Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton Series: Rebel of the Sands #1
Published by Viking Books for Young Readers on March 8, 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Western, Young Adult
Pages: 320
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Synopsis: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.
Short and sweet review time!
When I first picked up Rebel of the Sands, I’m not sure what I was expecting. This book is a mashup of Western and Middle East Fantasy (think Aladdin, or a jinni tale). Suffice to say, it was AWESOME.
Since reading Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman last year (another GREAT read), I’ve found I really enjoy this blossoming YA Western genre. Rebel of the Sands is fast-paced, very cinematic (i.e. lots of action sequences that absolutely fly off the page), with a decent dose of fantasy and romance. Our heroine, Amani, is a very talented sharpshooter, and perhaps something even more magically interesting, we come to find out. Jin, Amani’s mysterious love interest, is also far more than just an excellent shot, though he is immensely likable from the start. The two travel across the desert, outrunning armies, avoiding jinni, sprinting through military occupied trains…it’s a great time.
Rebel in the Sands is filling the category “Something Different” in my 2016 TBR Challenge. To see more info about my 2016 Reading Challenges, go HERE.
Content: Recommended for 15+
That does sound weird and interesting.
I’m super glad to hear you enjoyed this! It’s on my TBR pile, and I’ve been a little bit wary of starting it, since YA Western is a genre I’ve not yet dipped my toe into.
It sounds really quite promising based on your review, though! Hopefully I’ll enjoy it just as much. 🙂
I loved it! Really fast paced; I would also recommend checking out Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman if you’re interested in checking out YA Western; I would say that one is more traditional western than Rebel of the Sands, which is a bit more fantasy/western hybrid.