Reviews tagging 'Child death'

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

65 reviews

kissreka03's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

3.75


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jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Dark and magical this book was filled with Middle Eastern characters, myths and magic. Zafira the hunter kills to help others live, while nasir the prince is an assassin so people die because he lives. 

When the mysterious silver witch turns up and serves a quest to save the magic that was lost when the six sisters of old fell. Journeying across the deserts and fighting monsters and darkness brings this unlikely group together with truths unexpected revealed along the way. 

The family links had me in shock as I saw none of them coming at all, as well as what seems to be a slow forming romance between our MCs. I can’t wait to see how this ends in the sequel of the duology. 

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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
.

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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mariebrunelm's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

4.25

Zafira is a huntress from a poor, snow-laden village. Only she will brave the darkness looming ever closer and bring back game to feed her family. Lured by the chance of bringing back magic, she ventures on the other edge of the dark, not knowing what she will have to face. Nasir is a prince, but also the King's most ruthless hashashin. He doesn't question orders even when he may not come back. A mysterious book is what leads them both farther from their home than they have ever been, but they’re not the only ones looking for it.
This fun YA novel had excellent vibes and a SWANA-inspired world-building that I relished. There was a lot of banter between the characters, which I'm always happy to read, although at some point it almost became a little too much. Does every interaction have to be lined with irony ? There was also a slow-burn romance that I didn’t exactly care for but that's because I don’t care for romance generally. I loved the prose, the language (and the glossary that had a pronunciation guide included), and the fact that it wasn’t too fast-paced for a YA novel. One could even say that not much happened, at least in the grand scheme of things. The characters face danger upon danger, but there is also quite a bit of space devoted to quiet moments and more-or-less deep conversations. As much as the world-building was developed, the narrative itself was a lot lighter. Perhaps I would have enjoyed more balance between the two, but that’s really me being picky. I enjoyed how the author wrote her characters, and even though they carry their fair share of trauma, their dynamics made We Hunt the Flame a fun and enjoyable reading experience.
 

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meghansarmiento97's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0


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niclantsov's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

 
"You and I are strangers, Huntress. Allies by circumstance. But in this moment, we are two souls, marooned beneath the moon, hungry and alone, adrift in the current of what we do not understand. We hunt the flame, the light in the darkness, the good this world deserves."

I had a hard time getting into this book. It was surely a different fantasy sub-genre to what I used to read. This was more of an Arabic-inspired myth(?) fantasy. Here we learn of the culture and the terms to it, which was a bit of a struggle for me in the first 20/25%. However the pace was kinda fast so it did do some justice. It started to catch up on the 30%ish I think, and from there the plot started to thickens.

I also liked that the romance in this book was merely a subplot, and it was sewn beautifully:
 He pause and met her eyes. If a poet were to describe them, he would say to look into her eyes was to see the sea's first glimpse of the sun, drinking its reflection with endless ripples.

The characters were amazing, and their banter was literally what I lived for. The writing was also poetic and alluring. Overall a 3.5/5 it's a great start for a series, looking forward to read the second one! 



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lupalionessa's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Upon my reread of this book, it truly has become a comfort read for me, thus the 5 stars. Technically the pacing, etc. should make it a 4 star but this book scratches all of my itches and therefore I love it.

Within the first few chapters, continuing on throughout the book, it is evident what pieces of media inspired Faizal. The Hunger Games, Shadow and Bone, LOTR, and Assassins Creed are all pieces of media referenced, in ways some may say are heavy handed. But, I love all those series so it was nice to have those tropes again, this time in the wonderfully crafted land of Arawiya. 

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll blush, you’ll flip through the pages quickly! Can’t wait to read the sequel finally. I love Altair the best btw.

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melani_e4's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Don’t read it if you’re looking for a HUGE romance plot or something, romance is more of a sub-plot here and im sure that in the second book the romance is more prominent, but both books are long af. That’s all the warning I’ll give but apart from that I REALLY LIKED IT, the world building is amazing and the characters development is even better, i genuinely enjoyed it. 

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elislittlelibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring 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

5.0

I loved this book so, so much! Especially after the first introduction, I was really invested in the story and the characters alike. The dual POV was also a nice addition, because you get to know the characters and their thoughts more closely. 
Now, this is YA and while there is romance, there is no smut. I’m personally not a huge fan of smut, so i didn’t miss anything (more on the contrary, actually), but just fyi!
One of the best parts, besides the story and the world, were the characters, mainly the female characters. I enjoyed having strong female characters that navigated a world that is (partially) misogynistic. Also- there was no “not like other girls” or battles between women, just empowerment without rivalry. 
And, another thing- the descriptions of characters appearance felt really sophisticated. Not unrealistic, but also not downputting or anything. And there was a certain fluidity, the FMC having some more “masculine” features like broad shoulders, etc. Refreshing to read and encouraging to read in a YA book! 

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aas's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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


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