Book Review || We Hunt the Flame

We Hunt the Flame
Sands of Arawiya #1
Hafsah Faizal

Farrar, Straus, Giroux | May 14, 2019
Fiction, Fantasy

{GoodReads}
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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WARNING: Possible Spoilers

{The Basics}

This book. WOW. And a debut as well! I was so very intrigued by the story, the world, & the characters in this novel by a debuting author. The world-building was well done, the story itself nicely thought out with some great twists, and the characters full of relatability & DEPTH. I had a more difficult time with the writing style, in that it felt jumpy & often-times disjointed to where I had to read & reread the dialogue or thought-process just to see if I'd missed something. But other than that, I really enjoyed this one. :]

Zafira lives in a world & a small village where women know their place, and rarely---if ever---venture away from it. But she has a secret. She is the revered Hunter that her people rely on to enter the dark magic of the Arz and return with meat to feed their families. The Arz is an impossible forest where darkness reigns & all who enter either come away literally insane or simply never return. Zafira is special though. She has the ability to always find her way, and to always find what she seeks. And it's this ability that protects her in the dark reign of the Arz. And what sends her on a one-way journey to the notorious island of Sharr to bring back magic, which vanished from Arawiya nearly a century before. There, she is tested & tried, she loses herself & finds herself, and she gains those who would be her enemy, but instead becomes her zumra---her gang.

Nasir is a murderer. The Prince of Death. It's been drilled into him for years by his cruel father, who once wasn't always so cruel. He has taken countless lives, and each one chisels away more & more of what's left of his heart. He believes he will never love again, that's he's a monster, and that no one could ever love someone such as he. He too, is sent on this journey, and is expected to follow through on every order given by his father (the reigning Sultan of Arawiya), but against everything he thought he stood for, he comes to care for the zumra---something he's forbidden himself to do for as long as he can remember. It's on Sharr he must make a choice---but he finds it's his to make.

{Spiritual Content}

This story is loosely based on the culture of Arabia. We learn some of the lands history, where each caliphate was united by the Six Sisters of Old---women of magic, sorceresses, witches---who caused the lands to rely so heavily upon magic, that when it was swallowed by the island of Sharr (so to speak), everything was thrown into chaos & suffering. Without magic, a desert became a snowy wasteland, a prosperous & fertile land became a struggling oasis, and other caliphates were toppled off-balance.

Blood magic requires blood from the summoner in order to perform. Illusions are a magical ability for some. A da'ira is a person born with the ability to be a sort of compass---always finding one's way, always led to what they seek. There's a race of naturally-born magic, desert elves known as the safin---of which the Sisters were. They dwell in a known caliphate cut off from the others, & of the entirety of Arawiya's states, they suffered the least, though their own magic was slightly suppressed.

A being completely controls the shadows. Darkness drips off a man in smoky streaks. Light is released through the powers of another man. Another race of beings on the island, known as ifrits, are composed of mist, but can take the form of their victim's loved ones or someone they know. There's also a race of beings who were once of safin/human form, but were cursed to take on the form of hyenas---which made me think they're an even creepier kind of werewolf. . . *shudders*

{Violence}

An assassin slits a man's throat. A man is killed by an arrow in order to save his friend. He dies in that person's arms & the island literally swallows the body (as well as other corpses along the way). Zafira's ragtag band come upon many creatures of legend who were previously trapped on Sharr---most draw them into battle with swords, daggers, arrows, spears, & the like. Zafira downs many ifrits with her accurate shots, and later another character goes back over the bodies slitting the creatures' throats with a safin blade---said to be the only thing to keep them dead.

Someone in the background starts a bar fight.

A good bit of blood & gore. At one point, five living, beating hearts (magic, of course) are dug up from amongst the roots of some trees. A character wraps the ones he found in his shirt. And I couldn't help but think, "oh, GROSSSSS."

[SPOILER] We eventually see Nasir's bare back, shirtless, and riddled with scars. We learn his father did this to him, and once he became numb to any pain on his body, his father would punish those Nasir cared for instead. This alone was what made Nasir obey every order without question.

{Language // Alcohol & Drugs}

Words like "skies" is substituted for other slang we would be familiar with. Other words like "dastard" seems to imply cowardice. Another that is used constantly is "daama", which I took to be like our word for "d---". . . But not positive. . . It's use seemed to imply a meaning like that though. There were a few used of "d---ing" & "d---ed".

A wedding ceremony serves drinks. At one point we enter a tavern of sorts, but our characters order qaweh (coffee) & water, while the others around them are rather drunk & ranting.

Herbs & salves for healing.

{Romantic Content}

One character made almost constant quips referring to his male companion, or implying some kind of innuendo. We know this to be in jest, but I found it a bit annoying & overdone. I loved the character & his personality---he is probably a favorite of mine---but his salacious comments were a bit too much. [We do eventually learn he has almost as many, maybe more, secrets than the crown prince himself.] But I thought it all a bit much. He made innuendos, joking that is was not polite to stare at a woman when with a man. He was constantly goading Nasir & seemed to be a bit of a playboy. [We learn this may or may not be true. . . but shhhhhh---no spoilers!] At some point in the story, Nasir enters the general's rooms & while talking to him hears girls cooing in the bathroom. . .

There's a brief implied mention of a father abusing his daughter. Other talk of a man "tumbling a lover every night". . .

[SPOILER] Zafira's best friend, Deen, proposes to her right before the trip to Sharr. She accepts. But someone confronts her later, stating she didn't really love him.

There is some INTENSE physical attraction between Zafira & Nasir. They share some rather intimate moments where she is cleaning & bandaging a wound of his. He's sitting at the bank of a stream & she finds herself straddling him with one leg behind his back and the other by his side (NOT NECESSARY, in my opinion. She could have TOTALLY moved to a better position to doctor his wounds. But obviously it's there for romanticism. Pffft.). They share some kisses. . . At another time, he somehow knocks her down in the dark of some underground caverns & they realize just how close they are to each other & how the other feels against their respective persons, etc. etc. and they share more passionate kisses. I kinda liked the fierce beauty falling for the tragic beast trope, but there didn't seem to be a whole lot of depth to their romance. [SPOILER] Not like what she had with Deen, who knew her so well. . . TT_TT

{Conclusion}

WOW. I apologize for the outrageously thorough review. If you made it this far, well done! I most certainly enjoyed this book. The Arabic-feel to the setting, the desert elves, the magic & creepy creatures, it was all such a refreshing take to the Fantasy genre. I would certainly recommend to anyone even the least bit intrigued by the premise. :] You're in for a ride!

Other than the romantic content (which felt rushed at times & stuffed down my throat at other times), the unnecessary innuendos, a death I felt was entirely unnecessary (or at least should've been done differently), & the writing style (which I finally got accustomed to, it's just a completely original voice the author has), I agree that this book matches all the hype it's been given this year. There's also a teensy bit of politics in this tale in that women are often suppressed in business positions, and looked down upon if they are brave enough to stand. In this world of feminists, I can see how girls would think to take it too far. But I admired Zafira's character in this. She was the Hunter---the Huntress---but she never gave up her femininity. She just learned to stand in her own identity & not what the Hunter's mask had made her.

All that said, definitely in need of a sequel!!

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Ages: 16+

Comments

Christine SmithJune 27, 2019 at 3:31 PM
Ooooh yes! This is definitely one I hope to read sometime. I love that it has an Arabian-type setting! I hate the romance gets to be a bit much, that always happens with these kinds of books. *siiiigh* BUT STILL. One for the TBR for sure! :D

Okay but SARAAAAH! Your new blog design! *DROOOOLS*
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Nicole DustJune 27, 2019 at 5:05 PM
Excellent review, Sarah! I was actually considering this book the other day, but wasn't sure about content. This review came at just the right time. Great post!
Sarah CnossenJuly 9, 2019 at 10:25 AM
Thanks! And thank you for visiting! I pride myself on my thorough reviews, because I care about the content in books. But I do understand what you mean about most simply being filler.

Many thanks for commenting!
Melissa GravitisAugust 3, 2019 at 7:06 PM
Great and thorough review! I also really enjoyed this one's setting; the world was a nice break from the typical fantasy setting! In the end I didn't connect as much as I wanted with the characters and thought the plot could have been tightened, but on the whole it was a fun read! :D