"Tell me that and we'll go. Right now. Save ourselves and leave this place to burn. Tell me that's how you want your story to go and we'll write it straight across the sand." 
 Rebel of the Sands is one of the most delightful and thrilling books I've read in a long time. THIS TINY, BEAUTIFUL GEM OF A BOOK IS NOW ONE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITES. I was left completely speechless after I'd finished it. Where do I even begin to describe this wonderful book? 
 Now, I am a self-admitted shallow person. So can we please talk about how the title has such a nice, oomph ring to it? I literally repeated it to myself so many times -- Rebel of the Sands. Rebel of the Sands. REBEL of the SANDS. The title has such a solid, majestic ring to it. And the cover. My gosh, all that glitter and sparkle and the BLUE AND GOLDEN COLORS. It's such an infinitely aesthetic book and I'm so in love. 
 Rebel of the Sands also has one of the most riveting opening scenes I've read in a long time. The story begins with Amani Al' Hiza disguised as a boy, about to take part in a gun shooting competition. To escape Dustwalk, the dead-end desert town she lives in, she needs to win the prize money so that she can flee to Izman, the great capital city, where it's said that a girl can be free and make her own choices. It's essential that she gets the hell out, and quickly, because she discovered a few days before that her repulsive uncle wants to marry her (yikes). What Amani isn't counting on is the mysterious foreigner Jin. Fate intertwines their destinies when they become temporary allies at the competition. Before long, Amani finds herself traveling across the desert with Jin while caught up in a tangled web of politics, rebellion, myth and romance. 
 Amani was such a wonderful, gutsy, snarky heroine. Can I just take a moment to say that I'm not ashamed to admit that I have a girl crush on her? I just love her fiery personality. 
 Amani completely redefines badassery. She's an amazing female lead who's a wicked shot as well as sassy and smart. Amani dreams of escaping her abusive relatives to carve out her own path in life and discover her own personal kind of awesome. She's defying every stereotype about females in the book and crushing society's sexism beneath her heel. And she's fierce and brave and loyal and loving and doesn't take nonsense from anyone! Don't get me wrong. Amani's definitely an imperfect heroine - she's very reckless and makes mistakes. But even though she makes mistakes, she acknowledges them and learns from them and never makes them again. Honestly if that isn't character development? I don't know what is. Anyway. MOVING FORWARD! 
 The setting. THE SETTING! Rebel of the Sands has a beautiful, carefully crafted plot woven with myths, ancient tales, desert fantasy, magic horses, rebel princes, and a touch of slow-burn romance. It's just the perfect blend to leave you swooning and turning the pages for more. The story is told with an addictive simplicity, and yet the world building was so well done and the fantasy was totally epic. The mythology and ancient tales tied in so well with the direction of the plot and resulted in a tantalising sense of mystery that shadowed my reading throughout the book. Also, the storyline is highly addictive and the first chapter hooked me in like never before, transporting me into a scene of action immediately. This continued throughout the entire book with every chapter ending in something that left me wanting to keep reading. I know this is a tiny book, with only 300+ pages but there was so much action packed into the pages and it didn't even feel annoying or exaggerated because it was so real. I didn't see half the plot coming, but it was so realistic and engaging and set the blood thrumming in my veins with anticipation. Literally. I tried to read whenever I could spare free time during college hours because I just had to know what happens next. It left me on the edge of my seat, my heart pounding for the characters and rooting so hard for them. And then before I knew it, I'd flipped to the very last page and was left in an awestruck mess. 
 In the book, we're brought to a desert country named Miraji, where mythical desert creatures rule the sands and a missing rebel prince is preparing to reclaim his throne. Here's a quick guide to the desert's creatures taken from the official website: 
 Djinnis - One of God's First Beings: men made of out of smokeless fire. The true rulers of the desert, their powers are both great and mysterious. Travellers are warned to not trespass on their domain or disturb them in the desert. And to always be polite to strangers lest they be a Djinni in disguise. 
 Buraqi - A horse fashioned out of sand and wind, the Buraqi run wild from one side of the desert to the other. They may appear as black as the sand of a cool desert night or as brilliant red as a bloody dawn over a sand dune. 
 Rocs - Great birds the size of palaces that can darken the sun with their wings. 
 Nightmares - A breed of Ghoul that remains in the sands like an infestation, coming out only at night. These creatures stalk sleeping on the wings of a bat, with the maw of a monster. They crouch on a man's chest to inject him with venom that infects his mind and body, sending him into a terrible sleep. 
 Skinwalkers - If the Skinwalkers have a shape their own it has long been forgotten, as they shift their form from that of one victim to another. A Skinwalker is known to devour the flesh of an unsuspecting desert traveller, and then assume his form to prey on the rest of his travelling party. 
 If this doesn't leave you intrigued, I don't know what will! Rebel of the Sands is really a breath of fresh air in the YA fantasy genre, with its Middle-Eastern (Arabic? Persian?) desert setting and influences, and its intricate world-building that leaves you hooked and makes you feel like you're in the fictional world itself. I've honestly not encountered such a well thought-out fantasy for a while. Plus this book is wonderfully diverse - heroine! setting! culture! - and I'M ALL FOR THAT! Yay for representation! 
 Romance is alluded to very subtly in the summary, and hinted at in the book, but it never takes up a major part of the book, and neither does it slow down the plot at all. I loved it even more purely for that reason. Amani and Jin start out as uncertain allies, except Amani doesn't need a man and constantly tries to escape from Jin because she doesn't trust him. But then through a number of plot twists, they end up together again, traveling across the desert with a caravan, supposedly on an alternative route to Izman. I enjoyed watching their friendship so much, reading their snarky banter back and forth (Amani! She's such a queen of sass) and it definitely didn't turn into a steamy romance at all. Instead, Alwyn Hamilton chooses to focus more on the gripping action of the plot, while including some intense moments between Amani and Jin which hint at their budding romance. This makes the blossoming relationship between Amani and Jin very sneaky, but no less sweet. (They do share a kiss or two.) But it just says something that even with the focus not really being on their romance, I STILL SHIP THESE TWO SO HARD, MY PRECIOUS CHILDREN. PROTECT THEM AT ALL COSTS. 
 The ending of Rebel of The Sands was something else! A perfect balance of "I'M CRYING THIS WAS SO LOVELY" and "OMG GIVE ME MORE". For now there isn't a cliffhanger, but I'm pretty sure there will be one in the next book. But this was great! At least I didn't have to live in suspense for the next year. 
 Rebel of the Sands is a fantastic debut, a book I loved to pieces after reading only a few pages. It's a beautifully told young adult fantasy with characters that stay with you long after you've finished reading. I really fell in love with Amani and Jin and all the supporting characters and I NEED THE NEXT BOOK. NOW. 
 (And I just scrolled through GR and like 100+ of my friends have marked this as tbr AND HAVEN'T ACTUALLY READ IT YET. What are you doing with your life?! I'm putting this book on the "read this or I will haunt you forever" list. Everyone needs to know how amazing this book is. Just look at the amount of caps I used in my review.) 
 "The world makes things for each place. Fish for the sea, Rocs for the mountain skies, and girls with sun in their skin and perfect aim for a desert that doesn't let weakness live."