ARC Review: Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands #2) by Alwyn Hamilton
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Series: Rebel of the Sands #2
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Published February 2nd 2017 by Faber & Faber
Goodreads Synopsis
This is not about blood or love. This is about treason.
Nearly a year has passed since Amani and the rebels won their epic battle at Fahali. Amani has come into both her powers and her reputation as the Blue-Eyed Bandit, and the Rebel Prince's message has spread across the desert - and some might say out of control. But when a surprise encounter turns into a brutal kidnapping, Amani finds herself betrayed in the cruellest manner possible.
Stripped of her powers and her identity, and torn from the man she loves, Amani must return to her desert-girl's instinct for survival. For the Sultan's palace is a dangerous one, and the harem is a viper's nest of suspicion, fear and intrigue. Just the right place for a spy to thrive... But spying is a dangerous game, and when ghosts from Amani's past emerge to haunt her, she begins to wonder if she can trust her own treacherous heart.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Rebel of the Sands was one of my favourite debuts last year, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequel. Traitor to the Throne takes place a few months after the events of Rebel, and we have a completely different type of story this time around. In this case, Amani finds herself kidnapped, and taken to the Sultan's harem to stop her from helping the Rebellion. As a prisoner, she can't do too much, but finds ways to help undermine the Sultan, and aide the Rebellion, from the inside. When rumours of the Blue-Eyed Bandit still working reaches her ears, she finds the person who has been impersonating her, and inducts him to the cause. However, she also has underestimated the Sultan, who uses her powers ad a Demdji for his own benefit in diplomacy, and his heir, Kadir, who wants her, and is enraged when his father says she isn't to be touched - which she never was, thank god!
I enjoyed this book, but do think I preferred Rebel more. Traitor didn't have as much action as book 1, but the political intrigue did make up for this. For the most part, Amani was separated from the other rebels, which wasn't fun, but this book felt like it was more of a filler, setting the scene for the finale. It has definitely added to the plot of the series, and without this book, we wouldn't know as much about the world or the characters.
Amani is still as fiesty and amazing as ever, and the new characters we are introduced to really brought something to the story line. For the majority of the book, Amani was in the Sultan's harem, so we spent time with the other women there, as well as learning about the politics of the world. Though Amani was ultimately a prisoner, the Sultan appreciated her abilities to tell when someone is lying, so she was used as a human lie detector in a lot of political and diplomatic meetings. However, I still missed Amani's life as a bandit, and hope in future instalments we see more from this lifestyle.
Again, there wasn't much by the way of romance, because Amani was separated from Jin. What there was, was enjoyable, but I missed their relationship.
Though I feel like this book was a filler, it did answer some questions from book 1, like what happened to Amani's cousin and best friend, and definitely set the stage for an explosive finale, if that ending is anything to go by. I look forward to having book 3 ASAP!
Dates Read:
Rating
5 Stars
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