Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

TL;DR cool desert magic

TBR #1310, added Jul 18 2015

finished 6/9/16

This review is going to be really short, I'm sorry.

I had a little bit of trouble becoming invested in Rebel of the Sands, probably because I wasn't in the mood for a story that required a lot of worldbuilding, but I fell in love with it by the time I finished the story. I enjoyed reading about their world and how it didn't feel like typical fantasy stories -- I'm really glad that it wasn't just another vaguely European setting.

(I'm not sure where exactly this was supposed to be set, assuming their world is based closely on ours. I assumed it was the Sahara, but it might actually be the Arabian Peninsula.)

Amani was a compelling character and I enjoyed reading about her journey, both with Jin and her own self-discovery. The second half of the book was really good and I'm excited to read more about their adventures and the world they live in.

I'll admit that there were some stretches of the book where I got bored, though thankfully those weren't too long. The second half of the book is also significantly different than what's set up at the beginning, which can be kind of jarring. I liked the direction the book took but I can also agree that it's kind of out there in terms of plausibility.

TL;DR it's a little bit like The Wrath and the Dawn but with more action / movement. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this world.

CWs: guns, implications of sexual assault, injuries, death.