Early Review – Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 544 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN-13: 978-0062888617
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Life, death, and rebirth—in Becar, who you are in this life will determine your next life. Yet there is hope—you can change your destiny with the choices you make. But for the darkest individuals, there is no redemption: you come back as a kehok, a monster, and are doomed to be a kehok for the rest of time.
Unless you can win the Races.
After a celebrated career as an elite kehok rider, Tamra became a professional trainer. Then a tragic accident shattered her confidence, damaged her reputation, and left her nearly broke. Now, she needs the prize money to prevent the local temple from taking her daughter away from her, and that means she must once again find a winning kehok . . . and a rider willing to trust her.
Raia is desperate to get away from her domineering family and cruel fiancé. As a kehok rider, she could earn enough to buy her freedom. But she needs a first-rate trainer.
Impressed by the inexperienced young woman’s determination, Tamra hires Raia and pairs her with a strange new kehok with the potential to win—if he can be tamed.
But in this sport, if you forget you’re riding on the back of a monster, you die. Tamra and Raia will work harder than they ever thought possible to win the deadly Becaran Races—and in the process, discover what makes this particular kehok so special.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley to review.
Story (5/5): I really loved this book, it’s an excellent fantasy. This was hard to put down and made for a very entertaining read. I also love that this is a complete story in a stand alone book, those are pretty rare in the fantasy genre. The emperor has been killed and a new emperor cannot be crowned until the previous emperor’s reborn soul is found. Meanwhile Tamra is just trying to make a living training students to race the kehok/monsters that are the bottom of where souls are reborn to. Desperate to win the champion races Tamra purchases a metallic black lion kehok and hires Raia as a racer. Rais is escaping a bad situation and desperate to find a way to make a living for herself.
The story is very well put together, if a bit predictable. I really enjoyed how entertaining it was and how well the story was woven together. There is a good balance of action, world-building, intrigue, and character building.
Characters (5/5): I loved the characters in this story. Tamra is just such a determined woman and so practical. Raia is desperate but willing to push herself in order to make her own way. They are all admirable and easy to engage with. Even the side characters are well developed and engaging.
Setting (5/5): This was an amazing fantasy world that was well thought out and developed. I love the idea of people’s souls being reborn into animals based on how well they lived their previous life. I also enjoyed that the world as a whole was pretty well fleshed out.
Writing Style (5/5): I love pretty much everything Durst writes so it’s no surprise I really loved this book as well. The writing is well done, easy to read, and just flows beautifully. The book does jump around between different POVs and that was masterfully done. I think my only small quibble is how predictable this was from the very beginning.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I really enjoyed everything about this book; the world, the characters, and the story. I would highly recommend it if you are a fan of unique fantasy stories. This was incredibly well done and I look forward to what Durst writes next!
