Alwyn Hamilton is not just a talented storyteller. She is a graphic scene maker and a director.

She doesn't just describe the situations in which her protagonist finds herself, she makes you feel you are an part of the whole scene, like you are actually in Amani's shoes.

And, I deeply admire her for that and the deeply fascinating world she has created.


Amani's story made me fall instantly in love with her whole world and the powerful creatures that created it, from the first few chapters of the very first book in the series.

In this second novel of the story, we even learn more about the Djinns and their half-human offsprings.

We also get to have an insight in the ways of the harem and the mind of the brutal and intriguing Sultan who claimed his throne after treacherous and murderous acts all these years ago.

Amani finds herself all alone in the most dangerous situation she has encountered yet.

But, she manages to remain the same brave and strong girl I deeply loved in the first book.

The deaths and sacrifices are, yet again, not missing from this action-filled book and the way it ends, it makes me crave the next and final installation in the trilogy even more anxiously.

Hamilton's way of writing is once again magical, and it really makes me wonder why this amazing series is not even more widely popular:

- Amazing, brave, strong and intelligent protagonist - Check!

- Swoon-worthy, sexy and protective romantic interest - Check!

- Rich of amazing and deep supporting characters, willing to sacrifice themselves and fight for their cause and their country - Check!

- Lots of action and a healthy dose of romance to keep things hot in every aspect - Check!

- Amazing and original world, filled with people with unique and fascinating powers - Check!

After all these elements, how can you not love such a marvelous piece of work?


All in all, wishing I could give more than 5 stars for the second book of what is shaping to be one of my most loved series of all times.

“But then, this was what the desert did to us. It made us dreamers with weapons.”

Wow. What a sequel. Before I get into this review, please be aware that there might be unintentional spoilers for the first book. If you’d like to see my review for Rebel of the Sands, go ahead and check that out first. *long pause* Are we good to go? Okay. Let’s dive in.

First of all, there was quite a big time jump between book one and book two… massive even. The passing of time was interesting but I also feel like I missed out on a lot of good content! Namely, Jin. I feel like there was not enough of him in this book. What was he up to during that massive chunk of time? How were him and Amani getting along before the craziness of this sequel started? Is he still the same guy he was in book one? I have so many questions and so few answers. But I digress.

While Jin was MIA, Ahmed was there to take over for the rebels. Like Amani, I also found myself constantly questioning his leadership. Her doubts became my own but I still had some faith in him. Surely he is better than the Sultan? Good has to trump bad, right? It’s just confusing because both sides of every battle always fight with their own “good intentions”. Things can get complicated.

When it comes to potential rulers, I don’t think that Jin set out to be one. I think he just wants to love his girl and fight for her. He’s a strong guy, but he doesn’t want to fight this battle for all the rebels–just one rebel girl. At least that’s the vibe I get from him. Maybe he’ll prove us all wrong in the next book. Maybe we’ll never know because he’ll just disappear again.

A lot of new characters were introduced in this book so I’ll try to keep my opinions about them brief. The majority of the book was focused on the Sultan and I’m kind of glad about it. I love getting to know “villains”. I don’t agree with his methods as a ruler but I do like that he was humanized a bit. We see that he thinks he’s doing the right thing for his people by keeping the society a certain way. That doesn’t mean that things shouldn’t change though.

Who else was there? Sam. Sam was funny. He reminded me of Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles. I liked Leyla in the beginning (mostly because I was excited to read about a character that shared my name) but my opinion of her changed by the end of the book... for obvious reasons. Rahim was probably my favourite new character. You can read the book if you want to know why.

Anyways, I feel like I’m talking too much about the characters. I just don’t want to spoil the plot for you guys because it really was action-packed. Did I mention how awesome the demji powers are? They are so badass. Shapeshifting is probably the coolest thing in this book.

Overall, Traitor started off a bit slowly for me (and it honestly could have been like 100 pages shorter), but I enjoyed it a lot more than Rebel of the Sands. There was just so much action happening! I love it when a sequel can land more punches than its predecessor.

If you’re looking for desert vibes, guns, demons, rebels and royals–you’ll want to pick up this book.

I didn't like reading the first book and didn't finish that one. So I'm not interested in starting this book. I thought the story in the first book was too romantic for my taste

I did not love this book as much as I loved the first but enjoyed it regardless.

I love Alwyn's action scenes however I felt this novel dragged in parts and I found myself skimming at times. So much could have been taken out of the book without compromising the plot, character development and world building.

However, the world building is still one of the best parts of the book. A lush and magical world!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Rebel of the Sands was one of my favourite debuts last year, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequel. Traitor to the Throne takes place a few months after the events of Rebel, and we have a completely different type of story this time around. In this case, Amani finds herself kidnapped, and taken to the Sultan's harem to stop her from helping the Rebellion. As a prisoner, she can't do too much, but finds ways to help undermine the Sultan, and aide the Rebellion, from the inside. When rumours of the Blue-Eyed Bandit still working reaches her ears, she finds the person who has been impersonating her, and inducts him to the cause. However, she also has underestimated the Sultan, who uses her powers ad a Demdji for his own benefit in diplomacy, and his heir, Kadir, who wants her, and is enraged when his father says she isn't to be touched - which she never was, thank god!

I enjoyed this book, but do think I preferred Rebel more. Traitor didn't have as much action as book 1, but the political intrigue did make up for this. For the most part, Amani was separated from the other rebels, which wasn't fun, but this book felt like it was more of a filler, setting the scene for the finale. It has definitely added to the plot of the series, and without this book, we wouldn't know as much about the world or the characters.

Amani is still as fiesty and amazing as ever, and the new characters we are introduced to really brought something to the story line. For the majority of the book, Amani was in the Sultan's harem, so we spent time with the other women there, as well as learning about the politics of the world. Though Amani was ultimately a prisoner, the Sultan appreciated her abilities to tell when someone is lying, so she was used as a human lie detector in a lot of political and diplomatic meetings. However, I still missed Amani's life as a bandit, and hope in future instalments we see more from this lifestyle.

Again, there wasn't much by the way of romance, because Amani was separated from Jin. What there was, was enjoyable, but I missed their relationship.

Though I feel like this book was a filler, it did answer some questions from book 1, like what happened to Amani's cousin and best friend, and definitely set the stage for an explosive finale, if that ending is anything to go by. I look forward to having book 3 ASAP!

I was quite surprised by how different this was to the first, and really appreciated that it wasn't just a rehash like so many book number twos can be. I felt a bit disconnected at first, the jump in time between the previous book and this one made me feel like I'd missed something...
I loved the setting, mythology and characters still, and all that tension building up - looking forward to the next book.

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

A lot more political and a little draggy, but thank goodness there's still a lot of action scenes. I live for Alwyn Hamilton's action scenes because they're just so gripping. They more than made up for some of the dragging parts that eventually led to somewhere. There are stories that turn into info dumps that disrupt the flow of the story, but if you get over those parts, it's a rather enjoyable read like the first. I completely forgot some of the characters because there were so many, but I read a recap, and remembered some of them. I was also astounded as to the many twists that came our way, especially towards Amani. I felt so badly for the poor girl.

The blurb in the beginning of the description, "This is not about blood or love. This is about treason." basically fits the entire novel. I hope I gave you ample warning. As with most second books, this suffered the second-book syndrome where not a whole lot happens, and the story progresses slowly, but it's still adventurous enough to keep reading. I still love this world so so much, and can't wait what else Hamilton has in store for our characters.

Oh and I have to say that changing the North American covers was a bad idea. The U.K. covers still manage to keep the theme nicely. I really wished they didn't change it to be honest, I didn't buy it just because of that reason.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an arc of this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Faber & Faber for the opportunity to read and review Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton! The list of characters at the beginning of the book helped refresh my memory of the first book in this series, Rebel of the Sands.
The introduction summarized the past events also and brought me up to speed. Rebellion and war are center stage in the middle of a bundle of tumultuous relationships. Amani gets herself captured so she can rescue other rebels, willing to sacrifice herself if needed. This story is filled with death defying actions and more disguises than I can keep track of, all pulled together seamlessly to strengthen the rebellious plot. Spies, intrigue and harems in the desert setting build a tale of a dangerous Sultan and his kingdom and several heirs to his throne. The tension grows in this sequel and some lives are lost while some are spared. The surprise ending of this sequel, full of turmoil and deception, leaves me anxiously awaiting the third book. 5 stars for an action packed adventure fantasy!

Alwyn Hamilton has proved yet again how much she has planned her world and characters. There were so many twists that I didn't expect - I love books that keep me guessing. A fantastic read!

I really enjoyed this sequel to Rebel of the Sands. To begin with, the story was slow, and took a little while to get back into, but the pacing and action soon picked up.
Amani remains to be the kick-ass, sassy character she's always been, and I really enjoyed her explorations of both the world, her friendships, and herself (plus her Demjii powers).
The ending was certainly well-done, unexpected twists and turns galore, and I LOVED IT. Cannot wait to dive into the final novel in this trilogy, and see what it has to offer.

Months after the battle at Fahali, the Rebellion is growing. As is Amani's reputation as the Blue-Eyed Bandit.
Then Amani is kidnapped and finds herself at the palace in the hands of the Sultan and without her powers. The palace is a dangerous place full of power-hungry people, none deadlier than the Sultan who can never find out that Amani is the Blue-Eyed Bandit.
Can Amani spy for the Rebellion without getting caught?
Can she survive at the palace?

Wow! Most sequels fail to live up to the first book, but not Traitor to the Throne!
From the beginning, the book was full of action, betrayal and plot twists.
I enjoyed finding more out about the Djinni and seeing more of Miraji.
I love Amani as a character - she's not perfect and is stubborn.
I adore any scene with Amani and Jin, and like how well they fit together. The romance is sweet and you can feel the connection between them.
I enjoyed the writing style and was gripped from the start.
I found myself thinking about the book when I was at work and couldn't wait to get home to read more - it's not often that a book gets under my skin like that!
I would definitely recommend this series.
I can't wait for the next book!

Overall this was a very enjoyable read and a perfect continuation to the series.

A pretty darn enjoyable sequel to <em>The Rebel of the Sands</em> series, it mixes it up a bit, going more for the espionage, political intrigue within the Sultan's palace rather than rebellion action.

The story actually jumps a few months into the future and we quickly learned that our infamous Blue Eyed Bandit Amani almost died but is quickly getting into the thick of things once more. The story is sort of like a sandwich, where the start and the end is the action and the battles, while the middle takes place in the palace and we see Amani play spy in the Harem.

I really enjoyed all the action, it was very reminiscent of the first book. The espionage part I found to be a bit slower but it still helps gives us an inside look into the Sultan and his harem. The Sultan is pretty manipulative and it was interesting to see Amani go through some internal turmoil about the Rebellion. I liked that Amani got the chance to grow a bit as a character (but still remained her badass self).
<blockquote>His gaze flicked to me. Like he might be able to suss out the truth just from looking at me. Whether a girl of seventeen would really think she could take on a half dozen grown men with nothing but a handful of bullets and think she could win. Whether the famous Blue-Eyed Bandit could really be that stupid. I preferred 'reckless'.</blockquote>
The relationships were definitely my favourite part of this book. I adored Amani and Shazad's super awesome girl-power friendship, they just make such an awesome duo. Shazad, a general in the rebellion, seriously just gets better and better. She's brilliant and I hope she gets an amazing happily ever after too!
<blockquote>"I see you managed not to get yourself shot this time." Shazad whirled to face the remaining soldiers as I did the same. "You still owe me those twenty fouza, though."

"Double or  nothing?" I offered over my shoulder as we met back to back.</blockquote>
The other rebels/demdjis remained awesome and there's a few new characters that quickly won me over,too. In particular, the "other" Blue Eyed Bandit (Sam), who plays the charming Casanova so well. I love Sam and his flirting ways,
<blockquote>"You've got a lot of experience kidnapping princesses, do you?" Shazad said.

"I'll have you know that princesses find me irresistible." He leaned in conspiratorially. "I'm still working on bandits and generals."</blockquote>
Jin. I can finally talk about Jin and the romance right! Okay, so you might have heard, he's not in the book a lot and that's definitely sad. But holy cow, the sparks that flew off Jin and Amani when they were together kind of makes up for it. So swoony. They definitely still have stuff to work out but I love that their relationship is about them.
<blockquote>Through the crowd, among the mass of pepole, his face swung straight towards me. Like we were tied together by some invisible bond. Like we were in needles of the paired compasses. Jin's eyes found mine. I was wrong. He didn't have his father's smile. Because that troublemaker curve to his mouth was all ours.</blockquote>
The ending. I was not expecting that! Needless to say, I'm pretty excited for the next book! Overall, Traitor to the Throne was a great addition to the series. The plot is a little slower but with twist and turns, revelations, action and swoony moments, it's easy to get sucked into the universe!

More Quotes! Because swoony Jin.
<blockquote>That smile pulled at the edge of Jin's mouth. "Have I told you that you're exceptional lately?"

"No." I looped the the rope around the edge of the balcony again. "You disappeared on me for a few months without explanation instead."

Jin spun me around to face him. "You" - he kissed me quickly, on the left corner of my mouth, sending a rush though me - "are" - the right corner of my mouth this time - "exceptional".</blockquote>

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

More like 4.5* if I'm splitting hairs.

I really did like this. It was a good sequel to Rebel of the Sands with plenty of character development for our gunslinging MC, Amani. The relationship between her and Jin is believable and quite sweet when they're not both being stubborn and annoying. The other rebels captured my attention more this time too. Hard not to like Izz and Maz the shapeshifting twins, shy Delilah, snarky, cynical Hala or the often down right unpleasant but still brave and honourable Imin. I really like the fact that Hamilton has not made this struggle for a throne a black and white issue. No doubt it would have been far easier to make the Sultan, who we see a lot of in this book, a fat, indolent and cruel moustache twirling version of himself rather than the subtle, clever manipulator who absolutely believes he is doing what is right for his country. Enough so that it forces Amani to question her choices. The book starts (after the first chapter IMO) with a bang and is a fast paced train robbery of a fantasy from there ending with a explosion and a very slight cliff hanger. (there's a mix of hope and sorrow at least.) I also love how the folklore is woven into this creating a diverse and engaging world.

My quibble is that this was incredibly hard to get into to start with. Personally I could have done without a chapter of infodump recap at the beginning, which led me to keep putting off reading this. I can see it working for other people but I didn't need it and found it off-putting, making this a shade less engaging than book one.

That said there's no middle book syndrome here and I can't wait for book three. A cracking original fantasy. Highly recommend.

I couldn't wait to read this after I read the first book in the series this year. I truly enjoy these characters and the storyline. Although I had no issues with the Middle Eastern setting in the first book, I did find some of the character names in the sequel a bit hilarious 'cause they sounded very made-up and trying-too-hard-to-be-Arab/whatever and not completely succeeding at doing so. Plus, the plot of this installment didn't grab me like the first one. I also read this slower - over a month's time - and maybe that was the problem, I don't know, but something about this one was off. I found Amani a little too annoying with her repetitive recall sessions - about Jin, about the Sultan, about the Rebel Prince, about Tahmid, I mean we get it, woman - I remember your interactions, please give the reader the benefit of the doubt.

Overall, I think I will read the final installment. I'd like to know how Hamilton resolves the conflict in this storyline.

Loved the first book, love the second, can't wait for the third!! Good plot, great characterisation, brilliant world-building. What more could you wish for?

Look, this book just had too many characters slowing down what was too little plot.

I was all for the plot of Amani gets trapped by her aunt in the Sultan's palace. I was even for the questioning of whether the Sultan was in the right about everything, and whether the Rebellion was in the wrong. Yeah, I really honestly loved that, actually. Bad guys that make you question whether what they are doing is right are the best bad guys, in my humble opinion.

But it took over fifty pages just to get to the introduction of the Sultan. With any readers for whom it had been a while since they read Rebel of the Sands, there was just too much time wandering about with too many names that weren't actually important to the story. In fact, I would have been happy with that whole first fifty pages being part of the first book, rather than this one.

Having already experienced, in Rebel of the Sands, that the second half of the book was far better paced than the start, I set myself to hoping that again. But even so, the part of the story where we wondered whether the Sultan was actually in the right was too short, the reveal when Jin came back onto the page was basically glossed over. In short, the things I cared about were given no time or pacing and the rest of the book took up way too much.

That said, however, no one can deny that Alwyn Hamilton's writing style is beautiful and descriptive, and that was pretty much the reason why I managed to finish this book.

Rebel or traitor? Which are you?

I devoured Traitor to the Throne in a day and holy shit, I missed it all so much. This world, the characters; everything just brought back memories of reading Rebel of the Sands over and over again. Guys, this book so did not disappoint. And the size difference of the books...

We arrive back to the world of Miraji - a few months after the aftermath of Rebel. We get told of what occurred with our loved characters in those months and so much more. Amani - our very own blue-eyed bandit knows how to make an entrance, and what an entrance it was. Still the sassy, desert girl but now a rebel with friends and a cause to fight for. I loved Shazad in Rebel and we see so much more of her - Amani and Shazad are friends and comrades in arms goals. What a duo they make, they basically made this book perfect.
Jin - sweet foreign prince Jin. The angst was so real, OTP goals - but slightly disappointed there wasn't much of him in this book and I get it's first person - but I need my fix of Jin, a few appearances was not enough.

Old characters and new made this book, loyal and strong - Ahmed, Hala, Izmin, the twins and so many stole a piece of my heart. The plot was mind-blowing, I really liked how even paced it was especially during the Palace and the Harem. The Sultan, I'm not even going to go there, Alwn has mad such a unique and cunning protagonist - I just can't. He has such a way of manipulating you to think you are wrong - LIKE, AM I A TRAITOR?

Traitor to the Throne will blow you away, the stories were my favourite and they will lure you in. Even the romance will have your hearts melting and the action will have you screaming, and that plot twist. There will be magic and mayhem, treason and sabotage, deceit and lies. Above all - survival to see a 'new dawn. A new dawn', what ever the cost.

As soon as I finished Rebel of the Sands, I had to get my hands on the sequel, which was EVEN BETTER than the first. Traitor to the Throne managed to avoid the dreaded middle-book syndrome, maintaining a good pace and developing the characters and relationships from the first book in a satisfying way.

I absolutely adore Amani – she’s powerful, fierce, and an amazing shot. As much as I love her relationship with Jin (swoon), it’s Amani’s friendship with Shazad that was the highlight for me. Amani has emotionally developed so much since the beginning of the first book and nowhere is this more evident than in her bond with Shazad. Amani is definitely not the selfish girl she was when trying to escape Dustwalk.

I love the evocative world Alwyn Hamilton has created. As soon as I saw Rebel of the Sands described as Arabian Nights meets the Wild West, I knew this was a book I really needed to read. Apparently the US editions now contain a map, which would have been really helpful at times to keep track of all the places mentioned. But at least now I have an excuse to buy more books…

This is one of those books that you won’t want to put down. Now we only have to wait until 2018 for the final book. That’s not long at all, right? Right???

This is definitely not a book to be missed – JOIN THE REBELLION

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.
To be honest I wasn’t overly impressed with the first book. The writing style was great and all but I didn’t like the story. Either because of the whole western feels of it with the gunslingers and such or because I so not versed in the Arabian mythology and creatures that I was completely lost and couldn’t easily immerse myself in the story. So this on took me by complete surprise it was so much better plot wise than the first, at least for me.
This story takes place quite a while after the first book (6 months) and a lot of crazy things happened in the interim. And things just start to get even crazier. Amani falls into a situation that not one she every expected but tries to get the most of out of it. However as unexpected situation goes this one is also full of surprises and doubts. She needs all of her smarts and strength to find the right path. Alwyn Hamilton expertly twisted the events so the reader is kept on the edge of the seats but never gets enough information to figure out what’s really going on before its time.
The characters developed a lot during the time between the two books. It’s mainly true about Amani. She is not the same girls she was. She is still a bit stupid but she knows it. She is reckless and rash, funny and an awesome main character. The risks she takes are the main moving force of the story. Her sassiness is still there but her personality has more depth to it in this book. She just grew into her role of rebel.
I missed Jin and his relationship with Amani. In the first book the romantic thread didn’t really develop or more like showed as obviously as I would have liked. Only the whisper of it was there. He and Amani are the same in a lot of aspects and it is a main thing that keeps them apart. They are both stubborn to admit their obvious feelings for each other. They constantly fight and most of the times it backfires for them in a hilarious way. But even so the romance is more prominent in Traitor to the throne it never took over the plot or overwhelmed the events.
The book s significantly longer and not as action packed than the first book and I was worried because of this at first but fortunately it didn’t became boring or dull, not even for a minute maybe because this story has much more impactful information and more secrets to impart.