This was a huge book last year. It’s cover taunted me from every book shop and it was all over our instagram feed too. It was a gorgeous cover too as you can see, chanelling Shaherazade’s magical stories and the mystic pull of the simmering desert nights.

The blurb was enticing too – but somehow never quite enough to pull me into buying the book there and then. It promised a “phenomenal novel packed with shooting contests, train robberies, festivals under the stars, powerful Djinni magic and an electrifying love story.”

What more could I want? I’m not sure – if anything I maybe wanted a bit less! It sounded almost like a western crossed with a thousand and one nights and I wasn’t sure it would work.

But the next book is hitting the shelves tomorrow (with an equally lovely cover) and I got the chance to read them both via NetGalley – time to see what all the fuss is about!

So first off these are targetted at the teen / YA market. The first book starts with our hero Amani, desperate to escape the small town she’s been brought up in before her uncle can force her to become his next wife. Luckily she’s an amazing shot with a pistol so she dresses as a boy an attempts to hustle the prize money of a local shooting competition. But she has stiff competition in the form of a stranger to the town until they decide to join forces. What happens next leads to them racing out across the desert sands together – to start with at least. Amani wants to join her Aunt in the Sultan’s city but her new friend has other, even more dangerous plans.

I found I was turning the pages of this book really quickly and I was halfway through before I’d even realised that I’d started it properly! I’ll admit that I still wasn’t completely sold on the mix of Wild West and middle-eastern fantasy but there was so much action and drama that I got caught up anyway.

Slowly the characters started developing and by the end I was hooked. Then book two landed on my kindle…

To start with I liked the premise of this book and enjoyed reading it. Based in a Middle East setting and using much of the lore of that area, it develops some engaging characters. Its the story of a girl from a small town who wanted to be something/someone more than she could be by staying where she was from.

it has a number of themes that are pretty much shouted from the roof top of the storyline, including personal development and acceptance, family, love, finding something to believe in and fighting for that thing. All set to the desert backdrop with demdji changing shape to mix things up a bit.

I'm wouldn't say this is particular original but then most books that use regional lore as a setting have this problem to.

What I will say is that I enjoyed the story and will be reading the sequel, what more praise than being willing to see what happens next can there be?

<i>Thanks to Netgallery for providing me with a digitial copy in exchange for a honest Review!</i>

I was very torn about how to rate Rebel of the Sands, because while the <b>story was enjoyable it really did not stick with me</b> and I actually don’t think it’s as great as other readers have made it out to be. In the end Rebel of the Sands was strong on worldbuilding, but very weak on plotline and mediocre in terms of characters. In the end I could not give it 4 stars, because the negative side outweighed the positive, so <b>3.5 Stars</b> it is.

<b>What I Liked</b>
• <b>The worldbuilding was the best thing about this book</b>! Honestly it was the <b>strongest element</b> of the book and the reason why I even cared so much and want to continue. The mix of Western and Persian inspired elements worked for me and created a unique kind of desert setting that was very refreshing to read about. I really hoped that there would be a map though ... maybe there was some in the physical copy? Anyway I also liked the geography of the world and the different countries. The setting was really unique the Gallan soldiers and their alliance, taking claim to the land, as well as the Sultim Trials. The <b>history really was fleshed out</b> and talked about, so it felt like the story had a backbone! I also really liked how Deadshot was crafted as a little mining village at the end of the world with no perspective for its citizens. I also liked the <b>lore surrounding the desert and the mythical creatures</b> like Buraqui, Djinnis, skinwalker and Nightmares! Everything was so unique, especially the <b>creation story</b>, which was rich and full of interesting elements! I especially loved the <b>Demdji</b>, they were a very interesting point of the story, specially since they have different abilities which adds a great variety!

• <b>The second half of the book was SO much better and finally I was immersed</b>! I don’t know why the plotline wasn’t coming up to the point sooner? Why all the unnecessary long buildup? It increases the risk of DNF reads, because nothing was of relevance and the story was rather character driven but only between Jin and Amani. However, I was finally hooked when we got to meet more characters and found out even more about the history among other reveals etc.! It was really cool, <b>because finally so much was going on</b> and I enjoyed finally having consistent side characters that kept building relationships! The book definitely improved towards the end (even though the end was a little anticlimatic) and I hope that the sequel brings a more interesting storyline right from the beginning!

• <b>The side characters honestly were what I enjoyed more than the main character</b>! I personally felt a connection to them (which I did not feel with our heroine) and was rally happy to see a group of people that were finally included in the story (not like the caravan) and build relationships with Amani. I really liked <b>Shazad</b>! (even though I think her name is too similar to Sharzad from The Wrath and the Dawn) She was kickass, strong and also fiercely loyal, brave ... why was she not our main character? Where is my spin-off? She was so much more remarkable and strong than Amani! I also really liked Delila and the other Demdji children because they all have different powers and Delilah was such a sweetheart!

• <b>I did like Jin more like Amani</b>! I would not say that he’s my favourite character in the book (that would belong to Shazad), but he was definitely more striking than Amani and I liked his sass way better! He felt like a more likeable and complex character, that did not identify so much with his own country, which was an interesting aspect of the story. He’s a sweet kind of guy that you cannot help but really like. However, I also don’t mind him not being much in the sequel, which shows that while he’s a cool character he’s not a character I would thoroughly miss.

• <b>I’m really digging the Shazad + Amani friendship</b>! It was slowly developing and personally I really like some two strong women working together and kicking ass! I really hope we get to see even more of their friendship in the next book!


<b>What Didn’t Work for me</b>
• <b>Amani felt like another generic sassy main character</b>. I could never really connect with her, because I did not get a feel for her character at all. She did not strike me as a remarkable character and I was actually looking forward to her, because so many people liked her. I just kept comparing her to Shazi from The Wrath and the Dawn and Amani paled in comparison. She just did <i>not have as much character depth as other sassy main characters that I’ve read about</i>. There was so spark to make her special, nothing to see her apart from other heroines.

• <b>The plotline of the first half was so tedious and pacing didn’t work out for me at all</b>. I was rather not invested or hooked on the story in the beginning, it did nothing to capture me. I wouldn’t call it slow paced, but it wasn’t fast paced either - the pacing just did not keep me entertained. The set up was <i>too long for the actual plotline to happen</i> and there were <b>no consistent side characters</b>. Sure there was the caravan, but there were no relationships developing, instead it was only Jin and Amani, I expected way more depth of their journey. It just felt unnecessary, because it was a <b>filler for the real action to start</b>.

• <b>The sexism in the world was kind of wearing me out</b>. I get that it was part of the worldbuilding but reading about yet another sexist fantasy world, where being a woman is equal with being worthless, really drains me. Where are all the empowering fantasy worlds where woman are not treated like they are nothing? I really cannot enjoy world like this one too much, because all the sexism irks me so much and quite frankly makes me mad.

• <b>The romance did nothing for me as well</b>. I just didn’t really care for Jins and Amanis romantic journey, as I did not think they had great chemistry so I wasn’t really interested in this aspect. I heard that Jin is absent for the majority of the next book (aka no further interactions) and I kind of don’t mind - not because I dislike Jin (I actually like him), but because <i>I could have lived without the romance element of the story</i>.

• <b>The ending felt kind of too rushed</b>. I really liked the second part, but in the end it felt like the setup had taken up too much time in the book and now there wasn’t much place left for the grand finale, which made me quite sad. Everything kind of got <i>anticlimatic in the end</i>. I mean the big reveal was kind of not really making me feel like everything connected and I foresaw another plot twist from the right beginning.

• <b>I’m no fan of the whole “need to save brother” thing that came up in the end</b>. I’m not going into detail cause #spoilers. But I don’t get the “we’re family” only because two characters share a bloodline, it just felt unnecessary and I did not really care for the sibling interactions. Why would they care about each other? It makes no sense.

<b>IN CONCLUSION</b>: While Rebel of the Sands represented a <b>great diverse fantasy world, it lacked in plotline and characters</b>. The first half of the book took to long and was rather tedious to read while the main character was just another generic sassy heroine that did not manage to capture my attention. Compared to other heroines she does not manage to stay in memory or be remarkable. I’m going to check out the sequel since it seems to progress in terms of plotline and the main character is said to develop character further, so maybe I might like the second book better.

A nice debut to a new series, with lots of potential.

This has the flavor of a mock-Arabic, Arabian Nights sort of story, including mention of genii and other mythological creatures that sound like they should be from that culture, but are actually original mythology invented by the author. The main character, a young person seeking to leave a difficult living situation where law and family tradition work against the rights of young people, puts everything at risk to use a skill for shooting to gain enough money to leave a small desert town and survive for a while longer than mere savings would allow.

Of course things never work out as planned in a good tale and unlikely alliances lead to adventure and plenty of action. It definitely held my attention! Enough that I was requesting the sequel before I had got halfway through the first book.

I'm marking this author as one to watch. She definitely has the skill of spinning a good story despite a few minor plot holes. I was actually surprised to see it categorized as YA and assume it's only because the protagonist is young. The story has enough intricacies to appeal to adults and an interesting twist to add even more magic to the tale.

Through the action of the story, the exotic atmosphere of desert towns and caravans where supernatural creatures exist becomes easy to believe and immerse oneself into, and learning who to trust and who is on which side at any moment can be unpredictable.

This was one of those wonderful stories that had me putting off real life responsibilities in the final chapters because I had to keep reading. I don't know how long the series is going to be, but I can see myself following this one, though I don't keep up with many series. Easy five star read and a wonderful aventure.

Although this book suffers from a whole bunch of setup in the first half, I actually really enjoyed this. From the first moment, I loved the interactions between Amani (the Blue-Eyed Bandit; keep an eye on this, that will later be important) and the character of Jin.

I think I could have done with a bit less of the stereotyping of just how bad it was for Amani to stay living with the family she had in Dustwalk and had her story start as she was leaving, but I understand why it was there to show her motivation to leave. Unfortunately, it being there added length to what was already a long lead up to the real story.

The Rebel Prince is mentioned very early in the book, but we don't meet him until quite late, and <i>he</i> and those surrounding him is where the story starts. I found it incredibly difficult to put the book down in the latter half of the novel. I loved the powers of the Demdji, the evocative descriptions of the sand that features quite a lot in this novel called <i>Rebel of the Sands</i> and the characterisation of just about every character who passed through its pages was spot on and added to the plot.

I'm already excited to see the next part of this series.

While reading this book, a lot of questions kept circling around in my mind, like:

How could this masterpiece be the very first book written by the author?
How come I didn't pick it up way earlier?
WHY isn't everyone RAVING about it???

This book surpassed my expectations and set a whole new perspective for me!
I loved absolutely everything about it!
It is the kind of book that kept me up until 7am, just to finish it! To say that I couldn't put it down was a major understatement!

But, let me get into a more detailed review, before I just start babbling about this book's awesomeness!

I will start from the fact that probably surprised me more than everything!
This book is the debut work of Alwyn Hamilton, and it's not obvious AT ALL!
Her writing and the way she narrated the start of an epic story were really out of this world, and I would bet a million times that she had already written a dozen books before this masterpiece (second time I call this book that, and you've probably come to realize by now just how much I fell in love with it)!

I have read a ton of ARCs and books from debut authors, and this book set a very high standard for me, on what I want to read from now on!

The story was very well-thought, and is taking place in the desert. I had never read something similar before, and it was what had made me a little hesitant in picking this book up!
I loved very much that the plot was progressing in the perfect pace! Quite fast enough to not make you bored, while at the same time pausing to describe in more detail the personalities of the characters and the progression of the relationships between them, in a way that made you feel all that much closer to them.
Another interesting way of storytelling by the author, was the fact that the story of the main heroine was provided to us not right away. Instead, we were discovering bits and pieces of her past slowly and steadily in the first few chapters, and in such a natural way, while at the same time there was a ton of adventure and action!

And, let me tell you just how much I loved Amani.
Strong, fierce, raised to be rebellious and think of the prospect of a different and better life by her mother, from a really young age!
And, despite the fact that she now lives with her uncle and his wives and children, she never quit the ideal her mother inspired in her. She made it her goal and her driving force!

When she met Jin, the story took a whole new turn!
The two of them made a truce and started an adventure together, each after their own goals!

Jin was, in my opinion, the perfect match for Amani right from the start.
Noble in his ways, strong and passionate, he made me want that romantic tension between them to quickly get into so much more!

And, the book isn't even all about these things I just described.

The action, adventure and plot twists are on their peak from the moment you start getting into the story and its aspects, and especially after a moment, it actually gets to a point that I was constantly surprised and taken aback!
And, I loved every moment of it!

What I loved even more, is the fact that I didn't actually see them coming!
The story was written in such an excellent way that it depicted the facts that would be of importance later on, without giving away their true meaning for the plot!



All in all, 5 stars seem too little for a book that became
one of my favorite novels I've ever read,
a book that was packed with action, adventure, fantasy, amazing heroines and heroes,
and a natural talent of storytelling that
delivered every single point of the story in an excellent way!

It's everything I ever wanted and didn't know I needed....

First of all I fell in love with the main character.. Amani is a force of nature and also so human... She make mistakes, she acts based on her emotions and needs. She is selfish but always true to what she wants... For me that makes her more relatable. She recognises what she is doing wrong and gradually changes...

I liked how the character makes explore the worl and the magic system by making Amani tell stories and myths through the book...

The plot was interesting and I was happy I didn't some things coming, I always enjoy that in a book...

I would have give it five stars if it weren't for the slightlty slow beginning...

I can't wait to read the next one!

Wow. Just wow. I can't believe how long it took for me to read Rebel of the Sands, but I'm so glad I finally got myself together and did it. What an incredible book. While it took me a while to get through the first few chapters due to work commitments, I raced through the rest of the book desperate to see where it would go!

This is the first book I have ever read like this, a Middle Eastern fantasy with mythical creatures and a Western vibe. Gah, perfect. Alwyn Hamilton paints a perfect picture through her skills in world building; each chapter played out like a film in my head as I could visualise what was happening seamlessly.

The only fault I can find with this book, which it totally down to my opinion and not at all a reflection of Hamilton's superb writing skills, is that I found that our main character Amani was totally indecisive and I find myself questioning a lot of her decisions. Nonetheless, she was a great kick-ass heroine who I would totally be friends with IRL. I also loved that the romance aspect of this story did not at all overshadow the main plot or theme, don't get me wrong though, the tension between Jin and Amani was hot! ALSO THOSE PLOT TWISTS?! Craziness and totally unexpected.

The only reason that I'm fairly happy I decided to wait so long to read Rebel of the Sands is because the sequel, Traitor to the Throne is published next month, so I don't have too long to wait!

4.5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommend - go read it!

A fast-paced, thrilling and exotic book.

The plot was interesting even if it was not that original: an ordinary girl who discovers that after all she is special, who falls for a stranger and wants to get out of her town to discover a new way of life... does it sound familiar to you? Well, it's a storyline I'm really familiar with. But it does not change the fact that it was really great and that I enjoyed it a lot.

The setting was original, even if in the last few years we got a lot of books about "oriental" culture (retellings of 1001 arabian nights, set in the desert...). But it's not something I'm used to and I like it a lot. The religion aspect (or legend aspect) was also really important and I'm glad, this is not something usual.

I also enjoy the fact that Amani, the main female protagonist, I such a badass ! In her world, women does not have a say and have to do what their husband tell them to. But Amani wants to escape to have a better life. It was not a big part of the book but there were small comments about it thoughout it, and I'm glad I live where I live where women can have jobs and just be who/what they want to be. Many women in the world have the same life/status (or worse) than Amani's.

It was a great debut novel and I'm curious about the next book in the series (coming soon I guess!)

Gave into the hype and devoured it! A Middle Eastern setting in a magical world full of djinns, shape shifters, gun shooters, and a good old fight for power.

Some things about this book that won me over:
1. The Buraqi, horse beings made of sand and wind. They reminded me of the Asterion horses from the Throne of Glass series but I easily preferred the Buraqi over the latter.
2. Both the character and plot development. I will leave it at that.
3. The writing. It flowed. I gobbled it up.
4. YA romance that is not too in-your-face.
5. The journey through the desert. Honestly, you'd think reading this would be tedious but Hamilton made every chapter count; there was always something important that happened in each chapter and I really appreciated its succinctness.
6. Did I mention the plot development? All the pieces fell together brilliantly as the story unfolded.

Some other thoughts:
I read a few reviews that suggest that this book tries to westernize the Middle Eastern culture. I disagree with this because as someone who grew up in a Saudi Arabian desert city, I did not think anything about the portrayal of the characters was culturally appropriated. Alwyn Hamilton has created a fictitious world, borrowing elements from various Middle East traditions, but that's it. Personally, I enjoyed her spin on them. There aren't many books that have done what she has done, and respectfully and masterfully at that.

Don't look for accurate portrayals of religion, attire, cuisine and occupation that are usually prevalent in the Middle East, simply enjoy Hamilton's version of these things. That's what I did and I had lots of fun! Looking forward to reading the sequel.

5 “sandy” stars

A copy has been kindly provided by Faber and Faber through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publication Date: March 8th, 2016
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Teens, Romance, Fantasy, Empic story, Tales with Djinni and other creatures

I love female character taking fate by the horns. I love fantasy. I love tales with Djinni, Ghouls, sand and fire creatures. I love epic adventure where you escape soldiers, jump from roofs and discover unexpected new talents. I love romance. This book and I were a match made in heaven!!!!

This is a world where “ Djinn who fell in love with worthy princesses and gave them all of their hearts’ wishes. Pretty girls who lured Nightmares straight on to men’s blades. Brave merchants’ daughters who caught Buraqi and rode them to the ends of the earth” and I loved everything about it!

Meet Amami or The Blue Eyed Bandit.

She is a girl from Dustwalk a poor small desert town where girls are worth nothing and guns are plenty as it’s hosting the Sultan’s weapon factory. Orphaned and oppressed by her aunt and uncle she dreams of escaping this life and find her aunt in Izman.
She’s taught herself how to shoot a gun for years now and tonight is her night. She’ll win the shooting competition and will leave with the money. Only… it did not go according to plan.
Never backing from a challenge she is smart mouthed. “Aunt Farrah always said I didn’t seem to mind proving myself dumb if it meant proving someone else wrong.” Very handy with a gun she’ll soon be embarked on an incredible adventure following Jin the foreigner. It will be a constant race across the desert alongside Jin, escaping magic creatures and soldiers.

“My story. I’d spent my life dreaming of my own story that could start when I finally reached Izman. A story written in far-off places I didn’t know how to dream about yet. And on my way there, I’d slough off the desert until there was nothing left of it to mark the pages. Only Jin was right. I was a desert girl. Even in Izman I would still be the same Blue Eyed-Bandit with a hanged mother, who left her friend dying.”


For a very long time in the book I wondered if Jin was working with the rebels. The country is under the Sultan’s reign and his allies the Gallans. The Gallan people chased all magic from their land and killed the old beings. They hunt every magical creature and their children, born from women and Djinni. The Sultan’s rogue son wants to seize the power kick the Gallans out of the country and create a new dawn, a new desert.

Amami can’t ignore what’s happening to her people, her desert to their beliefs. From the girl leaving others in the dust in her need to create her own lonely path she’ll become a part from something bigger. She’ll make new friends and find kinship. Something worth fighting for.

“This revolution was a legend in the making. The kind of tale that sprawled out long before me and far beyond my reach. The sort of epic that was told over and over to explain how the world was never the same after this handful of people lived and fought and won or died trying. And after it happened, the story seemed somehow inevitable.“

It was fast paced. The storytelling was compelling, the plot solid without any filler or dull moment. The characters are very well portrayed and I could relate to Amami as she wants to be someone worthy and not “just a girl”. She wants to take matters in her own hands and not be ruled by men. I could never live under other’s thumb and could only cheer each time she did something reckless to save someone else or escape by the skin of her teeth. I loved the banter and her sarcastic remarks. I’m always admiring girls with wit and she had it in truckload! I swear you’ll also root for her.

The tandem with Jin worked very smoothly. They had each other’s back and were perfectly assorted always doing some grand last minute escape. I swear I forgot to breathe so many times always believing this would be the end!

So it’s epic tale or epic fantasy at its best and I can’t wait to read the second book!

Amani has spent her whole life dreaming of leaving her hometown. Now that she is about to be married off she is desperate to get the hell out of there. From then on, Amani embarks on an adventure and a journey of self discovery.

Rebel of the Sands has charismatic main-characters, a believable romance, nice world-building and magic system. An interesting first installment to what I am hoping will be a fantastic trilogy.

(Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!)