Review: Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton

Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton

Title: Hero at the Fall (Rebel of the Sands, 2)
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Genre: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Faber and Faber (1st February 2018)
Blurb:

Once, there was a desert under siege, and no one to defend it . . .

The rebels are crushed: most are captured, burned out or dead. Except Amani, and it’s up to her to protect the survivors.

But how can one girl save a whole rebellion?

Then foreign armies begin advancing across the desert plains and the Sultan stars hunting the rebels through the streets of Izman.

Now Amani must prove that she’s not  just a  desert girl any more, that she’s learned a few tricks since then. . .

Here begins the final battle for the throne. Who will lead, who will triumph, who will live and who will die?

All heroes are mortal in the end . . .

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ (5 stars)
Review:

HERO AT THE FALL brings Alwyn Hamilton’s fantastic Rebel of the Sands trilogy to a spectacular close. It continues the story of Amani and the Rebellion after what looks like the end of their uprising: their story is not over yet. Amani must work out how to save the rebellion, and in doing so prove that she is more than just a desert girl as the final battle for the throne begins. There is more than just the Sultan to be wary of, as foreign armies have begun advancing across the desert as the realm appears up for the picking.

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Bout of Books 23 | Sign-up and Progress

Sorry I disappeared for longer than planned, but I will be back with reviews soon. I’ve been having a bit of a reading slump for the past couple of months, but hopefully this Bout of Books will kick me back into gear. Thank you to everyone who has stayed with me. 💕💕

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

So I only have one goal this week, and that is to finish reading HERO AT THE FALL by Alwyn Hamilton. I’m over a hundred pages in and really enjoying the story so far, but for some reason it’s just not translating into actually sitting down and reading. 🤷‍♀️

Bout of Books 23 TBR

If you’re taking part in this Bout of Books let me know in the comments, I’d love to know what your goals are and how you’re progressing.

Monday

Book(s) I’m Reading: Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton
Number of Pages Read Today: 0
Time Spent Reading: 0
Book(s) I’ve Completed: None
Challenge I’ve Participated In: Instagram Currently Reading challenge (here)
Notes: To be honest I didn’t expect to read a lot today as I had things going on, so I’m not disappointed.

Tuesday

Book(s) I’m Reading: Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton
Number of Pages Read Today: 0
Time Spent Reading: 0
Book(s) I’ve Completed: None
Challenge I’ve Participated In: None
Notes: I had to complete some chores today (that ended up a bust) that took a lot more time and effort than I planned so nothing got done.

Wednesday

Book(s) I’m Reading: Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton
Number of Pages Read Today: 0
Time Spent Reading: 0
Book(s) I’ve Completed: None
Challenge I’ve Participated In: None
Notes: I crashed. I just crashed.

Thursday

Book(s) I’m Reading: Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton
Number of Pages Read Today: 0
Time Spent Reading: 0
Book(s) I’ve Completed: None
Challenge I’ve Participated In: None
Notes: Procrastination strikes!

Friday

Book(s) I’m Reading: Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton
Number of Pages Read Today: 0
Time Spent Reading: 0
Book(s) I’ve Completed: None
Challenge I’ve Participated In: None
Notes: Procrastination strikes: Part 2…

Saturday

Book(s) I’m Reading: Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton
Number of Pages Read Today: 32
Time Spent Reading: 14m 54s
Book(s) I’ve Completed: None
Challenge I’ve Participated In: None
Notes: I know it’s not a lot, but I actually managed to sit down and read. I really enjoyed the thirty-two pages I read. Fingers crossed on Sunday I’ll manage to get some more pages in.

Sunday

Book(s) I’m Reading: Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton
Number of Pages Read Today: 93
Time Spent Reading: 26m 4s
Book(s) I’ve Completed: None
Challenge I’ve Participated In: None
Notes: I’m really pleased I managed to read two days in a row! And I’m still enjoying Hero at the Fall despite my slow reading pace.

Wrap Up!

My only goal for this Bout of Books was to finish reading Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton and I failed. That being said I did manage to read 125 pages or for 40m 48s which I will admit isn’t a lot, but I’m very happy with this as it is more than I have managed to read for weeks. So I’m very pleased with Bout of Books 23, and I’m hoping to carry the momentum forward. If you took part, then I hope you had  a good Bout of Books too.

#LondonBookshopCrawl 2018 – The Book Haul!

Last week saw me talking about my experience with this year’s London Bookshop Crawl (if you missed that, you can find how my crawl went here), this week I’m going to talk about the books I bought along the way. As I was getting ready to write this I realised it’s been a long time since I did a book haul. I kind of miss it.

I’m going to organise this haul by the order in which I visited the shops. I actually only picked up seven books, which considering the size of my to be read pile is not bad at all. These are either books that were recently released (at the time of the crawl) that I wanted to get my sticky paws on, or ones I’ve had on one of my lists for a while. That’s good right?

So my first stop was Foyles. It was actually the place I picked up most of my haul, but we decided that a “buy ’em when you see ’em” approach was probably the best (that way there would be no backtracking).

The first book I’m going to talk about is this lovely signed copy of Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton. It is the final book in the Rebel of the Sands trilogy (you can find my thoughts on the first book here, and my thoughts on the second book here), and I’m really looking forward to it. If the first two books are anything to go by, I will be sucked straight back into this world!

The next book is actually a manga bound in hardback format. Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki by Mamoru Hosoda with art by Yu is something that intrigued me around Christmas time, and I’ve kept my eye out for it. There’s also apparently an anime? I think it sounds really cute, and the artwork is lovely.

The next book is The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, the first book in her new The Folk of the Air series. I have really enjoyed some of Holly Black’s books, including some of her other ventures into the faery realms so this book has me curious. Never a good thing around the fair folk.

And the final book I picked up at Foyles was Nucleus by Rory Clement, the second book in his Tom Wilde series. I read and loved his first book, and I also recently did a Q & A with Clement. So whilst it’s not a typical genre for me, I’m looking forward to diving into this book.

After Foyles, I picked up a book in the Forbidden Planet megastore. I think this is probably the smallest amount of things I’ve walked out of that shop with.

I picked up Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones, the second (and final?) book in the Wintersong duology. I got the first book in the sixth Illumicrate (you can see my unboxing here) and I really enjoyed it. So I’m curious to see what this book will bring.

I got my final couple of books from Orbital Comics. I almost thought I’d walk out without picking up anything, but then I spotted these two.

The first book I picked up is The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi, the first book in The Amulet series. This book has been on one of my list for a while, and it’s actually the first time I’ve seen it in the flesh. I really love the style of the artwork, and the whole premise sound interesting.

The final book I picked up is Glory to the Losers by Katsuyuki Sumizawa with artwork by Tomofumi Ogasawara, the fourth book in the Mobile Suit Gundam WING: Endless Waltz series. I watched, and fell in love with, the anime as a teen. So when I saw this series I had to start collecting it. I can’t say it’s dissappointed me so far – though it is basically the anime.

Those were the seven books I picked up this London Bookshop Crawl. I hope you’ve enjoyed finding out what I got. Next week I should be back with a new review. Until then.

Review: Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton (UK edition)

Title: Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands, 2)
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Genre: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Faber and Faber (2nd February 2017)
Blurb:

This is not about blood, or love. This is about treason.

Amani has always been more gunpowder than girl. But as the Blue-Eyed Bandit her powers have gone from strength to strength – as has the rebellion she risks her life for.

Then a brutal kidnapping leads her straight to the Sultan’s palace, and she is forced to return to her desert-girl’s instincts for survival. Betrayal, cunning and espionage are a way of life here – and Amani finds she fits right in.

But with the ghosts of her past swirling all around her, Amani’d greatest fight may be to keep her own secret heart and desires under control . . .

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)
Review:

TRAITOR TO THE THRONE is Alwyn Hamilton’s stunning sequel to REBEL OF THE SANDS, and the second instalment of the trilogy. Amani escaped Dustwalk and found the rebellion in the first book. Known as the Blue-Eyed Bandit to some, she helps the rebellion rescue those persecuted under Sultan Oman’s rule. Then she is brutally kidnapped and ends up in the Sultan’s palace, where she gains not only his attention but also that of his heir. Betrayal, cunning and espionage are the only way to survive, so Amani finds herself returning to her roots – the desert-girl’s instincts of survival that she honed growing up may just serve her well.

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Review: Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Title: Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands, 1)
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Genre: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Faber and Faber (4th February 2016)
Blurb:

Tell me how you want your story to go, he says, and we’ll write it straight across the sand.

Dustwalk is an unforgiving, dead-end town. It’s not the place to be poor or orphaned or female. And yet Amani Al’Hiza must call it ‘home’.

Amani wants to escape and see the world she’s heard about in campfire stories.

Then a foreigner with no name turns up, and with him she has the chance to run.

But the desert plains are full of dangerous magic. The Sultan’s army is on the rise and Amani is soon caught at the heart of a fearless rebellion . . .

An epic story of swirling desert sands, love, magic and revolution.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

REBEL OF THE SANDS by Alwyn Hamilton is the first book in a new trilogy. It tells the story of Amani Al’Hiza an orphan who lives in a dead end town, where she is beholden to her uncle. Amani dreams of escaping the place she was born, of being able to see the places she has only ever heard about in stories. And this time she might just have a chance to escape.

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