Race the Sands is a chunky standalone YA fantasy and, honestly, I appreciate that it’s self-contained. A fantasy series can be a real commitment! Sometimes you just want to know that you’re holding a complete story.

The premise of Race the Sands caught my attention as well. Monster racing in a river-adjacent desert kingdom where reincarnation is seen as a major concern in everyday life. The cover is, admittedly, a little odd. Nostalgic in a way, resembling older CGI.

Now, into the meat of the story: Tamra is a retired kehok rider on hard times — largely because she’s a little (a lot) reckless in her current profession as a trainer. I love her. She’s so fierce and her relationship with her daughter Shalla and Raia – a runaway who becomes her newest student – warms my heart. The stakes are high for our girls throughout but the way they support and value each other is lovely.

Apart from those three and their strong found-family vibes, there are a lot of characters in this book. Quite a few of them get at least a couple different PoV chapters but, I’m pleased to say, the prose is all third-person and it’s very clear when the perspective changes.

The augurs and kehoks are interesting. I have so many questions about them that the book doesn’t quite answer.

Reborn from only the most corrupt souls, these (nearly) uncontrollable monsters spawn fully formed in the desert. While the people of Becar race these monsters for entertainment, one side character from neighboring Ranir states that kehoks are slain immediately in his kingdom. How long until they are reborn?

Raia makes some assumptions about the black lion early on, suggesting he must have been cold in a past life because of his metallic pelt. Sadly, whatever greater knowledge the character has on the subject isn’t shared.

Finally, winning the championship races earns the fastest kehok a charm that redeems its soul – allowing it to be reborn into a better station. I want to know more about how that works! And about why the extremely powerful pseudo-priesthood only sees fit to save one soul a year.

Ah well. Race the Sands is already over 500 pages and there’s got to be some trade-offs in standalone vs. series. Despite the length, I zipped through the last 20%. From just about there, it picks up and doesn’t let go until the end.

And that ending, I’ve got to say, felt quite satisfying to me despite all my questions about the world. I enjoyed this one as is, but oh man. Middle school or high school me would have eaten this up with a spoon and written about a dozen original-character fan stories about flying wolf monsters and handsome young emperors waiting politely to be saved.

Sarah Beth Durst's books are a blast to read and this one's no exception! Inspiring heroines, a well-built world, and a cracking narrative combine to form a hard-to-put-down YA novel with crossover appeal for fantasy-loving adults .

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

Tamra is desperate. After two of her rider trainees were hurt in practice, she found herself without anyone to teach and no source of revenue. When her patron gives her a measly 200 gold coins to purchase a Kehok (a racer) and find a rider to train, she knows she'll do what it takes to win the annual Becar Races and and the huge purses that come with it. So she finds an untrained and unproven Kehok that no one wants, and a rider whose a clearly a recent runaway. Raia, the runaway rider, is fleeing her parents who would marry her off to a man who murdered his last wife. Both Tamra, Raia and the increasingly strange Kehok must win the races to save themselves and win their freedom.

That was a really tough description to write, because there's a ton going on in the world! Reincarnation is widely accepted and the motivation for a lot of folks actions (Kehoks were monsters in their former lives and cannot reincarnate as anything but a Kehok, for example), there's a religious caste that low-key rules everything, at least BTS, and the not-quite-coronated-yet-because-his-brother-just-died-emperor is fighting off revolution. That last bit leads to a lot of political and court intrigue in the second half of the book. This was a really solid standalone fantasy. As you can tell, the worldbuilding was rich and complex, but it wasn't so complex as to be confusing. I found it to be refreshingly new and inventive, and would recommend the book on the strength of that alone. There's also quite a bit of ethical questioning of one's actions and what folks owe each other (this did occasionally feel a tad heavy handed), which is something that I love.

The worldbuilding is not the only star of the show - Tamra and Raia are easy to relate to, and quite lovable. You'll fall in love with their monstrous, strange kehok as well and you'll think about any horse-related novel that you adored as a kid. In fact, this book would have been catnip for me when I was 12 as I was into all things Tamora Pierce (Tamra is her namesake) and most things horse (I kept thinking about the "Thoroughbreds" series when I read this book, which I reread a bunch of times as a kid). In fact, this book could have easily been marketed as YA, although Tamra is clearly the main character, and she is very much an adult - I don't remember her age, but she's late 30s on the very low end. Since fantasy novels, even those for adults, often star adolescents (and yes, Raia is 17), I found this to be refreshing.

TLDR: With inventive worldbuilding, strong female characters, and major crossover appeal, fantasy readers of all ages will love this book! It's sort of The Scorpio Races meets Tamora Pierce and from me, that's high praise. I wouldn't say it was amazing, but I did love it, so 5 stars!

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC which I received in exchange for an unbiased review. Race the Sands will be available on 21 April!

Race the Sands is the story of two women desperate to win. Tamra, to overcome her previous disgrace and win the gold needed to support her daughter. And young Raia, to escape her past and choose her own path. Giving their all to the fateful races, trainer and rider must grapple with their deadly kehok, stand firm against those who would control their fate, and discover what it means to do good if even the prettiest shells can hide the greatest evils.

Both in her series and standalone novels, Durst ground the reader right away in her new, vibrant world. Becar is a desert land, civilization surrounded by sun, sand, and deadly kehoks, the monstrous reincarnations of depraved souls. The people fear these beasts, but flock to the annual kehok races, ready to bet and cheer over the havoc. Perhaps the one thing more integral to their lives is the augurs, who are held in reverence for the purity of their souls and their ability to read a person’s aura and predict how they will be reborn in the next life.

In the portrayal of the augurs, I appreciated how many of them were pious and moralistic without coming across as stuffily sanctimonious. And through the thoughts of Augur Yorbel, who crosses paths with Tamra and Raia, we see just how easy it is for even the most pure to succumb to ever larger acts of evil and deception.

Tamra and Raia were by far my favorite characters. I understood their struggles and respected them so much for their strong decisions. The supporting cast had fun personalities, but I wished their POVs had been shortened to give more space to the main gals.

I wouldn’t put this on the same level as the Queens of Renthia, but still a very solid read.

**Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the ARC**

This book grabbed me from the first lines and never let me go. Seriously: some of the best first lines I've read in quite a while:

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Call it what it is: monster racing. Forget that, and you die.
----

I suspect I was hooked partly because I seem to have a thing for magical creature racing stories (see also: The Scorpio Races, Ashlords), but also because the story and characters are so compelling and unexpected. I love how the society is based around reincarnation, and how the worst souls are reincarnated as monsters that are then captured and raced, with the ultimate prize of being reincarnated as human again. It's fascinating. Also one of the main POV characters (Tamra) is a retired racer (due to injury) and single mother - I'm guessing in her late 30s-40s? - and it was so refreshing and balanced out the other main POV (a teenager) quite nicely.

Our first introduction to Tamra is while she's training some rich kids who want to play at being riders, and her sarcasm and exasperation really shine through:

----
Tamra thought she should have that tattooed on her forehead so the idiots she was trying to train stood a chance at remembering it. Bellowing with every shred of voice she had left, she shouted at her newest crop of riders, "They are not your *pets*! They're not your *friends*! You falter, they will kill you. You lose focus, they will kill you! You do anything stupid, they will -- say it with me now..."

Dutifully, the five riders-to-be chimed, "Kill us!"
----

Some of the twists were fairly obvious (though it was fun waiting for the other characters to catch on to the main one which I saw coming pretty much from the beginning), but others surprised me, and I couldn't tear myself away. The writing was tight and polished and the story flew along. The worldbuilding beyond the kehoks (monsters) and augurs was sparse, but the story was so tightly focused on the racers that I didn't mind or feel that anything was missing. there were enough POVs to give us a sense of what was going on outside of the main rider and trainer, but they never overwhelmed the racing part of the story. I really like that it is a standalone and I also think it would make an excellent movie.

blog review: https://whimsicaldragonette.tumblr.com/post/613216503246077952/arc-review-race-the-sands-by-sarah-beth-durst

I will review on amazon and b&n on publish date

I really enjoyed this. The characters drew me in, the story was exciting, and it was a pretty quick read. It's stand alone, which is sometimes nice, but there's enough to the world that there could be other books in this world or with these characters. In some ways, not necessarily in terms of story, just in terms of general feel, it felt a bit like Megan Whalen Turner or Melina Marchetta. Maybe it was the scheming and intrigue that reminded me of those two other authors.

A good, solid stand alone fantasy read.

I've come to realize that I can count on Sarah Beth Durst for truly unique world-building.

The mythos she builds RACE THE SANDS on is like nothing I've read before: an innovative take on reincarnation twined with religio-political power. Because it's so different, it takes a couple of chapters to sort of wrap your hands and mind around it, but once you get that grip, hold on for a wild ride. I love that Durst uses the mysticism in her stories to explore dark instincts of human nature, and I adore that the undercurrent here, as in the Queens of Renthia series, is one of willpower. Her heroines have to confront forces of chaos and destruction, which may seem to be wild nature or utter monsters, but which are truly dark mirrors for the human condition. It's deftly done and wonderfully compelling.

I always adore Durst's characters, too. They're always complex people with real wants and needs driving their actions -- and they evolve, as do those stressors. Tamra's economic needs shift into something of greater scope; Raia's immediate need for security morphs into a quest of both self-discovery and political consequence. Though she's of secondary focus, (I have to say that I *really* enjoyed Lady Evara, whose Slytherin instincts to do good but still seek advantage within it are a worldview I can totally sympathize with.)

I read this book as the pandemic crisis has been gripping the world. It drew me into the point where I could forget those troubles for a few hours -- and that is no mean feat. I can heartily recommend RACE THE SANDS as a worthy escape into another world, lushly drawn and emotionally vivid.

I sometimes need a good standalone like this! It’s been awhile I read a book that totally engrossed me into the world.
Multiple POV’s in stories is something I love, so I was pleasantly surprised to see this one had them! It was clear each time in which character’s view we were reading. I loved the characters, with two women who do everything to be free and fight for the ones they love. Obviously, the monster races are pretty badass!
Race the Sands was an easy read that I enjoyed a lot, perfect for a rainy weekend in.

Thank you to Harper Collins Publishers - Harper Voyager for the eARC of Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst!  The book releases April 21st 2020 so add it to your TBR now if you are interested!

**Description omitted for NetGalley feedback**

Does it sound a bit like The Scorpio Races? Yes, to the point where I almost put it down - but I encourage you to keep reading if you feel like DNFing at first.  The first few chapters as well as the rest of the book read very "young" to me in the writing style, but the political intrigue and maneuvering part of the plot take over after the races start and I really did enjoy the book overall.

I would have liked to see more of Raia training the kehok at first - it happened so quickly where she went from a total novice to being ready to race.  Not that they didn't have enough hurdles to overcome as it was but the racing ended up not being the main storyline of the book at all, which is where it differed from TSC and other similar books.

I liked the main character cast but they all had very similar voices.  Raia can sound like a teenager because, well, she is one, and so can Dar, the emperor to be, but Tamra sounded like a kid and she had to be in her 30s at least.  Lady Evara and Yorbel sounded a bit alike too and they ended up being amazing ancillary characters.

As far as the world building, SBD did an amazing job for a standalone novel.  It is hard to build a world in one book and she described the architecture, art, food, religion, and social structure of Peron and the Heart of Becar in such a way that I felt like I knew not only the setting but the mood of the city.  I would have liked to know more about the strict divisions between rich and poor though; it seems like in a reincarnation based society that anyone reborn as a human would be considered.... honorable? So why go as far as to keep the poor out of sight?

The religion was one of the most interesting parts of the plot.  In order to crown a new emperor, the soul of the old emperor had to be found....and the augurs couldn't find him!  I enjoyed the bits about reading souls and auras, worrying about what animal they would be reborn as, and the mental image of augurs canvassing every single ant hill looking for the emperor's soul!  The downside of this is.... I called the major plot twist the second it was mentioned.

Also like I said, I found the races to be anticlimactic, even the championship race. This was a huge bummer for me but I understand that the races became a vessel for the rest of the book's plot in the second part of the book.  It was a quick read and became impossible to put down in the last 150 pages or so.

I never feel like I do a good job describing books but if you are into strong female characters, monsters, racing, political intrigue and plotting, definitely pick up this book. I feel like it's marketed for adults as Tamra is older, but this is definitely appropriate for young adult readers.   I went 4/5 stars just because of the lack of variation in character voices, but really the action and intrigue packed into this book is pretty impressive.  Thank you again for the eARC, all opinions are my own!

blog post: https://onereadingnurse.com/2020/02/23/arc-review-race-the-sands/

Not since The Scorpio Races has a book about characters racing creatures really grabbed me and didn’t let go until the very last page. I honestly wasn’t sure what to think after the first chapter or two, but KEEP READING! This is a gem of a book that I feel won’t get the praise or the attention that it deserves. In Race the Sands, Durst delivers what I feel is her best book in years! I completely fell in love with the characters, the pacing was PERFECT, world-building....yeah that freaking rocked too! There was so much awesome in this one book that I could never say enough about it in a review. My advice...pre-order your copy now! This is marketed as Adult Fantasy, though I think it has tremendous crossover appeal for YA fantasy readers. (I would say ages 14+) There is some violence due to the dangerous nature of the races but I don’t recall anything that happened that screams “THIS IS DEFINITELY ADULT!”. In my opinion, this is Sarah Beth Durst’s best books she has ever written! Highly recommended!!! I will be recommending this to every fantasy lover in our bookstore when it’s published. A diamond in the rough that deserves to be read and loved! Bravo Sarah!!!

Race the Sands is the latest novel from SF/F author Sarah Beth Durst, writer of the Renthia novels (The Queen of Blood) among a whole bunch of others. The Renthia novels were dark fantasy novels whose settings I enjoyed quite a bit, along with a few really highlight characters, so I was excited to see a new novel from Durst show up on NetGalley. This book is an entirely stand alone novel, with no signs within that any follow ups are expected.

That said, I wouldn't mind if we get more books in this world, because Race the Sands is once again really well done in setting and characters. Like the Renthia books, the book features a number of dark plot developments (although not as many as in Renthisa), so if you're looking for a fun light fantasy read this isn't for you. But if you're looking for a fantasy story that's a dark at times but not too dark, with a plot that is executed rather well and characters who are easy to enjoy, if a bit simple sometimes, you could do a whole lot worse.

------------------------------------------------Plot Summary------------------------------------------------------

In the Empire of Becar, and the rest of the world, reincarnation is not just a religious belief, it is known to be fact. Those who are good may be reborn as a respectable animal, or even as a human being, and trained Augers who can sense souls can even track down reincarnated souls. But those who are the worst of humanity find themselves reincarnated as Kehoks - chimera-like monsters who act only to destroy and kill all they see. In some other Kingdoms, Kehoks are killed on sight, but in Becar, a tradition of racing Kehoks - who can be influenced and temporarily controlled by strong wills - has emerged - a thrilling but often deadly sport.

Tamra was once an elite Kehok rider until she was injured. Now she acts as a trainer, desperately trying to earn money in order so that she not lose her daughter. After her last trained Kehok and Rider combination ended in disaster, Tamra knows she will only have one more chance at success....and that its a longshot at best. But she's determined to succeed no matter what.

Raia is a young woman whose parents sought to sell her for their own greed - to a monster of a fiancee. On the run, Raia knows her only path to survival, and some sort of freedom, is to find some way to earn money....money like prize money from the Kehok races. Yet to become a rider, especially under a trainer like Tamra, will require her to focus her will on one specific thing, without letting the distractions of her dire situation get to her....and even on lapse in concentration may be fatal.

Together, Raia and Tamra, will attempt to do the impossible, and pair an extremely unsuitable Kehok with an utterly inexperienced rider, in order to win the races for their own salvations. And that's before they will discover that others have plans for the all of Becar, plans that involve the very Kehok races Tamra and Raia are trying to survive....
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Writing a plot summary for Race the Sands is difficult because the book essentially switches course midway through into its second half, and it's kind of hard to write a plot summary that's accurate when it'd be a spoiler to talk where things go from there. The book begins as basically the story of Raia and Tamra's attempts to succeed in the races for their own goals, with occasional interludes to the story of Auger Yorbel and the greater story of the Empire, before switching halfway through to a story that has more wide reaching implications. Which is not to say that the switch doesn't feel wholly natural, as there is ample foreshadowing of it coming at some point just by Yorbel's chapters, although the introduction of essentially a fifth point of view character in the 2nd half is a bit of a surprise.

Still it all works because Durst is great at executing the character work in her stories, and this is no exception. Tamra is the clear highlight, a single mother who will do anything for her daughter, no matter how impossible or who is in her way, which is not the most common type of main protagonist in fantasy stories these days. Her determination to do what's best for her daughter, Tamra's own soul be damned, makes her a compelling character, as she attempts to figure out a way for her latest Kehok training to actually work. Raia is a more simple and classic character, the 18 year old girl on the run, trying to convince herself she can do something and that she has actual value....given her parents lack of caring for her. But she's rather well done and it's tremendously easy to root for her. The other major characters - Emperor to be Dar, Auger Yorbel, and one other I won't spoil - are generally also done well, featuring just enough depth to surprise at times and yet feel natural and worthy of reading.

The characters inhabit a world that is fascinating, with its focus on reincarnation and of the Augers who can detect such things, and the dark implications of the Kehok's own souls. And Durst does a great job building up the strands of conflicts throughout - not just the races, but the race to find the old Emperor's soul lest the new Emperor-to-be be needed to be killed, the ambassador from a foreign country attempting to take advantage of the situation, and the other forces trying to make moves just under the radar throughout - to keep the reader interested in where it's all going....and the payoff when it all bursts in the final act is well worth it. It all ends in an ending that isn't exactly happy - again, without spoiling, what happens is definitely in the vein of Renthia in its dark tone - but is very satisfying.

In short, yeah I enjoyed Race the Sands. It's not a book that will necessarily wow readers, especially at the start, but it shows all of Durst's craft into a story with enough surprises, to go along with well done characters, to be worth your time.

This book was received as an ARC from HarperCollins Publishers - Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was so amazing! I could not put this down and the descriptors and characters were spot on that it transported you into the race itself. I love how there were not a lot of principal characters making the reader relate to them more. Tamra is a former trainer that lost her reputation after a tragic accident and is destined to get back in the game. Raia wants to break away from her controlling family and she believes that becoming a rider she can fulfill her destiny. Tamra meets Raia and hires her as her rider but she must recognize her animal known as the Kehok but if you don't know you are riding on the back of a monster, you're dead. Tamra will stop at nothing to train Raia and have her win the races and all will be destined to fulfill. I know our readers will find this book very entertaining and will have interesting discussions.

We will consider adding this title to our Sci-Fi/Fantasy collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Durst’s stand-alone fantasy has great world-building, characters that are striking and memorable and monstrous creatures that are inventive and remarkable. Raia is the spunky young girl who is willing to put her life in danger to escape an intolerable future that her parents have planned for her. Her trainer Tamra is tough as nails but also has a loving mother’s heart that shines through all her actions. The race that will solve problems for both Raia and Tamra are the kehok races. The kehoks are monstrous creatures that are reincarnated lowlifes. (Reincarnated souls come back in a form that reflects the goodness of their lives.) They take a variety of forms and are difficult to control. Riders are often badly injured and sometimes killed during the races.

The king has died and his reincarnated form cannot be found. This makes it impossible for his younger brother to wear the crown. The prince also has other worries due to threats to his kingdom from within and without. It’s hoped that the races might be an opportunity to rally the people and thus, much is riding on the big race for the kingdom as well as Tamra and Raia.

The pace is furious and the plot moves swiftly just as the kehoks race across the sand. There’s so much to embrace here: a tale filled with corruption, betrayal, danger, monsters, bravery, determination and love of family. It’s a perfect mix for an “edge of yours seat” fantasy that’s sure to please.

I think there are going to be a ton of girls who get wrapped up in this world and reread this magical little world over and over again. Heck, it wasn't even too bad as an adult book. It touched on being too juvenile occasionally but I think it's perfect for the demographic it's aimed at.

The characters were flawed in the best ways and appropriately overcame those flaws. There's no insta-love other than some insta-friends who I ended up loving. This story is going to be great for anyone who is a fan of The Black Stallion or Tamora Pierce.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of “Race the Sands” by Sarah Beth Durst. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Full disclosure: I love Sarah Beth Durst’s books! So I was ecstatic to get approved for this title. And once again she threw me into a world I’d gladly spent multiple books exploring (even though this is a stand-alone book).

The story takes place is a desert-like fantasy world called Becar. Giant deadly beasts called kehoks race the sands for sport. The killer beasts are the reincarnations of people with the worst kinds of tarnished souls and they can never be reborn as anything else. Monster racing with deadly stakes? Yes please! Much like in Durst’s world of Renthia, the creatures she creates are always imaginative and fascinating and a little bit strange.

Tamra is a veteran trainer of these kehoks. She’s in dire straits to make ends meet and pay her daughter’s ever increasing tuition. But Tamra’s checkered past of tragedy regarding her students means she’s hard up for students to train into champions. No champions means no prize money means no tuition.

Raia is a desperate girl fleeing her horrible parents and violent fiancé. Despite never having raced a kehok before, she chooses her future to find a trainer willing to take a chance on her. And that trainer turns out to be Tamra. As well as a metallic lion kehok that isn’t all it appears to be.

There’s also the to-be Emperor Dar who cannot be crowned until he finds his deceased elder’s brother reincarnated soul. If he fails, he will be deemed unworthy and executed. With time running out, a county in unrest, and enemies sidling up to his borders, Dar needs a miracle to keep his throne and his life.

I love how Sarah Beth Durst writes strong amazing mother characters. Tamra is fighting for her daughter’s future and as she gets close to Raia, she becomes a second daughter to Tamra.

While there are multiple POVs in this story, there was never one that I didn’t look forward to.

I also liked the ethical discussion of those meant to guide us to moral good actually being corrupt-able. The holy order of the augurs was such an interesting institution in this book.

I will definitely be buying a finished copy for my shelf on the release date (I want to see the map)! And I hope more books will be set in this world in the future!

5/5 stars

A fun read! I didn't know what to expect when I started this one, but I liked the cover, and the blurb sounded fun. I really enjoyed it, though, and am glad I got the chance to read it! I enjoyed the characters, and the story was well written!

I received a free copy of this book from netgalley, all opinions are my own

I really enjoyed this book! Sarah always writes interesting rich stories that completely consume you!

In this world, reincarnation is real and if you're a good person, you will come back as one of the Nobel creatures but if your soul is rotten you will become a kehok, a terrifying mix of creatures evil and hungry for blood, once you become a kook, there is no way back unless you win the races. Each year riders compete in a race and the winner gets killed and reborn as a human. So of course everyone wants to win.

The story follows our main character Tamra, a former racer and now trainer for the competition. She is a very strong character. A single mother, smart, compassionate and kind. She takes on a new racer to train Raia who is a run away. All have their own reasons for winning the race.
I just loved the whole idea behind races and rebirth. All the other things going on in the Kingdom, politics and religion. I flew through it!
I love Sarah's writing, it's so easy to read and she definitely knows how to create characters that just seem real.
The only thing is, it was really predictable. I knew how it will end from the very beginning. But I still enjoyed it. Definitely recommend if you like fantasy with no romance and a competition setting.

THANK YOU SO MUCH NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR SENDING ME A REVIEW COPY OF THIS!!!!!


This is my first read of the year, and I'm already predicting it might be my favorite of the year too.

I can't describe how many emotions I felt reading this book! It's the first time in a while that a book has gripped me so hard and practically demanded that I read it.

Race the Sands is a story of what makes humans and what makes monster....its a story of the soul. The author does an amazing job of building all of her character and making them so human and so believable. And believe me, though the plot is amazing and full of fun and terrifying moments, it's the characters who shine in this story.

Moving on to said plot, Durst pulls off this story wonderfully. There is so much description, especially in the sections containing the races themselves and the training sections, that I felt as if I was there. This plot COULD have been a cliche disaster, I mean monster racing seems like it could be kind of silly right?

But NO.

I was at the edge of my seat the whole time.

Just *Chef's kiss*
I seriously just want to gush about this for hours!
Anyways, I would HIGHlY reccomend that everyone please pick up this book when it's released and support this amazing narrative and author.

This is the third book by Sarah Beth Durst that I've read, and Race the Sands certainly didn't disappoint. This author creates the most beautiful, unique worlds, and I always love starting one of her books because I know I'm going to love the setting.
The plot of Race the Sands was so unique, particularly with the reincarnation, as well as the racing of kehoks. I loved the idea of people being reincarnated based on their actions during their previous lives, and I also liked how the most evil people were reincarnated as monsters.
I also really liked the dual perspectives; I thought that Tamra's and Raia's perspectives were equally important to the story, and were also very distinguishable from one another. Most importantly, I loved the motivations for all of the characters, especially Tamra's unconditional love for her daughter Shalla.
Despite the very major competition/racing aspect of the book. I think the thing that made it stand out the most to me was the love between so many of the characters. I loved experiencing the dynamics between Tamra and Shalla, Tamra and Raia, Dar and the kehok, and Raia and her friends. These characters seem to all have so much love to go around, but the romance was very downplayed and subtle, which I also really liked, since there was so much action in the book that there wouldn't have been time for a real romance to begin.