We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal (my new favorite book?!?!)

We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya #1) by Hafsah Faizal

Rating: 5/5 (if I could give more, I WOULD)

Publication Date: May 14th, 2019

People lived because she killed.
People died because he lived.

Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways. 

Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be.

War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.

Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.

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I’m on the street team for this book BUT THAT DOESN’T CHANGE ANYTHING BECAUSE THE HYPE IS REAL. (Also thank you to Netgalley/MacMillan for the e-ARC!)

When I get really hyped for a book, I’m always terrified that I’ve hyped it up so much that I’m about to be really disappointed but this one? THIS DID NOT DISAPPOINT! HOORAY!

I think it’s safe to say this book has CHANGED MY LIFE.

First of all I just want to say that I’ve never wanted to re-read a book immediately after finishing it so THERE’S THAT.

Have you ever been so excited about a book that you don’t even know where to begin when you talk about how much you loved it? This is going to be one of THOSE reviews (sorry not sorry?)

From the very beginning, I just loved the writing! I’ve been obsessing over all the quotes that are on Goodreads for a while and they’re all just so poetic and pretty! The whole book is just so PRETTY. The words are almost lyrical–well, at least that’s how it felt. I’m not a poetry person usually, but this was just gorgeous! I felt like I was transported into Arawiya and it was such a rollercoaster! All five senses were on alert throughout this book because the little details made the world come to life!

I also just loved the incorporation of Arabic! I don’t speak Arabic (though I know a few words now hehe), but it was easy to understand through context (without it feeling repetitive or taking away from the flow of the story) and it was so well done and I know those that do speak Arabic are most definitely freaking out because of it!

NOW FOR THE STORY ITSELF: Like??? WORDS??? HOW????

It’s an amazing killer quest with magic and mystery and twists and turns! I didn’t expect to be shocked throughout the book but I was gasping and freaking out ALL THE DAAMA TIME. It’s filled with backstories (I have a thing for really well done backstories that are incorporated into a plot without taking away from the action in the main plot, okay?), emotionsssss, and more emotionssss!!!! I seriously am in love with the character development in this book and I’m a big fan of character based stories so THIS IS MY JAM, OKAY?

I can’t even say any more because I’m scared I’m going to freak out and spoil something and ruin the adventure!

SO LET’S JUST FREAK OUT OVER THE AMAZING CHARACTERS INSTEAD?!

The story is told in dual POV’s: Zafira (the Huntress sent on a quest to restore magic to her land) and Nasir (the Prince of Death who is sent to… you know, kill Zafira).

Each of their chapters is unique and it wasn’t difficult to tell which character we were following at the time (some books have that problem but this wasn’t one of them!). Their voices are unique and their stories are just so beautifully told (HEELLLLPPPP)!

On top of having two amazing leads (*sings* ENEMIES TO LOVERSSSSS) we also have zumra (squad) goals with Altair (fan favorite for obvious reasons), Kifah (I can’t wait to see more about her because she’s so awesome and fun!), and Benyamin (honestly he was one of my favorites, but I’m also saying that about everyone so????)!

On top of that, there’s a mysterious silver witch, the Sultan (ugh, he makes me MAAADDD–WHAT AN EVIL MAN), and Deen and Yasmine (I’m reeaaaallllly excited for what’s in store in the future!)!

I would recommend this to fans of An Ember in the Ashes, The Gilded Wolves, and The Wrath and the Dawn! If you like squad goals, assassins, enemies to lovers, perfect sassy comebacks and emotional baggage, this is for you! If you love perfect world building, a diverse set of characters, magic and mystery, and twists that’ll leave you screaming pick this up ASAP!

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SO LIKE… HAVE I MADE IT CLEAR HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS BOOK YET? IF NOT, LET ME MAKE IT EVEN CLEARER. I’M STILL BASICALLY IN A BOOK HANGOVER FROM THIS BOOK.

So I’m just going to leave this here because I’m proud of my “Tag yourself” meme so yeah!😆