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Welcome to my stop on the Rebel of the Sands Blog Tour hosted by Penguin Teen! First, a bit about the lovely book, then a fun Top Ten, and my thoughts on the book!

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
Series: Rebel of the Sands #1
Published by Viking Books for Young Readers on March 8th 2016
Pages: 314
Format:ARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinn still perform their magic.  For humans, it’s an unforgiving place, especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female.

Amani Al’Hiza is all three. She’s a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim, but she can’t shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she’s destined to wind up wed or dead.

Then she meets Jin, a rakish foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But though she’s spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she’d gallop away on mythical horse—or that it would take a foreign fugitive to show her the heart of the desert she thought she knew.

Rebel of the Sands reveals what happens when a dream deferred explodes—in the fires of rebellion, of romantic passion, and the all-consuming inferno of a girl finally, at long last, embracing her power.

Today I have a Top Ten List from Alwyn- specifically 10 Things You’d Need to Survive the Desert. This is a very good question, because while I was reading the book, I kept thinking “well crap, I would be dead immediately”. Luckily, Alwyn can help us out!

1 – Iron Man’s Suit

The desert in Rebel of the Sands is populated by ghouls. Everything from a flesh eating skinwalkers, who will eat you whole and then steal your identity, to Nightmares who can down you with a bite. Their kryptonite is iron. Wearing a whole suit of it seems like the way to go. I’m sure the blasting and flying could be useful too.

2 – The One Ring – Lord of the Rings 

A lot of the dangers around Dustwalk are human. Especially if you’re a girl with a tendency to be doing things you’re not exactly meant to be doing. A ring that could turn you invisible would come in handy at times like this. And it takes less time and effort than dressing up as a boy. I’m not saying your side effects from use of the One Ring may not vary but in a world without Sauron you’d be ok right?

3 – Mary Poppins’ Umbrella

Crossing the desert takes a long time and a whole lot of walking. There are a lot of modes of transportation which could be recommended to cross a bit faster but Mary Poppins’ magical umbrella is the only one which provides you from coverage from the desert sun at the same time.

4 – Piper’s Cornucopia from the Heroes of Olympus 

One of the biggest challenges crossing the desert in real life and in Rebel was supplies. The Transportation, the rationing etc. If you had a cornucopia that could shoot out supplies at any given moment the camels would have a lot less to carry.

5 – The Burn Healing Cream from the Hunger Games 

The desert sun is harsh. Weapons which can burn down entire cities are harsher. Either way I’ve got to figure Katniss’s burn cream would come in handy. And it probably has a pretty decent SPF?

6 – The Golden Compass 


At one point in crossing the desert Amani winds up with a compass that doesn’t point north and has to follow it in act of blind faith. A compass that gave you answers and directions and told you where you were actually going would be very useful in this scenario. Not to mention it could probably give you the password to open any magic doors you encounter

7 – Truth Serum from Divergent 

Lying is practically the default in the desert. If you wanted to get the details on what the heck is actually happening and figure out who you can trust and who you can’t, this would come in handy.

8- Witchlight from the world of the Shadowhunters 

Desert Ghouls fear the light. Sunlight specifically. Fire can do the trick in a pinch. But Witchlights would be a lot more effective in keeping them at bay.

9 – A Bezoar from Harry Potter 

On the chance you don’t manage to ward off the Nightmares in the dark you’re going to need an anti-venom of some kind. And as the Half Blood Prince taught us, in case of emergencies “Just shoves a Bezoar down their throats.”

10 – A Wish from Daughter of Smoke and Bone 

In a world where Djinni wishes often go wrong, it would be useful to not have to rely on them when you desperately needed something to go your way. The wishes in Daughter of Smoke and Bone have already had a price paid in pain, so they’re definitely less likely to twist around on you after you make them.

About Alwyn Hamilton

Alwyn Hamilton was born in Toronto and spent her childhood bouncing between Europe and Canada until her parents settled in France. She grew up in a small town there, which might have compelled her to burst randomly into the opening song from Beauty and the Beast were it not for her total tone-deafness. She instead attempted to read and write her way to new places and developed a weakness for fantasy and cross-dressing heroines. She left France for Cambridge University to study History of Art at King’s College, and then to London where she became indentured to an auction house. She has a bad habit of acquiring more hardcovers than is smart for someone who moves house quite so often.


This list was kind of perfect, yes? Especially because, hello, she references Katniss! And I am pretty sure that a wish would be crucial! So, I liked this book a lot! I figured I might as well share some of my thoughts while we’re at it! 

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This is more like…. 7 reasons you should read Rebel of the Sands immediately!
  1. That. Setting. Come on, is there a more on point setting that the desert crossed with the wild west and also magic horses that appear as if from nowhere?! If you weren’t hooked before, you should be now!
  2. Road trip! What’s better than a road trip, you ask? A desert road trip, with all kinds of baddies and perils along the way!
  3. Amani is badass, but not perfect. She’s such a strong woman in a society where strong women (hell, all women) are treated like garbage. But she is willing to put it all out there for a chance at freedom. That said, she doesn’t make perfect choices. In fact, she makes quite a few downright stupid ones. But she grows and learns, and isn’t that what life is all about?
  4. Secondary characters are amazing– especially in the second half of the book! Without giving anything away, you will want these characters in your life! They are fabulous, and brought so much to the story- and enhanced Amani and Jin as characters too!
  5. Slow swoons for the win! I shipped it, obviously! Who wouldn’t? They were competitors, and enemies, and reluctant friends, and eventually… there were feelings.
  6.  When an opening paragraph in a book is this good, you know the book is going to be awesome:

    “They said the only folks who belonged in Deadshot after dark were the ones who were up to no good. I wasn’t up to no good. Then again, I wasn’t exactly up to no bad neither.”

  7. Because Evie made the most gorgeous stuff in her shop for it, and you want it and you need it but first you need to read the book to understand it!

So there you go, you buy the pretty and fabulous book, you read it, and then you can buy pretty and fabulous things to remind you of it until the sequel comes out- which, by the way, is entirely too far away for my taste!

Follow the tour!

3/7 – Fiction Fare – Guest post
3/8 – What Sarah Read – Interview
3/9 – My Friends Are Fiction – Book playlist
3/10 – Once Upon a Twilight – Top 10 list
3/11 – Love is not a triangle – Review
3/14 – Katie’s Book Blog – Interview
3/15 – Forever Young Adult – Would You Rather?
3/16 – Alexa Loves Books – Book playlist 2
3/17 – The Irish Banana Review – 25 Random Things About Me
3/18 – Mundie Moms – Review & Giveaway
3/21 – Two Chicks on Books – Guest post 2
3/22 – The Eater of Books! – Interview
3/23 – It Starts at Midnight – Top 10 #2
3/24 – Book Briefs – Dreamcasting post
3/25 – IceyBooks – Review
**Quote taken from uncorrected proof, subject to change.

Posted March 23, 2016 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Blog Tour, Guest Post, Quasi-Review, Review / 21 Comments

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21 responses to “Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton | Blog Tour Top Ten

  1. AHHH I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!! *shrieks* And omg I want an Iron Man suit…and also I think it’s a very nice idea to force people to take truth serum instead of, ya know, just thumping information out of them like most YA characters tend to do. (Life is short? Thump your enemies? At least that is so totally Four from Divergent’s life mantra. AHEM. I DIGRESS.)

    Also ahhh I LOVED Amani! She was so awesome and I loved the sass between her and Jin. :’) Also thanks for nothing by telling me about Evie’s design. I LOVE IT ERMAGERD I NEED IT. *hyperventilates* XDXD

  2. What a fun top 10 list!!! I LOVE IRON MAN’S SUIT that is absolutely hilarious, and the Percy and Harry Potter references as well! Not too sure about the truth serum but I appreciated all the fun references <3

    I just finished reading this as well and I loved the desert setting and all the adventure! Amani was definitely a strong character and I liked how she was flawed too. Thanks for Evie's link too, so many pretty merch!

  3. Okay, everything here makes me totally interested/excited for this one. Except for Mary Poppins umbrelly. I mean in theory, sure, but I’ve gotta think my arm is gonna get tired. Otherwise, I’m on board. And those opening lines!! That right there has me hooked.

  4. How about I don’t get any of those first 9 things and just get an infinite number of wishes? That would definitely help me survive! 😀
    I really enjoyed this book! One of the few debuts I really had fun reading this year. My favorite was undeniable, Amani. The girl was so fierce! And OMG the first chapter was so engrossing! I knew I was in for a ride with that.
    Fab post, Shannon!

  5. Haha I love Alwyn’s top ten list! xD I would LOVE Iron Man’s suit because it’s… Iron Man’s suit!! Think of how easy air travel would be. I have no idea what I’d wish for from ADoSaB, but I’m guessing Amani would use it to get out of a tricky situation. Great post!!

  6. I have added this book to my “books that I would love for Easter” list (i basically make this list for my parents for all holidays..LOL….and I’m 20…its embarrassing really, but I’m a broke book hoarder, what can I do?!) I love these types of novels and this book is SO BEAUTIFUL and people RAVE about this book.

  7. LOL! Is it weird that whenever I get a tiny bug bit or anything else I ALWAYS wish that magical burn cream from HG would descend down upon me and heal me overnight?! I mean, I think about it even for the tiniest of things. Being a desert rat, I wholeheartedly agree re: this list. And please add lots of sparkling water!

  8. I love Alwyn’s top ten. How fun! I’m glad you liked this one -it does sound like an exciting read. I just saw Alwyn and the other ladies on the Penguin Teen tour last night; they were so much fun. Alywn said her favorite line was the opening ones (that you shared) and I agree, it hooked me!

    -Lauren

  9. OMG. THIS BOOK. I MIGHT DIE. I NEED THE SEQUEL. IT WAS SO GOOD. AND I’M SO HAPPY YOU LIKED IT TOO. YAYYY.

    It was so so so so badass! And fast paced and perfect.

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