#BookReview for We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya #1) by Hafsah Faizal #OwnVoices

Synopsis: 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.

Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.
This title will be released on May 14, 2019.

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About the Author: Hafsah Faizal is an American Muslim and brand designer. She’s the founder of IceyDesigns, where she creates websites for authors and beauteous goodies for everyone else. When she’s not writing, she can be found dreaming up her next design, deciding between Assassin’s Creed and Skyrim, or traversing the world. Born in Florida and raised in California, she now resides in Texas with her family and a library of books waiting to be devoured. WE HUNT THE FLAME is her first novel.

Rating: 🌟🌟
My Review: I had so many high hopes for this title.  It was one of my most anticipated reads of this year and I am so sad that it just didn't work out.  For me this is one of those books that was just trying way to hard to be amazing.  The story was bogged down with descriptions as well as real words blending with made up ones as well as slang.  I spend half the time during the first part of the book just trying to figure out what words meant.  Wondering if they were just spelled wrong in my copy or if it was intentional.  

This also made the story hard to follow.  With all the descriptions it made it really hard to follow the story.  I spend most of my time reading about what a character was doing in the descriptions and that really took away from the story itself.  I wished that the descriptions would have been cut down by 3/4 at the least as they really over powered the story.  

The next thing is the characters.  We have Zafira that reminds me of the runaway bride. It seemed she was always running away or towards something.  This in my mind made her very fickle as a character and well I kind of didn't like her at all.  Now Nasir I really did enjoy go figure.  He was cold yes but at least he felt full rounded out to me.  At least for the most part.   The romance between these two was kind of meh in my book.  I think it could have been better done.  But as this is a debut I hope that the author learns from writing this title so the next one could be even better.  

This one suffers from being extremely slow to start and just didn't pull me in at all.  It failed to use words that were easily understandable and was bogged down by descriptions to the point where I was totally confused on what in the world was going on.   The romance was lacked luster and the characters failed to make me fall in love with them.  

Bustle Most Anticipated 2019 YA Release
Barnes & Noble Top 2019 YA Fantasy Release
Paste Magazine Top 10 Most Anticipated YA Novels of 2019
Culturess 19 Books We Can't Wait to Get Our Hands on in 2019

"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

"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." -Kirkus Reviews

"As dazzling and magical as the world Faizal has crafted, WE HUNT THE FLAME should be on every fantasy fan's bookshelf." -Kiersten White, New York Timesbestselling author

"Hafsah Faizal weaves an intricate tale that brings us not only a richly imagined new world of magic to explore, but more than that, with a deft, wise hand, she charts the yearnings of the human heart, all while delivering breathtaking twists and unexpected turns. A truly stunning debut!" -Robin LaFevers, New York Times bestselling author of Courting Darkness and the His Fair Assassin trilogy

"A sparkling debut, full of mystery and magic, vivid characters and rich language." -Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author

"Beautiful storytelling, mesmerizing settings, and fiery characters--WE HUNT THE FLAME is danger, magic, and hope all wrapped into one, and it is intoxicating." -Evelyn Skye, New York Times bestselling author of the Crown's Game series

"With fierce characters, deathly challenges, and world-building both lyrical and spellbinding, WE HUNT THE FLAME is unputdownable." -Marieke Nijkamp, #1 New York Times bestselling author

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Posted in: 2 Stars, Feiwel & Friends, Review, Young Adult