Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1)

Summary:

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. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

I haven’t read a Western in ages so it was fun to re-vist the genre with a Middle Eastern flair added in.  The fusion of the two worked surprisingly well for me though there was a slow, slow build after the initial action.  While the character interactions were predictable, I did not find the world-building predictable at all.  Each revelation kept my interest and the setup of the First Beings versus the Djinn extremely well done.

The magic system and mythology put me over the edge for the next book in the series although the slow moments did initially make me hesitate.  Having now read all three, I’d say I have a 3-star rating for the overall series, so you’ll have to decide if it’s worth getting invested.   This book is certainly written as a set-up for the remaining two books, which is something I always like to know going in.

Warning: Contains repeated violence.

Rating: 4 stars!

Who should read it? Folks who think the Western meets Middle East genre mashup sounds intriguing.

Want to read the whole series?

• Tales from Sand & Sea (Rebel of the Sands #0.5)

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

• Hero at the Fall (Rebel of the Sands #3)