Rebel of the Sands

DNF

It was fine, although a little lacking on the worldbuilding, but then a romance angle came in, about a third through. It was unnecessary and made the characters worse.

Very nice, quick and interesting read. I loved the vibes of this book, the plot twists and the characters. It was a little bit short for me to start connecting with the characters and get to know them better, but since it's part of a series, I have high hopes for the next books.

I am glad I persevered with this story. I ended really enjoying it. I will continue with this trilogy.

So disappointed :( I was expecting to love this book.

I just finished this book and I couldn't even tell you what happened in the book because it was just so forgettable. I liked Jin and Amani as characters but the plot, writing, and the over all story fell so flat for me. I was told it was a middle eastern fantasy about magic and mythology. But it literally just felt like I was reading a western based in America. Take away the middle eastern sounding names and switch them with American names and bam you got a western. I own book two so maybe I will give it a try just because I really liked the main characters. But I wouldn't be surprised if I dnfed. Sorry not sorry.

Also I read some own voices reviewers from middle eastern reviews and yikes...

So disappointed :( I was expecting to love this book.

I just finished this book and I couldn't even tell you what happened in the book because it was just so forgettable. I liked Jin and Amani as characters but the plot, writing, and the over all story fell so flat for me. I was told it was a middle eastern fantasy about magic and mythology. But it literally just felt like I was reading a western based in America. Take away the middle eastern sounding names and switch them with American names and bam you got a western. I own book two so maybe I will give it a try just because I really liked the main characters. But I wouldn't be surprised if I dnfed. Sorry not sorry.

Also I read some own voices reviewers from middle eastern reviews and yikes...

More Middle-eastern themed fantasy! And by a Canadian writer, though she was only born there, she mostly grew up in France, so I'm not really sure it counts for my Read Canadian Challenge. But it is one I've been wanting to read for a while, and when I was at Barnes & Noble for Book Club, I noticed it on the bargain shelf, so I snagged it, along with another YA fantasy based on Norse Mythology called Valkyrie. There's two more books in the series now, Traitor to the Thone and Hero at the Fall, so I've requested those from the library because I really enjoy this world!

Amani is a girl in a country that doesn't value women, and treats them as useless property only good for breeding sons. The country is basically occupied by another country that the Sultan is “allied” with, but lets run roughshod over his people. She has her sights set on escaping her backwoods, dead-end town, and running to the capital city, where the aunt she's never met lives. All of that is derailed when she meets Jin at an underground shooting competition, and then later hides him from the armed forces hunting him.

The country is definitely middle-east inspired, but there's a lot of religion-bashing, and complaining about the culture oppressing women. It's the same problem I have with a lot of knight-and-castle era fantasy - just because historically in OUR world those time periods weren't kind to women, doesn't mean they have to be the same in fantasy. It's FANTASY! It can be anything you want! Break the tropes! It's a fine line to walk, taking the good parts of a culture without just cherry-picking and appropriating the culture, and who's judging what the good and bad parts are, anyway? So I understand it's difficult, but bashing the culture in a book inspired by their mythology is not quite cool, either. I feel like City of Brass hit a nice middle ground of embracing the culture of the inspiration without bashing parts of it.

That gripe aside, I really enjoyed the world-building. I'm not quite sold on the characters yet - Amani is far too quick to abandon things she should fight for - but I'm interested enough to see how they progress in the next two books.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

The world in this book was pretty interesting and left me wanting to know more. Many YA books don't spend any time creating a world. With such a great setting great setting I was very disappointed in the plot. a rebel royal taking back their throne is so overdone and added nothing to the story. I wanted to root for Amani in her fight to create a life outside of the patriarchy but she simply didn't grow enough as a character besides getting magical powers. Also, like most YA books, the romance was boring and only there because it's required for the genre.

2.5 stars, really, but rounded up to 3 because sometimes you just need an unremarkable read. I've got a soft spot for desert settings (probably the Quest for Glory 2 junkie in me), and the first half of the book was quite enjoyable, though it later fell flat for me (what is it with YA fantasy and useless rebels who literally can't rebel to save their lives?)

Also, there's finally a character with my name but she's just the mean, jealous rival of the sassy, special heroine :( SAD!

In het begin vond ik het boek redelijk traag. maar na zo'n 75 pagina's zat ik in het verhaal en vond ik het leuk. De wereld is mooi in elkaar gezet en de personages zijn leuk, vooral Jin ^^. Deel 2 ga ik zeker snel lezen!

3.5

Fun read. A couple of things irked me, so I docked a star. I didn't find it slow going or dull, but I'm not a connoisseur of the genre, so I haven't had the same exposure as some of the other reviewers.

If Hala can make people see what she wants them to see, and she can sustain the illusion for a while, why not simply make the enemy soldiers turn on each other? If Izz and Maz can turn into any creature, why not a massive and indestructible one that could stomp the enemy?

Rtc

- eventi raccontati senza fluidita
- lack of characterisation -> quite flat characters and not remarkable setting
- world building confusion
- non mi hanno minimamente coinvolto né la storia, né i personaggi :(