Review: Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands #2) by Alwyn Hamilton

Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands #2) by Alwyn Hamilton
Publisher: Faber & Faber 
Publication Date: 2nd February 2017
My rating: 5 stars 

This is not about blood or love. This is about treason. Nearly a year has passed since Amani and the rebels won their epic battle at Fahali. Amani has come into both her powers and her reputation as the Blue-Eyed Bandit, and the Rebel Prince's message has spread across the desert - and some might say out of control. But when a surprise encounter turns into a brutal kidnapping, Amani finds herself betrayed in the cruellest manner possible. Stripped of her powers and her identity, and torn from the man she loves, Amani must return to her desert-girl's instinct for survival. For the Sultan's palace is a dangerous one, and the harem is a viper's nest of suspicion, fear and intrigue. Just the right place for a spy to thrive... But spying is a dangerous game, and when ghosts from Amani's past emerge to haunt her, she begins to wonder if she can trust her own treacherous heart.

Wow I am seriously lost for words here, it’s been a long time I loved a book this much. Rebel of the Sands was a book which I thoroughly enjoyed, but with The Traitor to the Throne Hamilton totally upped her game with this one. There’s so much that I want to say, but really can’t without it being too spoilerish. After the explosive ending in Rebel of the Sands I didn’t know what to expect and to be honest I did struggle with the initial beginning of the story. There was so much I’d forgotten, but once I got past that initial memory loss I was utterly hooked. There were so many things that I wanted to happen and ways for things to go down, but of course nowhere and no one was ever safe. I couldn’t expect to be calm especially when a rebellion and potential war was in process. And of course Hamilton had a way of snatching things away when I least expected them. This aspect highly contributed to me practically shutting myself away and devouring this book. I always had a tense feeling in my stomach with everything going down and I never knew what could be lurking around the corner. At the same time in order for Amani to get through the situations that she found herself in, she had to put her trust in someone. Whilst there were new characters introduced that I wouldn’t have trusted with a ten foot pole (seriously they just made my skin creep out), there were other new characters which I wanted to get to know more like Rahim for instance. There were already so many characters that I’d become fond of and attached to: Jin Ahmed, Shazad, Imin, Hala, Izz, Maz, Navid, and Delila, that I couldn’t bare if anything happened to them. But fresh new characters like Rahim and Sam I welcomed with open arms, at times it did seem like they had their own agenda’s going on, but they always came through when needed. Also Sam brought about such great humour to scenes which were already dark and super tense and so it was very much needed. But I also liked how Hamilton gave us characters who redeemed themselves, I honestly didn’t see it coming as I mentioned trust was such a big issue in this book. Who could anyone really trust when loyalty came from the most unexpected of places taking me completely by surprise? 

Amani honestly had it all to deal with in Traitor to the Thrones, she always had to try and be one step ahead of the game, with so many enemies lurking about (so many I didn’t expect at all along the way). But with all the suffering and questions about whereabouts, this had a massive impact on the rest of the rebellion group too. Despite the dire situations our characters found themselves in, I liked the loyalty and courage not to back down that came through with this group. They were constantly thinking of ways to get out and outsmart the enemy and without leaving anyone behind. I hugely respected the rebellion characters for this. Amani really found herself on a daunting path and one at times that I thought she would never escape or recover from. Also Hamilton had this way of creating a safety net when you thought everything would be okay, only for it to be snatched away from you in the blink of an eye. That and the slowly chipping away of my already fragile heart left me a distraught mess at the end. 

Traitor to the Throne was a brutal read at times (I’m saying this in the best possible way) as I really do love my books which have a huge emotional impact on me. I don’t think my review could fully demonstrate just how much I loved it! It had so much more than I was expecting, it was full with epic revelations, characters who you never wanted to let go, betrayal and many traitors in the mix. It was a story that despite leaving me a big sobbing mess at the end, instilled that little bit of faith that things could be okay. Please don’t go and destroy my heart Ms. Hamilton in the next book I’m begging you!! But Honestly Traitor to the Throne is one book that no reader should be missing out on, I was in absolute awe of Hamilton’s exquisite writing and world building that I know that I will be book pushing Traitor to the Throne onto everyone as a must read of 2017!