Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - We Hunt the Flame

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This was a good book. It was a good read. I liked the characters and the banter between Zafira and Nasir. The worldbuilding and the lore were amazing.

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chi__'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

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thecatconstellation's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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chasinggrace's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

I’m going to eat up a fantasy duology EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Is the plot of this book kind of “basic”? Sure. It’s the typical “vengeful woman and cold-hearted man become reluctant allies in a quest to find an Ancient tome that will free magic and save the kingdom,” and I loved it all the same.

I also found myself caring for the side characters as well. Each had a purpose, versus just being there for comedic relief.

I will say, the two main romances were predictable, but I was

sad all the same when Deen was killed. I also did NOT see the familial connections coming - Altair being Nasir’s half brother? The Silver Witch being his mom? The Lion being Altair’s dad? It all shook me lol

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The epilogue has me very eager to pick up the next book. My only critique is that this book needed an Arabic glossary. I could make occasional assumptions, but Arabic words were used so freely that at times I felt like I lost important details.

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mj1588's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

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chrisb913's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

This was one hell of a debut novel for Hafsah Faizal. This is book one in the Sands of Arawiya duology. The worldbuilding was outstanding and the attention to details was spectacular. On top of the worldbuilding, Hasah provides such a unique magic system that has left me clamoring for more of her books (as I absolutely love a good magic system in books). The characters themselves felt unique, diverse, and just all around real. Zafira (one of the two main pov) is thrust upon this journey to save her land from encroaching evil and return magic all the while having to hide the fact that she is a woman from the incredibly sexist pig that is the caliph of her region. Nasir is the son of the sultan and the world's deadliest hashashin labeled the Prince of Death. Each are having to fight their way through a land that wants to swallow them whole to obtain an artifact that can restore their world to its rightful state. Along the way they must team up or risk their own survival.

I absolutely loved the storytelling for this book. Hafsah does not shy away from keeping you intrigued and guessing as she crafts this narrative. Instead of info dumping, she provides clues and hints and allows the story to provide the details naturally as to the past, present, and possible future. I am very excited to read book two and all future works from this author.

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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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