#We Hunt the Flames

[prosedumonde]

Les tragédies n’arrivent qu’une fois, les souvenirs les revivent éternellement. 

Hafsah Faizal, Chasseurs de flamme t. 1 (We Hunt the Flames)

VO :

Tragedies happen once, memories relive them eternally.

[hayatheauthor]

y'all ever watch/read something with a plot that had sooo much potential but the execution is just...meh

[mysticmiav]

People lived because she killed🏹

People died because he lived🗡

I've been rereading We Hunt The Flame by Hafsah Faizal and loving it all over again, all while eyeing We Free The Stars on my shelf.

We Hunt The Flame was and is still an especially lovely world to me because of characters and culture embedded in it. It's so refreshing to see the many foods, dishes and even myths that I recognised in the book, let alone see arabic words and names! Gonna be reading the sequel next and am sooo excited🖤✨️

[bookishlyvintage]

stack challenge: Matching Sweaters & Books

[elvinapandra]

When you only read fantasy books but your book friends start to talk about non - fantasy novels

[setaflow]

Started We Hunt the Flame this morning and I just want to say that I see you, Hafsah Faizal. I see you and I thank you for your service.

[rubypomegranates]

"We hunt the flame, the light in the darkness, the good this world deserves."

Hafsah Faizal "We Hunt the Flame"

[xoadoratio]

he gets me

[gingerblood]

“And a voice, saying: You needn’t fear the darkness when you could become it.”

Hafsah Faizal, We Free the Stars.

[zumra-social-media-posts]

Twitter posts from the Zumra:

[boosreads]

“if you hurt her—”

"If I hurt her, I will bring every weapon at my disposal and lay them at your feet for you to do to me what you will. If I hurt her, I will no sooner carve out my own heart than dare draw breath again."

"Do you understand?" he prompted.

"You love her."

No, he did not love her. The word for what he felt for Zafira bint Iskandar did not yet exist.

[prosedumonde]

Mais en ce moment, nous sommes deux âmes, échouées sous la lune, affamées et seules, à la dérive dans le courant de ce que nous ne comprenons pas. Nous chassons la flamme, la lumière dans l’obscurité, le bien que ce monde mérite. 

Hafsah Faizal, Chasseurs de flamme t.1 (We Hunt the Flames)

VO :

...in this moment, we are two souls, marooned beneath the moon, hungry and alone, adrift in the current of what we do not understand. We hunt the flame, the light in the darkness, the good this world deserves...

[scentedsstuff]

We Free the Stars

By Hafsah Faizal

Rating: 2.5/5⭐️

The sequel to ‘We Hunt the Flame,’ a book which I have raved over and easily rated 5 stars was always going to have a lot to live up to, and the sequel, whilst enjoyable simply couldn’t do that.

Spoiler alert for any readers who have yet to read this and are meaning to, I will be discussing specific scenes and details within the books so beware.

Quick Plot Summary:

The Zumra have made it out of Sharr but the battle is far from over. Though Altair has been captured, time is of the essence and so Zafira, Nasir and Kifah must make their way to Sultan's keep if they wish to save not only their friend but their people.

With the stakes so high and an inevitable confrontation with the Lion looming near, Zafira and Nasir have to deal with far more than just personal trials and trepidations.

Thoughts:

Yes, we have our main band of characters whom I adore, and we've got a mission that has since expanded since the first book, but along the way it all became too much.

What I mean specifically is that there was so much happening in the book at the same time that I felt the plot was lost at times. The author dwelt on certain parts of the book more than needed and this was done multiple times which made it feel as though the book was dragging on, especially in the first half of the book.

All the drama and overall commotion seemed to overshadow certain revelations and plot twists. At some point I stopped caring and was just watching it all unfold. I still cared about the main band of characters, Zafira, Nasir, Kifah and Altair and side characters such as Yasmeen and Lana, but best believe when other names, characters and situations were being introduced I was not trying to retain any of that information anymore.

The romance: do I still enjoy the pair? yes, yes I do. My annoyance with them was the fact that it seemed like their problems were so repetitive and being dragged on for much longer than it needed to be (in my opinion). The book is already lengthy, and had so much going on, adding this onto it didn't help.

Another part of the book I just couldn't get into for some reason: Altair and his temporary villain streak. I don't know, I just couldn't buy into it, the whole time I was like 'ok do what you gotta do I guess, but he's probably going to go back to the Zumra by the end of this so....." Even with the whole "plot twist" of Aya betraying the gang, especially with her being Benyamin's wife and all, we had just met her in this second book so I honestly didn't care. In my mind all I'm thinking is 'man I feel kinda bad for Benyamin.' I didn't care that she did this due to her own personal pain, or that she still loved Altair or that Altair still loved her, there was not a single fiber of my being that cared for this plotline.

Nasir and Zafira are at odds for a good portion of the book whether its jealousy or unresolved feelings or fears. I would've cared more but again, so much was already going on. There is more time given to Lana (Zafira's younger sister) and her understanding of her gifts and talents and where she finds herself in the world. Through Altair's time with the Lion (who he's since found out is his father) we get a glimpse into his past, backstory and overall driving motivations. We get a glimpse into Altair and Aya (Benyamin's wife) and their whole situation/doomed lover's tale. The sultan (Nasir's father) is a reoccurring character and has moments where he is so petty (which at times entertained me because he was stirring up drama) but this ultimately sets up future reveals. Nasir's mother pops up again. Kifah's former troop makes an appearance and gets her thinking about her past and how that affects where she'll go from here. And so much more which I've probably failed to mention.

But it's all so much, and this is only the final book in this duology. To each their own, but overall, I was disappointed with this book. The concluding chapters were very sweet and there were moments found within the book that I genuinely enjoyed but not enough to warrant anything above 2.5 stars.

[mysticmiav]

"I find the best payments are always the most difficult to extract."🦅🗡

From all the characters in the books, Altair is my absolute favourite. He never fails to make me smile, and his banter with every single character is incredibly fun and entertaining✨️

So there are 2 versions because I like them both a lot. The white version fits him thematically, while I love the black version aesthetically. So yeah here are both of them lol

Altair Al-Badawi, from We Hunt The Flames by @hafsahfaizal

[bookishlyvintage]

Coffee & Currently Reading

[the-narnian-sea]

Come on fanart artists i'm begging you for some we hunt the flame content theres no way yall didnt read one of booktok most hyped books 😭😭