An interesting tale set in an Arabian inspired world, following a renown thief and her djinn. This wasn’t the perfect book for me—it was a little slow, the character motivations slightly unclear, the worldbuilding not as fleshed as I typically like it to be—but it had just enough elements for me to stay hooked throughout, so I’d still overall recommend this one. Though the length did drag, ultimately it delivered a solid ending, and some excited to see read the sequel.

An Arabian inspired fantasy featuring a thief and her Jinn bodyguard. This was really well written, richly described and full of fun characters. I particularly liked Loulie and Qadir who have an interesting dynamic and bounce off each other well. At times I did struggle with all the POVs as I found myself getting invested in one story before being pulled out of it and starting all over again with another character. It made it difficult to get emotionally attached to the characters.

I did think the pacing was off too, with a middle that really drags however the ending makes up for this with a fantastic pay off that expertly weaved together short stories, all these wandering characters and an interesting magic system. It certainly stood out in it's use of Arabian mythology and I appreciated that. It felt refreshing.

A mixed bag, but overall an enjoyable fantasy that excels in rich world building and magic, but I felt emotionally detached from most of the characters.

This book is an absolute adventure! It masterfully blends lush mythology and vivid world-building to create a rich, immersive story that you won't want to leave.

This Arab-inspired fantasy alternates between three perspectives, and the writing style is so captivating that it kept me hooked from start to finish. The setting is vibrant, and the world-building is top-tier, with mouthwatering descriptions of food that add extra flavor to the experience.

Although the beginning started off a little slow, the pacing soon evened out, offering a nice balance between quiet moments and action-packed scenes. The characters really grew on me, especially Qadir and Aisha, and I loved that they had to fight for everything—they didn’t just magically know what to do, making the struggles feel grounded and realistic (as much as a fantasy world can be).

And that ending? Major cliffhanger! I’m already counting down the days until the next installment and can't wait to see how this world expands.

#TheStardustThief #NetGalley

DNF @55%. At the start of the book, I found the premise very interesting: the Jin magic, the quest, and the power dynamics between the characters. But at some point, the story lost my interest because I believe everything started to happen very fast and confusing; not only that, the plot started to create several lines, and I couldn´t care less about them. When I stopped, I believed the big bad guy had finally been revealed, but they escaped easily due to some plot device created just a few moments ago and without much state. The writing was okay, but it was not enough to make me read the rest of it.

I will not be reading this one unfortunately as I have unhauled the physical copy! Apologies, catching up on old ARCs to clear off my list.

A fantasy debut for the ages.

This is everything I want in a fantasy book. I LOVED the magic systems, it was original and unique which I enjoyed.

The characters were beautifully written and the plot was well crafted and developed.

The Stardust Thief is an enjoyable read. It was a refreshing and fun read that managed to avoid some of the cliches I kept anticipating.
It’s set in a world where magic exists, but is something to be feared and eradicated. Jinn-hunters set out to destroy any jinn they find, using their blood to transform desolate space into lavish gardens. But there’s still magic to be found in relics – and a price can be put on anything.

Loulie (Layla) is our main protagonist. Strong and brave, Loulie has survived the horror of her past to make a name for herself selling these relics, with the help of her jinn saviour. They work in disguise, but it’s not enough to protect them from being blackmailed into a journey to find the most powerful relic of all.

I really liked Loulie as a character. She’s fiery and determined, but also has a fragile vulnerability to her. Not knowing who to trust, she hides her feelings away, even from those she cares about. She carries the story well and the reader soon cares about her. Her emotions change quickly though, especially towards anger. She’s quick to judge others, believing she is always owed the full truth.

Mazen is our secondary narrator. The third son of the sultan, he lives his life trapped in the palace and longing for adventure. He’s naïve and a bit, well, useless when it comes to helpful skills. But he’s open and warm, with a gift for spinning a tale out of anything.

The two characters complement each other well. With Qadar – Loulie’s jinn friend – and Aisha – a killer sent to watch Mazen – they must travel the desolate desert. Trusting each other may be the only way any of them survive as treachery haunts their footsteps.

I enjoyed the character development. I fully expected for Loulie and Mazen to be in love halfway through the book. While there’s the tiniest hint there could be more in future books, it steered clear. It was satisfying to be proven wrong: so many books go down the same route.

The characters carried the story. The world-building could do with more depth and I’d have liked a deeper history of people and jinn. People kept turning up in places you didn’t expect them. Not in a good way, more in a ‘how was it actually possible for them to get there’ way. Some of the fight scenes left me confused, especially when imbued with magic.

The magic would’ve been good to explore further. Qadar can clearly do a lot but it’s presented as a convenient solution to what should’ve been an insurmountable situation. It would’ve been good to see the other characters win the day rather than magic every time.

The Stardust Thief, while set in its own world, is based on One Thousand and One Nights. It sets the feel for the book. I enjoyed this, despite the occasional lack of development, and look forward to continuing the series when it’s ready.

Sorry somehow requested twice, will review on the other download once I have read. Sorry to be a pain.

I loved the worldbuilding and fairy tale-feel of this book. It had very interesting characters and lore.
Unfortunately the story progressed quite slowly and not much happened overall until towards the end.

interesting world building and strong characters! the story upheld what it promised. solid 3.5 stars

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah is an epic start to a trilogy inspired by One Thousand and One Nights.

Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land—at the cost of sacrificing all jinn.

This Arab-inspired fantasy alternates between three perspectives. The writing style was brilliant and had me hooked from the start, with amazing world building that made me feel like I was there with the characters. The pace was a tad slow at the beginning, but the picked up after that with a nic balance between action scenes and scenes of quiet.

The characterization was also brilliant, each of the personalities shone through and I liked that they were all challenged to do something. I think my favorites are definitely Qadir and Aisha.

I can't wait to read the next book which will be out soon. One I would love to recommend to others.

Inspired by One Thousand and One Nights the book follows Loulie al-Nazari, a criminal with a jinn helper who hunts and sells illegal magic. The attracts the attention of the Sultan when she saves his son, and he forces her and his son into carrying out a task his forty theives have failed at, locating the lamp. This magical and powerful object can transform the kingdom and bring proserity, albeit with drawbacks like the end of all jinns..

What should have been a thrilling tale that jumps between the 3 mains MCs as they journey across the deserts, uncover ancient temples and magics, and foil plans and have epic fights....it just...went on
I love worldbuilding, but this book really had a lot of it! So much so that it dragged quite a bit for the middle section. I came close to DNF-ing.

However, it did ramp up towards the end which saved it, and ended on a superb cliffhanger.
For fans of City of Brass I'd say this is a sure win.

Neither here nor there, but long ago…"The Stardust Thief" by Chelsea Abdullah is an utterly enchanting read.

Loosely based on One Thousand and One Nights, the story does a brilliant job of weaving adventure, mythology and magic!

I really felt like I got to know the four main characters and their motivations, Mazen in particular is full of charm. I also enjoyed reading the relationships between each character grow and develop in a realistic way.

The writing is descriptive, creating a vivid setting. The world building gradually unfurls as the characters travel across the dessert meeting mythical creatures and magical challenges,

The pacing was a little slow at times but by the end I was totally immersed in the story. I cannot wait to read the next book to find out what else is in store for these characters.

4.5 stars
Why did I leave this one for so long?! This was such an amazing story and I'm now eagerly awaiting the next book!

Chelsea Abdullah did not hold back her punches with this one and I found myself eagerly reading on as I needed to know what happened next!

These characters were amazing and so well written. I couldn't help but grow to love the group and I especially loved Loulie.

I recommend this to anyone trying to fill the hole left by the Daevabad trilogy!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I found the passing of this book to be very slow and it seemed that were always traveling around. I found I always felt like it was building up and up but nothing was happening. I love these types of books and had high hope but unfortunately it fell flat.

This Arabian Nights-inspired fantasy debut was incredibly immersive, creative and unique. This is the kind of book which truly transports the reader to another world, with vivid descriptions of adventures across the desert filled with magical twists and turns. It's got princes, jinn and - of course - a magical ancient lamp. I found it a little slow-moving at times, but that may be because fantasy isn't my preferred genre. But the characters were well-drawn and the world was incredible. If you love all things fantasy, I'd recommend bumping this one up your list.

i love books with arabian settings, and this time, it's one inspired by the one thousand and one night? i'm in. i really like the world the author created, and our main characters, she's definitely interesting. i would love to say that the other main characters are my favorites too, but, well, i have a type. and that type was Omar. Omar and his forty thieves. i admit that he's the reason i'm anticipating the sequel.

The Stardust Thief is an adventure story filled with magic, following Loulie, the Midnight Merchant, her partner and jinn Qadir, Prince Mazen and thief Alisha as they travel to find an enchanted lamp.

I liked the relationship between Loulie and Qadir, they have an almost father and daughter dynamic. That said, at 20 years old Loulie still acts pretty petulant, especially towards Qadir, even ungrateful at times around someone who has no obligation to be there and effectively serve her. The relationship while sweet at times, is very one sided, although we do learn more about this relationship and the origins behind it as the book goes on.

Loulie is a strong character, motivated by what is right even when it scares or angers her. That said, she isn’t written as a 20 year old woman, there’s quite a bit of sulking and silent treatment going on, a lot of impulsiveness without thought or planning, and a lot of evading responsibilities. This is book 1 so I expect the character to develop but yeah, she reads a lot younger than she should. She’s an entertaining character though.
Aisha is by far the best character in this book, she starts off withdrawn, shaped by her vengeance, Jinns killed her family and killing them in return is all she lives for. Aisha starts the story effectively against Loulie, Qadir and Mazen, her loyalty, as a Kings thief, to Omar the prince, her loyalty unquestioned. As the book progresses though, you see the layers to Aisha’s, the person beneath what has happened to her.

Now, my main problem with this book - Mazen. Mazen is a wet blanket of a boy, a bumbling, irresponsible dead weight. He knows what is right and wrong and yet he feels powerless to stand up against it so he does nothing. Even his reason for being blackmailed, he would rather die in the desert and be a liability to the group than risk being trapped in the palace (like Hakim who, you guessed it, is trapped because of him).While Loulie endangers herself to try do or right something, Mazen feels sorry for himself, a self confessed coward, and feels sorry for others but resigns himself to suffering. He also resents his brother Omar and yet falls pretty easily into behaving like him at the expense of kindness. Mazen is also painfully inconsistent, for example he refers to his brother, the jinn killer, as a murderer, is horrified by the blood he has spilled, and yet “Omar was insufferable, but he was still his brother. He would have to be insane to trust a killer over him”. He also forgets a major atrocity that Omar commits because he wanted to forget it.

With Mazen smitten with Loulie and likewise we get the comments of her noticing his “starry eyes”, I’m worried romance between the 2 is on the cards, which would be disappointing. I really enjoyed Ahmed and Loulie together and love was there, although impossible. Mazen however is so different to Loulie it wouldn’t make sense. While Ahmed takes full responsibility for something that happens (that actually Mazen allowed to happen), when it comes to his own actions, Mazen is all thought, he lacks any substance at all in a book sandwiched by 2 strong willed, complex and driven women. You don’t need to have a fearless, testosterone fuelled action man, but you can’t even say he’s the morals or scheming of the group, he’s just a wet noodle. Instead of “coward” used, and boy is that word using, it would be replaced with privileged. As the youngest son, as a prince, he doesn’t need to blood his hands or stand for something, his protected life means he can afford to be weak, unlike Loulie and Aisha who have been forced to survive. And yet both these women have to mother him and praise him for doing something when he actually does something as if he were a child. Any looming romance would just make no sense and yet it’s inevitable.

Now the writing. The style is easy to read making this a relatively quick read because it’s easily digestible, there’s also some nice sections of story telling. But it’s also repetitive at times. Like I’ve said above, the word “coward” when describing Mazen, either in his narrative or in conversation, is used too freely it becomes tiresome. The trope of killing characters, dragging out their mourning and then bringing them back, also overused. Then another character is just casually killed off the page :/ There’s also vagueness on how the magic in the relics works, namely the body switching bangles. If you are injured when you have switched bodies, who is injured? Who would die? It’s not really explained and yet would have huge repercussions.

This is an enjoyable enough book as an adventure story, if Mazen weren’t in the book as a token love interest, make it about 2 strong women on opposite sides of a cause, or put Omar with Loulie on the adventure, and this would’ve been a totally different, more interesting dynamic. The writing is pleasant enough, the world building is enjoyable (although vague at times) but I don’t think I will continue with the books because I don’t want to tolerate a romance, but I would like to know more about Alisha’s future and more about Qadir’s past.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the writing in this one, and the story. My only issue was just at times it felt like a long read when it shouldn't have. However, it really is a stunning debut, I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

Really loved the arabian setting in this ya fantasy. The plot was interesting but I loved the characters more. You had the typical broody Prince, the jester, the bad ass femme fatale, the nerd, but in a fantasy world. Definitely recommend