Sands of Arawiya duology by Hafsah Faizal- GUSH

WHAT A WAY TO START OUT 2021!! We Hunt the Flame was the first book I picked up to start the new year, and I truly couldn’t have picked any better.

Since this is a duology I'll just give the summary of the first book which is We Hunt the Flame:

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.

"Love is for children, said the girl.

Death is for fools, said the shadow.

Darkness is my destiny, said the boy.

Allegiance is my undoing, said the eagle.

Suffering is our fate, said the beauty.

And they were all horribly wrong."

This book was EVERYTHING!! The characters, the rich culture, the ancient Arabic atmosphere, the vivid history, the battle scenes, the dynamic between characters, and the unique magic system... it holds such a special place in my heart. I think this might be my new fav found family... I mean Zafira, Nasir, Altair, Kifah, and Benyamin??? PERFECTION. Altair was the perfect humor in between all of the action, Kifah the powerful sass, Benyamin the wise and nurturing father-figure, Zafira the fierce yet compassionate huntress, and Nasir the dark prince and hashashin that just wants to be loved!! MY HEART.

SLIGHT SPOLERS

I will never recover from Faizal’s quote, “heart of my heart, moon of my soul.”

Although the pacing in the first half of the book took me a while to get into, for structural reasons of the storyline I know it was needed. But, after Nasir and Zafira FINALLY meet and their journeys all become woven together I couldn’t put it down. I loved these characters SO much and all of their interactions and watching them all slowly trust and even love each other... UGH. Nasir and Zafira... don’t even get me STARTED. The tension, the enemies to lovers, the slow-burn, the longing gazes, the blade to the throat, the cleaning of the wound after battle... I cannot take it. I love my babies so much. Honestly, I can’t even tell who I have the biggest crush on anymore.

Thanks to NetGalley I received an ARC for We Free the Stars in exchange for an honest review. I am still blown away by this ending. Is it really over? Will I really not be getting new content from my favorite zumra? I am not emotionally okay.

I put off finishing this because I knew as soon as it was over I was going to have an ache in my heart. These characters mean so much to me, this zumra of misfits coming together in a time of darkness and overcoming to see the light shining through... I am at a loss for words. This journey is something I will never forget. I will miss Altair and his flirty banter, Kifah and her fierce and loving heart, Nasir and his dark yet compassionate nature, and of course Zafira my pure of heart and dark of intention queen. Seeing them all overcome their fears and challenges and watching them grow not only into themselves but also with each other… can be something SO PERSONAL.

It was an ending that made me smile through the tears because everything just felt so right. So complete. The adventure is over and it's time to move on and start anew. Nasir and Zafira are OTP. Top tier. I love them with everything I am. Talk about a SLOW burn… I am SO HAPPY they finally got married and realized their feelings and their rightness for each other! I really cannot think of a better pair. I NEED A NOVELLA PLZ HAFSAH!

Kifah being the head guard for Altair was everything I needed and more. The sacrifice. The forgiveness. The love. The strength. Such an incredible journey that I’m so happy I got to be apart of. 10/10, now pick these books up!!!