will not be reviewing this book. I would only suggest it if a customer asked specifically for a book written by a muslim woman.

It took me ages to finish this because I believe I had read another ARC during it, and then I’ve been so busy with work I haven’t felt like doing much reading or writing. Without further ado:
I highly, highly recommend this book. It’s SUCH a unique fantasy, the magic and land and government and history are all so interesting. And the characters, oh the characters! I love them ALL. There’s a found family type of relationship with the group and they all interact and click so well. The quest and conflict were marvelous and I’m so excited to see the story continue in the next book.

Grat story with a fantastic heroine, although she got annoying at times. i liked the dialogue and interactions between the various characters. Looking forward to the next book.

I'm sorry to say that this book just did not work out for me and I set it down around the 30% mark. Therefore, I will not be rating it in my review. Only for the purpose of this feedback have I given a star rating.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book. This book is stunning and imaginative. The setting drew me in and I wanted to stay much longer than the book lasted. I will be purchasing this book for the library.

This year I've been making a real effort to find books that are diverse and this lovely story delivered. It is set in an Arabian landscape where a young woman must hide her identity in order to help protect her home. It is a very good book, the story is fascinating as are the characters. Zafira is a brave and determined woman who manages to enter the cursed forest and keep her sanity but who can never reveal who she is, there is the prince of Death Nasir who cannot show any compassion near his brutal father.

The book has a strong premise and the writing, prose, and world building is wonderful however it does fall prey to a few trops. Such as enemies to lovers which felt unnecessary. I loved the use of Arabic words and the fact that the author made a point not to include any specific religion for her characters as a way to show that the Arab world is made up of more diversity than most people are aware. Its a book well worth a read!

This was a solid debut novel. I thoroughly enjoyed the setting and feel of ancient Arabia. I loved the descriptions, the inclusion of Arabic words, the world Faizal created, and the prose used to describe everything. I'm also desperate to try that emaa iced cream now.

Sadly, I thought the characters lacked more depth. Zafira was fantastic. I loved her and I got her. But the others? Not so much. Nasir was a terrible character. I felt like he was a shell of a character. He was filled with traits, but it was like labels across his skin, and he had no personality. Kifah also had no personality. She was just there. Honestly, if you removed her from the story, I would not have noticed. I felt like Benyamin and Altair were the same guy, just Altair cracked jokes. They were both "guy with secrets about plot that will unfold later at opportune moment but reader knows this whole time and is not impressed".

I'm hoping that we'll get more into the character development in the next book, which despite my complaints, I am still excited to read. The world Faizal built was that addicting, I need to go back for another visit.

I was so excited for this book, I was worried my expectations were too high, that my anticipation eclipsed the reality of this book. I have never been more glad to be wrong. Despite my ridiculously high hopes for this book to be the single greatest piece of writing I have ever consumed, We Hunt the Flame manged to exceed my expectations. The life of these characters, the depth of their emotions, it is near unmatched to anything I've read before. This book is an instant favorite, and I can't even wrap my brain around all the reasons I loved it. Do yourself a favor and pre-order it now so you don't have to wait any longer come it's official release in May. Hafsah Faizal has already mastered the craft of making you feel the exact emotion she wants to draw from you with her debut, and you won't be disappointed.

So the thing is: I love this book to pieces and I read it in almost two sitting, which both ended at 5am and left me very jittery and excited and with many ideas for lettering and art. You're probably wondering by now why I enjoyed this so much and I don't want to let you wait any longer.

First of all, I adored the setting. The story takes place in Arawiya, a kingdom inspired by ancient Arabia. Plus magic. There are five caliphates which are each unique and are known for their specialties. The caliphates are in danger of being overcome by the magical forest Arz, an impenetrable mass of trees. The forest spreads from the island of Sharr that has been used as a prison for evil beings in the past. I really enjoyed this world because it brings together all that is good with different evils you can't really see at first but that are there nevertheless.What made the setting even better was the writing. It was so beautiful, sometimes even a bit prosaic. It was detailed and descriptive. I could see Arawiya perfectly before me, I could smell it and could imagine being there with the characters. The pace of the book was quite slow at some points but in my opinion, this only added to the beauty of the story and its narrators.

Oh, and those characters! There are the main characters, Zafira and Nasir who narrate the story as well. Zafira is a hunter whose caliphate is cursed with endless snow. She is the only person known to return from the Arz with her mind and body intact. Zafira hunts to feed the people in her village. She usually keeps to herself or people who are very close to her. She is fierce and righteous and wants to help people. She fights for what she thinks is right, but she also has much to learn. Which she gladly does. She's smart and knows herself quite well. Zafira is quite sarcastic and doesn't take shit from anyone.Nasir is one of those bad guys who are actually super nice and have a good heart. And even though he is an assassin, he not actually bad either. He isn't much of a talker either and tries not to let other people too close. Nasir doesn't often show his sense of humor, but when he does it's always a snarky comeback that made me laugh so much. The two of them together is basically a "I hate you but like you and here, have some sarcasm"-battle and I love it. They come from two very different backgrounds but they just fit together really well.
The secondary characters each are amazing as well. Kifah is an elite warrior with a great sense of humor. She has a sharp mind and a spear just as sharp and she definitely knows how to use both of them. Benyamin is basically a mother hen. He keeps the group together with his calm. He balances out the heated temperaments of the others. The fifth member of their group is Altair who likes talking way too much and flirts with everything in his way. To be honest, he could probably charm one of the palms they've encountered. He definitely charmed me with his easy, fun character. He lightens situations easily but can also be serious if necessary (which isn't too often, apparently). Altair is my favourite character in this series and I love him.
Apart from the group, there's also Yasmine, Zafira's best friend from home who I hope to see more of. She's just as fierce as Zafira, but in another way.

Another important character is the villain. They are definitely a villain exactly to my liking. It was like I thought "please give me a villain like that again" and Hafsah heard it.

In conclusion, I am very much in love with this book and the problem of ARCs is, that I have to wait even longer for book two. I laughed a lot but I also had my eyes glued to the pages because I had a physical need to read and continue this story. It was so good from start to finish, ancient Arabia plus magic is a perfect combination, especially with such a great cast of characters! What a wonderful book!

Hafsah Faizal weaves her lyrical words into an enchanting story that grips the reader and doesn't let go. I found myself offended by anything that made me have to set the book aside for anything. Yet, once I finished, I wanted to shake the book to see if the next chapter would fall out! I hope Faizal can type quickly, because I'm going to need the next book ASAP.

Thank you for Netgalley for the lovely e-arc.

I got a pretty good moment with this book. The world building is so good, the writing is amazing and the characters make me laugh, cry and smile. I loved how she mixed everything. Zafira, Nasir & Altair are such my babies. They are all three different but so amazing when they are together. The relation between Altair/Nasir is so funny and when you put Zafira between them this is even more. Zafira is such a strong woman and i'm so glad we can have a representation of woman like her in books.

In conclusion,this is such a pretty good one and now I'm so excited to re-read the finished copy (just to see what change she made).

We hunt the flame is a story that definitely isn't afraid of dropping you into this world and letting you find your own way around. The action stars from page one and doesn't stop at all. The characters in this book are spectacular and this book should be one everyones list.

Zafira - disguises herself as a man (The Hunter) to trek into the cursed Arz to feed her people.

Nasir - (The Prince of Death) tasked with ending those who dare cross his father, the King.

Both have personal demons to slay.
Both have had hard, trying lives.
Both have watched happiness slip through their fingers like desert sand.

When both are sent on a similar quest to find a lost artifact - The Jawarat - their world's collide. Zafira's mission is to uncover the artifact and restore for the good. Nasir's mission is to take the lost artifact and kill anyone who stands in his way - including The Hunter for he is no match for the Prince of Death.

We Hunt the Flame is a slow burn (the slowest of burns!), Arabian tale with rich details, fleshed out characters, creepy creeptastic monsters, HOT chemistry, jaw dropping reveals, and an ending that has me more than a little nervous. While the story did drag for me more than a couple of times, it had nothing to do with the writing (which is lyrical; soooo many beautiful quotes!), but more the setup of the chapters at times which prevented the story from really taking off at certain points for me. Nonetheless, an absolutely solid fantasy debut that has me drooling for book 2! Can not recommend enough!

This was a truly stunning book that I finished in one sitting. I did not want to put it down! I really liked the characters and the use of Arabic throughout the book. It was done really well and Hafsah did a great job of making sure that you still were able to understand the Arabic without having to try and translate it yourself.

I will definitely be recommending this book as often as I can! The ending left me wanting more and I can’t wait for the next book and more from this author!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan for giving me the chance to read and review this book early!

This was a stunning debut - I connected easily to both main characters and was completely invested in the plot from day one. I adore the world Hafsah created and can't wait for book two. I will be posting a full review on my blog and Goodreads closer to release day.

The first half of this book is a bit slow but once you hit the halfway mark it gets much more interesting! We need more diverse fantasy and this was so good. Technically I'm giving this 4.5/5 but that is still a really high rating. Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.

This book was received as an ARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

When I first heard about this book I did not know what I was in for. This was by far one of the most interesting J Fantasy books I have read but also one of the most confusing books I have read. I am in love with the storyline and the character of Zafira. I always think the story takes a brilliant turn when the main heroine has a strong name. While reading this book I got a sense of similarity with the setting of Shakespearian times where all men were set to act and work and in this setting Zafira had to disguise herself as a man in order to feed her kingdom and get credit for all her achievements??? Plus, the character of Nasir as I was reading sounded very intimidating and gruff but as I read on and hearing about the war and the conflict it brought to Arz then the story picked up and got good. However, due to some vocabulary and scenes midway through the book I would not classify this book as JFiction but YFiction.

That is why we give this book 3 stars.

Hafsah crafts a masterful story using beautiful prose and action sequences. The characters in this story are believable and are likable. I also enjoyed how the stories are intertwined and connected. Overall, this was a very enjoyable story.