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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first half of this book is pain and suffering. I wanted to see my girl through to the end, but I was really struggling for a while. But then. Then it all happened. It was a beautiful ending to the story of Amani.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
I loved Amani's journey in the trilogy from self-centered to selfless. Her gut-wrenching choices throughout this book prepared her for the hardest choice of all. Even knowing it would be a good ending, I cried as she went through it. I am blessed that I got an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book since I was anxious to see how it all would end. Great series!
Confession: I cried on the last book. Like freakin cried. But all good now. I'm good. I'm happy. Swipe right to see the books naked.
🌻.
"God above, you're beautiful," he breathed.
"You don't believe in God," I reminded him, my voice low.
"Right now, I think I just might."
-Hero at the Fall, by Alwyn Hamilton
🌻.
#reviewmonday Rebel of the Sands series
.
Story 🌟🌟🌟🌟.6/5
As you know, I am a huge fan for fantasy stories set in myths and legends and lores. This series is just wonderful, combining legends and realities. They are not always the same, the book taught me, but they are not so different either. And such great feminism story in a land where women were looked down upon and seen as mere objects to men. #hellyeah for badass girls! If you like action-packed and fast also thrilling stories full of badass people - this is the book for you.
🌻.
Writing 🌟🌟🌟🌟.8/5
I love it! It's easy to understand, the words just flow and I didn't have a hard time reading it! And I love (maybe I'm a bit biased cuz I'm female) that the female main character really takes the whole stage of the story. She is the hero in this one. And wonderful character development. 🌻.
Overall 🌟🌟🌟🌟.7/5
I'll just put it as 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 in goodreads since they can't do decimals.
🌻.
"God above, you're beautiful," he breathed.
"You don't believe in God," I reminded him, my voice low.
"Right now, I think I just might."
-Hero at the Fall, by Alwyn Hamilton
🌻.
#reviewmonday Rebel of the Sands series
.
Story 🌟🌟🌟🌟.6/5
As you know, I am a huge fan for fantasy stories set in myths and legends and lores. This series is just wonderful, combining legends and realities. They are not always the same, the book taught me, but they are not so different either. And such great feminism story in a land where women were looked down upon and seen as mere objects to men. #hellyeah for badass girls! If you like action-packed and fast also thrilling stories full of badass people - this is the book for you.
🌻.
Writing 🌟🌟🌟🌟.8/5
I love it! It's easy to understand, the words just flow and I didn't have a hard time reading it! And I love (maybe I'm a bit biased cuz I'm female) that the female main character really takes the whole stage of the story. She is the hero in this one. And wonderful character development. 🌻.
Overall 🌟🌟🌟🌟.7/5
I'll just put it as 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 in goodreads since they can't do decimals.
TBH, I struggled with whether I should give Hero at the Fall 1 star or 2. A quarter of the way into it I considered DNFing. I was frustrated and annoyed with a character choice that felt incredibly unbelievable, maddening and ridiculous. I ended up taking a short break and coming back to the story because even though I was disappointed with the story in general, I was invested enough in the characters to want to know what became of them.
Sadly, things continued to disappoint. The storytelling was sloppy, inconsistent, shallow and repetitive. Time and again, the choices the characters made felt unrealistic and maddening. In addition to feeling unconvinced and annoyed, I was bored.
I could go on, I could elaborate but, meh, I just want to be done with it. I wish I hadn’t wasted my time on this series and do not recommend it.
Sadly, things continued to disappoint. The storytelling was sloppy, inconsistent, shallow and repetitive. Time and again, the choices the characters made felt unrealistic and maddening. In addition to feeling unconvinced and annoyed, I was bored.
I could go on, I could elaborate but, meh, I just want to be done with it. I wish I hadn’t wasted my time on this series and do not recommend it.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My feelings are really mixed. On the one hand, this is a really readable magical fantasy adventure that does it's job of rounding off the trilogy with big battles and dramatic turns. On the other... Darn, these characters are just as dull as when they started. And the drama has a habit of being conveniently resolved. And the ending was alright but just felt... lacking.
I liked the story. I liked the darkness, the danger of unknown magic and Djinni legends, the relentless pace that kept up throughout. I like that it's a really easy to read style. What I didn't like was the feeling that there was just a hurry to wrap up the story with a nice little bow and tuck away any inconvenient loose threads.
The story was what mattered here, the characters involved in it less so. I just felt that the relationships (whether friendly or romantic) were a bit under-cooked and flat. Everyone went through the motions, but I didn't see anything that made it feel real. So Jin and Amani make YA-friendly steamy eyes at each other (the usual fire/burning metaphors is about as close to "romance" as this series gets). So some named characters die. So why do I feel like saying so what? I thought that by now I'd have grown to care about them, that they'd have grown and changed as characters... But beyond Amani's insistence that she's not the same girl who left Dustwalk, I didn't see much development. I was disappointed when characters died, but that's about it. Some characters seemed to vanish off the radar for the most part (Delilah, Leyla), with others like Izz and Maz getting more name-drops but still just being bit-part players. Even the bad guys got sidelined - the Sultan exited stage left and never came back.
Maybe my problem was that, like the first book, this story was all Amani, all the time. And she's annoyingly wed to diving in and making a bad situation worse, knowingly so. And that's annoying.
There are little plot points that felt so unfulfilling. The how-to-cheat-death situations that just suddenly sort themselves out. Characters who were just tossed aside: Leyla, the harem/Hidden House girls, the Albish and Gallen... Lots of people and events alluded to by the ending chapter, but came across as an afterthought.
TL;DR: It's good, but also a bit flat. Read for an epic story, not an epic romance. Read because you want Middle Eastern inspired fantasy magic and lore twisted up with political maneuverings. It's pretty, but it's not deep, and this finale felt like a rush to tell the end of the story ASAP.
I liked the story. I liked the darkness, the danger of unknown magic and Djinni legends, the relentless pace that kept up throughout. I like that it's a really easy to read style. What I didn't like was the feeling that there was just a hurry to wrap up the story with a nice little bow and tuck away any inconvenient loose threads.
The story was what mattered here, the characters involved in it less so. I just felt that the relationships (whether friendly or romantic) were a bit under-cooked and flat. Everyone went through the motions, but I didn't see anything that made it feel real. So Jin and Amani make YA-friendly steamy eyes at each other (the usual fire/burning metaphors is about as close to "romance" as this series gets). So some named characters die. So why do I feel like saying so what? I thought that by now I'd have grown to care about them, that they'd have grown and changed as characters... But beyond Amani's insistence that she's not the same girl who left Dustwalk, I didn't see much development. I was disappointed when characters died, but that's about it. Some characters seemed to vanish off the radar for the most part (Delilah, Leyla
Spoiler
who after the second book's revelations, felt criminally neglectedMaybe my problem was that, like the first book, this story was all Amani, all the time. And she's annoyingly wed to diving in and making a bad situation worse, knowingly so. And that's annoying.
There are little plot points that felt so unfulfilling. The how-to-cheat-death situations that just suddenly sort themselves out. Characters who were just tossed aside: Leyla, the harem/Hidden House girls, the Albish and Gallen... Lots of people and events alluded to by the ending chapter, but came across as an afterthought.
Spoiler
Am I the only one really bothered by the Shazad trapped in the dark beneath Eremot red herring? I kept expecting some Destroyer of Worlds subplot to be pulled out of the hat, especially after Amani gives the kiss of protection to Shazad. But that epilogue ending effectively neuters it for even being some spin off or sequel. Who was it laughing in the darkness? I guess we'll never know. Not to mention Zaahir the meddler who deligts in tormenting Amani and then just... goes away even after his plans had obviously gone awry. Not like he'd try to make more terrible events for the Miraji, right? Nah.TL;DR: It's good, but also a bit flat. Read for an epic story, not an epic romance. Read because you want Middle Eastern inspired fantasy magic and lore twisted up with political maneuverings. It's pretty, but it's not deep, and this finale felt like a rush to tell the end of the story ASAP.
Some readers seem to be disappointed by some of the plot-driving devices used in this book, which closes out the 'Rebel of the Sands' trilogy, pointing out scenes and events in the narrative that seem like filler-content more than anything else. While I don't completely disagree with them, I think that this book arguably follows suit with the previous two volumes of the series in the general style of both story telling and plot progression.
Characters remain true to the arcs started for them earlier in the story/series and the principle plotline of the rebellion by Prince Ahmed is played out to a pretty satisfying, and surpringly long-term conclusion.
I really enjoyed the series as a whole; the pace kept up fairly consistently throughout the trilogy, and while some plot-driving devices didn't surprise me when they cropped up, others dropped my jaw and brought tears to my eyes.
Definitely a fantasy series worth the read, for teen and adult audiences alike.
Characters remain true to the arcs started for them earlier in the story/series and the principle plotline of the rebellion by Prince Ahmed is played out to a pretty satisfying, and surpringly long-term conclusion.
I really enjoyed the series as a whole; the pace kept up fairly consistently throughout the trilogy, and while some plot-driving devices didn't surprise me when they cropped up, others dropped my jaw and brought tears to my eyes.
Definitely a fantasy series worth the read, for teen and adult audiences alike.
I couldn't have asked for a better ending.
But even if the desert forgot a thousand and one of our stories, it was enough that they would tell of us at all. That long after our deaths, men and women sitting around a fire would hear that once, long ago, before we were all just stories, we lived.
Ahead of us, in the garden, a fire flickered to life.
And the storyteller began.
But even if the desert forgot a thousand and one of our stories, it was enough that they would tell of us at all. That long after our deaths, men and women sitting around a fire would hear that once, long ago, before we were all just stories, we lived.
Ahead of us, in the garden, a fire flickered to life.
And the storyteller began.