[second read, January-February 2025]
Rating raised from 3.5 stars to 4.

I don’t know what was wrong with me in 2020. This book is great. The story is engrossing, the characters are brilliant, the writing is gorgeous. I have no complaints, and I’m seriously impressed that this is a debut novel.

“Zafira, Nasir, and Altair are brilliant in their own ways, and together they’re certainly an interesting trio.” This is accurate, but also major Kifah erasure. I love Kifah. The banter between all four of them is hilarious.

“I also liked that Faizal wrote the slow-burn romance in a way that had me doubting whether or not romantic feelings were present, but getting invested anyway.” Oh my gods, was I stupid? Zafira and Nasir’s chemistry—and blossoming romantic tension—is off the charts. It was subtly written, yet still very much there and very much noticeable. Even the other characters comment on the two of them a couple of times. I don’t know how I apparently missed that before.

Past me called the pacing slow, and yeah, that’s true, but not a problem. Slower stories can still be excellent if they’re written well, and this one certainly is. The key is to make sure the story never drags or feels lacking, and this one doesn’t. I admit to thinking a couple of times that maybe act one could’ve been a little bit shorter, that things could’ve been set in motion a little bit sooner, but I wouldn’t consider this detrimental to the book as a whole.

I also called the pacing uneven, and that’s just flat-out not true. I don’t know what my problem was.

“There were some [plot twists] that I predicted, some I didn’t, and a couple that were too confusing for me to be properly affected. This even happened a handful of times with simple story progression.” Yep, I was stupid. This book isn’t dense. In fact, it’s quite easy to read, as far as fantasies go. I had no issues fully understanding everything that happened, so I can only hope I spent a lot of my first time through reading late at night and/or on very little sleep. Otherwise, this just makes me look bad, and like I lack reading comprehension skills. I promise, I do have those skills.

Also, I have to say: this was incredibly fun to reread. Even though I didn’t remember many details, I remembered some—enough for me to pick up on several bits of very clever foreshadowing. I love when this happens during a reread, I really do.

So yeah, I think it’s definitely safe to say my opinion of this book has changed. Has improved. It checks most, if not all of the boxes to be a favorite. I think the only thing it’s really missing is that one, inexplicable spark I need to truly fall in love with and obsess over a book. And while it might not be here, I know it’s in the sequel. I know everything good here only gets better there, and I’m SO EXCITED to keep going.

[first read, May 2020]
This is a somewhat difficult book for me to review. I’ve heard so much praise, laughed at so many tweets from the incorrect quotes account on Twitter even though I didn’t understand them. Now that I’ve read it, I’m not entirely sure of my feelings.

It was an intriguing fantasy set in an Arabian-inspired world, with lush world-building and complex characters. Zafira, Nasir, and Altair are brilliant in their own ways, and together they’re certainly an interesting trio. I enjoyed learning more about the world and lore of Arawiya as the story progressed. I also liked that Faizal wrote the slow-burn romance in a way that had me doubting whether or not romantic feelings were present, but getting invested anyway.

The most significant flaw, for me, was the pacing. The story began slowly, picked up the pace enough for the group to gather and reach their destination quickly, and slowed once more. After that, the most action present for a good portion of the book was some formulaic fights against various antagonistic creatures and conversations that ended with either a new tidbit of information revealed or a slight change in relationship dynamics. A lot more happened in the last quarter, but the pacing was still uneven, through to the end.

As for the plot twists, I’m not sure what to think here either. There were some that I predicted, some I didn’t, and a couple that were too confusing for me to be properly affected. This even happened a handful of times with simple story progression. Details were muddled in my mind, so I read but only partially understood occurrences.

We Hunt the Flame excelled in some ways while struggling in others, but ultimately it was a good debut. It set the foundation for what I hope will be an even better sequel.

Representation: