(Rebel of the Sands #1)
Publication
Date: March 8, 2016
Hardcover, 316 pages, Viking Books
Genres:
YA, Fantasy
Mortals rule the desert nation of
Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumor has
it that somewhere, djinn still perform their magic. For humans, it’s an unforgiving place,
especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female.
Amani Al’Hiza is all three. She’s a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim,
but she can’t shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she’s
destined to wind up wed or dead.
Then she meets Jin, a rakish
foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But
though she’s spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she’d
gallop away on mythical horse—or that it would take a foreign fugitive to show
her the heart of the desert she thought she knew.
Rebel
of the Sands reveals what happens when a
dream deferred explodes—in the fires of rebellion, of romantic passion, and the
all-consuming inferno of a girl finally, at long last, embracing her power.
My Review
A gun-slinging girl in a desert fantasy world sounds like a
pretty fun read to me, so I don’t know why I put off reading this book for so
long. That was a pretty big mistake on my part.
Amani is a strong female character who doesn’t want to live
the life her small town has set out for her, and I don’t blame her for wanting
better for herself. The people in her country are very sexist. But Amani can
outshoot almost anyone, and that aspect combined with the rich desert world and
a solid magic system make this book one hundred times better than any wild west
cowboy story out there.
As for the main squeeze of the story, Jin is a good male
protagonist/love interest. He’s the typical brooding, mysterious guy with a
shady past, or so we think… I actually was surprised to learn who/what he was
in later chapters. Also, his interactions with Amani are pleasantly charming,
hilarious, and swoon-worthy 95% of the time. (There was a 5% time where he was
just being rude, so I can’t give him all the props.)
Now, the plot of the book is where things get interesting
for me. Because, while I loved the main characters, I have little to say about
them. They’re great. End of story. The plot, though. Yeah. The first half was,
like I’ve mentioned, a wild west/desert shoot-out set in a fantasy land. It was
great! The second half of the book, though, kind of becomes more of a magical
fantasy story. While I didn’t hate the second half of the book (I liked it well
enough), I thought the atmosphere of the story really changed from the first
half. I guess I just missed the tone I’d gotten used to on page one. Oh, I was also
very shocked by the twist of events that happened in the second half. I totally
wasn’t expecting any of that.
Even though the first and second parts of the book were different
in tone and atmosphere, I still LOVED the book. I’ve already purchased a copy
of the sequel, and I plan on reading it as soon as possible, especially now
that book three is almost here.
All in all, if you love shoot-’em-up cowboy stories, fantasy
tales, or, heck, even Aladdin, there’s
a very high chance you’ll enjoy Rebel of
the Sands.
*Note: I purchased
a copy of this book for myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.
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