e-ARC, 320 pages
Release Date: March 8, 2016Published by: PenguinRebel of the Sands, #1Source: Netgalley (A huge thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me access to this galley. All opinions are my own and their permission to receive this did not sway my opinion in any way.)For fans of: Westerns, Fantasy, Magic, Jinn, Adventure, Romance, Action
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 THOUGHTS*
I was so excited about this one because it seems to be set somewhere in the Middle East. It was refreshing to read something that wasn’t set around a bunch of buildings and in the middle of a city. Add in the magic and it made it even better!
“In the desert you learned to look out for ghouls in the shadows.“16%
The desert is a dangerous place to be for a human. The stories have been passed down and told all over their communities. Even though most of the magical beings haven’t been seen in a long time, they know they’re there. But Amani knows she needs to get away from there. So she tries to do the one thing that makes sense: Escape.
“This desert is full of sin.“18%
The action and adventure in this one was amazing! The adventure was amazing. I could picture all the desert and them trecking across it. I could picture how hot it was and also how their body ached afterwards as well. As far as the action, that book is a page turner from page one. I knew it would be interesting after the first chapter. And I was NOT wrong. I loved that there were so many surprises that came out of nowhere! They definitely served for some of my more entertaining Goodreads updates, but it was so fun to see how everything kept turning up!
“I saw the anguish in its face, It didn’t want to be trapped. I understand that. Neither did I.“24%
The romance was amazing! I mean it was barely there, but the tension!!! The romantic tension is there and it was as thick as the desert sand they were walking on. Alot of the time they spent trying to ignore each other and then when it finally happened, IT HAPPENED. I cannot wait to see how it develops in the next installment!
“I was a desert girl. I thought I knew heat. I knew I was wrong.“39%
As some of you know, I’m currently in school for Library Science and one of the classes I’m taking this semester is Storytelling. Because I’ve been studying this, one of the things that stood out to me was the diversity and the way the stories were told. It was so cool to see how stories of the religion changed based on where they are from or who is telling the story. It was nice to know that I can apply what I’m learning to the books I’ve read.
“…surprise made a single man dangerous.“41%
But even still, with all the great things, the only thing I didn’t like was the fact that to me it felt like a filler a little. It seemed to get all the OMG moments towards the end and it seemed that that was being used to set up the next book. Don’t get me wrong, it was still good, but it did seem like it was setting it up for an even more epic next book. And for that reason, it makes me wonder why they entire book wasn’t that way.
“It’s mortal men that cause the most trouble these days.“46%
This book was interesting in so many ways! I can’t wait to see what else will happen! This series has a very promising start.
Overall, I give this
Niiice! SO excited for this one! Glad to hear it was pretty awesome!! Very nice review!