Traitor to the Throne: The must-read New York Times-bestselling fantasy series (Rebel of the Sands, #2)

by Alwyn Hamilton

Reader Reviews:
'Phenomenal!'
'Cracking original fantasy.'
'Wonderful.'
'Thrilling . . . Truly recommended!'
'Enthralling.'
'A powerful story of love, murder and rebellion .'

The second installment of this highly-acclaimed trilogy, Traitor to the Throne throws the irrepressible Amani into a world of espionage, harems, and the Sultan himself.

** Pre-order Alwyn Hamilton's glittering new fantasy thriller The Notorious Virtues now **

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.

Praise for the series:
'Sheer escapism.' Guardian
'Winning.' New York Times

• ISBN10: 0571325416
• ISBN13: 9780571325412
• Publish Date: 2 February 2017 (first published 31 January 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Faber & Faber
• Edition: Main - Re-issue
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 592
• Language: English

Reviews

Review originally posted at Simply Adrift.

1%: Okay, this is starting off a bit slow
10%: That's more like it
20%: Wow, this is really ramping it up
30%: Oh god. oh god, oh god, this can't be good!
60%: I haven't been able to put this book down!
100%: :o Wholly crap! So many emotions!! How do I even...

- While reading Traitor to the Throne, I went through so many emotions.
- Traitor to the Throne stepped up it's game! This book was better, more intense, and had me on the edge of my seat.
- I had low expectations because I thought I would be reading more of Amani & Jin (Which I wasn't that keen on, their romance wasn't something I was interested in. Unpopular opinion?), but nope, that's not what this book is about and I LOVED that. So don't read this thinking there's a lot of love and romance and shizz, cos there isn't. It's all war and magic and spy stuff.

What I liked

-Everything. Honestly, I liked everything about it.
-The beginning started off slow but as the story progressed, it built up & up & up until the ending. There was so much going on, I was so engrossed in the story. I could not put it down.
-I love that Traitor to the Throne was not about about romance or how much Amani & Jin loved each other. This series has such an intense story to it, the romance is a by-product. After reading Rebel of the Sands, I wasn't sure where this story could go. This was a good middle to this series and I am very much looking forward for it's conclusion.
-The character relationships were more interesting in this book because half of them aren't there. There were new characters introduced, as well as the characters from the first book, I enjoyed the new dynamics. You feel what Amani feels, you get attached to the characters she gets attached to. So many things happened and I felt so much emotion, but I can't say what happened or why without giving it away. The character relationships are more of an emotional nature to Amani than in the first book. I'm not sure how to explain what I mean by that so I hope you get the gist...
- By the end of the book I was turning pages furiously (Well tapping (?) pages furiously since I read this on my kindle) to find out what happens. I was left gaping and so annoyed that I have to wait so long to see where this story goes next.

More Thoughts

The below may be a little bit of a spoiler to this book, so I've put it in spoiler tags. I don't spoil any major story lines, the ending, or plot points, only minor details which you find out within the first 20% so if you want to read it then go ahead!

I've read that a lot of people didn't enjoy Traitor to the Throne because half of the characters from the first book aren't in it that much and Amani isn't slinging a gun around shooting everyone. But to be honest, I loved this book because of that.

It was so very different to the first book, it kept me on my toes, and I got attached to the characters that were present. I connected more with Amani in this book. Maybe because she meets her father, or she has doubts in herself when she was so damn sure of her decisions before she was kidnapped. Or she's stuck in a place far away from the people she trusts where she can only do so much, yet she needs to make sure she stays alive. She feels helpless. So she tries to make good of a bad situation.

I felt so much when reading this book.

This is my first 5 star review for the entire year! I feel like I need to celebrate ha. I've found it very hard to give five stars to any books this year. Traitor to the Throne really affected me that much. This is one sequel I was surprised by.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

This review was originally posted on Simply Adrift

[readingwithwrin]

"I sobbed. For all the dead. For all the losses. For the things that had been taken away. It was seared into my mind forever. The blade. The blood. The eyes."

Starting off just a few months after Rebel of the Sands with the war in the dessert still going on with no end in site. Amani has changed quite a bit from the first book. Now she isn't so reckless and instead has learned with the other rebels; and truly become one of them. She has also gone from only using her gun-sling as a way to fight, to learning how to control her power and use it when needed.

Things end up going very wrong though after a mission that brought back people who had been held captive. Not is Amani in danger, but now so is the rest of the rebellion, or so she thinks. When in all actuality she is the one they want.
This starts a whole new world, that I never thought we would get to see. Meeting the Sultan and his others sons Albish and Rahim. One is good and the other needs some help.

"If the world were simple, we could be free of foreign powers, an independent nation. But we are country with borders, with friends and enemies at all of them."
We also get to meet several other new characters and get surprised with others as well. Amani's experience with the Sultan and his sons was one that I really enjoyed. It showed another part of this world and really put other things in to perspective. Still like the rebellion part of it far more though.

Overall I really really loved this book and series. Getting to see what the Sultan thought of the rebellion and also meeting his sons was so nice to read. His son's... where to start, Rahim is my favorite out of the two new ones and honestly I could have done without Albish, but it was nice to dislike someone besides the Sultan.
As for Amani's relationship with Jin is still fun to read, but I do wish they actually had time to talk about things, instead of just hugging and then everything being all good again.

This book still has the same fast pace of the first one, and if possible I think it might even be a faster read. I have grown attached to the characters in this series and I want to know how the continue on after what happens at the end of this book.

No middle book syndrome happened and now I can't wait for the third one. I need it soon please!!!!



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[Amber]

This review was originally posted on Books of Amber

Rebel of the Sands was a kickass debut with some fantastic characters in an immersive fantasy setting. I was awaiting the release of Traitor to the Throne with baited breath, even during my reading slump from hell in the latter half of 2016. I hadn’t read any reviews for Traitor to the Throne before picking it up so I had no idea what to expect other than sheer awesomeness.

Traitor of the Throne is a lot longer than Rebel of the Sands. Hamilton had the chance to take her time with her world building and storytelling and she took it. I imagine some people say that this book drags, but I didn’t experience that at all. There was less action in the middle of the book, but Hamilton used the extra pages to add character growth and background for various characters, as well as delve into the politics that were brushed over in the first book. I think it balanced out really well, and didn’t feel like it dragged at all.

I found it interesting that Hamilton put the main ship between Amani and Jin on hold. I guess this is probably the fantasy book definition of taking a break. There was very little Amani and Jin, and to be honest, I didn’t mind. I was so caught up in everything going on at the palace that I completely forgot about them. And, let’s be honest, it’s all about Amani/Shazad. No I will not let this go.

The ending of this book was brutal, and it has left me wondering just how bloody the third and final book of the trilogy is going to be. I’m expecting to be left heartbroken. I cannot wait for the third book to come out!

[Nessa Luna]

A few months ago I read a book called Rebel of the Sands and really enjoyed it. I was very much looking forward to reading its sequel when it came out, but to my surprise I received a package in November that had an ARC of the second book in it. I'd again like to thank Lin for sending this to me, it was a very pleasant surprise!

Traitor to the Throne continues Amani's story, about half a year after she joined the rebellion. When a person Amani thought would be an ally betrays her, she ends up in the hands of the man whose armies she has fought so hard, the Sultan. Powerless and alone, Amani is trapped inside the palace, but there is an upside to all this: she can now spy on the Sultan from within his own home.

When I got my hands on this book, I noticed how it was almost double the size of the first book. That could either mean a good thing, or a bad thing (second book syndrome, anyone?). I have to say that while I thought the story dragged at some points, overall it was still incredibly interesting and action-packed. There were only small parts of the story that, in my opinion, could have been erased and nothing would have been changed to the plot, but it was still great. There was little romance in this book, because Amani was separated from Jin for almost the entire book, but I didn't mind it at all - even though I do love those two. And the best part? No. Second. Love interest. YAY!

Hamilton's writing was just really great, and I loved the world she's written. I loved all the stories and Djinni she made up that I would even love to read a story that literally just talks about the different Djinni and other creatures from this world. Maybe even a storybook in which all those stories Amani hears about throughout the series, that would have been even cooler. What I did miss in this book and the previous one was a map of the world. Because I found it rather difficult to imagine what everything looked like, and I could love to see it drawn out.

Character-wise, this book was amazing. I loved all the rebels, of course, and I missed them terribly throughout the book. I did find it a bit difficult to remember who everyone was again, even though it wasn't so long ago since I've read the previous book. Halfway through I got the hang of it, but there were so many new characters introduced in this book that I sometimes still got two mixed up.

Overall, Traitor to the Throne was an amazing, action-packed book, with some cool quiet moments in between as well. I loved the confrontation near the end, though it also left me shocked and hungry for more. I really need the third book to come out asap, which is rather difficult seeing as this book has barely been released. If you love fantasy and an amazing heroine, if you love action and little romance, I definitely recommend this book to you! (And honestly if you're a cover-buyer, like me, buy it).

My opinion in one gif: