Rebel of the Sands

Book Review:

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from.

Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.


I tried with this book. I really, really tried. 
I got nearly 50% through this (albeit, rather slowly) before I realized that I would rather be reading my Anatomy textbook than this. And that is NOT a good thing.
I think the problem was, for me, was the mixing of the genres. It could've been great, if executed properly, but it fell short. I think the problem was that the only incorporation of anything Arabic-ness was the names, and a some jinn's popping around. And a few stereotypes thrown in for good measure. That's it. 
I think what bothered me the most was that instead of encouraging diversity (which was incredibly easy to do in a book centered around Middle Eastern mythology) the author went out of her way to make her MC have blue eyes. I feel like Disney's Aladdin is more accurate than this. What kind of message are we sending when we say that the only way for a main heroin to be 'pretty' or 'special' is to give her Eurocentric features.


The characters didn't have much chemistry, and the plot was dragging.

Overall, this was, sadly, a meh read. 

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Reviews By Title

Reviews by Title

A:



B:



C:
A Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer

D:


E:
Emerald Bound by Teresa Richards


F:


G:


H:


I :

J :

K :

L :

N :

N :

O :

P :

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson
The Paper Princess by Erin Watt

Q :

R :

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
Radium Girls by Kate Moore

S :

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

T :

The Shadow of the Wine by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The Bear and The Nightingale by Katherine Arden
The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
A Taste of Persia by Naomi Duiguid
U :

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

V :

Q:



R:

X:


Y:



Z:

Bookish Review:

 The Shadow of the Wind

Title: Uprooted
Authors: Carols Ruis Zafon
Language: English
Rating: 5 foxes out of 5


A stunning 4.5 stars



This will not be a standard review, for any cohesive thoughts left in my brain has been wringed dry by the Shadow of the Wind.
I am haunted by Barcelona. I yearn for avenues never walked, for cafes never tasted, for artwork and for buildings I have never seen. Zafon breathed life into the city until it was alive, with as much complexities and intricacies as his characters. A great writer has the magic to transport its readers into extraordinary lands, to make them feel like they belong even in the strangest places. Zafon does just that.
But he does not stop with the city. No, he breathed life into every character, giving them unimaginable depths with only a few short words. I carried them all in my heart: the murderers, the prostitutes, the booksellers, the writers. Some characters felt like olds friends, like Fermin, others felt like reflections of myself, like Daniel. 
His writing is poetry, both humorous and tragic. I find myself rereading some phrases to imprint them in my mind. This book needs to be savored, unfortunately, I had to no choice but to devour it whole.
You see, I had to know. I had to know who was the man burning the books? Who was Julian Carax? Penelope? In the end I am left completely satisfied, albeit also exhausted, with the ending. Do yourself a favor, read this book. 

Most preferably, read this book when the outside looks like this. 




You can read this review and others on my website:

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Sincerely, 

Book Review: Uprooted

Title: Uprooted
Authors: Naomi Novik
Published: 2025
Language: English
Rating: 5foxes out of 5


After a dry spell with a bunch of horrid YA's, I seemed to have lost my faith in all books. I did what any sane person would do after a nasty book breakup--I swore of all books! That meant: no bookstores, no audiobooks, no lovingly rearranging my shelves, and no Goodreads *GASP*. 

Of course, that lasted for about a day.

Then, I picked up Uprooted by Naomi Novik, and it was like the first sip of a cup of tea after walking home in the rain. Pure bliss. 

"Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose"

What utterly charms me about this book is the creativity. I value imagination in a writer more than anything, and Novik seems to be chock full of imagination. I also liked that the romance in this book wasn't overbearing, but fit alongside the plot quite well (trust me... it wasn't insta-love). 

Now, let's speak about the characters. 

Agniezka:

I adored her. She was funny, loyal, and extremely untidy. I'd be hard pressed to find a book where friendship, especially between girls (authors generally don't write much about strong female friendships, and if they do, they're usually extremely catty, and filled with petty jealousy's... SIGH!), that was portrayed so well. 
One criticism though, I felt that as we progressed throughout the book, Agniezka became almost too amazing at everything she did. 

Sarkan:
Not going to say much about this, but totally had a crush on him.

The pacing was fast, I found that I wouldn't have been able to put this book down even in the face of Russian torture. I especially liked the message the author was trying to communicate about the forest. 

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that turned out to be my favourite one this year. 


You can read this review and others on my website:

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also, follow me on instagram for all things books:

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Sincerely, 

Book Review:Emerald Bound

Title: Emerald Bound

Authors: Teresa Richards
Published: 2016
Language: English
Rating: 3.5 foxes out of 5

I received an arc from Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review. 


3.5 Foxes out of 5

How I feel when there is a new Fairy Tale retelling out:




I blame it on OUAT and my love for this man:

 

Danger was what made the game of truth and dare fun, but Maggie did not expect it to go this far. Dared to spy on the star high school baseball player’s house (with a father rumored to be in the FBI) the game goes quickly awry. Caught spying, she and her friends are invited to their house. Except...something's wrong. There's a noticeable gloom in the house, a wrongness, that sends the readers heart shuddering. I've never read a retelling for the Princess and the Pea, even as a child I found the tale to be quite bland (I mean what kind of plot line revolves around a pea?). But, Teresa Richards was able to bring it to life by turning the pea into a an emerald that sucks the souls of unsuspecting girls. 



This book was just so darn entertaining. I love retellings, I love reading my favorite fairy tales with an added twist. Teresa Richards was able to skillfully turn a nursery tale into a complex, dark book that compelled me to abandon my anatomy homework for (Et tu, book?). 
I am a firm believer that all retellings need to bring something new to the table (i.e: Cinder=futuristic cyborgs, ACOTAR=fairies, etc), and Teresa Richards not only brings a lot to the table, SHE BRINGS THE TABLE. This book was unique, with plot twists, and intricate side stories, and complex characters. (oh, and as a side not, let’s not forget the AMAZING depiction of female friendship)

Light and breezy, Maggie is a narrator designed to entertain. And boy, does she. Humorous, and with plenty of pop culture references, she is compelling to read. Each character had their own voice: from poor, imprisoned Lindy to vapid Marshall. Told between two POVs; from Maggie, in modern day times, and Lindy, in 1600 Sweden, we are able to slowly pierce the mystery behind the emerald. 

One of the cons for this book, that lowered my rating, is that I found the villains to be two dimensional. As in, they had the typical motives, the typical lines, the typical cruelty. They didn’t feel real to me, and if anything, they felt like cartoon caricatures of what a villain should be. 
But, despite this, I am eagerly awaiting the next book.

If you’re looking for a twist on a beloved fairy tale, for compelling characters, or for hours’ worth of entertainment…pick up this book immediately. 


What to read next if you enjoyed this book:

For other Fairy Tale retellings:
-Cinder by marrisa mayer
-A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sara J Maas
-Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

For similar writing styles:
-Anything by Ally Carter
-Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier


You can read this review and others on my website:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7...

http://hebhebheb.tumblr.com/

also, follow me on instagram for all things books:

https://www.instagram.com/dearwilderness/

Sincerely, 

The Bear and the Nightingale Book Review

Title: The Bear and the Nightingale
Authors: Katherine Arden
Published: 2016
Language: English
Rating: 4 foxes out of 5

This book was generously provided as an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review '

I think my love for winter came from both being born in midwinter, and from spending my childhood in one of the coldest countries of the world. Very few novels are able to depict both winter’s magic (crackling fires, warm mittens, cinnamon spiced drinks) and its cruelty (hunger, frost-bitten fingers, wild winds). The Bear and the Nightingale was able to portray both, seamlessly.

 A blend of Russian fairy-tales, with reminiscence of Uprooted and Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, this book is evocative and haunting. Books like these, that effortlessly captures your hearts and lures you in, only come in a reader’s hands rarely. 

  In the space between one breath and the next, the wind told him a tale: of life and death together, of a child born with the failing year.

Vasya was born different. She is more wild than tamed, a dangerous thing to be in medieval Russia, when strange females were seen as witches. As cruel forces threaten her village, Vasya must use her courage to defeat the evil that threatens all she knows.

Blood is one thing. The sight is another. But courage—that is rarest of all, Vasilisa Petrovna.

Vasya was quite a character. One who refused to be imprisoned by society’s expectations of women, who refused to be caged, who found beauty in the wilderness of the forest, of winter, and of the cruel Winter-King. 

The book also speaks about fear, and how easily we relinquish our freedom when we are afraid. This message gives the book a wonderfully darker tone, that kept me entranced the entire way though. 

Each character had depth, from the fearful priest, to the mad stepmother. Even the spirits that roam the land are different, from the household spirits that help with chores (I would like three, please!) to the lake spirits that drown wayward travelers. Written compellingly, I will not soon forget that snowy Russian village near the forest, the Winter Demon, nor Vasya, the bravest of them all.

Let's hope there will be sequel, shall we?

Book Pairings:

Uprooted

Howl's Moving Castle

The Bronze Horseman *for another book set in Russia

Keturah and Lord Death

The Blue Castle *For a girl whose also wild at heart

Sincerely,