REBEL OF THE SANDS (REBEL OF THE SANDS #1) – ALWYN HAMILTON

More gunpowder than girl—the fate of the desert is in her hands.
There's nothing magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from. Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out. When she meets Jin she figures he’s the perfect escape. But she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army with a fugitive. And she'd never have predicted that he'd help unlock the truth of who she really is.

In a society where being a woman means that you, and everything you own, belongs to a male relative, Amani just wants to get out of her conservative, dead-end town and away from a future essentially chained up by the men vying for her hand in marriage.  But, to do that, Amani will have to leave everything she has ever known and question everything she has ever believed in.

The fantastic blend of fantasy, mythological fiction and romance in this book really drew me in; I wanted to know more about the kickass girl with a sharp tongue and traitor’s eyes and immerse myself in the world of djinni and Buraqi, sultans and rebellion.  With desperation, hope, violence, treachery and fear lying in the first 100 pages alone, this book checks every box and I just want more, more, more!

Being born doesn’t make a single soul important. But you were important when I met you, that girl who dressed as a boy, who taught herself to shoot true, who dreamed and saved and wanted so badly. That girl was someone who had made herself matter.

Hamilton has created a beautiful world so rich with life and vivid in detail, which I just want to explore further.  And the fierce heroine, Amani, doesn’t take anyone’s shit, is independent, doesn’t need a man and is able to kick major butt without the help of magical powers or abilities – even though they do help from time to time.  Now that is what I like to see in a book.  A bit of girl power.

I mean, Amani... You cannot get any more badass than she does.  This Blue-eyed-bandit really does know how to put people in their place.  She had managed to survive for years before the day everything changed and that wasn’t going to stop just because a bit of fire and smoke...  And then there’s Jin.  A total sweetheart but also tough and determined.  He has always cared more about a person than their apparent ‘worth,’ valuing people before they possess powers, a royal status, or a certain set of skills.

I may have traitor eyes, but Jin had the sort of smile that would turn over whole empires to the enemy...

All the characters are gorgeous; individually flawed with their own dark pasts, which really tug at a chord and help you understand why they are the way they are.  The dialogue is witty and adventurous, the fights are realistic yet enthralling and the romance is seamless.

There is not much I can say about this book except that it is simply an astonishing read!  My fingers itch to have the next book in my hands!  I can’t wait to open Traitor to the Throne and find out the fate of Amani and the rebels.

Rating: 4.5/5

Get you hands on this fantastic book at Amazon or Book Depository, don't pass up a chance to read this story for anything.