Want to know my thoughts on the first book, We Hunt the Flame?
Click here to check out my review!

Overall: 5/5 Stars
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 5/5
Awesomeness Factor: 5/5
Review in a Nutshell: I am broken. This book has destroyed me. But in the best possible way.

// Content Warning: Violence, Death, Child Abuse, War Themes, Murder //

Release Date: 1/19/2021
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Page Count: 592 pages
Previous Books: We Hunt the Flame (#1)
(click the title to read my review)
Premise:

We Free the Stars is the sequel to We Hunt the Flame, following the zumra after as they continue on their quest to return magic to Arawiya.

Initial Thoughts

I am a husk of a human being. I don’t know how to move on after finishing this book.

We Hunt the Flame is one of my all-time favorite books. We Free the Stars had a lot to live up to, but I knew I would end up loving it. I did not expect how much. This book somehow managed to surpass all of my exceedingly high expectations and leave me an absolute mess.

Writing & Setting

We all already know that Hafsah Faizal’s writing is gorgeous. This is news to no one. But let me just say it again: the writing in this book is stunning, the prose is elegant without losing a sense of humor, and the setting is fascinating. We got to know Arawiya a little bit in the first book, but We Free the Stars shows us more of this world and made me never want to leave.

Plot

This book continues on the quest to restore magic and save Arawiya from the danger that was unleashed at the end of We Hunt the Flame (I’m trying to be vague here for anyone who hasn’t read the first one yet).

Where it took me a minute to get into the first book, I was immediately hooked in We Free the Stars. There was something constantly happening or about to happen. There was also a decent amount of action in this book, which is always fun, while still having time to let the fantastic characters shine.

Characters

Speaking of those fantastic characters: I love the zumra with every fibre of my being.

The characters in this book are amazing. You thought you loved them after We Hunt the Flame? Just you wait.

We get three POVs in this book: Zafira, Nasir, and Altair.

I loved the addition of Altair’s perspective. He became one of my favorite characters in We Hunt the Flame and I was so happy to see more of him in We Free the Stars (even though I was constantly worrying about him). Learning more about him was one of my favorite parts of this book.

Nasir and Zafira’s perspectives are equally amazing. They both have gone through a lot in book one and it was great to see them continue to develop and change over the course of this book.

We Free the Stars also puts a good amount of focus on the romance that began in We Hunt the Flame and it was just so perfect. I honestly don’t know how to put into words my feelings over that plotline because my thoughts are still an incoherent mess whenever I try to think of it.

Outside of our POV characters, we see some familiar faces and some new ones. I loved spending even more time with the characters we already knew from We Hunt the Flame, and I also really enjoyed getting to know all of the new characters. There was not a single flat character in this series and I love it so much.

Pros- Beautiful writing, fantastic characters, swoon-worthy romance, amazing worldbuilding, addictive plot
Cons- I don’t know what to do with my life now that this series is over. Also, this book made me cry in the middle of a livestream
Overall- 5/5 stars.
I could not have imagined a more perfect finale. This book was everything I could have ever wanted it to be.

If You Liked We Free the Stars, I’d Recommend:

• The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh [Review]
• The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight #1) by Swati Teerdhala [Review]

What was the best finale that you’ve ever read? (this one might it for me)

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Purchase From: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound

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