Thank you to everyone who voted in my polls, either in my October Wrap-Up post or on Twitter, and helped me pick which long-overdue trilogy I should read while I was on vacation. The winner ended up being the Rebel of the Sands series by Alwyn Hamilton! Since I read all three books back-to-back, I decided to do something a little different and review all three at the same time with mini reviews. 

Title: Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1)
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Rating: ★★★★

I actually read Rebel of the Sands back when it was first released, but just never kept up with the rest of the series. It was almost like I was reading the book again for the first tine, because I hardly remembered anything that happened. I’m also glad I reread it because I ended up enjoying it tremendously more than I did the first time around.

We meet our main character, Amani, a gifted gunslinger in a small town in the Last Country. I loved the world-building done in this book: Miraji is a Middle-Eastern inspired setting with Old-West aspects + magic. And if you’re wondering if it’s as awesome as it sounds, the short answer is yes. There is so much action and fun stuff happening here. We have amazing characters, a slow-burn romance, treks across the desserts, an abundance of princes, and a kick-butt heroine that I adore. This fast-paced book is full of plot twists and plenty of action. I flew through it in one day and then immediately picked up the sequel.

Title: Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands #2)
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Rating: ★★★★

Traitor to the Throne picks up after a bit of a time jump, but it’s very easy to fall back into the story and figure out what is going on. I’m thankful I was able to read this right after finishing Rebel of the Sands, because otherwise I think my experience would have been a lot different. This book focuses more on Amani and is a lot slower paced than the previous book. Instead of a plot filled with action and adventure, we get introduced to political intrigue and court machinations. Beloved characters from the first book – including Jin and their romance – are sadly missing for a good portion of this book, but there was so much happening that it never bothered me. A few new key characters are introduced and there were two that I absolutely loved getting to know: Rahim and Sam! As with Rebel of the Sands, there was plenty of magic and plot twists to keep things interesting. The action starts to really build towards the last few chapters, and by the end we’re left with a big cliffhanger! 

Title: Hero at the Fall (Rebel of the Sands #3)
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Rating: ★★★★

This was such a thrilling and wonderful conclusion to the series! In Hero at the Fall the fast-paced and action-filled plot returned, and now the stakes are raised. I was happy that Jin and Amani were together again in this one, because I love the way their relationship changed and grew over the course of these books. I also loved the relationships Amani had with all of the other characters, but especially her friendships with with Shazad, Amed and Sam. More of the book’s mythology was included, and I really enjoyed reading those bits of stories and their creativity. As much as I loved everything that went on, we also said goodbye to some characters, including one of my favorites. And while I liked the ending/epilogue, I do wish that a couple of the characters were given more a more satisfying conclusion to their stories. Hero at the Fall was the perfect wrap-up to the series and I had such a fun time reading these books! 

Have you read this series? Did you like it? This is the first time I’ve done a mini series review so let me know what you think!