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tomoonarmy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Sexism
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
edilyaaang's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I was so excited to read this book because it got so many good reviews only to be disappointed by the story. At first I disliked Nasir. How can someone be an assassin and be so weak-willed at the same time. My blood boiled when he said the lines "I wanted my father's approval so I became a monster" like wtf is wrong with you! I know he had a terrible time growing up but it's not like he lost his compassion. He still knows what he is doing for his evil father was wrong and it breaks his heart evertime he kills someone innocent but he does it anyway so that his dad can love him wtf. I got soooo tempted to drop the book a third of the way but then things got exciting so I pushed through. But then I started disliking Zafira. It's like she just can't make up her mind. She's all for camaraderie one moment then cold and angry the next. Despite everything the gang has been through, she just can't trust anyone and is always full of suspicion which in turn affects the groups dynamic. Not to mention she was sooo useless at the battle in the end, she can't even keep the Jawarat safe for pete's sake! There were tons of times that I wanted to just throw the book out of frustration and give up on it but I was nearing the end so I just gritted my teeth and tried my best to finish the book. Whew, what a journey. I heard the 2nd book is waaaaaaay better than this though so I look forward to reading that but this one drove me nuts. Lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Animal death, Gaslighting, and Classism
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: Child abuse, Death, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Blood, Death of parent, and Classism
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: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Torture
Moderate: Child death, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Animal death
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, Child death, Cursing, and Blood
solenekeleroux's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
my_throne_of_books's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Torture and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death and Child death
cemeterygay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
I adored this book so much for both the beautiful world it builds and the cast of characters we meet. The main plot is relatively simple but not to the book's detriment, if anything it allows both the world and characters to shine. There is a mild pacing issue in the beginning of the book.
For me, the main POV characters can make or break a book. Zafira and Nasir are amazing characters to read through their perspectives. You very quickly get a basic understanding of each character's motivations, personality, and challenges. The ability to so quickly empathize and understand each character really helps you root for each character and want them to succeed and just be okay. Even when Nasir or Zafira make choices that aren't the best, you can understand why these choices were made and The supporting cast of characters are also great and distinct. Altair in particular was a character I absolutely adored. He initially starts as more of a just humorous character but as you get to learn more about him, you understand just how deeply caring and impressive he is. Kifah and Benyamin were also great additions to the cast who had very different personalities which made reading the sections where they are on the island a lot easier to navigate. I also was very invested in the wellbeing of Zafira's family and friends and understood the loss both Benyamin and Nasir were experiencing throughout the novel.
I will say while the villain is definitely menacing, he just doesn't quite have the depth needed quite yet for me to rave about him.
The romance only was just starting to build but it was very fascinating watching the enemies to lovers arc. You can clearly tell that these are two people who have been forced into really terrible circumstances that lead to them ending up enemies when their goals are often times compatible and are just two people who want to do the best they can. So many scenes between them are either quite emotional or intense and I adored reading them.
I could not sing enough praise for both the world and the writing style. The two are not separable as if even one was poorer, the other would suffer. The rich descriptions and storytelling allow for the world which is incredibly well-designed to shine. I loved learning about the different affinities, the history of the world, and the culture of each caliphate. The history and knowledge are little intense in the beginning but I was very quickly able to adjust. The knowledge you receive either is incredibly relevant to the characters/plot or really helped to flesh out the world.
The pacing was just a bit too slow between Zafira receiving the quest and her then heading out to Sharr but beyond that I didn't have significant problems with the pacing.
Overall, I really adored this book and would absolutely recommend it.
For me, the main POV characters can make or break a book. Zafira and Nasir are amazing characters to read through their perspectives. You very quickly get a basic understanding of each character's motivations, personality, and challenges. The ability to so quickly empathize and understand each character really helps you root for each character and want them to succeed and just be okay. Even when Nasir or Zafira make choices that aren't the best, you can understand why these choices were made and The supporting cast of characters are also great and distinct. Altair in particular was a character I absolutely adored. He initially starts as more of a just humorous character but as you get to learn more about him, you understand just how deeply caring and impressive he is. Kifah and Benyamin were also great additions to the cast who had very different personalities which made reading the sections where they are on the island a lot easier to navigate. I also was very invested in the wellbeing of Zafira's family and friends and understood the loss both Benyamin and Nasir were experiencing throughout the novel.
I will say while the villain is definitely menacing, he just doesn't quite have the depth needed quite yet for me to rave about him.
The romance only was just starting to build but it was very fascinating watching the enemies to lovers arc. You can clearly tell that these are two people who have been forced into really terrible circumstances that lead to them ending up enemies when their goals are often times compatible and are just two people who want to do the best they can. So many scenes between them are either quite emotional or intense and I adored reading them.
I could not sing enough praise for both the world and the writing style. The two are not separable as if even one was poorer, the other would suffer. The rich descriptions and storytelling allow for the world which is incredibly well-designed to shine. I loved learning about the different affinities, the history of the world, and the culture of each caliphate. The history and knowledge are little intense in the beginning but I was very quickly able to adjust. The knowledge you receive either is incredibly relevant to the characters/plot or really helped to flesh out the world.
The pacing was just a bit too slow between Zafira receiving the quest and her then heading out to Sharr but beyond that I didn't have significant problems with the pacing.
Overall, I really adored this book and would absolutely recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
CW: Ableist language, blackmail, death of a friend, death of a cousin, death of a mother, death of a father, death of a child (past), imprisonment/captivity, hunting, child neglect, attempted murder, dead bodiesmichellemaas's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
3.5
I wanted to love this book more than I did. On paper (excuse the pun) it had everything most fantasy readers would want: an enemies-to-lovers plotline, knife to the thought trope, found family trope, diversity, strong female leads, etc. Even with all that, while still a good book, it just didn't live up to my expectations.
I will start with the most off-putting thing: the Arabic. I would venture as far as to say that there was at least 1 Arabic word per paragraph (though it felt more like 1 per sentence). I'm not claiming to speak 8 languages or read the dictionary for fun, but I am not often stunted by unknown words but I spent this entire book playing the game of "guess that word". I even tried Google Translating some of the words whose definitions I couldn't decipher from the context, but not even Google knew (likely some fantasy made-up word, though I wouldn't know) and it just became too much. I want to put a disclaimer here that the version I read did not have the glossary that the printed books have. I don't know if any of the ebooks have the glossary but mine didn't and I didn't realize that Hafsah Faizal put the glossary on her website as well until I was 90% done with the book already. I love that the author drew from her culture and language to accurately express her thoughts (and as a bilingual person myself, I know that it is all too easy to think/speak in a combination of languages) but when you are marketing to an international market having 1/2 of your book be in a foreign language might not be for the best. That being said, this is a situation that is easily remedied (although slightly more inconvenient) but I still wanted to mention it.
I saw a few comments about the world-building being difficult to understand due to the language and I wanted to clarify that I don't agree with that. The world-building is very similar to that of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (please note I said world-building, not plot. There are no arenas!). There are 5 "districts" (I can't remember the word they used for it in the book) all governed by the Sultan. The Sultan is however a cruel ruler and allows the towns to suffer. We have the badass female MC who goes into the woods to hunt for game and with the help of a friend she provides for her dying town. Everyone is becoming more desperate by the day due to the expanding forest (Arz) and harsh conditions so the MC goes on a quest to a special island to bring back the McGuffin that will save everyone. The Arabic was annoying as someone who doesn't speak it but it doesn't impact your ability to understand the story by any means.
The last issue I want to discuss is that of Zafirah and Nasir's relationship. Mainly the question: love or lust? Nasir is a harashin (assassin) and Zafirah has a huge problem with him being a murderer, especially because he and his friend caused the death of her friend. While this can be said for most enemies-to-lovers relationships what bothers me is how big a deal Zafirah made about it. I am not by any means condoning murder or suggesting she take that information in her stride or anything, but up until like 5 chapters from the end, she was still very hung up on the fact that her love interest is a murderer. Usually, we see the heroin slowly come to terms with her brooding boyfriend's dark past but there wasn't any of that. Zafirah was super bothered by his profession and then suddenly she wasn't because he was hot? I just find it quite annoying that the author made such a big deal of how opposed she was to Nasir's past only to not explore how she came to terms with it. I realize this will likely be addressed in the sequel, but I'm not reviewing the sequel right now so I wanted to get it off my chest.
Though my review was a little harsh, I still really enjoyed this book and wanted to end off by praising Hafsah Faizal for diversifying the pool. Quite a few of the situations in the book were inspired by the Arabian culture and it was cool to read about characters who didn't fit the cookie-cutter fantasy novel mold. Furthermore, this was great work considering that this was her first book and I can't wait to see where her career goes from here!
I will start with the most off-putting thing: the Arabic. I would venture as far as to say that there was at least 1 Arabic word per paragraph (though it felt more like 1 per sentence). I'm not claiming to speak 8 languages or read the dictionary for fun, but I am not often stunted by unknown words but I spent this entire book playing the game of "guess that word". I even tried Google Translating some of the words whose definitions I couldn't decipher from the context, but not even Google knew (likely some fantasy made-up word, though I wouldn't know) and it just became too much. I want to put a disclaimer here that the version I read did not have the glossary that the printed books have. I don't know if any of the ebooks have the glossary but mine didn't and I didn't realize that Hafsah Faizal put the glossary on her website as well until I was 90% done with the book already. I love that the author drew from her culture and language to accurately express her thoughts (and as a bilingual person myself, I know that it is all too easy to think/speak in a combination of languages) but when you are marketing to an international market having 1/2 of your book be in a foreign language might not be for the best. That being said, this is a situation that is easily remedied (although slightly more inconvenient) but I still wanted to mention it.
I saw a few comments about the world-building being difficult to understand due to the language and I wanted to clarify that I don't agree with that. The world-building is very similar to that of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (please note I said world-building, not plot. There are no arenas!). There are 5 "districts" (I can't remember the word they used for it in the book) all governed by the Sultan. The Sultan is however a cruel ruler and allows the towns to suffer. We have the badass female MC who goes into the woods to hunt for game and with the help of a friend she provides for her dying town. Everyone is becoming more desperate by the day due to the expanding forest (Arz) and harsh conditions so the MC goes on a quest to a special island to bring back the McGuffin that will save everyone. The Arabic was annoying as someone who doesn't speak it but it doesn't impact your ability to understand the story by any means.
The last issue I want to discuss is that of Zafirah and Nasir's relationship. Mainly the question: love or lust? Nasir is a harashin (assassin) and Zafirah has a huge problem with him being a murderer, especially because he and his friend caused the death of her friend. While this can be said for most enemies-to-lovers relationships what bothers me is how big a deal Zafirah made about it. I am not by any means condoning murder or suggesting she take that information in her stride or anything, but up until like 5 chapters from the end, she was still very hung up on the fact that her love interest is a murderer. Usually, we see the heroin slowly come to terms with her brooding boyfriend's dark past but there wasn't any of that. Zafirah was super bothered by his profession and then suddenly she wasn't because he was hot? I just find it quite annoying that the author made such a big deal of how opposed she was to Nasir's past only to not explore how she came to terms with it. I realize this will likely be addressed in the sequel, but I'm not reviewing the sequel right now so I wanted to get it off my chest.
Though my review was a little harsh, I still really enjoyed this book and wanted to end off by praising Hafsah Faizal for diversifying the pool. Quite a few of the situations in the book were inspired by the Arabian culture and it was cool to read about characters who didn't fit the cookie-cutter fantasy novel mold. Furthermore, this was great work considering that this was her first book and I can't wait to see where her career goes from here!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Animal death, Slavery, and Trafficking
eddine's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
CHEFS KISS
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail