Review: Traitor to the Throne

Title: Traitor to the Throne
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Pages: 570
Published by: Faber & Faber
Release date: 2nd February 2017
Synopsis:
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.

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Review:

I gave myself a couple minutes after finishing this book before jumping right into my review because I just HAD to talk about it. The stakes are so much higher, there’s friendship, betrayal, twists and turns that would not let me take my eyes away. I swear this book made me understand what all these characters are talking about when they ~let out the breath they didn’t know they’d been holding~ because this book was just so intense, and incredibly addictive.

Rebel of the Sands was one of my favourite books of 2016, and the sequel has been high on my tbr ever since it was released. But you know that feeling you get when you read a book and its just so. good. that you immediately kick yourself for not reading it sooner? That was me with this Traitor to the Throne. WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO READ IT?

I’m usually quite a slow reader, and it can take me a couple days to finish a book if I have nothing else on. But every now and then I manage to read 200 pages in a matter of hours and that’s when I know I’m really, really loving a book. And with Traitor to the Throne I was well on the way to 300 pages in a day. I literally could not put it down, and even when I did I spent every spare moment thinking about what was going to happen next. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

The characters! Firstly, I’d like to say that I adore Amani and Shazad’s friendship. Shazad is my favourite character in this series and it was so great seeing the development of their friendship more in Traitor to the Throne. 

There are appearances and returns of characters that we didn’t see as much of in Rebel of the Sands, and it was so much fun seeing the development of these characters and getting the chance to understand them a little more. We’re also introduced to a whole cast of new characters, good and bad but all equally interesting. We come face to face with the Sultan and more of a his sons as the rebellion gains speed and Amani is thrown into the deep end when she’s kidnapped and trapped in the Sultan’s palace. She is forced to forge new alliances and fight the rebellion from the inside, all while hiding her identity as the Blue-Eyed Bandit.

Alwyn Hamilton certainly knows how to write a good story. Traitor to the Throne hits the ground running and takes you to new dazzling heights. Those last 50 or so pages had me practically falling out of my chair and I swear if anyone had tried to talk to me while I read them, I wouldn’t have even noticed I was so absorbed.

And now, please excuse me while I make some tea and hop into Hero at the Fall. I have to know what’s next.

Rating: ★★★★★