Fantasy

We Hunt the Flame

We Hunt the Flame

  • Downloads：2915
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-23 05:51:14
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Hafsah Faizal
  • ISBN：0374311544
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

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 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 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 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。

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Reviews

Amanda ，

Thrilling， fast paced and heart wrenching this book pulls you in and never let's you go。 Thrilling， fast paced and heart wrenching this book pulls you in and never let's you go。 。。。more

Maya Miyamoto ，

the beginning was a little painful to read， the main characters didn’t meet until about 100 pages。 however， the end was spectacular and the tension between nasir and zafira is the best thing i’ve ever experienced。 i hope the second book doesn’t disappoint me！！

Michaela ，

Two unwilling legends in their own kingdoms， Zafira and Nasir's paths cross on a quest to restore magic to their lands， but their actions awaken something ancient， an evil they had not anticipated。。。I had high hopes for this book going in-both from other recommendations and the concept， but ultimately I was underwhelmed and at times I even found myself forcing myself to continue reading。 I found it difficult to immerse myself in the world and the narrative， for the most part， failed to keep me i Two unwilling legends in their own kingdoms， Zafira and Nasir's paths cross on a quest to restore magic to their lands， but their actions awaken something ancient， an evil they had not anticipated。。。I had high hopes for this book going in-both from other recommendations and the concept， but ultimately I was underwhelmed and at times I even found myself forcing myself to continue reading。 I found it difficult to immerse myself in the world and the narrative， for the most part， failed to keep me invested。 Both the writing style and story structure felt a bit haphazard， with very little fluidity between scenes。The characterisation fell a bit flat， I struggled to form any real attatchment to the majority of the characters or their place in the narrative。 While this was a really interesting concept for a fantasy world and magic system， with the potential to be rich and complex， the worldbuilding didn't quite get it there for me， unfortunately。 In hindsight， the 3 stars is probably leaning closer to 2。5。 。。。more

Audrey Reynolds ，

It might be a 4。5 but I absolutely loved it

mansi ，

obsessed cannot stop thinking we free the stars i’m coming for u！ rtc

Mia ，

*4。5 ⭐️

Bethan ，

Good grief I was bored for so much of this。 The whole thing was just…flat。 Like a pancake， you understand？ Not for me。

♥Milica♥ ，

I've had this book on my "tbr" shelf since before it came out。 So， it's been one of my most anticipated reads for a long time。 And yet I didn't pick it up in 2019， or in 2020。 I decided to wait for the sequel， it came out earlier this year and I still didn't start it。 Well， I FINALLY read We Hunt The Flame now。 Please clap。 I think this book is both over， and underhyped。 How is that possible？ I have no idea， but I'll do my best to explain。 One of the main reasons why I wanted to read this so bad I've had this book on my "tbr" shelf since before it came out。 So， it's been one of my most anticipated reads for a long time。 And yet I didn't pick it up in 2019， or in 2020。 I decided to wait for the sequel， it came out earlier this year and I still didn't start it。 Well， I FINALLY read We Hunt The Flame now。 Please clap。 I think this book is both over， and underhyped。 How is that possible？ I have no idea， but I'll do my best to explain。 One of the main reasons why I wanted to read this so badly was the Twitter hype。 For two full years （and then some） I've seen it almost every time I'd log in。 A lot of my mutuals loved it and I was so convinced I would too。 I'm a little sad I don't。 It was a combination of things， the writing and the descriptions and the characters。 Sometimes the descriptions were lacking and other times there were too many。 A reading buddy of mine pointed out that they're a bit repetitive too and I have to agree。The writing wasn't bad for a debut author， it just wasn't my cup of tea。 And the characters。。。I'll start with Altair who's one character I've had an attachment to long before I picked up the book。 He's one of the best things about this story。 He's charming， funny and would've made a much better love interest than Nasir in every single way。Benyamin is another favourite， （view spoiler）[who met an unfortunate end （hide spoiler）]。 The problem with that spoilery bit there， is that I didn't feel it。 （view spoiler）[I wasn't expecting to cry， but I thought I'd feel something seeing as I cared for him。。。it didn't happen。 （hide spoiler）]Zafira and Nasir I didn't like。 Zafira started off okay-ish and I thought it was a missed opportunity to not pair her up with Yasmine because of some of their scenes， but as the book went on I cared about her less and less。 That， and， I didn't like how she treated Deen （I liked Deen） or how goo goo ga ga she went soon after meeting Nasir。Nasir is *takes a deep breath* my least favourite character in the whole book。 There。 I said it。 Pitchfork away。 I didn't like his POV， being in his head， he wasn't a super cool assassin， he was just a whiney kid。 The whiney kid bit would be okay if he was raised as a proper spoiled prince， but he wasn't。 HE IS DARKNESS， HE IS THE NIGHT。 THEN WHY DOESN'T HE ACT LIKE IT？？？！！！ I'm really mad at him。I'm mad at the whole romance actually。 It began as a slow burn， but was awkward in a lot of scenes that could've been left for the sequel。 And no， I'm not talking about the infamous sword-to-throat scene， that one was alright。You know what would've been a true enemies to lovers pairing？ The Lion and Zafira。 The Lion is by far my favourite character （he even beat Altair， who'd have thought？）， he's what Nasir was supposed to be。Relating to that， my two favourite chapters are chapter 64 and chapter 66。 I felt those on a spiritual level and 400+ pages were worth reading just for those two chapters， I swear。The third part is the best， it's where the real action starts。 I wish the other two parts were as exciting。 If they were， my rating would be a lot different。So that explains the overhyped bit， where's the under one？Well， even though this won't be going on a special shelf， I think it brings something new to the table。 More readers should give it a chance （and fall for Altair）。 If the sequel continues as fun as this one ended then they have nothing to worry about。 。。。more

Sully ，

What is the point of Zafira's crossdressing as a male Hunter when the caliph does nothing once her gender is revealed？ She is forced to take off her male disguise after suffering heatstroke， and then that's it。 She forgets about the cloak。 The book forgets about the cloak， until some 300 pages later when Nasir mentions that he's lost it。 Could this not have been a consistent theme of gender， and of identity that is bound up by profession and clothing and appearances， both physical and metaphoric What is the point of Zafira's crossdressing as a male Hunter when the caliph does nothing once her gender is revealed？ She is forced to take off her male disguise after suffering heatstroke， and then that's it。 She forgets about the cloak。 The book forgets about the cloak， until some 300 pages later when Nasir mentions that he's lost it。 Could this not have been a consistent theme of gender， and of identity that is bound up by profession and clothing and appearances， both physical and metaphorical？ Could no greater use have been made from that cloak？ If the cloak means nothing to her now， if her previous trappings are meaningless in the face of greater suffering -- why isn't that worth dedicating a page or two to？ This is a consistent problem with We Hunt the Flame， where groundwork is laid for something really beautiful and tangible， and nothing comes out of it。I read this book in order to map out a curriculum for my students， where We Hunt the Flame would have been the whole-class novel。 So I was， perhaps， reading it a little too harshly， and I definitely had my teacher lenses on。 But I did not enjoy this at all， and I think this book does not respect the reader as much as it should。 It's unnecessarily dense -- this is a huge， huge book and I fail to see why it's so long。 Nothing happens for about 200 pages， and that's smack-bang in the middle of the book。 If I， a whole English teacher， was struggling with it， then how on earth is a young person going to have the motivation to power through that？ If the characters had been interesting， and the plot compelling， then maybe。 But I didn't care about any of the characters at that point， except maybe Yasmine， who featured in Zafira's thoughts occasionally。 And the plot is contrived， made up of stock tropes without any cricitism or complexity about them。 This is the kind of book that Twitter love， because they can easily tag it with ao3 markers -- crossdressing female lead， assassin， enemies-to-lovers， etc。 It's not a good example of any of these， though。In particular the pacing is really， really off。 Deaths of significant characters are quick， hurried， and forgettable; everything else is glacial。 The promised enemies-to-lovers tension is laughable， and meaningless。 There is no tension！ Within moments of （view spoiler）[Deen's death （hide spoiler）] Zafira is laughing and bantering with the people that she knows， for a fact， have killed him。 There is no danger or risk in her association with Altair and Nasir; the plot dictates that Nasir has to kill her， but none of that is felt in the tone of the novel。 According to the plot Zafira has to work with them for survival reasons， or else work alone， but honestly I've had to synthesise that reason myself。 It's not in the book。 It would have been so easy for show this in practice -- to have Zafira stubbornly isolate herself rather than work with the Sarasins and have it go very wrong。 Maybe not even for herself -- apparently she is more compassionate than the prince and his general， so it would have been very interesting for them to lure her out this way， or for her to step back out of her grief/rage to help。 Sometimes I think the author is trying to do that， but it ends up disrespecting Zafira's character （a la damsel in distress） in a way that's unpleasant to read。 I don't think We Hunt the Flame provides a good， interesting example of relationships forged under pressure， and I think it asks the readers to believe that something is significant just because it is written around in a significant way。 The prose isn't deep enough for that: it's shallow and circumferential in a way that sounds lovely to hear， but it's still talking about nothing。 I can only imagine how lovely this book would have been to read if the pacing had been stronger， or if the plot had been meatier。The prose is beautiful， and that's why this gets 2 stars。 Some lines do still stick with me -- "Zafira took her mother's words， one by one， and swallowed them whole"， for example， was striking when I thought the novel was going to do something significant with the mother/daughter relationship here。 But it didn't， and perhaps that's my biggest problem with We Hunt the Flame。 Where is the depth to this story？ So much is promised on the surface， and indeed the story proper takes more than half the book to set up -- to tease at， to allude。 But it dissipates with the wind。 Nothing is done with the laid-out potential until the very end， maybe， and I really do mean the very end -- all those plot strands get pulled together in the final fifty pages in a frenzied conclusion， as though the novel is saying "look！ I didn't forget anything！" But I have。 Because it took 400 pages of nothing to get here。 。。。more

maggie ，

3。5/5

Neha Garg （thereadingowl_） ，

I liked reading the book。 It had all the elements that kept me hooked。 However， I don’t find myself reaching for the next part。 Wonder why that is。

allie ，

4。5 I really like the plot and characters， but the magic system was confusing

Lisa Penninga ，

So many thoughts。 Loved the cultural language and imagery surrounding the setting in this book。 Characters all felt very archetypal and flat despite their dynamic plot elements if that makes sense？ But I liked them。 Almost felt like too much focus on the setting and plot， which influenced the characters。 There is a second one， but I’m not sure I will read it。 So many archetypes to analyze though and a few good excepts for mentor texts in AP！ 😬 “For me， it is truth followed closely by trust— sepa So many thoughts。 Loved the cultural language and imagery surrounding the setting in this book。 Characters all felt very archetypal and flat despite their dynamic plot elements if that makes sense？ But I liked them。 Almost felt like too much focus on the setting and plot， which influenced the characters。 There is a second one， but I’m not sure I will read it。 So many archetypes to analyze though and a few good excepts for mentor texts in AP！ 😬 “For me， it is truth followed closely by trust— separate vines of value entwined at the root。”“Tragedies happen once， memories relive them eternally。”“… hearts beat for love， don’t they？ A life without purpose may be no life， but a life without love is nothing but an existence。” 。。。more

Ripple ，

Great mythology written into this tale of friendship and loss。 I want this to be a full fledged series as I feel one one or two more books wouldn't be enough to take in such a rich and unique experience this book betrays。 Great mythology written into this tale of friendship and loss。 I want this to be a full fledged series as I feel one one or two more books wouldn't be enough to take in such a rich and unique experience this book betrays。 。。。more

Cristen Faulkenberry ，

The last third was awesome-full review to come soon！

Dalila ，

Incredible first novel in my opinion。 I cried 5 separate times with this book because each character drove its way into my heart。 The story is original and fast paced， and doesn’t suffer from the syndrome of overwriting that seems to plague most YA these days。 Every sentence has a purpose and missing just one means missing key moments in the scene。 The romance was kind of insta-love-y （okay maybe a lot） but I overlook it because I live for angst。 On the edge of my seat for the sequel and the con Incredible first novel in my opinion。 I cried 5 separate times with this book because each character drove its way into my heart。 The story is original and fast paced， and doesn’t suffer from the syndrome of overwriting that seems to plague most YA these days。 Every sentence has a purpose and missing just one means missing key moments in the scene。 The romance was kind of insta-love-y （okay maybe a lot） but I overlook it because I live for angst。 On the edge of my seat for the sequel and the conclusion of this adventure。 5 ⭐️s 。。。more

ildem öykü ，

Kitaptaki kültürel göndermelere gülmekten çoğu zaman kendimi alamadım。 Olayların ucu sırf ikinci kitaba bağlansın diye çok açık kalmış ama yine de keyif aldım okurken， yeterince de akıcı bir kitaptı。

Nadine ，

I expected more romance in this book but I understand it’s a slow burn and probably has more romance in the second book。 It was interesting but really sloww， almost everything important happened in the last 50 pages which is just too much。 But other than that it was a good book！

Lizz ，

This book has an amazing premise and witty banter that I loved！The main drawback I found was the amount of exposition。 It showed the pace down for me and kept me from fully engaging in the story as I waited and waited for the next line of dialogue to keep the story moving forward。The characters are lovely and I’m interested to see where they go next。

Mora Rivarossa ，

Al principio es medio denso， las descripciones aburren y los nombres de las ciudades confunden un poco; pero a partir de la segunda parte es buenísimo。 Plotwist inesperados y personajes muy bien hechos。 El enemies to lovers tiene una tensión sexual que pocas veces se leen así de bien， le suma varias estrellas。 Altair va a ser por siempre mi personaje favorito

disco。shorts ，

so sick everyone read it i love the arabic terms used in the book made it feel authentic （there is a pronunciation guide and glossary right at the back） overall the storyline was so intriguing and the twists that happened left me shocked i would read it 100 times and still not be bored lol :D

Mallory ，

We love a emo prince 🥵

Milou de Jong ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 They did not just leave poor Altair behind 💀💀

Daffsterzzz ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This is a really good book！ And that’s coming from Someone who’s not really a romantic fan。 To be honest， it was the assassin/magic thing that got me。 Also Altair and Kifah， definitely my favorites！ And for some reason， I don’t even know， I did not like Deen。 Dead or not， he pissed me off for some reason。

Kathy ★birdsong。books★ ，

2。5 starsReview to be added when I find the time :D

Karenza ，

I saw this book on Instagram， and after looking up the description I knew I had to read it。 As a lover of fantasy， I was so excited to find a fantasy book with an entirely new cultural setting。 Add enemies to lovers into the mix？ I am sold。I would enjoyed this book; it was beautifully written， （albeit a bit hard to flow with the language， but was something I came to appreciate after learning a few of the commonly used words/ phrases）， and it is something that adds a unique touch from the author。 I saw this book on Instagram， and after looking up the description I knew I had to read it。 As a lover of fantasy， I was so excited to find a fantasy book with an entirely new cultural setting。 Add enemies to lovers into the mix？ I am sold。I would enjoyed this book; it was beautifully written， （albeit a bit hard to flow with the language， but was something I came to appreciate after learning a few of the commonly used words/ phrases）， and it is something that adds a unique touch from the author。 The Ancient Arabian setting is such a fresh plot for a fantasy novel， and as someone who aspires to read about all different type of cultures （fictional and not）， I loved it。 if you are a fan of diversity in fantasy， this will definitely be something you will enjoy。 I could feel the author's own culture through the work， and I found that very valuable。the reason I have rated this 3/5 stars is because there were a few parts of this story that I struggled to follow or felt disappointed by。 I didn't find myself connecting with all the characters enough to feel sad when something went wrong。 I want to leave this review spoiler free， so all I will say is that I found gaps in some of the side characters。 I think there were too many introduced all at once for me to process who was who。 But， I found Zafira a very relatable character; she is stubborn， focused and ambitious， and struggle to accept her emotions。 I don't know what it says about me， but i found her to be a well developed character （although perhaps a bit cliché， but aren't they all？）。 The other reason i docked this book a star is because i found the ending very unsatisfactory。 I am yet to decide whether i want to read the sequel， i likely will。 I was very much looking forward to Zafira and Yasmin reuniting， but it never came。 It was also left unclear whether the quest was complete。Overall， I liked this book。 It has a charm to it， and I loved the worldbuilding a lot， but there were a few moments where I was lost momentarily。 The authors note at the start really showed me how much effort， time and patience was put into writing this book and I thought it was so sweet and inspiring， "I wrote this book because i needed to remind myself that there is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel， a flame to be hunted， and like Zumra of 'we hunt the flame'， I hope you find it too。" I would recommend giving this book ago， it is one I will likely read again sometime。 Thank you Hafsah Faizal for taking me on an Arabian whirlwind adventure， I am excited to see what you come up with next！ 。。。more

Dee Swe。 ，

Hafsah， you have magic at your finger tips ✨As a 25 year-old Palestinian who has lived in the middle east all her life， I thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing us to join you on this adventure。 I'm thankful for the enchanting universe you have created。 And I thank you for representing it how you saw fit， and for standing up for your art。 I'm thankful you have stayed true to it。 I'm grateful you chose to share it with us。 Shukran， Hafsah。 💜On to part two~ Hafsah， you have magic at your finger tips ✨As a 25 year-old Palestinian who has lived in the middle east all her life， I thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing us to join you on this adventure。 I'm thankful for the enchanting universe you have created。 And I thank you for representing it how you saw fit， and for standing up for your art。 I'm thankful you have stayed true to it。 I'm grateful you chose to share it with us。 Shukran， Hafsah。 💜On to part two~ 。。。more

Jessica Dwyer ，

I always love adventure books and this book is no exception。 With protagonists that are easy to root for （I literally cried as Nasir actually began to experience happiness） and a storyline full of twists and turns， this book had me hooked。 Especially the ending which made me put down the book a few times to actually take in what had just occurred。 This author not only managed to include some of my favourite tropes like found family（ I am obsessed with their little 'zumra' ❤） and enemies to lover I always love adventure books and this book is no exception。 With protagonists that are easy to root for （I literally cried as Nasir actually began to experience happiness） and a storyline full of twists and turns， this book had me hooked。 Especially the ending which made me put down the book a few times to actually take in what had just occurred。 This author not only managed to include some of my favourite tropes like found family（ I am obsessed with their little 'zumra' ❤） and enemies to lovers， but did so using incredibly beautiful language。 This book is certainly enthralling and I cant wait to read the sequel after that chaotic ending。 。。。more

Jessica ，

Another incredable book！ Despite being slightly confusing in the middle， everything ended up adding up in the end and was very encapturing。 I LOVED the enemies to lovers trope， as well as the overall plot， and all its twists。 Left with a small cliff-hanger， enough to end the book， but I DEFINETLY recommend reading onto the second one！

Emina ，

The plot twists are FIRE。 I love Altair he so funny。 I’m gonna be honest。 This shit took forever to actually get going。 Like 1/3 the main characters didn’t meet and it was just setting up the story。 Which I understand cuz it’s fantasy and u need to world build but kind of annoying。 ALSO I felt like I had to read this book so slow Bc I didn’t understand some parts and even now I am confused on some aspects。 Idk if it was the writing or what that I didn’t comprehend but that was frustrating。 I can The plot twists are FIRE。 I love Altair he so funny。 I’m gonna be honest。 This shit took forever to actually get going。 Like 1/3 the main characters didn’t meet and it was just setting up the story。 Which I understand cuz it’s fantasy and u need to world build but kind of annoying。 ALSO I felt like I had to read this book so slow Bc I didn’t understand some parts and even now I am confused on some aspects。 Idk if it was the writing or what that I didn’t comprehend but that was frustrating。 I can definitely see how the second book is going to be better since it won’t take so long for shit to happen。 Like for example I’m still confused on how Deen died and why。 Like was it cuz Altair can’t aim？？ I’m just confused but anyways。 I liked it。 The romance was actually tasteful and I want MORE of zafira and nasir。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=We Hunt the Flame

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=We Hunt the Flame&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,We Hunt the Flame&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0