Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

I loved this book - I can't wait to read the next one! Recently there have been several great fantasy series drawing from a non-Western mythology but this is one of the best. Faizal has created a magical but realistic world and her characters jump off the page. Zafira in particular is great - we always need more strong female protagonists in fantasy. Here's hoping there isn't too long a wait for book 2!

So so good!!! So many surprises in this book definitely shocked my more than once! Brilliant
You all need to read it! When is the next one out?!!

One of the most anticipated YA novels of 2019 Zafira the Hunter is given an impossible task. Impossible for anyone who isn’t her. At the same time Nasir and Arawiya are tracking the Huntress to ensure she succeeds. Of course, nothing is that simple especially where the Gods and magic are concerned. Another great base for a future series. I wasn’t particularly shocked with where the story went but I would read the next one.

A magical fantasy book full of great story-telling.
What I loved about this book was its rich descriptive narrative that created a believable fantasy world for the reader. It’s one of the more detailed young adult books I’ve read recently; this does effect the pacing at moments, but I really liked taking my time to absorb Hafsah Faizal’s world for ‘We Hunt the Flame’.
The characters are varied and conflicted for contrasting reasons. A girl, the Hunter, is a likeable heroine trying to do her best to help others in trying circumstances. A prince, whose circumstances have almost destroyed his humanity, is on the brink of falling completely into darkness. A large part of the story is the converging of these two characters and how they are drawn to each other and the slow realisation that they could be each other’s saviours, in what’s building into the enemy to lovers trope. There’s a great mix of supporting characters which adds fun banter, friendship, unrequited love, verbal battling and bonding.
This is the first in a series, so there’s more to come, which I’ll be looking forward to.

Overall, a rich fantasy quest novel set in a dangerous magical world featuring conflicted characters, ruthless decisions, cruelty but there’s ultimately hope and desire for goodness at its heart.

A recommended read.

We Hunt the Flame is an enjoyable fantasy novel. I love it when an author can create a new world and this novel creates a world that is engaging and interesting. I like how Falzal has invented new words but they are recognisable; it is easy to pick up the meaning and tone of the new vocabulary. I liked the characters and the different scenarios, it is hard to go into detail without giving away spoilers. Full of magic and mystery this is a book that I really found engaging.

I loved the premise of this - a mysterious Hunter keeps a village alive by being able to hunt in the dangerous, madness inducing forest, and is recruited to restore magic to the realm by the Silver Witch, who recognises that the Hunter is in fact a Huntress, Zafira. The Crown Prince is an assassin, his father increasingly a monster, who is sent to stop the Hunter's mission.

Sadly, it's a bit too slow. The island of Sharr is interesting, but the tracking across it takes far too long and the gaining of additional characters would have been better if they'd been fleshed out. It didn't keep my attention, I only finished it a few hours ago but it's not really stuck in my memory and I'm not sure I'd bother with the second of the duology.

So this was a book I was super excited for. When I saw it on NetGalley I was like NEED. And I'm glad I was granted it.

The world building is phenomenal and beautiful and dark. I loved exploring Sharr and want to know more about the countries that were wrecked by the curse.

The characters were interesting enough too. Altair was definitely my favourite too. And I'm not gonna lie Zafira and Yasmine are just... So gay. Sister's of the heart my butt. Zafira's into her.

But...that's kind of it for the good. I found the book so easy to put down and by the end I was forcing myself to just get through the last few chapters. I just didn't really care anymore and that made me sad. It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't as amazing as I'd hoped it would be.

I'd still recommend it for the world building alone but it's definitely one for when you've got plenty of time to read.

I have seen this book everywhere lately and I've heard such good things about it, however i didn't really connect with this book. This is a book that was slightly slower than I expected and it is a descriptive novel. I probably won't continue the series as it just wasn't for me.

What I liked about this book?
The setting.
It is beautifully written and I think a lot of people will like the way it is written. There are a lot of descriptions and I would say there were too many for me to enjoy it.
The Arab rep - we need more rep in books as the majority is western.

What I disliked?
it is slow - some people will enjoy the pace but it just wasn't for me
The characters - I didn't connect with them and found some of them boring.

Thank you to Netgalley, Hafsah Faizal and Pan Macmillan for my arc of We Hunt the Flame in exchange for an honest review .



'That was life wasn't it? A collection of moments, a menagerie of people everyone stranded everywhere, always.' 



Synopsis: Zafira is the hunter, disguised as a boy she sneaks into the cursed forest named the Arz each day to find food for her village. Without her, her people would starve. So when a strange visitor comes with offers of a quest in which Zafira would be able to not only destroy the Arz but return magic to her people and end the other desecrations that have happened to her land, how can she say no?

Nasir is an assassin, the Prince of Death, everything he does is for the approval of a father who used to love him and now does not. Every kill he completes is his destiny. Nasir too is sent to obtain the magical artefact the two are thrown together in a way neither imagined.



This book was EVERYTHING! I loved it so much. I was kind of worried because I'd heard mixed reviews and also there's been a LOT of hype and that can sometimes lead to disappointment, but be rest assured there is no disappointment in We Hunt the Flame beyond the fact that you know, it ends and now I have to wait who knows how long for the sequel!



The world building in this was excellent, not only was it interesting it was shown not told. Which is the best way in my opinion. We learn about the world through the thoughts, memories and conversations of the characters instead of massive info dumps which lets face it, nobody really wants and everybody skips. There literally wasn't one element of this book I didn't like,

it had:
A strong female lead 
Feminism

An evil sultan
. A dark character looking for redemption
. A hate to love relationship
. A hate to love friendship.
Camaraderie
. An interesting magic system
. Funny bits!
 Scary bits!
 Characters with grey area personalities. 
Close friendships. 
A wedding!
. And did I mention amazing world building?



I found myself really looking forward to the time I had to sit down and read more of this book which I haven't felt for ages. It's definitely in my top ten books that I've read this year and I honestly can't wait for the sequel! An incredible debut!

I was giving a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review

What a book! I was ready for a predictable tale of a women pretending to me a man and it all go from there.

But how I was wrong, this book is worth every moment I spent within its pages and I have recommended it to everyone I know as it's amazing