Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Series: Rebel of the Sands, Book 1
Release date: March 8, 2016
Published by: Penguin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Amani has two choices at this point, marry her uncle or be killed in countless possible ways. In her town tiny town on the outer edge, Dustwalk, she has zero options when it comes to her future. Her town does have one thing going for it though, it has a mine which makes guns for the army. Amani is the best shot around and hoping to use that skill to get herself out of her life (disguised as a guy of course), but when she and Jin end up on the run from the Sultan's army everything begins to change...
My thoughts: This was a fantastic adventure filled with sand, magic and great characters. I was interested in this book since I first read about it, but when I won a copy from Goodreads I was beyond thrilled! I literally read it in 24 hours! (It was my reward for finishing a crappy book club book!)
I was thrilled to be reading a story with a strong female main character even though Amani lives in a culture where women have no power at all. I don't know that I have read a western in a long time and this would certainly fit as both a western and a desert story which also has the bonus of MAGIC! Yes, you heard me...there are both "people" with magical abilities AND magical creatures in this book!
The world and culture that Amani lives in is a cruel one that I'm sure many in our world can sympathize with, and even though I have certainly not had to deal with any of these issues myself I still was able to fall right into this new world and embrace it as if I was shadowing Amani the whole way. I thought that she was written so well in her attitude and life she had to lead, but that she didn't agree with or bow to. The fact that she was one of the best shots even though that was a very male skill just showed you how much she didn't fit in where she was in life and that she was going to do great things...now I never would have guessed she was going to do THAT great of thing specifically! You know what I mean if you've read the book = Wow!
Jin was also a character that I instantly liked and was interested in learning more about. His story ends up being one that I thought I knew but really didn't which was fun for me since I hate it when I can completely guess a storyline. I especially like how he treated Amani as more of an equal who could hold her own from the very beginning instead of a piece of property to hide from the world or dominate completely.
I don't want to give too much away about the storyline, so I'll just say that there were some great twists throughout the book that had me reading as fast as I could. I can see where some things might be going in the future but would never think I'd know for sure after reading this adventure.
In the end, I am not only waiting on the edge of my seat for the next book, but also thrilled that this book was everything I had hoped for!! Well done Hamilton! I can't to read more from you.
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