Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1) – Alwyn Hamilton

Today I’m sharing my review for REBEL OF THE SANDS as a part of the book’s blog tour! I was more than happy to share my gif review for today’s stop because as much as I can gush, you just need some visuals for all of the feels that I experienced while reading! Plus this book was so good that you’ll need to check out all of the other blog tour stops to get every possible angle on this book!

Title: Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1) by Alwyn Hamilton
Publishing Info: March 8, 2016 by Penguin
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: March 10, 2016
Related Posts: Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands #2)

She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.
Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or 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 of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.

REBEL OF THE SANDS, you guys… It’s phenomenal! 

It’s been a long time since I’ve had some good, solid FEELS for a book and I am ecstatic that REBEL OF THE SANDS was that book for me. It was truly love at first page for me and things only escalated from there!! I loved fierce, bold, and confident Amani who is ready to make a life for herself and get out of her small and useless town. She masquerades as a boy when she goes out to compete in the local shooting competition because it’s the only way she’ll be allowed to participate. Heck yes, I love girls that can run with the boys! I’m a little bit of a tomboy myself so I immediately loved Amani who is all desert and fire and gunpowder. 

I really loved the entire feel of the book. Amani has this amazing spirit that really shines throughout and her need to escape and find a better life for herself really keeps the action moving forward. When she meets a handsome stranger, I immediately fell in love with him because they just had the best chemistry. I won’t say too much about him because it’s best to discover as you read, but he does become an incredibly important part of the book (this happens early on — no spoilers there) and he and Amani just have the best connection, both as friends and that spark to something more. Their banter is excellent and we all know how much I love banter! It easily captures me, makes me feel like the characters are that much more real, and I always love a humorous side to keep even the direst of situations light.

Every character really brings something special to the book. From Amani to Jin to the secondary characters like Shazad and Bahi, each person really comes to life, their personality adding so much to the atmosphere and feel of the book. I’m always especially impressed when supporting characters add so much to a book because I feel like they’re too easily pushed aside for main characters. These characters are just so well layered and they truly form the perfect team. There’s a little bit of everything captured within this cast of characters and they came together so well.

Honestly, everything in this book was so well done and it’s exactly what I want in the first book in a series. The world is built up and explained but I never felt like there was a case of infodump. Everything progressed so perfectly and the plot moved along at such a natural pace. The characters were amazing and immediately pulled me in. There’s just enough romance with some truly perfect moments that make you ache without going over the edge of instalove. There are some awesome reveals that keep readers flipping those pages but there’s still promise of so much more to come. I absolutely loved the book and I am so excited that it’s a series because I can’t wait to read and devour the rest!

“The View from Goodreads” is a featured section in my reviews that I decided to incorporate! I tend to update my Goodreads status a LOT when I read — reactions, feelings, notes — so I thought it would be fun to share the sort of “reading process”! All status updates are spoiler-free (no specific plot points will be revealed) but will contain reactions to certain pages and/or characters!

Amani // Character Obsessions: Shooting, freedom, independence. 
I LOVED Amani. She felt like a truly strong and confident character without going overboard to a cocky or aggressive sort of feel. I really loved her spirit and how much life she brought to the book. She was strong and kickass and always easy to relate to, no matter how different we really may be.

Kept Me Hooked On: Genre blends. REBEL OF THE SANDS is definitely a fantasy but it really has a Western feel as well. The book sort of blends fantasy, Western, and even a bit of mythology with some Middle Eastern culture and mythology as the basis and inspiration for the series.
Left Me Wanting More: Tender moments at the end. Honestly, that’s just nit-picking. I really loved the book from start to finish but oh. Those moments between Amani and Jin that are heart-stopping. I melted. I could have used just one more good one towards the end to seal in my feels.

Addiction Rating
Buy it!

I’m so pleasantly surprised how much I got swept away by this book. I expected to enjoy it but I didn’t realize how captivated I would be. This one is proudly going on my shelves!

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(Click the cover to see my review!)

    

DON’T MISS THE OTHER STOPS ON THE BLOG TOUR!

www.fictionfare.com	Fiction Fare	3/7 – Guest post
http://www.whatsarahread.com	What Sarah Read	3/8 – Interview
http://www.myfriendsarefiction.com	My Friends Are Fiction	3/9 – Book playlist
onceuponatwilight.com	Once Upon a Twilight	3/10 – Top 10 list
http://www.loveisnotatriangle.com	Love is not a triangle	3/11 – Review & Giveaway
http://pagesplotspint.wpengine.com/	The Book Addict’s Guide	3/14 – Gif Review
http://www.foreveryoungadult.com	Forever Young Adult	3/15 – Would You Rather?
http://www.alexalovesbooks.com	Alexa Loves Books	3/16 – Book playlist 2
http://theirishbanana.blogspot.com	The Irish Banana Review	3/17 – 25 Random Things About Me
www.mundiemoms.com	Mundie Moms	3/18 – Review & Giveaway
http://www.twochicksonbooks.com	Two Chicks on Books	3/21 – Guest post 2
http://eaterofbooks.blogspot.com/	The Eater of Books!	3/22 – Interview
http://itstartsatmidnight.com	It Starts at Midnight	3/23 – Top 10 #2
http://bookbriefs.net	Book Briefs	3/24 – Dreamcasting post
www.iceybooks.com	IceyBooks	3/25 – Review & Giveaway