Uptown Oracle Reads… We Hunt the Flame | An Effortless Arabian Fantasy

We Hunt The Flame
Hafsah Faizal

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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 king. 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 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 king 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.

First thing I have to say about We Hunt The Flame is that I adore the brilliant world building that Faizel builds throughout. From the quiet and non-magic home of Zafira, to the extravant palaces in the capital and the magical Arz and dark cursed island our characters head to – they’re all enchanting. Faizel has a way with words to bring these places to life.

The world of Arawiya is full of Arabian influences, and this could get a bit confusing with some of the words used. I know a few people who DNF’d it did state this as a reason. But I found that it heightened the link to Arabia and once you got used to it it works really well to create an in depth world. Plus the magic is more dark and twisted than the traditional elf-haven style magic land I often read about.

Zafira as a character really brought something to We Hunt The Flame. Whilst her hiding as “The Hunter” because she’s a woman is reminisent of other protagonists, her character depth brings her into her own throughout. As she moves into situations where she has to be Zafira and rely on herself, the writing and storyline helps move her towards being a more well rounded character despite her flaws.

Nasir also gets a great character arc throughout. He develops from his prince, assassin, puppet persona quite well with the help of the quest, Zafira and the other characters in a way that is also believable. The introduction of secondary characters also work well to push the story. Additionally, they were introduced into the story in a way that was intrically linked to the storyline.

Altair being sassy but mysterious allows for a big pay off when the storyline reveals his secrets. Plus, Benyamin’s backstory helps introduce us to new places in the world (can you say hello book 2?). Between Zafira and Kifah we also got to see two very strong women (in different ways and because of different reasons too!) in a world that is extremely patriarchal.

Overall the plot is wonderfully written to keep you intrigued as to what will happen next. Faizel has a way of keeping the plot twists carefully hidden (but not completely out of the blue) before she reveals them in a entrancing wave of her pen.

Plus, the world building, magic and character backstories are carefully place within the storyline to make sense without using info dumping as a tool.

Overall I loved the book and it was perfect for me as a fantasy lover. I was in a bit of a slump before Christmas and this was one of the books I managed to race through.

Positives of We Hunt The Flame

• World building
• Character Depth

Negatives of We Hunt The Flame

I received We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal from the publisher via Netgalley. This is an unbiased and honest review