I liked this book but I didn't love it as much as I was hoping to. I thought that the first book had a lot of potential and was really hoping to see improvements in this book but this didn't deliver what I was hoping.

I thought that Armani's character changed a lot in this book. We didn't get to see the sassy, badass Blue Eyed Bandit. Whilst Armani was in the palace she was much tamer compared to the first book. We also didn't get to see Jin as much in this book. This was a bit disappointing as I really liked the interactions between Armani and Jin.

The plot moved quite slowly and the majority of the action didn't happen until the end of the book. The ending is what redeemed this book for me. The ending was a shock and it has made me want to read the next book. I do enjoy this series but I don't think that it is a stand out series. I am interested to see what will happen in the next book.

I really loved Rebel of the Sands so Traitor to the Throne was right up there amongst my most wished for books of 2017. Sometimes it can be hard to live up to fan's high expectations but I though Alwyn Hamilton did a brilliant job, this book is very different to the first one but I really enjoyed the new direction the story took and I loved all the twists and turns along the way.

I don't really want to say too much about how this happens but when Amani is captured during a mission for the rebellion she finds herself taken prisoner and held captive in the Sultan's palace. We're used to seeing her as a fierce fighter and someone who never backs down from a challenge but she's now in an impossible situation, trapped without her powers and with no backup on hand. She hasn't given up on getting back to her friends but her hands are quite tied and it's not going to be easy for her to escape. I love that she tries to turn the situation to her advantage though, she is in an ideal situation to spy on her enemies so if she can only figure out a way to pass what information she can find on to the rebels she could be the key to winning the rebellion. I just love that Amani never quits, no matter how impossible the odds look she keeps fighting for what she believes in.

There is a lot going on in this book - political intrigue at the palace, the rebel's attempts to rescue Amani, concubines disappearing from the harem and the Sultan's latest prisoners who are even more dangerous and powerful than Amani. You'll see familiar faces from Amani's past who may or may not be trustworthy, the rebels will suffer plenty of setbacks, friends become enemies while enemies might turn into allies. Nothing is quite what it seems and it all unravels in spectacular fashion in an exciting finale that left me desperate for the final book.

If I had one complaint it was that Jin was missing for much of the book, it makes sense for the plot because he couldn't exactly be held prisoner in the harem alongside Amani but I missed his character. We get to see plenty of whats going on with the other rebels but I would have loved perhaps a few chapters from Jin's POV so we could see what he was up to elsewhere. I'm glad Amani and Jin were reunited in the end though, I think these two bring out the best in each other and I love seeing them fight alongside each other. This series is just so much fun to read and I can't wait to see how everything ties together in the final book.

Source: Received from Faber & Faber in exchange for an honest review

Rich, exciting and enthralling, Traitor to the Throne - the second book in what is rapidly becoming one of current UKYA’s most dramatic and action-packed fantasy series - is a commendable follow-up to last year’s Rebel of the Sands. This brisk but immersive foray into the world of Miraji - where rough wild west meets mysterious desert sands and long-hidden magic abounds - sees heroine Amani once again elbow-deep in fighting for her freedom and that of her people. Hectic, pacy and bursting with plot, it’s driven by sparky bravery, simmering revolution, outrageous treachery, daring rescues, thrilling escapes, surprise re-appearances, and more powerful magic than ever before, and I was gripped from start to finish.

Tough, courageous, reckless and not afraid to get her hands dirty, the badass Amani crowns a cast of ragtag rebels, menacing enemies and palace spies. Among my favourites were well-written newcomers Sam and Rahim, royal prince turned noble rebel Ahmed and returning warrior Shazad, whose acerbic skill and general ferocity have been joined by fantastic flashes of friendship and loyalty. Amani’s love interest Jin also returns, though Hamilton is forced to squeeze their romantic moments into the unlikeliest of narrative places - and of course there are tempestuous tiffs and tricky complications to consider.

Ideal for fans of Rae Carson’s The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Roshani Chokshi’s The Star-Touched Queen and Kiersten White’s And I Darken, this undoubtedly feels like the middle book of a trilogy but is still full of twists (some I guessed and some I didn’t), and if you haven’t read Rebel of the Sands, it’s well worth doing so. In world-building that is efficient yet sweeping, Hamilton takes the opportunity to show more of the creations she’s spun, from Miraji’s neighbouring nations to the sumptuous and treacherous palace. Opening with a jump in time allows for the avoidance of some second book pitfalls, but sacrifices potential emotional power and resolution. I would’ve liked more description, as the prose is quite punchy and dialogue-heavy, with, dare I say it, almost too many quips? In the first half it really is just like a bunch of teenagers taking over the desert armed only with sarcasm and quick comebacks, which while awesome doesn’t make for the most substantial of reading experiences. Occasionally the series’ wild west element is forgotten amid the unquestionable glitz and glam of its magic, but then that magic is beguiling – and if anything, it leaves the reader longing for more. Hamilton weaves folk-tales and myth-style storytelling into an already high-stakes, highly entertaining plot with remarkable skill.

One of the best UKYA fantasy fiction offerings of recent years, Alwyn Hamilton’s tales of rebellion and magic, though not flawless, are pacy and full of action. Dramatic, exciting and unputdownable. I really enjoyed this one.

I loved Rebel of the Sands. The world building really spoke to me and I thought it was a strong debut. Traitor to the Throne is a step up. It's straight out brilliant. Really really loved it.

A strong sequel for one of my favorite series! "Rebel of Sands" was an amazing surpise on 2016 and its sequel "Traitor to the Throne" also was a good one!

Amani and her rebels who support the rightful ruler of their desert empire will have to fight for more than just the throne. Foreign rulers, enemy courts and deadly secrets will be the battlefield of this sequel and whatsmore Amani will be a prisoner and at the center of it all.

Despite not liking much the sequels where the heroines are seperated from their love interests, I liked this one. It gave way to help Amani evelve her character arc as also test her boundaries, her powers and discover more of her past.

The Sultan is a jerk and a tyrrant. The court and the harem are dangerous places and there are spies everywhere. Honestly I hated how the role of a woman could be reduced to a enslaved baby-maker. BUT, this book is also a praise to a strong heroine and that doesn't go only to Amani but also all the female characters who follow her into the journey. Shazad has an interesting sub-plot and I enjoyed her very much. There is some parts with a potential love interest i need to know more but I have one book to find out!

Totally recommend it!

Traitor to the Throne is the follow up to Rebel of the Sands, which I read last year and loved. It’s the Middle East desert meets Wild West with a fantasy twist. It was such fun! This book I enjoyed but not as much. I loved the main character Amani, but there was something lacking from this. I think it’s because the setting was slightly different to the first one and it took some getting used to. Plus Amani isn’t around her love interest Jin a lot which was a pity. On the plus side we didn’t get a love triangle, which is something that often happens in book two of a YA series. If you enjoyed the first book you’ll probably enjoy this too as it is still fun and it was interesting to see another side of this world. Just don’t expect it to be exactly the same.

When I finally decided to read the first book, it was love at first chapter. Both the writing style, plot and characters managed to convince me right from the beginning, and I had an excellent time reading it. I was more than excited about Traitor To The Throne after that, and Alwyn Hamilton didn’t disappoint. This has without doubt become one of my new favorite fantasy series! Traitor To The Throne by no means suffers from the so-called ‘weak-second-book’ syndrome and was possibly even better than the first book. The writing, the worldbuilding, the plot, the characters, the magic… Everything just works. The sequel has a lot less desert and is mostly set inside the palace, but I personally liked the change of scenery. And despite the fact that the story doesn’t end in that big of a cliffhanger, it is going to be a long wait for the third book… Because I sure will be missing the main characters and their world in the mean time. If you like the genre, I can definitely recommend this series!

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I liked the first book but I LOVED the second volume: everything I wanted from the first book - magic, danger, and adventure! Can't wait for the final instalment - argh that it's a whole year off!!

While I enjoyed Rebel of the Sands last year, I wouldn’t say I loved it and I had my problems with it. That being said, I was still eager to see where Amani’s journey, and that of the rebellion, would go to next. I’m happy to say I really enjoyed Traitor to the Throne and found it fun and thrilling.

Amani is a character whose perspective I’ve always enjoyed reading from. She’s able to think quickly on her feet – at times too quickly, acting before she thinks but that’s what makes her such a fun character. Nobody is without their flaws though and I’d rather someone who acts than stands still. Amani’s wit is also something I adored. She’s snarky and her comebacks are blunt and accurate. I could relate to this so much because this is the type of person I am. I really admired her capacity to care. She was constantly thinking of everyone, giving everybody the benefit of the doubt, thinking of ways to help others while she herself was in peril. That’s one amazing strength of character right there. Oh don’t get me wrong she used people to her advantage but to me, her overarching kindness outweighed that. Amani is definitely somebody you want as a friend.

This series has a lot of secondary characters but my favourite was the Sultan. The infamous Sultan, so hated and talked about in the previous book, the whole point of the rebellion. He was not what I (or Amani) expected. Kidnapped into the harem, Amani meets the Sultan and it turns out he’s not crazy and pure cruelty. You know what makes scary tyrants? Not the unreasonable ones, but the ones who are able to take your argument and your beliefs and spin them with their reason so you end up seeing their point of view. You almost believe that what they’ve done is justifiable because of their rationale. That’s what makes a leader to be concerned about – their cunning and smarts. The Sultan is definitely a clever man and I loved the way Hamilton crafted his character. Another character I adored was Shazad, daughter of the general and she is so freaking brilliant. She’s just so supportive and smart and the strength of her friendship is goals.

Romance isn’t everything; I mean heck I liked that this book concentrated on Amani’s ability to be independent as she survives in the harem but Jin’s absent for the majority of the book and I felt it. I’m kind of disappointed because I lived for this ship in Rebel and I wanted moar MOAR MOOOARRRRRR. I was a bit mad at Jin for his constant disappearing acts too, like boy, get your act together and be more responsible. I know it’s a lot to ask for but I’m praying for a happily ever after.

Hamilton’s style is easy to read and I could tell she’s definitely improved since Rebel. She’s more detailed and there’s more imagery in Traitor however I still felt the lack of world-building which was my issue with book 1. It’s definitely a lighter touch than what I’d expect from a high fantasy.

The plot is very twisty and had me gasping and I loved the politics and games in the harem. There were a lot of secrets and conspiracies which were all slowly revealed. I did have issues with the pacing though. This book is over 500 pages and this probably won’t make sense but while I turned the pages quickly and got through this quite quickly, I felt the story itself was slow? I felt the pacing was off and everything happened in the last 70 or so pages. But those fast few chapters, they were like BAM BAM BAM and the ending had me shook. For ages I thought this was a duology so when I got to the end my feelings nearly died because I was like no way is that the end. THANK GOODNESS THERE’S ANOTHER BOOK. That’s all I have to say.

Overall I found Traitor to the Throne to be an enjoyable and relatively fast read. A witty MC who is fast on her feet, Amani takes the rebellion to the next stage with action and politics and I can’t wait to see the final showdown.

There seem to be lots of mixed reviews circling about this book, but I thought Traitor to the Throne was simply brilliant. True it did have a slower pace than Rebels, but this second book focused more on world building and character development. We got a real in depth look at both the politics and backstory of Amani’s world - and I felt this book really showcased Amani’s quick wits and inner strength — which was one of the reason I was initially drawn to her character in the first place.

Picking up almost year after the last story left off, this book sees the rebellion growing in both strength and popularity. But when Amani is captured and her Dijinni powers neutralised, she must fall back on her old survival instincts if she is to navigate the treacherous web that is the Sultan’s palace. Now a captive turned spy - Amani will do anything to ensure the rebellion remains one step ahead of the Sultan. But the Sultan has dark and sinister plans for the rebellion, and it begins with him wielding a weapon intended only for Gods…

With so many conspiracies and lots of underlying intrigue, I devoured this book within days. Told mostly from Amani’s POV, I also loved the third person chapters that — with an old school, storytelling narrative — unveiled the history of the Gods and some of the major characters. It was all very beautifully written.

Thanks to the backstories - we also get a more in depth look behind each characters motivation. For example the Sultan was a particularly interesting character, strong willed, power hungry but difficult to hate, and I liked how Amani also had conflicting feelings about him too. He is definitely a very layered bad guy - and I can’t wait to see what he will throw at Amani and the gang next.

This book also had a lot of character development. I really loved how Amani used her brain instead of her powers to get herself out of trouble, and didn't rely on a boy to save her… much. Actually her relationship with Jin was a little strained in this book, but I actually liked how the romance took a backseat since Amani had more pressing concerns than thinking about boys. However I do hope there relationship grows deeper in the next book. Fingers crossed!

Otherwise this story contains lots of new characters - all with quirks and interesting stories of their own. We learn more about the Dijinni’s and their capabilities, and I can’t wait to read the final book because the ending… oooh it was so good. However, I did spot some of the plot twists before they happened, and I generally had a pretty good guess of what was coming next. Still, rather than diminishing my enthusiasm, this only increased my anticipation to see if I was right. Sometimes I was, but sometimes I wasn’t.

All in all, a fantastical read! The final book cannot come soon enough!

4 stars!

I didn't like the time gap at the beginning of the book. It made me feel like I missed a huge chunk in the plot and when the book actually began I was unable to focus since it felt like a completely new world. Eventually I got impatient and flipped to the end which basically killed this book for me. I didn't really enjoy this for those reasons and therefore I won't be reading the rest of the book. I really enjoyed Rebel of the Sands and don't want to review this book negatively so I won't be reviewing it.

Contrary to what the dates above sort of indicate, it didn’t take me over two weeks to read this. I started it when I was in the wrong mood for it and only read perhaps 25% over a few days… a week or so later I came back and devoured the rest in the same amount of time.

During a surprise attack on the Rebel Camp, Amani finds herself taken prisoner and trapped in the Sultan’s harem, with no means of escape. She turns to spying, finding a way to sneak information out, but the Sultan has his own plans for her.

I know a lot of people were disappointed that Jin doesn’t play a bigger role in this book, but I actually really appreciated the fact that this wasn’t one of those cases where the middle book is mostly about the romance. Amani has to rely on herself, and there was no lovey-dovey-ness for the most part. I actually found myself annoyed when Jin showed up again, because then it did get a bit mushier, and I’m way more here for the political intrigue.

Speaking of which, SO MUCH political intrigue. We meet a few more princes and princesses, both loyal to the Sultan and not, as well as plenty of foreign dignitaries from all the surrounding countries. And the Sultan himself. I actually… really liked him? In the first book, he’s just that far-off evil villain, but we really got his side of things in this one. It’s not that he’s evil, exactly. It’s that he’s ruthless. And I really liked how unapologetic he is about that. Of course, his weakness is thinking he knows everything that’s going on, and that’s going to make for some interesting situations in the next book.

I think the reason this book and I got off on the wrong foot was the way it opens. It does not pick up straight after the events of the previous book; instead, it’s been a little while. The first few chapters give us an overview of the events that have happened off-page, but it really is just an overview, which is somewhat dissatisfying. Once I got past this, though, the book really started to pick up.

When I finished Rebel in the Sands, I felt a bit disappointed because the book had turned out to not be what I was expecting. I hadn’t been sure if I would even continue. But for whatever reason, I got excited about this one anyway, and I’m glad I read it. Now I’m looking forward to the third book and to seeing how the revolution pans out.

(Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review)

Beautifully written and ripe with tension. Amani's voice is just as engaging as it was in Rebel of the Sands, and I don't see any trace of second-book slumping here - it was a lot longer than the first book but still felt like a fast read with the intense action and fast pace. I look forward to the third novel in the series! (Will it be even bigger than this one?)

I've been counting down the days to Traitor to the Throne ever since finishing Rebel of the Sands last year. Rebel was one of my top 5 books from 2016 - a fantastic debut and a gripping a story, one that stayed on my mind even after reading nearly 50 books afterwards.

Traitor started a tad rough for me. During the first few chapters I found myself focusing on trying to remember who is who from book one (as much as I loved it, it has been a year since I've read it). The list of characters at the beginning detailing the most important facts about them was super helpful and probably saved my life. However, if you have read Rebel rather recently, you'll have no trouble jumping right in.

Once I got my characters sorted, it was one big thrill ride. I love love love Amani! She's a no-nonsense bundle of joy who won't hesitate to pull a gun on you.

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Alwyn Hamilton's writing was already good in Rebel, but in Traitor I noticed a definite improvement in her style, making this a 500+ page book of top notch story telling. It was more pronounced, more.. Alwyn Hamilton.

"No more tricks, just a good old-fashioned rescue."

Traitor to the Throne has it all: a fantastic cast of characters, prison breaks, shoot outs, romance, humour, and a whole lot of feels. I loved it. It was everything I could have hoped for in a sequel.

And then the ending broke me.

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Aaaaand Alwyn Hamilton just earned herself a spot on my auto-buy list of authors.

Thanks so much to Faber and Faber for giving me a copy to review through NetGalley!

Thank you Netgalley and Faber&Faber for allowing me to read this! So the first book, Rebel of the Sands, I liked it, but wasn't sure if I loved it. But I did like it enough to want to continue the series. And I'm so glad I did - I liked this one so much more than the first!

I really appreciated the development of the characters - and I'll admit one of the main reasons I wanted to continue reading the series was for the character Shazad - such an awesome character! The story itself was still a bit on the slow side for me, and I do enjoy that quite often, just not when it has me actively thinking "oh this is a wee bit slow" - because it can sometimes take me out of the story. I found that more so with the first book, not as much in this one, it felt more a bit more punchy, which was great.

Overall, I'm super excited for the next one! And horrified at the thought of waiting another year for it!

Firstly, I did enjoy this book but found it very different to the first book.

While the first book is all movement and personal growth with the events of the story most often a result of Amani actions and choices. To me, the second book felt more static and that the activity and twists (of which there are a lot) were happening around Amani.

There are a lot of twists to this story and most of them I didn't see coming, which I really enjoyed and there was some additional character development that I'm really glad the author took the time with (Shira in particular). But overall, the bits I loved about the the first book where minimal in this book, friends made in the first book were sidelined for new characters and Amani's sassy activity role became a play it safe observer post.

At the end of it all, I may not have enjoyed this book as much as the first book but I think I will be adding book 3 to my to-read list. Give it a go and see what you think.