parent character, violence and emotional abuse from the antagonists, a scene where at least two protagonists are tortured by an antagonist
The antagonist - At first I thought the antagonist was the Sultan, but it turned out there was another antagonist who was even more frightening and personal.
What made me happy was the fact that the main characters work hard at righting the wrongs they had done, and showed that they were capable of improving.
Pacing - pacing is slow at the beginning of the book, but that's ok. The slow pacing gave me time to get to know the characters and care about them more. The pace becomes much faster at about the halfway point of the book, where all the main characters band together to find the missing magic book, the Jarawat. Pacing at the end of the book (the big battle) was fast paced and exciting.
Plot twists - the plot twists made a lot of sense and added richness and depth to the world building, religion and magic. Each time a character is revealed to have a hidden connection to another character, and you realise this is why the characters care about each other so much. Plot twists at the end were especially emotional and rewarding. All plot twists were there for a great reason, and were emotionally satisfying.
content warning for: death of a parent character, violence and emotional abuse from the antagonists, a scene where at least two protagonists are tortured by an antagonist
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Torture, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? No
4.5
4.5 ⭐ CW: oppression of women, violence, murder, descriptions of blood, slavery, child abuse, death of a parent, death of a child, torture
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal is the first book in the Sands of Arawiya duology. This is a secondary fantasy world inspired by ancient Arabia, so it is chock full of Arabian lore and mythology.
We get two POVs; Zafira, the Huntress hiding her identity as a woman and who is drawn to the darkness of the Arz and the only person know to come out of it after going in; Nasir (aka the Prince of Death), the son of the sultan destined for darkness and a trained assassin known as Hashashin. They both embark on a journey where they become unwitting allies, and the slowest of slow burn romances.
This started out slow, but started to pick up when they both set sail for Sharr, the island that holds to the secret to restoring magic to the land and easing the suffering of its people. This was a great heroes journey story complete with a dynamic and loveable zumra (gang). It sort of reminded me of an Arabian version of The Lord of the Rings. It was great seeing the friendship blossom between the zumra. We see what potential people can have when taken from their comfort zones.
Zafira is a badass that has no time for anyone's shit and will not be cowed by Nasir. However, Zafira suffers from thinking love is for children and not for her. Nasir is our resident grumpy boy who really just needs a hug and some major therapy. Unsurprisingly, Altair was my favorite. He's our comic relief and the annoyingly charming guy always flirting with everyone, but also has all the secrets (they may live in his turban lol). We get themes on love and how it is not a weakness, but can provide direction.
I guessed one of the twists early on, but not the second one! This was a rich and lyrical story with great world building and an interesting magic system. I really loved Yasmine, even though she was only in the first couple chapters, so I hope we get more of her next book.
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal is the first book in the Sands of Arawiya duology. This is a secondary fantasy world inspired by ancient Arabia, so it is chock full of Arabian lore and mythology.
We get two POVs; Zafira, the Huntress hiding her identity as a woman and who is drawn to the darkness of the Arz and the only person know to come out of it after going in; Nasir (aka the Prince of Death), the son of the sultan destined for darkness and a trained assassin known as Hashashin. They both embark on a journey where they become unwitting allies, and the slowest of slow burn romances.
This started out slow, but started to pick up when they both set sail for Sharr, the island that holds to the secret to restoring magic to the land and easing the suffering of its people. This was a great heroes journey story complete with a dynamic and loveable zumra (gang). It sort of reminded me of an Arabian version of The Lord of the Rings. It was great seeing the friendship blossom between the zumra. We see what potential people can have when taken from their comfort zones.
Zafira is a badass that has no time for anyone's shit and will not be cowed by Nasir. However, Zafira suffers from thinking love is for children and not for her. Nasir is our resident grumpy boy who really just needs a hug and some major therapy. Unsurprisingly, Altair was my favorite. He's our comic relief and the annoyingly charming guy always flirting with everyone, but also has all the secrets (they may live in his turban lol). We get themes on love and how it is not a weakness, but can provide direction.
I guessed one of the twists early on, but not the second one! This was a rich and lyrical story with great world building and an interesting magic system. I really loved Yasmine, even though she was only in the first couple chapters, so I hope we get more of her next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Child death, Slavery, Death of parent, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Animal death
sydapel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- 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? No
3.5
As much as I want to rate this higher, this story left a LOT to be desired. While the writing is beautifully lyrical, it leaves a lot of the character subtlety and growth underdeveloped. The characters are rich with potential, but there's a lot of repetitive introspection. Ultimately this is still a wonderful YA Fantasy, but not as cohesive as some of the others I've read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Grief
ssuummeerrn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book took me a while to read. I was not into it at first, but that’s on me because I do find the beginning of fantasy books boring. I totally understand the need for the extensive world building and explaining a magic system. However, for me, that part isn’t enjoyable and it takes me forever to read! I also felt like it was a little bit long for this book.
With that being said, I read Act 3 in 1 day! The ending was super exciting! It had many plot twists, and everyone knows that I love plot twists more than anything! The long explanation at the beginning was totally worth it for that last 100 pages!!
With that being said, I read Act 3 in 1 day! The ending was super exciting! It had many plot twists, and everyone knows that I love plot twists more than anything! The long explanation at the beginning was totally worth it for that last 100 pages!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent and War
beckysrlyacat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Torture
think_kimberly's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Torture and Violence
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm so incredibly glad that I decided to buddy-read this with my go-to buddy-read partner, because we both loved it and had pretty much the exact same thoughts throughout!
The first thing to say about this book is that it is really freaking good... but also super confusing at times. That's the literal only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars. I'm still pondering the story and wondering about certain moments, thinking "what the heck actually happened there?" I believe that if I had fully grasped some of the more bizarre parts of the plot, I would have smacked five stars on my rating in a heartbeat.
That being said, it's still an excellent book with so many incredible elements! First and foremost, we've got one totally badass female lead, which is always something that I enjoy in a book. And when I say that she's badass, I don't mean that she literally demolishes anyone in her way to reach her goal. She's willing to work with enemies, really questions what love truly is, deals with mystical powers that she doesn't understand, and learns to accept who she is in a world where very few others are ready to accept her. This is definitely a protagonist that I will be considering a favorite from here on out!
As far as our male lead? I could take or leave him. He's got a lot to work on, which I hope is addressed more in the sequel. His "sidekick," however, that's a different story. Altair stole the spotlight for me. He was, hands down, my favorite part of the entire book and I wish he wasn't taken for granted so many times. Learning more about him throughout the story gave me so much life. I was constantly hoping we would get more tidbits about who he is and what his motives truly are.
There were a lot of "twists" throughout this book, which was so much fun. I was under the impression that it would be very slow-paced throughout the entirety of the story and that wound up not being the case at all. It picked up before the halfway point and flew from there. I had a hard time putting it down because one twist led to another which led to another and I just needed to know how it would all turn out. Naturally, that made me order the sequel from the library immediately following completion because now I HAVE TO KNOW HOW IT ENDS.
The first thing to say about this book is that it is really freaking good... but also super confusing at times. That's the literal only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars. I'm still pondering the story and wondering about certain moments, thinking "what the heck actually happened there?" I believe that if I had fully grasped some of the more bizarre parts of the plot, I would have smacked five stars on my rating in a heartbeat.
That being said, it's still an excellent book with so many incredible elements! First and foremost, we've got one totally badass female lead, which is always something that I enjoy in a book. And when I say that she's badass, I don't mean that she literally demolishes anyone in her way to reach her goal. She's willing to work with enemies, really questions what love truly is, deals with mystical powers that she doesn't understand, and learns to accept who she is in a world where very few others are ready to accept her. This is definitely a protagonist that I will be considering a favorite from here on out!
As far as our male lead? I could take or leave him. He's got a lot to work on, which I hope is addressed more in the sequel. His "sidekick," however, that's a different story. Altair stole the spotlight for me. He was, hands down, my favorite part of the entire book and I wish he wasn't taken for granted so many times. Learning more about him throughout the story gave me so much life. I was constantly hoping we would get more tidbits about who he is and what his motives truly are.
There were a lot of "twists" throughout this book, which was so much fun. I was under the impression that it would be very slow-paced throughout the entirety of the story and that wound up not being the case at all. It picked up before the halfway point and flew from there. I had a hard time putting it down because one twist led to another which led to another and I just needed to know how it would all turn out. Naturally, that made me order the sequel from the library immediately following completion because now I HAVE TO KNOW HOW IT ENDS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Murder
Moderate: Death, Torture, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: War
ravenwolf_waf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I honestly don't know what took so long for me to pick up this book! It's been sitting on my TBR for a while and it has all the elements I love in a story - diverse and morally grey characters, a kick-ass female lead that still has a weak side, a broody and damaged male lead that's only a monster because he has to be, amazing supporting characters that you fall in love with as much as main leads... and then some of them die.....
Set in a world inspired by ancient Arabia, Zafira has something to prove. Her Caliph doesn't believe women can do anything outside the home and many think they're the reason the land has lost its magic. But Zafira's people are starving and she's the only one that can hunt in the cursed forest without going mad or getting lost. So she disguises herself as a man, taking on the moniker "The Hunter", hiding her identity from all but her closest friends and family, to do what she must to save her people.
Nasir has been dubbed the "Prince of Death" and his kills are legendary throughout Arawiya. Trained as an assassin, his only purpose is to dispose of those that stand against his power-hungry father, the Sultan. Every bit of softness and sentiment has been beaten out of him because to show love or compassion is a weakness his father can't abide. And what his father can't force him to do through pain, he does so through those that Nasir cares about. Like the girl Nasir fell for as a teenager that had her tongue ripped out when his father learned of their burgeoning relationship.
When Zafira has been tasked with finding the sacred lost text that can bring magic back, she sees a way to end her people's suffering once and for all. Nasir is sent for a different purpose. He's to steal the book for his father and kill her. But long dead secrets are coming to light, connections with the past are being made, and no one will leave the cursed land unchanged.
I have to say that my favorite quote from this books was: "To define is to limit". It's one of those lines where you just sit back and go, "Huh!" It sticks with you and I imagine will stay with me for years to come.
I also loved that this book pushed me to Google. Sounds weird, I know, but I love books that make me want to understand and learn things I didn't know before. I was wholly, embarrassingly, unaware of how Islamic governments are structured. I had heard the words caliphate, caliph, and sultan before but I never REALLY thought about them and what they meant. I needed to understand that in order to understand the story fully. At first, this downloading of info made it hard for me to get into the story but once I did, it was like a whole world opened up. I also did a lot of research on the styles of clothing described.
The richness of this story, for those like me that are unfamiliar, will absolutely love it.
Set in a world inspired by ancient Arabia, Zafira has something to prove. Her Caliph doesn't believe women can do anything outside the home and many think they're the reason the land has lost its magic. But Zafira's people are starving and she's the only one that can hunt in the cursed forest without going mad or getting lost. So she disguises herself as a man, taking on the moniker "The Hunter", hiding her identity from all but her closest friends and family, to do what she must to save her people.
Nasir has been dubbed the "Prince of Death" and his kills are legendary throughout Arawiya. Trained as an assassin, his only purpose is to dispose of those that stand against his power-hungry father, the Sultan. Every bit of softness and sentiment has been beaten out of him because to show love or compassion is a weakness his father can't abide. And what his father can't force him to do through pain, he does so through those that Nasir cares about. Like the girl Nasir fell for as a teenager that had her tongue ripped out when his father learned of their burgeoning relationship.
When Zafira has been tasked with finding the sacred lost text that can bring magic back, she sees a way to end her people's suffering once and for all. Nasir is sent for a different purpose. He's to steal the book for his father and kill her. But long dead secrets are coming to light, connections with the past are being made, and no one will leave the cursed land unchanged.
I have to say that my favorite quote from this books was: "To define is to limit". It's one of those lines where you just sit back and go, "Huh!" It sticks with you and I imagine will stay with me for years to come.
I also loved that this book pushed me to Google. Sounds weird, I know, but I love books that make me want to understand and learn things I didn't know before. I was wholly, embarrassingly, unaware of how Islamic governments are structured. I had heard the words caliphate, caliph, and sultan before but I never REALLY thought about them and what they meant. I needed to understand that in order to understand the story fully. At first, this downloading of info made it hard for me to get into the story but once I did, it was like a whole world opened up. I also did a lot of research on the styles of clothing described.
The richness of this story, for those like me that are unfamiliar, will absolutely love it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Physical abuse, Murder, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Torture, Sexism, and Death of parent
sawyertaylor's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Death
Minor: Genocide