“But eyes couldn’t stay closed forever, unless one was dead. And the dead never dreamed.”
Hello, hi, Hafsah Faizal has writing like poetry, and no one can tell me otherwise. I tabbed my copy like there was no tomorrow because these quotes shook me to my core or left me thinking deeply about humanity, individuality, etc.
Now let’s get into some favorite parts:
One of the main points of contention within this world is the sexism against women. Women are immediately looked down upon and seen as malevolent if they choose to do typical male jobs/ activities. There’s this deep rooted ideology that these ancient/ magical women destroyed magic and set the world into a chaos of suffering. Jump to present day, the main character Zafira hides her identity as a huntress because it could hurt her loved ones, herself, and women all across the caliphates, but she secretly wishes for recognition. She wishes for the day where she can become her true self and show it to the world. Eventually she is thrown into a quest to bring back magic, and she sees it as her chance to break this stigma against women, as well an opportunity to gain this recognition she so desperately desires.
Then there’s Nasir who is the literal definition of a brooding prince. He’s gone through a lot (hi, brutality didn’t know you’d be showing your face today), and his answer is in obedience and blood. In a world where a once beloved father destroys you limb for limb, what else is there left to do than listen? As humans it is hard to break away from that desire to make your loved ones proud, and Nasir’s journey towards his sense of self is a grueling but necessary event. It’s powerful.
The side characters within this world were a huge 10/10 for me. Altair, specifically, is my favorite character within the entire book because I can’t tell y’all the amount of times I cackled. He has my sass and humor 110%, and he needs to be protected at all costs. Hafsah, for future reference, please don’t destroy my heart in destroying him. I really don’t think I can take losing him anytime within this series.
Yasmin, Zafira’s best friend, is another character that really stands out. She’s the foil to Zafira because she takes strength in her femininity while Zafira shies away from hers. She isn’t in much of WHTF, but I can’t wait to see her role in the sequel.
Lastly, WHTF teaches us to be ourselves and not those others want us to be. We only have one life, and it’s meant for our choices. Also to want more in life is perfectly human. It seems a trend in our lives as humans to shy away from recognition and pride in our deeds, but I think Hafsah shows us through these characters that is okay to do that. We’re made to feel less and immoral if our deeds weren’t purely for others, but most humans aren’t like that. We’re built of a complexity no one understands but us, and we have emotions at a range of a thousand. Nothing is purely one feeling. I honestly don’t know if I’m describing this right, but it’s impactful in WHTF. Hafsah is a million times better at describing this idea.
The story’s barely begun but already so many pieces are set in motion. Hafsah is a detail extraordinaire, and I cannot wait to see where she takes this wondrous story next.
Hello, hi, Hafsah Faizal has writing like poetry, and no one can tell me otherwise. I tabbed my copy like there was no tomorrow because these quotes shook me to my core or left me thinking deeply about humanity, individuality, etc.
Now let’s get into some favorite parts:
One of the main points of contention within this world is the sexism against women. Women are immediately looked down upon and seen as malevolent if they choose to do typical male jobs/ activities. There’s this deep rooted ideology that these ancient/ magical women destroyed magic and set the world into a chaos of suffering. Jump to present day, the main character Zafira hides her identity as a huntress because it could hurt her loved ones, herself, and women all across the caliphates, but she secretly wishes for recognition. She wishes for the day where she can become her true self and show it to the world. Eventually she is thrown into a quest to bring back magic, and she sees it as her chance to break this stigma against women, as well an opportunity to gain this recognition she so desperately desires.
Then there’s Nasir who is the literal definition of a brooding prince. He’s gone through a lot (hi, brutality didn’t know you’d be showing your face today), and his answer is in obedience and blood. In a world where a once beloved father destroys you limb for limb, what else is there left to do than listen? As humans it is hard to break away from that desire to make your loved ones proud, and Nasir’s journey towards his sense of self is a grueling but necessary event. It’s powerful.
The side characters within this world were a huge 10/10 for me. Altair, specifically, is my favorite character within the entire book because I can’t tell y’all the amount of times I cackled. He has my sass and humor 110%, and he needs to be protected at all costs. Hafsah, for future reference, please don’t destroy my heart in destroying him. I really don’t think I can take losing him anytime within this series.
Yasmin, Zafira’s best friend, is another character that really stands out. She’s the foil to Zafira because she takes strength in her femininity while Zafira shies away from hers. She isn’t in much of WHTF, but I can’t wait to see her role in the sequel.
Lastly, WHTF teaches us to be ourselves and not those others want us to be. We only have one life, and it’s meant for our choices. Also to want more in life is perfectly human. It seems a trend in our lives as humans to shy away from recognition and pride in our deeds, but I think Hafsah shows us through these characters that is okay to do that. We’re made to feel less and immoral if our deeds weren’t purely for others, but most humans aren’t like that. We’re built of a complexity no one understands but us, and we have emotions at a range of a thousand. Nothing is purely one feeling. I honestly don’t know if I’m describing this right, but it’s impactful in WHTF. Hafsah is a million times better at describing this idea.
The story’s barely begun but already so many pieces are set in motion. Hafsah is a detail extraordinaire, and I cannot wait to see where she takes this wondrous story next.