Exciting adventure set in a fully realised exotic world full of fast-paced action and magic. Amani is a great heroine and the supporting cast are varied and engaging. I can’t wait for the final part of the trilogy!

After reading Rebel of the Sands last September, I had high hopes for its sequel. Unfortunately, the magic and uniqueness was somehow lost in Traitor to the Throne. I felt that the character of Amani was no longer the stand out character that she had been. She was lost and so was I. I'm afraid that the magic that other readers have felt was completely missing for me.

I’m always nervous to read a sequel when I loved the first book in a series. I like world building and being introduced to new characters and concepts, so it’s always a challenge for a sequel to hook me in (and for me to remember what happened in the book before).

In this case, I enjoyed Traitor to the Throne as much as Rebel, if not more. Alwyn Hamilton has created an exciting, detailed world with a rich history and plenty of scope for sequels. I really love the American West meets Arabian Nights feel, for its uniqueness and the way the two blend so well together!

One of the main strengths of this series for me is the action. The pace never sags and as with Rebel I found the plot exhilarating and became thoroughly invested. Amani is one of my favourite YA main characters and I enjoyed seeing how she developed in this book.

I would have liked to see more of Jin, but I'm hoping we have this to look forward to in the next book. I'm not sure how I'm going to wait until then!

My rating: 4.5/5

Freaking FANTASTIC

"It was like being caught in a wildfire, desperate for breath, like if we stopped we would extinguish."

Spoiler free!

Thank you so much to the publisher (Faber & Faber) for providing a copy of this book!

In a nutshell:
If you haven't read Rebel of the Sands, (My review here) what are you doing with your life, get off here and do that now! If you haven't read Traitor to the Throne yet, that's understandable, since it just came out yesterday (in the UK not sure about USA date), but you need to get on that immediately and as soon as possible. Both of these books are amazing and no one should miss out!

I loved it:
This book is AMAZING. The characters, the plot, the feelings, everything was fantastic. SO well done. I loved Rebel of the Sands, but Alwyn Hamilton took it to a whole other level in this book, and it was FLAWLESS.

I love Amani. She's ruthless, amazing, and brave. Her character is flawed but good. I just enjoyed reading her so much.

My least favorite character was definitely the Sultan. I don't know why, but I always felt like he was too nice to Amani. I really wanted to see him as this ruthless horrible evil man, and he was, but he also seemed a lot more human than I expected. In a way, he made sense. Usually villains are untouchable and their actions are unimaginable, but with the Sultan, I almost felt like he wasn't that bad. (key word is almost)

Although, I do think he's horrible and hope Amani kills him extremely slowly in the next book, don't get me wrong. BLOODY REVENGE.

The characters in this book were FANTASTIC. And I'm not kidding, they really were. Each of them was so dynamic, so full, so bursting with uniqueness, I just..... It was too good to be true. Except it was true! And I'm so happy.

I really liked Ahmed. The dynamic between him and Amani is really interesting. Usually in books with revolutions in them, the soldier doesn't doubt the leader but Amani does in this book which makes it that much stronger when she is reassured of his character. Ahmed is a great person through and through, and I'm so ready to put him on that bloody throne!

Jin and Amani are so good together. They seemed so effortless, always there to catch each other when they fell. It was inspiring. I absolutely love their relationship.

Shazad and SAMMMMM. Amazing side characters. Honestly the author wrote them so well.

The way the book was written is mesmerizing. It's so vivid and I loved the format and how it allowed us to see the story from a different lens every once in a while. The ending killed me, I don't know how it's possible I have to wait a full year for the next book.

Conclusion: Everyone should stop what they're doing and read this book!

THANKS,
YOMNA

I adore this series. Not only does it show a world full of exciting exotic settings, but it is also written in such a beautiful way. Sometimes Hamilton adopts an almost fairytail way of story telling, recounting things and making everything more magical by doing so. The only problem with that came in this book, where at the start she recounted everything that happened in the first book, which I felt was just too much of an info-dump. It's fine when it's a story that we haven't been told yet, but I just didn't need a recap like that.

One of the things that defines these books, other than the setting, is the characters. The characters are so well defined. You can easily see how true their reactions are. Whether it's Jin running away so he doesn't have to see his girlfriend die, Ahmed covering for his brother or Amani desperately trying to rescue everyone. I love all the characters so much.

But it's because I love Amani so much that I felt she was given a disservice with what happened at the palace. I felt that her headstrong and reckless nature was cast aside a little while she relied on others to get her out of danger. It felt very much like she was being changed into the the damsel in distress, waiting on her prince to come rescue her. And maybe that's mostly because she was kept in the harem rather than in a different part of the palace. It just felt wrong really. An injustice to this strong woman to see her dressed up and paraded around like something to be owned.

Even so, these books are still such beautiful books and I can't wait for the next one to find out what happens next!

Absolutely magnificent. So brilliantly woven, written and wielded. Alwyn is a master story teller and I love that this book is very different from the first but it is still so true to the story. The moments of Jin and Amani together made my heart bounce with joy. I laughed, I cried, I was shocked, I was angry... it was so amazing to see old characters resurrected that I thought were long gone, new characters who played an important role in the story - both good and bad. Full of twists, turns and falls... I just want more NOW.

It’s difficult to talk about this without giving too much away so suffice it to say that the adventures have led Amani to an exciting but perilous situation. Then she is kidnapped and sold to the Sultan and things get a whole lot more dangerous.

The second book is longer and to begin with I found it a little irksome. As with most sequels it spent a fair bit of time referring back to things in the previous book, useful if it’s been months since you read the first, but not for those of us that finished the first book only the previous day!

But after a hundred pages or so the story really got going. And the second book has a lot more moral meat in it than the first. Often second books can drift a bit or feel like they are full of filler material but not this one. This one is considerably more interesting than I’d expected.

4 Bites … here’s hoping the last book lives up to them when it comes out!

Amani finally find her place in the world, and it’s with the rebellion. In Traitor to the Throne she will have to fight for her liberty and to trust other people with her life.

Amani grew up a little; she made decisions and opened her eyes to the world. I really like this character because she is strong and independent, she knows what she wants and rebellion is her new family.

I like all the character in the rebellion, the less interesting is Ahmed, I’m not so sure that he will be a great sultan, he is too kind. I like Shazad too, she’s a very smart general, and she is also a very good friend to Amani. Imin is great and Hala, even if she can be a pain in the ass, is very important. Maz and Izz are wonderful and even the new character Sam is interesting.

Jin is the character I prefer, he made mistakes but he is trying to be a good man and he wants to help Amani.

If you want romance, there is a little but it’s not the principal subject of this book. Amani is kidnapped and now she is at the Sultan’s mercy, he can do what he wants with her. She will have to live in the harem with women who want her dead, with a sultim who is not a respectful man and with a Sultan who wants her only to have more power. She will find some allies in the harem and she will gain some trust of the Sultan.

The Sultan is very developed character, he is a bad guy but he’s persuaded that what he’s doing will save his people; he’s so sure of himself that it is almost touching. The oppression of the people for him corresponds to saving their lives, the eradication of the Demdji will allow the world to be better and if he could eradicate all the Jinns he would. In a sense, it makes me think a lot about Trump or at least what people who have voting for him believe.

What is most pleasing in this story is that the rebellion is acting, but nothing is gained, their opponent is strong and contrary to what people think, the Sultan is intelligent. He’s surrounded by people who don’t necessarily trust him but his advantage is that he is aware of it.

The rebellion is advancing little by little but we are well aware of the magnitude of the task, they have beautiful beats, the Sultan always finds a way to put sticks in their wheels. In the end, hope is really hard to find, I hope the next volume will bring back a little peace and love among all the characters I love so much.

I immersed myself in this suite with impatience and joy and I’m not disappointed, I find it more profound that the first and I love the turn of history. I appreciate that Alwyn Hamilton has the courage to give us a story where people have to fight to get what they want but where they finally feel their desperation several times.

Quick word: A perfect sequel to a bouncing and vibrant story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review will contain some small spoilers.

I’ve only just begun reading YA, but I can tell you that nothing has had quite the impact of Alwyn Hamilton’s Rebel of the Sands. I picked it up only recently and fell in love with the incredible world-building, plot, and characters. I do love my strong female characters and Rebel of the Sands certainlydoes not lacking in them. So you can imagine my joy when I discovered that Traitor to the Throne, the highly anticipated sequel, was due out only a few weeks after I finished the first book. And Traitor does not disappoint: it kicks the action and danger into high gear as Amani is trapped in enemy territory. With no Jin, Shazad, or rebel crew, Amani must survive alone outside the familiar deserts of Miraji.

Traitor to the Throne opens nearly a year after Rebel concludes. Amani is gravely wounded and is recovering while Jin is sent away to infiltrate the Xichian army. Although briefly reunited at the beginning of the book, Amani is torn away from Jin and the rebellion when she is betrayed and sold to her greatest enemy -- the Sultan of Miraji. Trapped within the palace walls in Izman, Amani no longer has her gun, her demdji powers, or Jin -- she must use her survival instincts to make alliances and stay alive -- too bad she has always been terrible at watching her own back.

One of the things I liked best is that Hamilton strips away what makes Amani so interesting in the first book: her sharpshooting ability and her ability to control desert sands. Jin is out of the picture for most of the book and their love story isn't there to keep up the reader's interest. Regardless, Amani still shines through as an incredibly well-crafted and likeable character. She doesn't need her skills for violence or magic to prop herself up. Jin isn't a crutch to make her interesting or relatable. She is someone who we can easily admire. She's still full of snark and sass and the dialogue is just as fun. Hamilton's treatment of Amani in Traitor really shows off her growing skills as a writer and makes me love the character all the more.

I really enjoyed Rebel of the Sands; it's a fun, quick read packed with action and romance. However, Traitor to the Throne is a whole new animal and, in my opinion, a far superior book. It is woven through with threads of folklore and stories that enhance the plot and the world rather than distract from it. It's bursting with danger, color, and thrill. Like Rebel, this book is dominated by powerful women -- both physically and socially -- and is filled with new faces as well as old favorites.

The wait for book #3 will be a long one indeed.



Rating: 4/5

🌵 When I read the first book in this series, Rebel of the Sands, I thought it was an enjoyable first novel/ first installment - solid but basic. There was a lot of potential in Rebel - an interesting and flawed lead in Amani, who grew as the story progressed, an interesting set of powers within the Djinn/Human children, and a brutal and violent world where rebellion seems the logical path to choose.

👑 Traitor to the Throne is a huge leap forward and I honestly couldn't fault this book. The entire premise is far more complicated and delves far deeper into the politics of the rebellion - Amani becomes a captive of the Sultan, her enemy. This lets Hamilton explore the characters motivations and their reasons for rebellion. It lets Amani question her Prince, the rebellion and whether or not they're actually fighting on the right side. The Sultan is a fantastic character - sadistic and cruel, but with just enough charm to leave you considering.

🤖 There are some fantastic new characters (such as a charming solider-Prince, a smarmy heir-apparent Sultim and a swaggering faux Blue-Eyed Bandit) along with some unexpected old faces who really get some great development. The plot moves quickly, with lots of surprises, twists and betrayals, and completely avoids second-book-syndrome.

🌞 I can't wait to read the next book.

This review will go up on my blog, Foxes and Fairy Tales, on 02/02/17.

Having loved Rebel of the Sands, the first book in this series, I was quite excited for the release of the second book in this trilogy. However, I have to admit that I feel slightly let down by Traitor to the Throne.

I feel as though, in my opinion, the biggest let down in this book (compared to Rebel) was Amani's drastic character change. I'm all for character growth and development, but that wasn't what this was. After discovering her Demdji heritage in Rebel, Amani seems to now be completely reliant on her magic in this book. I much preferred the gunslinging sharpshooter version of Amani from the first book: she was sassier, more sarcastic, and in general the Amani pictured in Traitor to the Throne just seemed so different to the Amani I'd got to know in Rebel of the Sands.

There was also one specific plot point that I felt let down by. Basically, Amani spends the majority of this book inside the Sultan's harem after being kidnapped and sold to him, as he is looking for a Demdji. She slowly manages to gain more of his trust, and there is a point where she starts to have clear doubts about Ahmed's ability to rule and about the rebellion in general. However, these doubts are voiced by her and then don't seem to really be dealt with. I would have liked to have read how she worked through these thoughts, as I do think it would add to the story overall.

Despite these slight qualms, there were things that I really did like in this book:
- The political intrigue - of course I like action, but a bit of intrigue is never a bad thing in my opinion!
- Some of the new/reintroduced characters - there's a wonderful example of a strong female character reintroduced in this book, and I would've loved for her to have been a bigger part of the plot.
- The little myths and legends inserted between chapters every now and then! Not only were they intriguing, but they were beautifully written and really helped to build the story. I think more of these in book three would go far.
- There's very little romance - the plot is almost entirely focused on the plot, and therefore on the rebellion and politics. Although I don't dislike Jin and Amani as a couple, and I didn't really see the point in her basically being mad at him for almost this entire book, I was glad that the romance was put to one side for a while.
- Shazad, Rahim and Sam. Three characters I really liked in this book and really hope will be around more in book three.
- The Sultan. I love a good grey-area villain; this guy is clearly in the wrong in some aspects, but you can't fully disagree with his ideas, and he clearly has an interesting back story.

Overall, Traitor to the Throne was an enjoyable book full of magic and political intrigue, but I did prefer it's predecessor. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in book three after what took place in this book, though!

I fell in love with reckless, danger-loving Amani in Rebel of the Sands when I seemed to be the last person on the planet to have read this highly praised book, so would I enjoy the sequel?
Mere months ago, gunslinger Amani al'Hiza fled her dead-end hometown on the back of a mythical horse with the mysterious foreigner Jin, seeking only her own freedom. Now she's fighting to liberate the entire desert nation of Miraji from a bloodthirsty sultan who slew his own father to capture the throne. Forget everything you thought you knew about Miraji, about the rebellion, about djinni and Jin and the Blue-Eyed Bandit. In Traitor to the Throne, the only certainty is that everything will change.
Firstly, a huge thank you to NetGalley. I requested this one more in hope than expectation and was thrilled when I was granted permission to read it – only to discover that I wasn’t able to download it. The techs at NetGalley were on it, unfailingly helpful and persistent until they sorted out the problem and Traitor to the Throne duly turned up on my trusty Kindle.
And I was even more grateful once I tucked into this gem, for as much as I relished the first book, I loved this one even more. Hamilton has a very nifty trick for those who haven’t had the pleasure of reading the first book – she gets Amani to recite a tale about her exploits to date at the start of the story. While I would highly recommend those of you who may not have read Rebel of the Sands to do so, if you pick up Traitor to the Throne first, I can guarantee you won’t be adrift. And the abbreviated blurb is spot on – everything does change in this next slice of the adventure.
For starters, the rebels are having a tough time of it. Life is hard and dangerous as they are unceasingly harried and their comrades continually foray forth on life or death assignments and all too often don’t return. Until it is Amani’s turn to volunteer – and she finds herself in more trouble than she knows what to do with and one of the biggest mistakes she made in escaping her town now rebounds on her.
Amani is put in a position where she is forced to consider the consequences of her actions and question if what the rebels are doing is right for the inhabitants of Miraji. I really loved this aspect of the story. Firstly, considering her situation, I thought it psychologically was spot on and I also liked the extra spin it put on the worldbuilding, when we get a ringside seat as to the motivations of the antagonist. It raised the stakes, winding this adrenaline-fuelled adventure up another notch.
I thought I could see how this was going to end – until Hamilton suddenly threw a massive spanner in the works and pulled yet another game-changing plot twist right at the end. Marvellous stuff. While ending that particular storyline satisfactorily, once more everything has been thrown up in the air – and I will be fretting for another slice of this wonderful world for the rest of the year.
While I obtained the arc of Traitor to the Throne from the publisher via NetGalley, this has in no way influenced my unbiased review.
10/10

Wow I am seriously lost for words here, it’s been a long time I loved a book this much. Rebel of the Sands was a book which I thoroughly enjoyed, but with The Traitor to the Throne Hamilton totally upped her game with this one. There’s so much that I want to say, but really can’t without it being too spoilerish. After the explosive ending in Rebel of the Sands I didn’t know what to expect and to be honest I did struggle with the initial beginning of the story. There was so much I’d forgotten, but once I got past that initial memory loss I was utterly hooked. There were so many things that I wanted to happen and ways for things to go down, but of course nowhere and no one was ever safe. I couldn’t expect to be calm especially when a rebellion and potential war was in process. And of course Hamilton had a way of snatching things away when I least expected them. This aspect highly contributed to me practically shutting myself away and devouring this book. I always had a tense feeling in my stomach with everything going down and I never knew what could be lurking around the corner. At the same time in order for Amani to get through the situations that she found herself in, she had to put her trust in someone. Whilst there were new characters introduced that I wouldn’t have trusted with a ten foot pole (seriously they just made my skin creep out), there were other new characters which I wanted to get to know more like Rahim for instance. There were already so many characters that I’d become fond of and attached to: Jin Ahmed, Shazad, Imin, Hala, Izz, Maz, Navid, and Delila, that I couldn’t bare if anything happened to them. But fresh new characters like Rahim and Sam I welcomed with open arms, at times it did seem like they had their own agenda’s going on, but they always came through when needed. Also Sam brought about such great humour to scenes which were already dark and super tense and so it was very much needed. But I also liked how Hamilton gave us characters who redeemed themselves, I honestly didn’t see it coming as I mentioned trust was such a big issue in this book. Who could anyone really trust when loyalty came from the most unexpected of places taking me completely by surprise?

Amani honestly had it all to deal with in Traitor to the Thrones, she always had to try and be one step ahead of the game, with so many enemies lurking about (so many I didn’t expect at all along the way). But with all the suffering and questions about whereabouts, this had a massive impact on the rest of the rebellion group too. Despite the dire situations our characters found themselves in, I liked the loyalty and courage not to back down that came through with this group. They were constantly thinking of ways to get out and outsmart the enemy and without leaving anyone behind. I hugely respected the rebellion characters for this. Amani really found herself on a daunting path and one at times that I thought she would never escape or recover from. Also Hamilton had this way of creating a safety net when you thought everything would be okay, only for it to be snatched away from you in the blink of an eye. That and the slowly chipping away of my already fragile heart left me a distraught mess at the end.

Traitor to the Throne was a brutal read at times (I’m saying this in the best possible way) as I really do love my books which have a huge emotional impact on me. I don’t think my review could fully demonstrate just how much I loved it! It had so much more than I was expecting, it was full with epic revelations, characters who you never wanted to let go, betrayal and many traitors in the mix. It was a story that despite leaving me a big sobbing mess at the end, instilled that little bit of faith that things could be okay. Please don’t go and destroy my heart Ms. Hamilton in the next book I’m begging you!! But Honestly Traitor to the Throne is one book that no reader should be missing out on, I was in absolute awe of Hamilton’s exquisite writing and world building that I know that I will be book pushing Traitor to the Throne onto everyone as a must read of 2017!

This was a wonderful follow up to the Rebel of the Sands. This is a story about a female sharpshooter, a rebel prince, and fantastical creatures. Mixed in with compelling friendships, family ties and rich world building. The plot becomes more complexe and engaging with many surprises I didnt see coming. I loved how I wasnt able to predict most of the plot twists. For it being over 500 pages the pace was perfect. It didnt feel slow but it also didnt feel rushed.

The world was amazing and I loved all the different stories about the Djinn and the first mortals. Im happy we got to see some more magic. I liked how iron was used to capture magical creatures and prevent them from using their powers. I also really enjoyed the desert setting and culture. Theres also plenty of diversity in this series with many people of color. I loved how the romance with the shapeshifter was portrayed. It didnt matter what gender they changed into their partner loved them no matter what.

I really enjoyed meeting the characters we heard about in the first book and reuniting with some old characters. I thought all the characters were compelling and well developped, even the antagonist. I really enjoyed the time spent getting to know the Sultan. I love well developped antagonists but its usally rare. The main character was entertaining. I liked how she questionned her beliefs of whats right and wrong. It made her more relatable. The generals daugther was fascinating and I loved her friendship with Amani.

I would have liked to see more of Noorsham but Im pretty sure we'll see him in the next book. I found it really refreshing that this book didnt focused too much on the romance. I was a little confuse when Jin mentionned Amanis aunt because I dont remember her telling anyone about her aunt in this book but I might be wrong. Im willing to bet this is going to make it onto my favorites of 2017. This was just as good if not better than the first book. I seriously cant wait for the third book after that crazy ending.

What a sequel!
Full of intrigue, shock, new characters, questions answered but so many more asked. A page turning thrilling book cementing Rebel as one of my favourite series!

It's a rare thing for a sequel to be better than the first book. But that was the case here. In the beginning, I felt a little confused because I had assumed that the novel would begin where it left off; instead, it started off a year afterwards. This meant that the character interactions were a little different. However, the author brought the readers up to pace quickly and soon, I was immersed in the story. I loved the addition of different djinn stories interspersed within the novel, all of which were relevant to specific characters; it gave a really nice backstory. I loved having Amani be the star of the show, and the author did a great job showing her weaknesses and the way she overcomes them. The love story between Amani and Jin still remained in this novel, and the intensity of it caught me off guard; since this novel took place a year after the first one, I felt like I missed out on the growth in their relationship, and so their love story fell short for me. It is pretty much the only negative I had for this whole story. I loved the villains, I loved the schemes, I loved all of the twists and turns. I loved every character that was introduced, and I loved the intensity of the world that the author created; if anything, it was even more in-depth and well-developed than before! I am so excited for the next book in the series! I read a lot of fantasy teen fiction novels, but this one is definitely unique and has gotten so much better as the story has progressed. I strongly urge everyone to give this series a go, because it is definitely worth the effort!

I really wanted to love this book as I loved the first book in the series but sadly I didn't. It's still a good book, and I really did find it 'unputdownable' but what made the first book so exciting for me was the dynamic between Jin and and Amani and due to several plot twists (and frustratingly several 'out of shot' scenes that happened between books) they aren't together in this book and when they are their relationship just didn't ring true to their previous characters. I also object on an a character level to Amani spending most of this book shackled and unable to use her power as I was so ridiculously excited when she discovered it at the end of Rebel of the Sands and wanted more 'superhero-bandit' action from her. There were some very well drawn scenes in this book and some fabulous new characters but it could have been so much better which is a huge shame.

Trying to defeat your despotic father’s large and powerful army with your small but dedicated band of rebels is a big task. No sooner have you managed to triumph in one part of the country, then a protest in another part is soundly beaten, and you must re-group. This is what faces the Rebel Prince and his band of merry misfits, part-djinn children, and hopeless romantics. They carry a fire, that’s certain, but success is determined by choices, and their youth, inexperience and lack of resources means their task is overwhelming.

Which is why Traitor to the Throne works on many levels.

Amina has developed a lot over the course of the first book. Now aware of her Demdji powers, her confidence is growing. Assured of Jin’s love initially, she is now rethinking their relationship when he keeps his distance, both physically and emotionally. She has meet people who are now her family and her loyalty to them is unrivaled. But there are small disputes among the Rebel Prince’s cohorts. We see Amina and her friends defy his orders, mostly as a counterpoint to the Sultan himself.

For much of the book, Amina, captured and without magic, observes the way Ahmed’s father rules, and there are moments when she almost admires his actions, and herein lies the opportunity for Hamilton to open a conversation on leading and ruling, and the moral ambiguities faced by all people. It’s a little uncomfortable really. We want our villains to be evil, and to have our main character show sympathy for this treacherous man is confronting. During this part of the story, Hamilton dials back on the action, slows the pace, and takes the opportunity to fill the pages with myths and stories of the history of her world. Some readers will love these tangents, while others will rush through them, looking for the excitement and thrill of the inevitable clashes between the opposing forces. While I appreciated Amina's downtime, I was always preparing myself for the bad times to come (They did. They were.)

There are many new characters introduced, and we lose some dear friends. We also meet up with some who had seemingly been lost to us in the first book. Structurally, Traitor to the Throne is tighter, cleverer, as it builds to its shattering climax. All the pieces seem to be in play now for the final and desperate conclusion to the series. While the first book played on a mash-up of the 'Old West' elements inserted into a magical Arabian setting, Traitor to the Throne focuses the tone on a political intrigue genre, with the two sparring armies trying to one-up the other in spying and counter-spying. The stakes are high, and Hamilton deftly highlights how much and how many innocents suffer in war-time.

This advanced copy was approved by Netgalley, via the publisher, and read with thanks. Released everywhere on February 2, 2017.

Recommended for readers who love their fantasy series twisty and complicated. For every one thing where the rebels succeed, there are four more where they don’t, ensuring the rebellion is hard fought. While there are some romantic moments, it’s isn’t a priority, given the characters are more focused on surviving battles and betrayals. The rebel group is diverse, have snarky conversations, and depict true loyalty to Ahmed and each other. The second book in what I believe is a trilogy.

"I thought about revenge and about love and about sacrifice and the great and terrible things I’d seen people do. I thought about how many people I’d seen lay their lives down for the Rebellion, over and over.”

Rebel of the Sands was one of my favourite reads from 2016. I fell madly in love with everything about it — the artwork, the blend of Arabian Nights and the Wild West, magic, romance. So, you can imagine how excited I was when I was approved to review the book on NetGalley. But...sequels are a tricky thing, especially when the reader loved the first book so much. It's difficult to recapture the magic, everything that made it special and then up the stakes so it's different but still familiar. So... the question is, did I like Traitor to the Throne? Yes. Did I enjoy it more than Rebel of the Sands? Sadly, not at all.

Traitor to the Throne was well written, even amazing at times, but it lacked a lot of the things that I had loved about Rebel of the Sands. For instance:
- Where was the action? The book sorely lacked battle scenes or gunslinging in general. One of the things that stood out to me in the first book was the fact that the lead character was a badass. Amani was sassy, strong and an amazing sharpshooter. You just didn't want to mess with her.
- Speaking of Amani, she's absolutely wasted in this sequel. It began promisingly enough. She's in the desert, holding her own, hatching a plan and being her awesome self. Then the story shifts to her being powerless and stuck in the Sultan's harem. She lost some of the spark that made her such a special character.
- Jin! Oh Jin *sigh* I adored him and the romance he had with Amani in the first book. The problem? He's basically MIA in the sequel. Why?!?! And I hated how Amani was angry with him for most of the story as well. These two deserve better!
- The characters I cared about the most just didn't get enough time on the pages. There are tons of new characters, most of which I don't even remember. Yes, Amani spends a lot of time in the Sultan's harm, there are a lot of women, I get that. But it was like this is this person and we'll mention her once more and then never again. It was difficult to see why so many previous words were wasted on characters that never became anything when more about the secondary characters introduced in Rebel of the Sands could have been explored.
- The first book was fast paced and hard to put down. I read through it in a day or two and wanted to read it again and again. Traitor to the Throne was a mixed bag when it came to pacing. 500+ pages seemed like overkill. So did some of the overly long chapter. A lot could have been edited out to quicken the pace. I didn't feel the urgency to continue reading.

That all said, it wasn't all disappointment. Things that I quite enjoyed were:
- The myths about the Dijinni, star crossed lovers and ancient scholars. Hamilton's stories are so interesting and heartbreakingly beautiful. Can I please just have a book of these please?
- Learning more about the Dijinni and their magic.
- The political intrigue and backstabbing. Amani was faced with a lot of tough decisions. Who to trust? What are their motives? What will she have to give in return?
- Some characters that I had written off made a return and man were they not what I expected.

I do want to mention that as much as I love this series, there are some things that bothered me and they became even more evident this time around. These books take place in a world inspired by the Middle East and tend to perpetuate negative stereotypes about cultures found in the region or Islam. It tells the reader that this area is full of misogyny and oppression. Women are often portrayed as inferior to men. In the first book, Amani is told that she needs a husband and her uncle frequently threatens to beat her. What?! In Traitor to the Throne, woman are simply playthings that look beautiful and reproduce. When they are no longer needed they are simply "disappeared". The Sultan is also portrayed as a murdering despot, a man who only cares about himself and lets his people starve and fight it out. I think you can still enjoy this series and be aware of the problematic representation it contains. This is NOT what the Middle East or Islam is! It is important to keep that in mind when reading.

So, while I did kind of enjoy Traitor to the Throne, I can now say that I won't be going into the third book with as much enthusiasm as I had before. Still, this is simply my opinion. I've seen a lot of positive reviews and those who enjoyed Rebel of the Sands should give this sequel a read.

I started this review over and over again, I have many thoughts to share with you and I don't know how to do that. This book was amazing and will probably be one of my favourite book of 2017.

I won't say a lot about the plot because it is the second installment in the series already, and I don't want to spoil anyone. I just need to say that it was amazing, it was full of actions but it was not too much either. It was not too predictable, many things happened that I did not see coming at all.

The characters are perfect. Seriously, they are all really well-developed even if the book is told from Amani's perspective. We only have access to her thoughts but it seems like we know all the characters really well, as if you knew what they were thinking (even better than Amani sometimes), why they were acting a certain way etc. It was impressive.

I love the world the author created. It's full of magic, but at the same time it seems so real. There is no good against evil and Amani begins to understand that in this book. It is a really important shift in her, she understands that everyone has his own side of the story, and what is good to you can be bad to someone else. She also starts to question the cause she is fighting for. We see Amani growing so much in this part of the book. There is also the fact that Amani often wonders what people would remember of her story, of the rebellion in many years. And I think that concept is soooo interesting.

There are legends and myths told at certain points in the book to explain one character for example, and these were great. They also explain who the world was created, how the magic works... Stories to explain things people cannot really explain.

Another plus in the book, is the attention the author paid to linguistic details. There are translators (should be called interpreters) for the foreign ambassadors and it added to the realistic feel of this book. No, we do not all speak the same language and it's a detail often forgotten in books. The author did a good job depicting this reality.
Something that, at first bothered me, but then I found genius, is the change of pronoun for Imin. She is a shapeshifter, so is she male or female? She is refered to as she and then as he as she changed her appearance. I really appreciated the effort the author put into that.

I think we can definitely call this book a "diverse" one. Different ethnicities are depicted in it (the Xichian, the Mirajin, the Gallans etc.), they all have their language, their physical characteristics, their cultures... I really would have loved to learn more about every single one of them. Then, there is Imin (a "he"? a "she"? both?), there are minorities (Demdji seen as demons by some people because they are different). It was great.

This book was about friendship, love, family, betrayal, loyalty, sacrifice, power, vengeance and so much more. It was also about growing up, discovering who you are and what you are fighting for, and most important why you are fighting for it. I love every single word of it and I definitely recommend it.