Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - We Hunt the Flame

Interesting concept that turns a basic "find the lost object to return magic" plot into something fresh.
Subverted love triangle expectations. The childhood friend is in love with the female protagonist, but she doesn't feel the same. While she wishes she could romantically reciprocate, she just doesn't love him the same way. No "who do I chose?". The childhood friend is sad but respectful, and he is till loyal and supportive.
Primary love interest has good tension and a slow burn enemies-to-lovers.
Animosity turned camaraderie amongst the group that starts out not trust and using each other. Great banter.
World feels full. All the side characters, even unnamed ones feel like people. It fill out he world so it doesn't feel empty or stagnant.

Cons:

World building. The magic system is vague with little logic. Blood magic is meant to be a bad things with bad consequences, but little is down to explain what it actually entails and the consequences of it. Affinities are explained but not how they work.
The pacing. The first 100 pages are incredibly slow. The pace difference is jarring once the journey begins. Much if what happens is filler as well, and it could have been cut down to tighten the pacing.
The plot happens to the characters. Events and obstacles come to them. They don't cause the plot to progress directly much. You can sometimes feel that things just happen.
Forced miscommunication.
Nasir's refusal to directly answer the question about who killed Deen was annoying. It cause a forced feeling tension between him and Zafira as continues to phrase things in a way to make it feel like her did for no good reason.
Using women for man pain.
Kulsum in particular. While one of my purse is the side characters, she is an expectation. She has no agency of her own. She exists in relation to her connections to the male characters, Nasir and Altair. We only see her through others voicing her. We see her romantic relationship wit Nasir through the relief it being him. The loss of her tongue is shown through the pain it brings him. Nit to mention, she is the only disabled character who is disabled to further a man's story. When we find she was with him to spy for Altair, that is shown through the Nasir's pain and Altair's antagonism. Even the threats the Sultan makes about her are for Nasir's fear. Everything we learn is through what others say she is feeling or doing. Even in the scenes where she still has a tongue, she has no voice. Even without one, she should still be able to express herself. It is glaring compared to how strong the other female characters are, even unnamed side ones.

Overall, a good debut that shines in characters growth and relationships. Plotting and pacing could be refined, but it has all the bones of something good. With some fleshing out in the sequel, I can see much improvement in the flawed areas.

Would I recommend?: Yes.
Will I be reading the sequel?: Yes.

Content Warnings

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

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