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“An Englishman thinks a hundred miles is a long way; and American thinks a hundred years is a long time”

― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn

Today’s book takes us to the Arabian desert of centuries past (plus magic), but next week’s Virtual Book Club title is by an English author who’s lived in the US for nearly 30 years, so maybe it’ll be a blend of the deep history felt by the British and the sense of wonder and exploration of Americans.  Join us in reading  American Gods to find out and then sign up here to talk with us about it on Friday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. CST.

Dear readers, we picked a lot of pages of books this month, and I’m not sad.  I’m two days behind on a tight schedule, but not one bit sad.  I was nervous when we decided to read a duology for this week, and more so when I saw the two books were over a thousand pages combined, and readers, IT WAS SO WORTH IT!  

What I think I knew about the Sands of Arawiya duology before opening it: loved by readers with great taste (hear: very similar to mine).  Maybe I knew more at one time, but that plus covers = sold.  Hafsah Faizal’s world building is stellar, her writing is descriptive and lush, and this story is just gorgeous.  This is a fantasy hero’s journey, with an ensemble cast, and a side of romance!  I promise, we didn’t mean to be all about the heroes, but what a gorgeous coincidence.  Last week we shared Ashley Poston’s Among the Beasts and Briars which was a fun, western-feeling story layered with a history of lies, and today we bring you Faizal’s We Hunt the Flame and We Free the Stars which are both full of mystery and adventure inspired by ancient Arabia.  

I want to describe the Sands of Arawiya duology, but also I don’t, so here’s just a hint.  Magic is gone from the land, and each caliphate has a curse upon it.  Zafira, a hunter who feeds her village, is called upon to go search for an item that can restore magic and end the curse.  Little does she know, Nasir, the Prince of Death (who is both prince and hashashin) is on a similar mission, and then things quickly become…complex, contemplative, and oh so layered.  This story includes topics of trauma, family, both blood and found, accepting people as they are, faults included, gender discrimination, ethnic prejudices, betrayal, and more.  There is so much development in our characters, but most of it is from a place of recovering from past trauma, some of which we do see, mostly through recollection and memories, and probably a side of growing up too.  

There are so many sentences and phrases I highlighted in  Sands of Arawiya, some because they felt like foreshadowing, some because the phrasing was gorgeous, and others because the message is important.  Above all else, to me, this is a story of digging deep to find yourself, owning who you are so you can become the person you want to be, and doing so with awareness and integrity.  Here are a few of my favorites from both books:

“It doesn’t matter what you are.  You are your strength.”

“There was nothing more respectable and dangerous than a woman of confidence.”

“It was as if she had been more to a skin she did not fit within, and only now, in the desolation of the desert, was she allowing herself to take command of it.  To mold herself to it.”

“Strength doesn’t come…It must be seized.”

“Resilience flowed through a woman’s veins as fervently as her blood, Umm had always said.”

Last readers, I want to leave you with my usual wrap up comments.  I am likely to reread the Sands of Arawiya duology, but it may be a while, because the page count is a commitment, well worth it, but requiring careful planning when one has a posting schedule to maintain.  I’m giving the combined titles 4.5 stars and going to round up to 5.  They’ve been haunting me in the best way since I started reading them, and I feel like they’re not done with me yet.  Of all the gushing I’ve done, are you ready for my favorite part?  Ashley’s not!  The ending!  I know, I usually need more epilogue, but this time, y’all this time, it’s perfect!  We Free the Stars (book 2) is 583 pages contained in 114 chapters, and those last dozen or so chapters felt like epilogue and I just soaked it up like a glorious bubble bath!  

What book has recently left you thinking about it for days after you’ve finished?  

~Nikki 

Hafsah Faizal, dear readers, is a Forbes 30 under 30 class of 2021 honoree. Obviously, or we wouldn’t be discussing her books, she’s a writer, the New York Times bestselling author of the Sands of Arawiya series, We Hunt the Flame and We Free the Stars, and she has a new release coming out in 2022 entitled A Tempest of Tea (an illegal vampire tea room anyone?). Faizal is the founder of IceyDesigns, where she designs websites for authors (and others) and bookish goodies for everyone else – like candles and pins and stickers and stationery, plus more! She lives in Texas with her books and what seems like a computer gaming habit -her bio specifically mentions Assassin’s Creed and Skyrim. She was born in Florida and raised in California and her words have seared my heart and mind.

I finished the books last night when I should have been writing this blog post. They were, as Nikki mentioned, a whopping one thousand sixty four pages that we read in less than two weeks – in addition to other titles and work and life and stuff. That’s a lot of pages, but the writing was poetic and lyrical while the plot was filled with action after action, so reading was NOT a slog (here’s looking at you The Color of Law, a dense read which I finished, sandwiched between these two titles). Reading the Sands of Arawiya was simply a joy. With so much action, I constantly toggled back and forth from my place in the book to the map in the front, it was the only way I could keep everywhere straight, especially during We Free the Stars. With the chance of being a little spoilery (but it’s not because it’s in the marketing copy), Faizal brings a geographically diverse cast together on an adventure in book one then splits them up on differing missions in book two, but keeps them, the zumra, bound together by honor and emotion. 

What’s a zumra, you ask? Well, according to the book, it’s a group of people, a gang if you will, bound together with a common goal. Zumra is not the only Arabic word found in the books, there are so many, and it brings so much richness of culture to the story. It makes them more believable. During my interwebz research I found a tweet from Faizal in January 2019 about how some people say the Arabic words distract and others find it meaningful. I found it very meaningful and I am not an Arabic speaker! There was not one word or phrase that was not defined either explicitly or by context clues. I want to make the point, again, that we here at Heart.Wants.Books. read titles by diverse authors and with diverse characters to learn from others’ lived experiences. 

I have a total of two pages of handwritten notes from immediately after I finished reading last night and three of them discuss Faizal’s writing. Let’s begin: Readers, sass is my language and Faizal speaks it with eloquence and clarity! The double entendre, the wit, the sarcasm, the banter between characters. It. Is. Glorious. I would read this book again just to experience lines like: “I will take you back to the palace and chain you to your bed” and “I can get on my knees for you, fair gazelle.” ::swoon:: Beyond the spoken, sassy dialogue, the plot is go go go all the time. Even when the zumra has to rest between action parts, Faizal is bringing the reader into their inner lives. We get multiple characters’ inner thoughts and emotional turmoil. Nikki mentioned romance and, hello, welcome to the art of the slow burn when each character’s inner dialogue reads like love poetry and the romantic scenes read like…well… it reads like some books we love over here. There’s nothing more sensual than kissing, amirite? This is appropriately YA and utter perfection. 

Like Nikki, I don’t think We Hunt the Flame and We Free the Stars are done with ME yet, so a re-read is probably in my future – maybe if Faizal writes another story set in Arawiya – her website FAQ says never say never! I can’t believe I had this on the hold list since 2019! I’m also giving these books a 4.5 rounded up to 5 star review for not only being an escape of a read, but reminding me of my 2008 trip to Turkey with the descriptions of architecture, geography, décor, and FOOD. (Can you tell I’m hungry?)

What’s the last title that has made you desperately want to plan a trip somewhere, based on wanting to experience either someplace new or the comfort of nostalgia?

~Ashley

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