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gairebaire's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Death of parent
kinsportch'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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Murder, Death, Torture, and Sexism
Moderate: Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Blood, Animal death, and Child death
ellenlikestoread's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Kept waiting for queer characters to show up and they never did :/ lol . Maybe in the sequel. Cool world building, liked the magic system, liked most of the characters by the end
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Death of parent
cappuccino_yuki_teddy's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent
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
reads_with_lauren's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
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? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed this. It brought me to a place of peace and reminded me of the days of reading before I had so much hw. The beauty of this book is immense. I mean first of all, it takes place in a fictional Arabic land that is written and described so well by the author, so props. Secondly, Zafira. Zafira herself is a legend and a force to be reckoned with. I was continued to be inspired by her strength and ability to depend on herself, and not instantly sway to a man’s feet like some other ya female protagonists. It made her insanely likeable and I wanted to know more about her. Lastly, without spoiling, I will simply say the side characters were written with A++ quality and made a really funny and interesting read without slowing the pacing.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent
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
bagel_z's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Cursing, and Child death
wet_towlette's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Bare with me here because I have many complaints. I would like to preface this by saying I went into this book expecting to really love it because it’s seems to be right up my alley. It was really disappointing when I realized I didn’t. I also want to say although I will be listing a lot of criticisms, there are good things about this book. The writing is very lyrical and the entire world is quite fascinating. With that being said something about it really didn’t work with me. But I do believe the second book will most likely be better.
I will now be listing all my issues with this book because it’s probably the briefest way I can explain:
-too info dumping for my liking
-characters inner monologues are greatly repetitive, especially in the beginning
-the writing can be very confusing and I felt like I didn’t know what was going half the time
-the relationship with deen and zafira had so much potential to be something greater then it was
-romance is very forced (albeit interesting if you can look past how forced it is)
-idk if anyone knows what I’m talking about but the three line sentence break up things drives me crazy. It happens on many occasions and is terrible every single time
-this is more of a personal issue but the characters are so hypocritical and it really bothers me
-the entirety of the beginning of act three just felt very rushed and out of place
-the characters don’t feel like real people. Like the way the react to things or do things after hardships. They just feel like words on a paper.
I will now be listing all my issues with this book because it’s probably the briefest way I can explain:
-too info dumping for my liking
-characters inner monologues are greatly repetitive, especially in the beginning
-the writing can be very confusing and I felt like I didn’t know what was going half the time
-the relationship with deen and zafira had so much potential to be something greater then it was
-romance is very forced (albeit interesting if you can look past how forced it is)
-idk if anyone knows what I’m talking about but the three line sentence break up things drives me crazy. It happens on many occasions and is terrible every single time
-this is more of a personal issue but the characters are so hypocritical and it really bothers me
-the entirety of the beginning of act three just felt very rushed and out of place
-the characters don’t feel like real people. Like the way the react to things or do things after hardships. They just feel like words on a paper.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, and Fire/Fire injury