Wednesday, January 27, 2016

SANDS by Kevin L. Neilson


For nine months of the year, the sands of the Sharani Desert are safe. The genesauri—giant, flying, serpentine monsters who hunt across the desert in enormous packs—lie dormant. The smallest of their kind is able to take down a single man with ease, and the largest is able to swallow entire clans. The people of the desert have always been able to predict the creatures’ appearance, but this year, the genesauri have stopped following the rules. 

When the genesauri suddenly attack her clan, seventeen-year-old Lhaurel draws a sword in her people’s defense—a forbidden practice for women of any clan—and is sentenced to death by her own people. Chained to a rock and left to be eaten by the next wave of genesauri, Lhaurel is rescued by a mysterious, elusive clan said to curse children at a glance, work unexplainable terrors, and disappear into the sands without a trace. 

With the fate of the clans hanging in the balance, Lhaurel discovers she possesses a rare and uncontrollable power—one that will be tested as the next deadly genesauri attack looms on the horizon and the clash between clans grows more inevitable by the hour. 


Sands by Kevin L Neilson is definitely unlike anything I have ever read. It was new, engrossing, and had a different and interesting feel. If I could give it any big overall award, I would for sure label it as unique.
Sands is set in a very interesting setting with a complex, thought out plot. It takes a vivid imagination to think up - or even understand - this one, but the author did a great job of describing it. There were a lot of things that I loved about Sands, and some things that I did not like quite as much - I believe I will try my first “list review” on this one!


THINGS I LOVED:
  • Lhaurel was an amazing MC. She was strong and independent, even given her background (a clan where women are totally disrespected and treated like trash). I always love a good character that can fight back, and Lhaurel was one of them.
  • As I have already mentioned, I loved the setting. I can honestly say that I have never read a book with a even a similar setting, and (trust me) I’ve read a lot of YA books
  • The genesauri. Dang, those things are scary as heck, but also totally realistic. They’re basically just like dinosaurs on steroids... yeah. Sweet dreams.
  • The light romance put in there. I myself am a romantic, so I appreciated it and found it a lot more believable than the ‘insta-love’ we see so much in Young Adult books today.
  • The world didn’t feel foreign - what I mean to say is, the author was obviously well acquainted with the world that he built and knew it inside and out. He was able to provide good, thoughtful detail to help me know how to navigate its complexities.
  • Plot twists. I love me some plot twists.


THINGS I DIDN’T LOVE SO MUCH
  • This one is obviously opinion, but I have never liked having more than two (sometimes I can tolerate three!) points of view. Especially since some of the names sound so foreign to me, I sometimes got lost and it would turn my head around for a few pages before I finally caught on. If you’re good with names, this won’t be a problem for you.
  • There were some minor editing problems. They weren’t so frequent that I was distracted from the story or anything, but they were there.
  • It’s a tad bit slow in the beginning.


Overall, it was a very refreshing read. I personally love finding books that are diverse, so it was very a entertaining and fun ride. I highly recommend for you fantasy lovers (I might even classify some of this as epic fantasy, but that’s my opinion going off again) and anybody who loves a good book that requires you have a brain (we all know those YA books that you could read on 1 hour of sleep and understand completely)
Ending rate, I give it 3.75 stars for the reasons above. Happy Reading! :)

1 comment:

  1. Hi! I'm @briellesilver1344 on Instagram, and I followed your blog. I hope this gives me another shot at your Shadowhunters giveaway. I really like your blog, too! I already found some interesting stories to add to my list including this one. I just love YA novels. :)

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