Quick Guide:

Realistic fantasy with a female heroine.

First book in a planned trilogy.

Interesting variety in characters.

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton creates a new and exciting debut for this author. Those who enjoyed the freedom and gun slinging of Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman will love this novel.

From the way the main character, Amani, approaches adversity to the way she’s able to handle a weapon, Amani is the ultimate hardworking heroine. From the beginning of the first chapter, the reader is easily invested and interested in the situations that Amani goes through and is impressed by her calm and collected attitude. Of course, like many heroines, she follows a similar character arc as other famous females, in which the girl find her purpose, is able to hold her own with a weapon, and eventually finds that someone catches her attention. 

All of this being said, for those who are against violence/weapons shouldn’t read this, as weapons, underage drinking, and violence are common themes throughout the book. There are a few instances of language, and overall the book is PG-13 in content.

There are pieces that make this novel different from others in the same genre, the setting. With folklore, including mythical desert creatures and rebellions, the average and everyday novel is spiced up. The author does a fantastic job of establishing myths and legends amongst her characters, and readers jump into the storyline quickly, as if they know the place and the characters already.

Teenagers will relate to Amani’s need to get out of her town and discover new things, but her mischievous streak throughout makes her interesting to read but not to follow as an example. She associates with other outlaws, including a character named Jin, who helps her through many different heart-racing and fast paced situations. Both her and Jin wouldn’t be good examples for younger kids who want to read through this.

Fantasy lovers who wish to expand their horizons would enjoy the way this covers typical fantasy tropes. Although, like many books that begin world building, specific names of creatures and the mythology of the world competes and distracts from the characters and the actual plot.

Author Alwyn Hamilton’s second book in the Rebel of the Sands series is titled Traitor to the Throne. It was published March seventh, and has received mixed reviews. I currently do not plan on reading this at this time, although I enjoyed the first book, I wasn’t captured as I hoped to be. Rebel of the Sands holds the title for the Goodreads choice award best debut author.

This seems to be my last book review for this year! I really appreciate all who have read through and those who have told me they’ve read through some of my recommendations! I’ll hopefully be back to write more reviews and read more books next year, so until then, keep on reading!

This book can be purchased online here.

For my last book review, read Salt to the Sea. 

This author can be reached online on Instagram and Twitter.