Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton

Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands, #2)

by Alwyn Hamilton

The sizzling, un-put-downable sequel to the New York Times bestselling Rebel of the Sands, by Goodreads Choice Awards Best Debut Author of 2016 Alwyn Hamilton!

Mere months ago, gunslinger Amani al'Hiza fled her dead-end hometown on the back of a mythical horse with the mysterious foreigner Jin, seeking only her own freedom. Now she's fighting to liberate the entire desert nation of Miraji from a bloodthirsty sultan who slew his own father to capture the throne. 

When Amani finds herself thrust into the epicenter of the regime—the Sultan's palace—she's determined to bring the tyrant down. Desperate to uncover the Sultan's secrets by spying on his court, she tries to forget that Jin disappeared just as she was getting closest to him, and that she's a prisoner of the enemy. But the longer she remains, the more she questions whether the Sultan is really the villain she's been told he is, and who’s the real traitor to her sun-bleached, magic-filled homeland.

Forget everything you thought you knew about Miraji, about the rebellion, about djinni and Jin and the Blue-Eyed Bandit. In Traitor to the Throne, the only certainty is that everything will change.

Rebel of the Sands was a New York Times bestseller, published in fifteen countries and the recipient of four starred reviews and multiple accolades, with film rights optioned by Willow Smith. And its sequel is even better.

Reviewed by readingwithwrin on

5 of 5 stars

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"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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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 10 April, 2017: Finished reading
  • 10 April, 2017: Reviewed