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If you love lush, descriptive writing with beautiful world-building and complex characters, then you need to pick up The Sands of Arawiya series by Hafsah Faizal.
This duology includes We Hunt the Flame (2019) and We Free the Stars (2021). Set in a mythical world inspired by ancient Arabia, it follows Zafira, a huntress who must hide her gender in order to hunt to feed her village. The story includes a beautiful, magical world with the enemies-to-lover trope, found family, and rebellion. This is perfect for those who enjoy strong female leads, slow-burn romance, and political commentary on gender standards.
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Title: We Hunt the Flame
Author: Hafsah Faizal
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Pages: 480
Rating:
4.5 Stars
Synopsis:
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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Title: We Free the Stars
Author: Hafsah Faizal
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Pages: 592
Rating:
3.5 Stars
Synopsis:
Darkness surged in his veins. Power bled from her bones. The battle on Sharr is over. The Arz has fallen. Altair may be captive, but Zafira, Nasir, and Kifah are bound for Sultan’s Keep, determined to finish the plan Altair set in motion: restoring the hearts of the Sisters of Old to the minarets of each caliphate, finally bringing magic to all of Arawiya. But they are low on resources and allies alike, and the kingdom teems with fear of the Lion of the Night’s return. As the zumra plots to overthrow Arawiya’s darkest threat, Nasir fights to command the magic in his blood. He must learn to hone his power, to wield it against not only the Lion but his father as well, trapped under the Lion’s control. Zafira battles a very different darkness festering in her through her bond with the Jawarat—it hums with voices, pushing her to the brink of sanity and to the edge of a chaos she dares not unleash. In spite of everything, Zafira and Nasir find themselves falling into a love they can’t stand to lose . . . But time is running out, and if order is to be restored, drastic sacrifices will have to be made. Lush and striking, hopeful and devastating, We Free the Stars is the masterful conclusion to the Sands of Arawiya duology by New York Times–bestselling author Hafsah Faizal.
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Rating
Plot
When breaking down the plot of this series, it is very simple. Magic is lost. Find the artifact that will restore magic. While the plot line is straightforward and simple, there are a lot of history and detail that is intentionally put into the series.
In We Hunt the Flame, we follow Zafira dealing with her dysfunctional family, all of whom grieving the lost of her father to the Arz, the dangerous forest that surrounds Arawiya. Zafira feels the most guilt since the reason her father went into the Arz was because she couldn’t due to her sickness. This guilt drives her to complete the mission given by the Silver Witch to uncover the Jawarat, a lost book of magic. There she meets Nasir, the Prince of Death, who was sent to murder her and steal the Jawarat for his father, the Sultan. She quickly was joined by other characters, all of which have their own motivation for restoring magic. Throughout the book, the group grow closer, becoming a newfound family. They battle the villain, the Lion of the Night, and deal with the twists that comes with their journey. I really enjoyed this book and the plot because it was easy to follow. There was an end goal and we knew what the goal was. Having the simple plot allows for more development for the characters, their relationships, and the world.
Moving on to We Free the Stars, I like this book a little less because of the unclear plot. There were some moments throughout the book where I was unsure what the plot was or whether the scene I was reading was adding anything to the plot. I felt that the relationships the reader had build with the main characters were stifled by the introduction of new characters. I do like how the characters deepened their relationship with one another. I also could not handle the betrayal that the main characters were facing. My little heart just hurt too much. Overall, I enjoyed the sequel and finale of the series, but nothing will beat the first one for me.
Rating:
4 Stars
Characters
Each of the character introduced is so rich and well-developed, especially the main characters, Zafira and Nasir. Hafsah Faizal creates realistic stories and backgrounds for these characters, to explain their actions and their motives. She can take Nasir, who is a morally gray assassin, and make him into someone who has a heart of gold and someone who can love deeper, both in romance and familial. Even the side characters are given vivid emotions and history.
I also appreciate the care that the author puts in for the character’s appearance. She attributes their styles to culture, explaining why Zafira is pale because of Demenhur’s constant winter, Nasir is tan because of the Sarasin’s hot, sandy climate, and Benyamin is slightly vain because he is from Alderamin. These small details adds to the richness of the world and the characters.
One of my favorite part of the characters is their banter with one another. You can see their character dynamic shine when they talk to one another. I especially enjoyed Nasir and Altair’s dynamic, seeing them go from enemies to hesitant allies to brothers.
Rating:
5 Stars
World-Building
Hafsah Faizal creates a lush world inspired by Arabia. In this world, there is an island in the center called Sharr, which is where the protagonists must travel to recover the Jawarat. The problem is Sharr is covered by the Arz, which is a mysterious forest with strange creatures and magic that makes people lose their mind if they stay in it for too long. Not only was the Sharr, the birthplace of magic unreachable, the rest of the land is also cursed and each section is cursed with a different weather condition. Demenhur, where Zafira is from, is cursed with long snowy winters. Sarasin, the capital of Arawiya, has dusty and sandy deserts. Zaram has treacherous seas and Pelusia has lost all of its fertile farm land. Even Alderamin, which is known to be the most safe and successful of all the lands, has its darker side.
Faizah does a great job at including characters from each different region and showing how their birthplace affected their personalities. There is a lot of world-building when it comes to the lands and how the curse has affected them, but there lacks a lot when it comes to the magic system.
As far as I am aware of, the way the magic system is described is that everyone has an affinity for magic even though it has been blocked by the curse. Each character has their own magic style and it coincides with their personalities. However, there is a lack of explanation for the different magic types. Some are healers and summoners, but some are compasses (Zafira) and some are dreamers (Benyamin). This leaves a lot of confusion on what is considered magic. I also would’ve liked to see more of the characters use their magic.
While the world itself is lush, there are a lot of moments where I was confused by new vocabulary and words. I think with more time along the stories, this world could really expand to a very exciting and abundant world.
Rating:
3.5 Stars
Writing Style
I really enjoyed Hafsah Faizal’s writing style. It was descriptive, sensory, and romantic (not just when it comes to love). I like how she includes her own culture into her writing when it comes to the language and locations. Arawiya is an extremely detailed and cultured world with details that feel like that took years to create.
I am a big fan of Hafsah Faizal’s language use and how she can portray such strong images with her words. She also has a tendency to switch between short and long chapters to create tension. Overall, if you enjoy descriptive language and strong imagery, you will enjoy Faizal’s work.
Rating:
5 Stars
Romance
If you enter this book series expecting romance, then you should definitely expect to be disappointed because this book offers the most slow-burn romance you will ever find. Combine that the enemies-to-lovers romance, it takes the two main characters a lot of time to develop and realize their feelings for one another. That being said, it does not mean that the character’s relationship is not a fulfilling and satisfying one.
Nasir and Zafira first encounter was not a meet-cute. He planned on killing her after she found the Jawarat and stealing it for his father the sultan. They didn’t even meet until almost 200 pages in. However, they were forced to work together with several other people to find the Jawarat and that was where their love story started. Throughout the journey, they learn about each other’s pain and the hardships they each went through, struggling to break the image that they have created for each other before they met.
In We Hunt the Flame, it focused more on them destroying the hate they held for each other and learning that they are more suited for one another than they expected. Nasir and Zafira share one sweet kiss before they have to face their biggest enemy, the Lion of Night.
We Free the Stars allowed them to develop their relationship, but not by much. There is a lot of internal monologue of the two pining for one another, but the characters themselves do not have much romantic interaction. I think Hafsah Faizal does a great job of creating the anticipation of the romance by showing the readers how much Nasir and Zafira want to be together, but can’t. Every stop of the way, there is something that keeps them apart whether it is physical separation, their past history, or their doubt about themselves keeping them from being with the other person.
Overall, while romance is prevalent in the series, it is not the highlight. If you want stories with strong romance, this is not the series for you. However, if you enjoy angsty slow-burn romance, this is for you. That being said, the tension and pining creates for some great lines from each characters that spark some heart-stopping feelings.
Rating:
4 Stars
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That concludes my review on The Sands of Arawiya series by Hafsah Faizal. Thank you for you time if you made it this far. I hope this helped you all discover if this book series is the right one for you. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the series and if we have similar taste in books!
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Little Creek 