When I first looked at the cover of Rebel of the Sands, I knew that it was a book I had to have. I didn’t care what it was about, this was cover love at first sight. My love only deepened when I actually read what the book was about: ‘A Sharpshooter. A Dreamer. A damn good liar’ and I had chills running down my back!
To be quite honest, I don’t think my words can quite capture the essence of what this book has in store for you when you pick it up (because you REALLY should) so I’m going to try and capture it from some of the many lines that were so awesome, I re-read them over and over.
I didn’t seem to mind proving myself dumb if it meant proving someone else wrong.
You know badass heroines, right? We all love them. There’s Katniss Everdeen and Celaena Sardothien and Mare Barrow. Here’s the thing though, how many of said actually SAID they were badass, because Amani does. And Amani is AWESOME! She’s a fearless dreamer with perfect aim and a will to live, and I assure you, you will LOVE her.
No one could see me, a girl with a stolen gun, shooting until my fingers were sore and my aim was good enough that I could’ve knocked a shot glass out of a drunk’s shaky fingers.
The book opens with Amani trying to get out of the bleak existence she can’t help but detest. She’s meant for greater things; she’s meant for places where your gender doesn’t make you lose respect, where it’s okay to not be ashamed to have been born a girl. AND I loved that in the middle of an Arabian Night’s story, we had FEMINISM, and equality and non-discrimination. These were real life issues that every girl in the world faces – East or West – and Alwyn handled it all brilliantly.
I was a desert girl. I thought I knew heat.
I was wrong.
But, of course, a book is NOT complete without the smouldering boy who gets our heroine completely, and in most novels, she just falls right into his arms without much thought and he does almost all of the work. SO NOT THE CASE! Amani, even if she was wrong, wasn’t afraid of doing what she needed to get what she wanted. And the CHEMISTRY! *Swoons* *Finds Ointment for Burns*
These ideas could make men shout for rebellion even when it meant they would hang for it.
The blurb promises you rebellion and love and magic, and IT DOES NOT DISAPPOINT! From the stories of Djinn to Ghouls to Skinwalkers, to the passion between Jin and Amani and through all the characters with their dangerous powers and powerful personalities, this book will grip you and never let go.
I guess I just need to end with: ‘Red Queen meets The Hunger Games in this masterful Arabian Nights setting, leaving readers spellbound.’
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
