Traitor to the Throne

content warnings for: major character death

I LOVED Rebel Of The Sands so I couldn't wait to read this one. Whilst I didn't enjoy it as much (some people may disagree with me on that), I still really liked it.
If you liked the first book, obviously you should like this one, but the tone is slightly different than the first, with different settings from the first book, and a focus on different characters.

Without giving too much away, Traitor To The Throne follows on from Rebel Of The Sands, with the rebellion ever growing and gaining traction. Amani ends up infiltrating actually being kidnapped, but trying to take advantage of it the palace and inserting herself into life there, becoming an aid to the Sultan. The book follows her balancing staying on the Sultan's good side whilst also trying to gain information and helping the rebellion in overthrowing him.

I actually liked the Sultan as a character, which may be an unpopular opinion, but I did think he was incredibly clever and resourceful and I look forward to seeing more of him in the next installment. We are re-introduced to characters from the first book (although I think the hints at their reappearances were a little heavy handed) and introduced to brand new ones that come with the new setting. With the exception of the Sultan, and possibly Sam and Rahim, none of the secondary characters were fleshed out enough for me to care about them. Ones who were set up as major players for the third book didn't have a lot on time on the page here so I wasn't exactly caring about them or their motivations for their actions. Like I said, as we got to see Amani interacting with the Sultan a lot, and then with the end reveal, I was incredibly satisfied with his character because he was given the time to develop. I hope the last book does have more of a focus on necessary characters

Pacing is still a problem with these books. Nothing really happened for the first 25% of Traitor To The Throne, but then so much happened in the last 10%. Hamilton's books are definitely enjoyable but I would like to see more plot and twists throughout the book rather than most of this being left until the ending.

There definitely were twists though, and some of the events that transpired early on in the book did have pay off at the end. Chapter 49 genuinely made me gasp, and the fact that it was sprung on us added to the suspense. The fact that there was a further twist on this was so much fun to read even if it did stress me out a little bit.
I did like that multiple events and actions that could have been written off did serve a purpose, but these could have possibly been revealed or hinted at earlier on in the book.

One of the things I absolutely love about Hamilton's writing, is the old tales that she weaves throughout the book. It might be an idea for her to release a spin off book of some of these tales and flesh them out a little bit more, because they truly would be magical.

Whilst I didn't enjoy this book as much as Rebel Of The Sands, it still definitely had enjoyable moments, and the action scenes are always a delight to read. I'm absolutely looking forward to the final book to see how everything turns out for Amani and the rebellion.