A review by noranaziz
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

adventurous dark funny hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

final rating: 5/5 <3 i love you hafsah!!!!!

we hunt the flame is a piece of art. the cover should be hung up in art galleries, handled with gentle fingers and hushed whispers. it’s best read with the moon overhead and wisps of shadows close by to keep you company as you dive into the luscious world that is arawiya.

akhh, arawiya. what a beautiful world to live in. what expressive characters to be surrounded by. my heart yearns to be among them once again, but alas. this review will have to do.

hafsah faizal did a wonderful job bringing arawiya to life—from the frigid air of demenhur to the haunting atmosphere of the arz, not one detail was left out. and the imagery? i could weep at its beauty. 

also i MUST talk about the descriptions of food 😭😭🫶🏼😭😭 it got to the point where i simply wanted to jump inside and join zafira and deen at bakdash…. if only!!

moving on to the characters—i absolutely adored each and every one of them. altair honestly annoyed me at first LMAO but his humor worked its magic on me eventually. i have to say that deen stole my heart tho 🥹 i <3 him so much. if he was real i would totally eat ice cream with him tee hee.

some very minor quips i had:

• kinda starts off slow (i guess to world-build and stuff) but push through it!!!!! it’s so worth it!!!!!!!
• there are some arabic words splattered in that, even as an arab-american, confused me sometimes ngl? i would’ve loved if there was a glossary in the back of the book (yea i know there’s one online but it’s too much work to look it up when it could just be right there ya knowwww)

and yeahhhhhhh i think thats all :) go read this book! embrace the feels! join the zumra!!!!