Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton (review)

In this worthy sequel to Rebel of the Sands (BCCB 4/16), Amani is still struggling in the deserts with both personal issues (her steamy romance is not going very well these days) and political ones (the Sultan, in whose harem Amani dwells, is still in power and the rebellion is faltering). When Amani can use her half-Djinn powers, she’s fierce, but she’s weakened by exposure to metal, so she has to draw on different skills to survive as a spy in the Sultan’s harem. As with the previous novel, it’s Amani’s sharp, engrossing, and always vulnerable narration that carries this intricate plot; readers will be drawn in instantly to her world through her own perspective and stay with her through the novel’s twists and turns. Hamilton doesn’t shy away from the horrors of rebellion and war, but she also has an unflinching eye for the evils we enact outside of battles, the injustices, weaknesses, and betrayals that mark even regular life, and the way we must forgive or move past them in order to coexist. New readers will want to start with the impressive prior outing to understand this world, and then they’ll join the ranks of those eagerly awaiting the next novel, particularly given the dramatic, unforgettable end to this one.