ARC Review: We Free the Stars (Sands of Arawiya #2) by Hafsah Faizal
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Series: Sands of Arawiya #2
Author: Hafsah Faizal
Published March 18th 2021 by Macmillan Children's Books
Goodreads Synopsis
The spellbinding sequel to the New York Times-bestselling We Hunt the Flame, by the masterful Hafsah Faizal.
Darkness surged in his veins. Power bled from her bones.
The battle is over, but the war is just beginning. Low on resources and allies alike, Zafira and Nasir are determined to finish their mission; to restore magic to their kingdom.
But the land teems with the return of an ancient evil, and as Nasir fights to command the magic in his blood, Zafira battles a very different darkness. And yet, in spite of everything, they find themselves falling into a love they can't stand to lose.
Time is running out and if order is to be restored, sacrifices will have to be made . . .
Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, Hafsah Faizal's We Free the Stars is the epic conclusion to the Sands of Arawiya duology.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
Following the explosive events of We Hunt The Flame, the zumra are separated and reeling from the loss of Altair and Benyamin. They have recovered four of the five hearts, as well as the Jarawat, a magical hilya that has bound itself to Zafira, and is battling for control. In order to restore magic to Arawiya, they need to return the hearts to their minarets, before they die, and find the last one currently in the Lion's control. But the Lion won't go down without a fight, and as both Nasir and Zafira battle to control the powers they've newly discovered, will the gang be able to triumph against evil?
I will admit, I wasn't overly keen on We Hunt The Flame, and didn't really understand the hype surrounding it, but it was okay, and I had been sent a review copy of the sequel, so I decided to give it a go anyway. And boy, am I glad. The sequel, though perhaps a touch longer than necessary, was perfect, and completely blew me away. Because we don't have to meet our main cast, and learn their history or the history of Arawiya, we could get right into the action, and fully immerse ourselves in the story. The twists and turns, and the way Hafsah interleaved all of the subplots together, tying them into a neat bow at the end, was phenomenal. Any question you may have had from book 1 was answered, and so many more than came up throughout the 600+ pages of We Free the Stars. I just adored the camaraderie between the zumra, and the reintroduction of Zafira's sister, Lana. But, overall, the best part of the book was the love story between Zafira and Nasir. They were the perfect partner for each other, being there and supporting the other when others would not, and though they had their flaws, together they could flourish. Okay, there were some moments that I wanted to shake them, and get them to have a proper conversation and deal with the miscommunication, but the longing and pining just increased the tension ten-fold, and when the final conclusion came together, you couldn't have asked for a better ending to the book, and to the duology. A fantastic sequel!
Dates Read:
June 23-26, 2021
Rating
4 Stars
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