“She moved like a storm someone had given steel to.” – Alwyn Hamilton, Rebel of the Sands
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. – via Goodreads
Eden: Rebel of the Sands is a good book. I really liked it. Though, after our discussion I walked away with a bad taste in my mouth about some of the content within the book. I’m really excited for the next book in this series and I think that Rebel of the Sands was a good first book and I look forward to what comes next for Alwyn Hamilton. 4/5 stars!
Caitlynn: I really enjoyed a lot of aspects in this book. It was quite a bit different from other things that we have read recently, not to mention I expecting more of a Wrath & The Dawn vibe, which wasn’t true at all. It was great. I rated this book 4/5 stars overall and would definitely suggest this nice, quick read!
Jenn: Okay, so I loved this book when initially read it. However, I’ve read it 2 times now and I’ve started to have some issues with it as a result of that. I enjoyed the characters and the journey they went on. I am still excited to see where this story goes in the future. However, I now have some concerns with the first book. Overall, this book was a great start to a new series. I gave it 4/5 stars.
DISCUSSION & SPOILERS AHEAD: If you haven’t read Rebel of the Sands and plan to read it, it would be best not to read anymore.
Eden: What did we think of Rebel of the Sands.
Jenn: 4/5 stars.
Eden: Same.
Caitlynn: Me too!
Jenn: No you didn’t Eden. You gave it 5/5 because I saw that’s what you rated it on your Goodreads.
Caitlynn: What did I put?
Jenn: I didn’t look at yours.
Caitlynn: I hate you.
Jenn: I only saw Eden’s because I saw that her Goodreads said she was currently reading The Rose and the Dagger and I wanted to comment on it and say, “Currently reading…”
Eden: Not sure how this turned into what I haven’t finished reading yet…
Caitlynn: You should probably finish the book then…
*Eden leaves the room*
Caitlynn: This is supposed to be a joint thing.
Jenn: Roasted!
*Eden returns*
Eden: Ok, lets talk Rebel of the Sands.
Jenn: You read it most recently.
Eden: You read it twice!
Jenn: Oh… true.
Eden: I knew immediately that Jinn was either the prince or related to the prince. However, I didn’t expect Amani to be a Demji. I did know something was up because of her blue eyes. I refused to believe that foreigners daughter nonsense.
Caitlynn: That was really cool. When that happened I was like, “WHATTTTTT?!”
Eden: I continued to wonder about what happened to her friend that got shot in the leg – Tamid?
Caitlynn: YEAH!
Jenn: He died you guys.
Eden & Caitlynn: What?! How?
Jenn: Yeah dude. She was like, “If I leave, I’m leaving him to die.”
Eden: I thought she was just being dramatic.
Caitlynn: But there was somebody else there with him! I just thought it was her immature mind.
Eden & Caitlynn: Damn.
Caitlynn: We need to reflect.
Jenn: Maybe I didn’t read it correctly. Let me see the book.
*Jenn begins flipping through the book*
Jenn: Ok. Maybe he lived.
Eden: I think he’s going to come back in the next b0ok, like her brother did in this book, and be like, “You fucked me over.”
Jenn: Ok so I thought he was dead and I thought he was going to be the crazy guy she battled at the end. You know the guy in the armour.
Eden: Her brother.
Jenn: Yeah. Her brother. I thought that was him before they revealed it.
Eden: I will say this was not a book I ever thought I was going to read. I thought it was just another retelling of Arabian Nights, which I’ve already had with The Wrath and the Dawn and I don’t think it can get much better than that.
Jenn: Why would you think this was a retelling of Arabian Nights?
Eden: I don’t know, rebels and deserts makes me think of Aladdin and therefore Arabian Nights.
Jenn: Thats… that’s just entirely not correct Eden.
Eden: Yeah. I KNOW THAT NOW. I knew my logic was flawed ok? I just kept expecting to read about Aladdin.
Jenn: Eden, Aladdin is based on Arabian Nights.
Eden: Jesus, ok. I know this. I just keep saying the wrong name.
Jenn: So, you thought it was a retelling of Arabian Nights.
Eden: No, I thought it was a retelling of Aladdin. I mean, yes, I thought it was a retelling of Arabian Nights because Aladdin is also a retelling of Arabian Nights.
Jenn: Ok, but there are some plot holes in this.
Eden: Like what?
Jenn: Ok, reading through it a second time just revealed a lot of issues like, she’s a Demji right? So there are many times before the reveal that she makes predictions and I was just like, “YOU CAN’T SAY THAT.”
Caitlynn: But does she actually say it or think it?
Jenn: She says it!
Caitlynn: Technically she can say anything, it just means that it won’t come true immediately? Maybe you just discovered the plot of the next novel.
Eden: Yeah, spoil it for me.
Eden: Can I say, I felt like there was some insta-love in this and I’m not really sure how that will effect the next book.
Jenn: It’s a short book but they knew each other for a while so I don’t know that you can really call it insta-love.
Caitlynn: Also, that feels pretty normal for there to be a relationship in the first book of a series at this point.
*Eden begins naming books that don’t have relationships in the first book of a series*
Jenn: So, we’ve determined that Eden is wrong… again.
Caitlynn: What’s new?
Eden: …
Caitlynn: I think we need to ask our readers if they think Tamid is alive.
Eden: Good call.
So on this beautiful Saturday we leave you with this question: Is Tamid alive?
Are you team Eden and Caitlynn, who believe he survived.
Or team Jenn, who believes he’s dead.
Comment and let us know.
Thrice Read 
One thought on “Saturday Discussion – Rebel of the Sands”