Hi everyone!

So today I have a different kind of post, but it’s something I really want to share. If you don’t know, We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal is one of my most anticipated 2019 books. When I first read the synopsis, I knew it was the one for me. It was love at first sight.

Let’s start with the 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 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.

This book is inspired by ancient Arabia. A book like this that isn’t an Aladdin or A Thousand and One Night retelling? I never thought I’d live to see the day.

The representation in this book, from what I have seen so far, makes my heart beat with excitement. I shed a tear when I saw the character arts. I have never before read a book with so much authentic Arabian elements to it. The lettering, the food, the words, the clothes, the swords—everything is just perfect.

This book is a chance for us to see ourselves in books. A chance for representation for a group that doesn’t get much representation in Western media. Not good anyways.

And if you don’t quite care for that, listen to this:

• Assassins
• Brooding, hot guys
• Beautiful and eloquent writing
• Princes of Death
• Love to hate
• Quests
• Sarcastic best friends
• Badass women

And I can go on and on. This is just a sliver of what this book can offer you.

Aesthetically, this book is so pleasing. I mean, look at this book cover.

Look at how beautiful it is. The crescent moon, the desert, the arrows, the palace in the background, the font, our lovely Zafira looking so badass on the cover . . . How can you not just want it?

There’s also several editions of the book if you’re into collecting. I’m doing my best, but please tell me if I’ve missed any editions! I used Faizal’s tweet to get most of the information. I’ve linked to posts where I got other information.

• Regular edition with the blind stamp of crossed swords and arrows
• Regular with the golden foil stamp

• The Barnes & Noble exclusive edition, comes with coloured endpapers, gold foil stamp, textured casing, and is not signed
• A signed Barnes & Noble exclusive edition from GC reading
• Indigo bookbox edition, within the box you’d get candles, bookmarks, a letter from Hafsah, and a signed edition of We Hunt the Flame.
• Shelflove Crate edition, includes the original cover on the flip side of the dust jacket so you can decide which one you want to show off.
• Fox & Wit sprayed edges edition
• International edition—UK and Australia special paperback edition
• OwlCrate edition, I’m not sure what this will be as they don’t reveal it before hand but based on previous boxes I can assume it’ll be an alternate cover!

And if you’re one to collect ARCS:

• US ARC (with old cover)
• Australian ARC (with new cover)

I’m pretty sure I got all of them, but if I missed any, please tell me!

Okay, I was going to include the pre-order offer, where you receive a set of character cards, but it already sold out! I’m ecstatic that it reached this milestone.

So, this is it! I’ve tried my best to include everything on why you need to read We Hunt the Flame. Pre-order it. Request it at the library. Buy it when it comes out. Borrow from a friend. Anything. Just read it it. This book is going to change lives, I can just feel it.

For my fellow Arabs, don’t you want to read a book where elements of our history and culture and language is used so beautifully? Don’t you want to just get the references and things used? I’ve read few to none good Arab representing books, but I have a feeling this will be The One. The One.

*An important reminder that this book does NOT include Muslim rep. Hafsah Faizal has explained why she did not include it here. This is also a reminder that Muslim and Arab are not synonymous. Thank you.*

We Hunt the Flame is set to be published on May 14th, 2019 by Macmillan (I’m pretty sure this is the publisher in the US, although Goodreads is saying something else.)

Last thing—if you’re still not sure, here’s an excerpt to further convince you!

I hope this has convinced you, or at least allowed you to start thinking about reading and getting We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal!

As always, thank you for reading and see you next time ❤