An Arabian inspired world filled with magic - book review

Non-spoiler book review

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Title: We Hunt the Flame
Author: Hafsah Faizal
Publisher: Pan Macmillan (Australia)
Publication date: 14 May 2019

Synopsis:
Zafira is the hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Art to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the sultan. 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 Zafira and Nasir are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya - but neither wants to be.

War is brewing, and the Art 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 sultan 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.


Rating: 4/5

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This story is enticing and absolutely makes you want to keep reading, which made for a great introduction. It was mysterious, somewhat dark, and I felt so damn drawn to the story. There were a couple of times where I found myself having to reread paragraphs because it was one of those 'I blinked and miss it' kind of moments - even though I read it all?? I don't know. I would be keen for it to be slightly slowed down in the 'exciting' parts.

I found Zafira, our main character to be very likeable throughout the story, she wasn't my all-round-perfect character but to be perfectly honest, that's hard to reach anyways. For the most part I enjoyed her character. When reading from her perspective she seemed like she knew what she was doing however, when viewing her from Nasir's perspective, she looked like a pile of conflicting emotions - though not all the time. I really enjoyed Nasir's character too, though I am definitely drawn to darker, somewhat mysterious characters.

My favourite character of the story was hands down, Altair. The ever so witty general was full of hilarious remarks and always had an opinion on everything and I loved that about him. He brought a sense of humour and lightness to the serious moments even if it was sometimes inappropriate.

I loved the magic of the world and I am so, so keen to see it develop in the next book. I really appreciated the effort in telling the history of the magic the world had and how it had diminished. Though some parts in the journey to its restoration felt a little rushed, it definitely could've been slowed down so I didn't have to flip back and reread some of the paragraphs again.

One of the 'twists' I didn't find necessary and it kind of felt off for me which was disappointing however, I didn't let it bring me down because the rest of the book was pretty much fantastic!

I definitely recommend this diverse YA fantasy and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did, if not, more!


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*This book was sent to me by Pan Macmillan Australia

in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


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