REVIEW | Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

 Title: Rebel of the Sands

Series:  Rebel of the Sands (#1)

Author: Hamilton, Alwyn

Format: e-book ARC provided by NetGalley

Edition: English

Publisher: Faber & Faber Ltd.

Publication: February 4th, 2016

Pages: 358

Goodreads Blurb: 

" 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.  "

My Rating: ✿✿✿✿✿

My Review:

While reading this book, a lot of questions kept circling around in my mind, like:

How could this masterpiece be the very first book written by the author?

How come I didn't pick it up way earlier?

WHY isn't everyone RAVING about it???

This book surpassed my expectations and set a whole new perspective for me!

I loved absolutely everything about it!

It is the kind of book that kept me up until 7am, just to finish it! To say that I couldn't put it down was a major understatement!

But, let me get into a more detailed review, before I just start babbling about this book's awesomeness!

I will start from the fact that probably surprised me more than everything!

This book is the debut work of Alwyn Hamilton, and it's not obvious AT ALL!

Her writing and the way she narrated the start of an epic story were really out of this world, and I would bet a million times that she had already written a dozen books before this masterpiece (second time I call this book that, and you've probably come to realize by now just how much I fell in love with it)!

I have read a ton of ARCs and books from debut authors, and this book set a very high standard for me, on what I want to read from now on!

The story was very well-thought, and is taking place in the desert. I had never read something similar before, and it was what had made me a little hesitant in picking this book up!

I loved very much that the plot was progressing in the perfect pace! Quite fast enough to not make you bored, while at the same time pausing to describe in more detail the personalities of the characters and the progression of the relationships between them, in a way that made you feel all that much closer to them.

Another interesting way of storytelling by the author, was the fact that the story of the main heroine was provided to us not right away. Instead, we were discovering bits and pieces of her past slowly and steadily in the first few chapters, and in such a natural way, while at the same time there was a ton of adventure and action!

And, let me tell you just how much I loved Amani.

Strong, fierce, raised to be rebellious and think of the prospect of a different and better life by her mother, from a really young age!

And, despite the fact that she now lives with her uncle and his wives and children, she never quit the ideal her mother inspired in her. She made it her goal and her driving force!

When she met Jin, the story took a whole new turn!

The two of them made a truce and started an adventure together, each after their own goals!

Jin was, in my opinion, the perfect match for Amani right from the start.

Noble in his ways, strong and passionate, he made me want that romantic tension between them to quickly get into so much more!

And, the book isn't even all about these things I just described.

The action, adventure and plot twists are on their peak from the moment you start getting into the story and its aspects, and especially after a moment, it actually gets to a point that I was constantly surprised and taken aback!

And, I loved every moment of it!

What I loved even more, is the fact that I didn't actually see them coming!

The story was written in such an excellent way that it depicted the facts that would be of importance later on, without giving away their true meaning for the plot!

All in all, 5 stars seem too little for a book that became 

one of my favorite novels I've ever read, 

a book that was packed with action, adventure, fantasy, amazing heroines and heroes, 

and a natural talent of storytelling that 

delivered every single point of the story in an excellent way!