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We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya, 1) Paperback – December 1, 2020
Hafsah Faizal (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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An Ignyte Award Winner 2020
A TIME Magazine Top 100 Fantasy Book of All Time
A Paste Magazine Best YA Book of 2019
A PopSugar Best YA Book of 2019
A TeenVogue Book Club Pick for 2019
A Barnes & Noble Teen Book Club Pick for 2019
"Lyrical and spellbinding" ―Marieke Njikamp, #1New York TimesBestselling Author
Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, Hafsah Faizal's We Hunt the Flame―first in the Sands of Arawiya duology―is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.
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.
- Print length480 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateDecember 1, 2020
- Grade level10 - 12
- Reading age14 - 18 years
- Dimensions5.4 x 1.4 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-10125025079X
- ISBN-13978-1250250797
- Lexile measureHL740L
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Drawing inspiration from ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame gives exquisitely detailed insight into a cultural experience; this debut, about identity and unlikely allies, features subtly nuanced and deeply reflective characters. Layering high-stakes action with moods ranging from casual humor to raw anguish, Faizal bends fantasy tropes to her will to tell a fresh and gripping story about love, honor, and self-discovery that will leave readers scrambling for more.” ―Booklist, starred review
“Faizal matches a sweeping, ancient Arabian setting of shifting sand dunes, crumbling ruins, and fickle magic with an engrossing tale of political intrigue and human and divine warring powers. That sense of epicness, however, is carefully grounded by her deeply flawed, morally conflicted, and endlessly fascinating characters; as individuals, they are each interesting, but it’s the developing dynamic among the group that is truly compelling. . .Fans of Bardugo’s Six of Crows or Chokshi’s The Star-Touched Queen will be thrilled with the book’s impressive world building, stellar cast, and intricate story.” ―The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
“Lyrical and filled with adventure, a slow-burn romance, and an unforgettable cast of characters in a world based on ancient Arabia, this is a debut series not to be missed. . .Fans of Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes and Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone should get excited for their next obsession.” ―Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
“Faizal builds a world of immense detail and complexity. Readers smell the different foods in the marketplace and begin to understand the many layers of each culture in Arawiya. . .Faizal explores the strength of an independent female character in a world that silences women. As a result, Zafira’s courage will teach readers the power of the human spirit.” ―VOYA, starred review
“Debut author Faizal paints a vivid world, inspired by ancient Arabia and its mythology, that will appeal to fantasy and romance readers as well as fans of the Assassin's Creed video games. . .An appealing spin on traditional fantasy elements.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Hafsah Faizal creates a dazzling and beautiful world that will make you not want to put this book down.” ―Seventeen Magazine
“Faizal’s strong debut develops its engaging premise with evocative worldbuilding and memorable characters. . .Lush descriptions of setting and food offer a vivid atmosphere, and the slow-brewing romance is an engaging contrast to the harrowing emotional and physical journey at the heart of the story.” ―Publishers Weekly
“Hafsah Faizal's writing is so lush and evocative that We Hunt the Flame is gripping right from the first page.” ―PopSugar
About the Author
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Product details
- Publisher : Square Fish; Reprint edition (December 1, 2020)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 480 pages
- ISBN-10 : 125025079X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1250250797
- Reading age : 14 - 18 years
- Lexile measure : HL740L
- Grade level : 10 - 12
- Item Weight : 14.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.4 x 1.4 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #12,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Hafsah Faizal is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of WE HUNT THE FLAME, WE FREE THE STARS and A TEMPEST OF TEA, and the founder of IceyDesigns, where she creates websites for authors and beauteous goodies for everyone else. A Forbes 30 under 30 honoree, when she’s not writing, she can be found designing, deciding between Assassin’s Creed and Skyrim, or traversing the world. Born in Florida and raised in California, she now resides in Texas with a library of books waiting to be devoured.
Customer reviews
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Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2019
Top reviews from the United States
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The story is told through alternating POV's between female and male protagonist. Zafira is a hunter who must hide her identity in order to help provide for her people. Nasir is an assassin and a prince who just wants to escape. Along with the two narrators we are blessed with so many more wonderful characters. This unlikely crew is forced to work together and set out on an impossible quest to restore magic to Arawiya. On their quest to save the kingdom, they may very well save themselves. But everyone’s secrets could bring everything crashing down.
This was my first read with so much Arabic in the dialogue and narrative, but there was enough context that I got used to it. The last 50-75 pages had me on the edge of my seat, with sweaty palms and looking around my living room say "Omg!..... OMG!!!.... Did you just see that happen?!? Did that really happen?" WE HUNT THE FLAME is imaginative, full of twists and turns, mouthwatering food (WARNING: Do not read on an empty stomach. Seriously, get ready to start cooking!) and breathtaking scenery (you can truly picture yourself there). I need book 2 and a reread, sadly only one of these can happen right now, Haha! Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. Hafsah's writing and characters will captivate you from the very beginning. I can't wait to see where this story goes and what she dreams up next!
*A free copy was sent in exchange for an honest review, all thought and opinions are my own.

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2019
The story is told through alternating POV's between female and male protagonist. Zafira is a hunter who must hide her identity in order to help provide for her people. Nasir is an assassin and a prince who just wants to escape. Along with the two narrators we are blessed with so many more wonderful characters. This unlikely crew is forced to work together and set out on an impossible quest to restore magic to Arawiya. On their quest to save the kingdom, they may very well save themselves. But everyone’s secrets could bring everything crashing down.
This was my first read with so much Arabic in the dialogue and narrative, but there was enough context that I got used to it. The last 50-75 pages had me on the edge of my seat, with sweaty palms and looking around my living room say "Omg!..... OMG!!!.... Did you just see that happen?!? Did that really happen?" WE HUNT THE FLAME is imaginative, full of twists and turns, mouthwatering food (WARNING: Do not read on an empty stomach. Seriously, get ready to start cooking!) and breathtaking scenery (you can truly picture yourself there). I need book 2 and a reread, sadly only one of these can happen right now, Haha! Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. Hafsah's writing and characters will captivate you from the very beginning. I can't wait to see where this story goes and what she dreams up next!
*A free copy was sent in exchange for an honest review, all thought and opinions are my own.

‘We Hunt the Flame’ tells the story of Zafira Iskander, a woman who masquerades as the Hunter in the world of Arwiya. In this world, women are not highly regarded as respectable figures, so Zafira feels forced to hide her identity in order to bring peace to her kingdom in Demenhur as a male Hunter. Only four people within her family knows Zafira’s true identity, and encourage Zafira to embrace the notion of a strong female provider, yet she carries her fears throughout her daily life due to uncertainty.
I found the chemistry between Nasir and Zafira so captivating. Both people are caught up in their own webs of deception, yet feel unable to relinquish their crafted identities due to obligation to their people. Each person is also set out for revenge, as both individuals lost someone they dearly cared for. Nasir and Zafira are also joined by a eclectic cast of characters who encompass the different regions of Arwiya’s vast world. Out of all the side characters, I really appreciated Altair. He and Nasir have an awkward (yet humorous) alliance, and his optimistic viewpoints are a breath of fresh air to an otherwise harrowing situation. Altair’s lighthearted tone and intriguing backstory carries the story with great interest to the end.
*audiobook provided by Macmillan Audio*
This. Book!
My initial thoughts:
It took me a few chapters to really set myself up in this world and find my footing, but once I was in, it was a glorious ride!
Full disclosure, I’m kind of a sucker for adventure fantasy. Something about a group of characters going on long walks outdoors speaks to me. Maybe it’s my Lord of the Rings upbringing.
We Hunt the Flame is a journey. A journey of complex and dark characters in a complex and dark world. It is full of magic, mystery, secrets, friendships, love, and loss. The world and characters unfold beautifully with each new chapter, revealing just a little at a time, and I found myself engrossed by their story.
The characters are precious and I now need to protect them at all costs! Zafira, Altair, and my sweet murder baby Nasir have become my children. They are dark, witty, strong, and soft when they need to be. Faizal wrote them so well and made me let them in to my heart. I left with a new book husband and several new friends.
It feels like I’m rambling. I have a hard time writing reviews for books I’ve loved because nothing does them justice. So, go read this glorious Arabic fantasy and fall madly in love with the magic and mystery and beauty of it all. Let yourself sink your feet into the sands Faizal has created and enjoy the journey.
Top reviews from other countries

In general the writing is vivid and descriptive, if occasionally a little too verbose for my tastes. Sometimes the author’s attempt at being descriptive makes things clumsy and bogged down in detail that isn’t needed. When she gets it right however the results are breathtaking. There’s one line describing someone’s blue eyes being akin to sunrise on the sea that nearly made me squeal at its beauty. Unfortunately the author does have a somewhat annoying habit of breaking one sentence over three lines. At first it was a literary choice, but by the fourth or fifth time just irritated me and knocked me out of the story.
The story takes too long to get going, once it does the pace is fairly even and things move along quickly. I’m glad I persevered through at the start although admittedly I stopped a few times reading the first third of the book unsure if I was going to carry on with it because it dragged so much. Zafira focused chapters were sometimes painfully slow yet Nasir’s introduction was stunning. Zafira focused chapters walk a very fine line between internal conflict and just plain whining but the balance is mostly right.
All in all a solid novel and I look forward to reading the next.


We Hunt the Flame is a rich, gorgeous, tale, filled with middle eastern mythology. Upon starting, I did not have high hopes; the book had been on my Kindle since last October, and yet I hadn't been moved to read it. I was delighted to be proven wrong!
I knew I was in for a treat immediately, upon reading 'A note from the author,' at the beginning of the book. Faizal begins by telling us that this story holds pieces of her soul. Having now finished the tale, I can attest to the fact that it reads as such. This book contains persecution, pain, rejection and - more importantly - found family, self-belief and love. It is a maelstrom of emotions, such as our souls contain.
She goes on to say that, 'Zafira Iskander, like me, will do anything for her family. Even don a cloak that obscures her identity, shrouding her victories in mystery. If revealed, her every accomplishment could be derided, all because she's a woman. I wrote this without realizing that in that moment, Zafira was me. I built my platform online with a graphic as my profile image, because I knew that as myself - a veiled, very visibly Muslim girl - people would judge me before getting to know me. Zafira and I are both perfectly content with who we are. It's the external, unfounded perceptions that scare us." Such a small paragraph contains such big connotations. I felt educated, ashamed and unified, all at once, upon reading this. I cannot relate to being a Muslim woman, but I can be educated. However, I certainly can relate to being a woman, in a patriarchal world.
I have nothing left to say except: read this book. And, if you come across words and beings you don't recognise; do as I did and look them up (There's a handy glossary at the back that I didn't know of until after I'd finished reading). Learn of the Bahamut, the Dandan, the Kaftar, and the Rukh. Immerse yourself in middle eastern culture, of which they teach us so little of in Western society.

Sadly I struggled to get into the book and found that the narrative did not always flow smoothly.
It got to the point where I began skim reading.
There were elements to the book that I did not like and given the author I expected it to have some principles of faith. It didn’t.
I really wanted to love this book but I definitely won’t be continuing with this series.

My incredible first lockdown read, this book set the bar incredibly high for every book that followed.
We Hunt the Flame is an astounding tale set in Ancient Arabia about a Huntress named Zafira and an Assassin-Prince called Nasir. Fate brings them and a band of misfits together in the unforgiving desert island of Sharr, on their quest to return magic to the kingdom.
From the incredibly lush word-building to the empowering characters and intricate plot, this was everything I’ve ever wanted in a fantasy book.
I can't wait to see what Hafsah Faizal has in store for the characters in We Free the Stars!