Reviews with content warning for War - Liberiamo le stelle. Le sabbie di Arawiya, Volume 2

This was a solid second half of a story. There is so many twist and emotions between characters that just keep you wondering what is happening and how they are going to get out of the situation they find themselves in.
It had really good character development both progressive and digressive that show struggles and trauma of all the events that have happened in the lives of these characters. I felt that the book was easy to read and even with the length it felt like it went by so fast when I sat down to read.

The only thing that threw me for so long was the ending We Hunt the Flame shows a perspective of Yasmine and we never got her perspective in this book, but also she wasn't really in the book until half way or about part 2. It felt like there should have been more of her with how the ending of the first book went.

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jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This duology sat in my tbr for WAY too long. Having finally got round to this I was overjoyed to see diverse Middle Eastern representation in popular fantasy.

It had its ups and downs, I loved the magic, the slow burn romance and the devastating grief we experienced throughout, but opposing I feel like these books could have been accomplished in a smaller word count as 1000 pages across the duology sometimes felt like a drag.

A definite rec for those wanting diverse books from diverse authors, wanting a unique and enchanting story of saving a land from magic it is definitely understandable why this was a booktok fave at one point.

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taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

4.5

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chasinggrace's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? No

5.0

Beyond perfection. I didn’t want this story to end. One of the slowest burns I’ve ever read but so so worth it.

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coffeekitaab's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.75

This was a rollercoaster ride - chapters 40ish onwards (all I'll say is the ceremony of all the leaders) is where this became a pageturner for me. I had been lulled into a false sense of security and leisurely reading at my own pace but then it became imperative to finish this book asap as I was struggling to put it down without knowing what happened next and then in the end!

Book 2 was incredible - Book 1 for comparison only was a slower read but in hindsight the introduction we needed before all the madness, action, drama and magic that unfolded in book 2. I adored the storyline and Altair is even more of a favourite after book 2, his trajectory in this book for me personally was gorgeous. His innuendos had me laughing out loud and his equation with Lana as a banter-ful duo was so fun to witness. Faizal did justice to stay true to the traits of each character, there were so many laugh out loud points, then I'd be riveted by emotion at tender moments within the characters, the loyalty of the zumra and the love between them was beautiful....I was then left in awe of the sudden plot twists which came out of nowhere and took my breath away. Simply, wow.

This is a 4.75 star for me - Nasir's hesitancy and indecisiveness in the beginning. I get it is his character and arguably, the 2nd half of the book left me vindicated but the guy is so frustrating at times. For all selfish purposes, I was also left wanting for something to happen between Yasmine and Altair - weirdly had picked up on some energy in the Epilogue of Book 1 and was craving it throughout Book 2, the suspense around their meeting left a void in me and as the writing is so brilliant, I knew that I would have loved this equation no matter what direction Faizal had taken with it/what that introduction would look like - the book would have absolutely been a five star for me! I have my fingers crossed for a book 3 with these two as the main characters...eek! In summary though, I want to congratulate Hafsah Faizal at penning this one down, an absolute mastermind in delivering a powerful, fierce, emotive and magical piece of writing. Kudos!!

After this and A Tempest of Tea, I am absolutely a fan - cannot wait for Faizal's next!

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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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ejspiese's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I think a lot of the romance aspect was too drawn out and repetitive. I just found myself screaming I GET IT especially for the first 60%. The action elements toward the end were redeeming, but it could have been 150 pages less and be better for it if there was less moodiness/longing regarding the romance

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sammuraichan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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