gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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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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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joensign's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

3.5


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booksanna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense 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? Yes

5.0

This book was a marvelous journey that brought the strongest emotions from the deepest crevices of my heart. This book had brought every heartwretching and soul-crushing theme together to bring the story of grief, of love, of light, of darkness, of abuse, of sorrow, of adventure, of companionship, and if magic. Saying I was not dissapointed is a major understatement. This book made me bawl my eyes out in one moment and burst out laughing in the next one
Hafsa mam, I remember all the little remarks you made about Altair’s missing eye, and I cannnot recover at all. Lady you’re crazy, but i love your books. Also what was that moment when zumra was so broken and in the next line you dared to write “a camel snorted in the backround”. LIKE WHAT!. That was pure gold, do that again

The characters were so developed and human. They felt like real immaginable characters that suffered and lived humanely. I loved Yasmene’s character and her friendship with Zafira. It felt so realistic and human, absolutely beautiful. I loved every single character and would write a whole paragraph for each. In fact, that is what i will do. 
Zafira, the huntress, the fair gazelle, the main character. She is a marvel. Her passion to help those around her truly bled through every instance of her in the book. Her emotions and her titles were so well developed. Her pure heart truly stayed pure in the book filled with evil.
I personally loved the fact that her relationship with Nasir and her position as a sultana was postponed. Oftentimes, after battle the main character reaches a happy ever after automatically without any troubles. This makes unrealistic. But Zafira is anything but unrealistic. Her fear of loosing Nasir, of the next calipha beeing discriminated against, of her beeing confined to a palace,
these fears were so human and real. Her character development was so real and full of vurnability.
Nasir, the prince of death, the heir to the throne, the caliph of Sarasin. This guy is such a sweetheart. His character development was so fulfilling, I cried more than once just because of him. Realizing how far he has come from abuse shows that your abuse doesn’t define you. He is such an important character not just for Zafira’s development, but for the book’s development. He made this journey of restoring magic even more eventful and wholesome. I loved the ending if the book because the decision fit him so well. "People lived because he breathed" will always haunt me forever. So proud of him.
Yasmene was an unsusual character that i first was skeptical of. Now I realsie the importance of her in Zafira’s life and admire her strength even more. She truly added beauty to this book. Although her story didn’t start well, I know her life was meaningfull to Arawiya.
Altair, the son of none, the you know who. First of I love the way the neding mended him. It was truly the best choice for him
to become the king. His light and story as always second deserved to end in glory. Even if he has one eye, he is glorious
. His light and airy remarks were missed more than I expecyed and I loved the way the author played with his values in the book questioning his morals. Even the brightest people have the darkest moments. Also, can we appreciate the unending love he gave to almost everyone in the book. Like how kind can this man be? And how can he still joke while being shackled? 
Kifah, one of the nine. She’s good very good. I love her character and her personality. She looked for vengeance and she found family. How beautiful is that. Her presence in the book was necessary and i lover bery much. Her character truly depicts a different kind of woman that doesn’t get represented a lot in ya literature and I appreciate her presence enhancing the story.
Anddddd the Jawarat. Nothing to say, except that Jarawat as a character was unexpected, but much needed. My personal favorite character.
Honorable mentions go to the random nurse lady, Aya, Jinan, Lana, Misk, Seif, Lion of the Night, Muzafar, and any other character that was too insignificant to receive a paragraph of writing. You guys were awesome too. 
The setting, the plot, the ending, — flawless. I am speechless, and cannot describe in detail the mastery with which this book was written with. 
The philosophy behind this was delectable. And the humor was good too. 
In conclusion, I am not asking you to read this masterpiece (after reading the first one), I AM PLEADING WITH YOU. Please read this, for my and Arawiya’s sake, for Sultan’s teeth. You will not regret.


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maple_dove's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring 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

5.0

In my humble opinion, this book did not fall into the pit of sequel in a trilogy/duology syndrome (I forgot what it's called). I'm stuck between rating this 4.75 or 5 stars. I chose the latter.

This book just made me love the characters and the world even more. I binged this book in two days.

There's also aroace rep! It's nice to not have every character to have a romantic love interest. :)

I didn't write any quotes down, however, there are a lot of good quotes in this book.

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oceana_bookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful 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

5.0

This book… was probably one of the best books I have read. The writing is so beautiful and amazing, every part of it made me want the book last forever. The ending was amazing and I could read this book over and over again.🥹

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xynub_456's review against another edition

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

5.0

Friggin' amazing.
if you really love the first book as much as you wanted to, take my advice, and pick up the second one it beautifully written and will be worth your time.

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paigeinabook's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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