A jewel! In all honesty, I almost stopped reading this book. But the reviews on it are so good I kept going and I am so glad I did. It started slow, but once you got into the book, wow. and then it stopped and now I want more. Of course!! Read this! its great!!

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

Aladdin retelling with The Selection vibes!

I'll read anything comparable to The Selection. That series was good book candy. Moreover, I love retellings soo of course I adored this book. I thought it was unique and fun. I'm rooting for the romance potential (a good slow burn). Adelaide is an interesting character but there are many more I'm invested in. I need more.

Impatiently waiting for the next books.

I really liked this book, and look forward to the next. I hope we learn about her parents and Nariman, but I like that there is already set up for other stories in this world for Bonnie and Ella. It’s also refreshing to see characters not only be flawed, but understand they are and realize there are issues with their behavior.

While it was predictable, I thought it was well done and I loved the introduction of the other Disney characters. I thought Adelaide was a well-rounded character and I found her motives to be very believable: when you have nothing and then suddenly have friends that are practically family, you would do whatever you could to protect them. You wouldn’t let them be taken from you without a fight. I’ll be reading the rest of the series when they come out.

I enjoyed this thoroughly - it was quick and fun, and contained what I guess you’d call a “spark” one of those enticing feelings that grows with every word - pushing you, albeit forcing you to keep reading to find it what comes next! Highly recommend.

I have to say, I am a little bit shocked that this book has received such a high overall rating on Goodreads. I am a big fan of fairytale adaptations, so I am always excited when I see such a highly rated new series in this category. Unfortunately, this did not live up to my expectations. I personally felt that the characters were flat and the story predictable. I always felt that I was several steps ahead, predicting the events that happen chapters before they actually occur. This was partly because the "reveal" set-up was not subtle, and partly because I have read this story before. This book was marketed as "The Selection meets Aladdin", but I did not realize exactly how similar to The Selection this book would be. This book lost big time originality points with me for this reason, and I have no desire to read the next two books in the trilogy.

On a more positive note, the cover art for this book is gorgeous!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Thief of Cahraman. It reminded me of The Selection but it also reminded me a little of the Red Queen series and Throne of Glass.

First off, I would like to thank the publisher and author for providing me this ARC to review. Please note that the version I read was an advanced copy, and certain events/language may be changed in the published edition.

Stars (Out of 10): 5/10 Stars

I took a few days to think over this book, and what I thought of it, as different parts of this book spoke to me more than others. All in all, I’d say it had a pretty weak start, and didn’t play up the plot points I thought it would, but I still found myself sucked into the story by the end of it.

I’m just gonna start off by saying that the synopsis gives away the entire main twist of the book (I had guessed it before I had even started reading), and even when I started reading, the foreshadowing was a smidge too obvious. Since that twist ended up being the climax of the plot as well, it led to a subpar finale overall. It also made the book feel as if it didn’t truly have an ending, as both the knowledge of the twist and reveal of the twist made it feel like more was needed to tie everything together.

Additionally, the beginning was fairly weak too. We spend a few chapters learning a small bit of the world, and of the main characters in Adelaide’s life, as well as the mundane worries in her day to day life, including of wanting to be liked by a boy. It wasn’t an intriguing start at all, and the only thing that kept me reading was the whispers of something grander and more magical later on. Additionally, the beginning was so heavy with obvious fairy tale references that it became tacky, especially in regards to the Cinderella character. I assume this is to either introduce the author’s other future works in the world, but it felt out of place here, since she never came again, not even in the narrator’s thoughts.

While Adelaide was interesting in her unique motivations, wanting to settle rather than travel and explore, it didn’t make for as interesting a narrator. Adelaide wasn’t interested in learning about the rest of the world + her/her mother’s past, even as more and more clues were laid before her, which made the reader less interested in it all as well. Adelaide also has the tendency to steal, and is seen as a successful thief, due to her rough childhood after her mother’s death. However, I had two main issues with this. Firstly, she doesn’t seem to be all that successful at all. The book starts with her in the middle of a robbery, and she explains how long it took to plan, but she still makes a mistake (just to introduce the Cinderella character). Then, throughout the rest of the book, she almost never is able to be successful alone, in terms of stealing and sneaking, and always requires being led by other characters. Secondly, Adelaide seems to randomly steal things, even though she doesn’t need to in the competition, as she’s surrounded by gowns and jewelry that were given to her as well as entirely taken care of. Since her stealing habit was born out of need, it feels weird to see it continued as strongly throughout the book, though I get it is a habit. Additionally, it seems to be an active trait as well, in the sense that the author needs to continuously remind us that she does this, with the moments sometimes breaking the flow of the story.

In terms of plot, it felt like there was both too much in focus and not enough actually happening. We seem to have two main plots, the competition and the heist, but instead of blending together well, they fought with each other instead. And still, even with two main plots battling for the domination of a scene, there were many dull moments, of simply characters hanging around or just to show time is passing. Also, even though the pacing didn’t feel weird, in hindsight it all moved rather fast. There was more than a week between stages of the competition, but we almost never saw any of it, making it seem like people were getting eliminated every other chapter.

However, despite all the issues I had with it, I still ended up getting hooked into the story around 50% of the way in. Something about the writing kept interested in the story (once the competition started/Adelaide left Ericuria), and it all seemed to move by really fast, perhaps due to how the story was paced. Most of the individual parts were fairly well planned and written, I just wasn’t a fan of how it all came together to form the overall novel. I’m curious about where the story will continue to go, but I’m not sure if I’ll be picking the next books up yet.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this for an honest review. The Selection meets Aladdin is definitely the best description of this book. Adelaide is a thief forced by a witch to compete in a selection of young women, who will try to become the bride of the prince of Cahraman. I found the book started off a bit slow, but it picked up. There were hints of other fairy tales here and there, and my one big peeve was the book ended abruptly.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The story is about Ada, who has been homeless and moving from place to place since her mother died. Once she's found a place she wants to stay, she's taken away by a witch who puts her in a contest against 49 other girls, and the winner gets to marry the prince of Cahraman.
This book was really entertaining. When Ada first goes to the competition, I didn't think I'd be able to remember one girl from another, but I was. Not every girl was focused on, which was good, because the four who were focused on each had their own personality.
The big I saw the twist coming, but the main character didn't so seeing her emotions when it happens was great. I'm honestly really excited to read the sequel.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

What I liked most about this book was the combination of The Selection with Aladdin. Being a fan of The Selection series, just having that alone would be enough for me to want to read this book, but to combine it with Aladdin?

I definitely view this book from several perspectives of fascination. The two ideas are so different, yeah Tempest was able to merge them in a story-line so well. Not only does this actually make a very interesting story, it actually works. It makes sense, it's not awkward, and it's good. I am so happy to say that.

I also really like the level of mystery and suspense the author had through the book. you can clearly see the hints she's setting up for the series in general, but she was able to organize and separate the book's individual arc with the series general arc very nicely, making a clean, comprehensible, yet still fun to read at the same time.

However, despite me liking the book and its idea, I just can't feel a huge missed opportunity with how this book did not involve a hate-love relationship or even a general slow-burn between Cyrus and Ada. They had really steady and slow encounters before their official "first meeting", and their entire scenario wouldn't have the potential to become an amazing shippable hate-love couple. Hopefully/maybe, the author could do that more in book two...but I doubt it *sigh*.

This book was definitely one of the most pleasant ARCs I’ve read recently! I appreciate how slowly (but stability) the author is building up the series arc, and I can’t wait to read book two to see how Cyrus and Ada’s relationship continues to prosper and grow.

I loved this book! This book started off with a girl living in a village scraping by and stealing to help herself survive. Then comes the twist, she is suddenly whisked off into another world and a beautiful romance happens! I’m wanting more! I became so engrossed in the story I stayed up late and finished the book in two days! I loved the puzzles, action, and the turmoil. All The characters are interesting, funny, and some are sad. The love story that is woven into the story kept me turning the pages to see what happened. It reminded me a little of the story “The Selection” but with a much better plot and interesting characters. It’s an awesome book and I want to read the sequel today lol

I really enjoyed this novel about Ada as she competed with highborn young ladies to win the hand of the prince while she tries to steal a gold lamp from the palace to free her friend and her friend’s father. There is intrigue and humor, as well as cat fights among mean girls as Ada and the others try to stay in the competition. What a fun read! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my fair and honest review. I can’t wait for book 2!

Omg. I... loved this book! And I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

The story was just so entertaining and the writing was absolutely great. You can easily picture everything that happens and the world it's set in.

I was a little afraid I wouldn't enjoy the competition since it's compared to The Selection (and I did not like that series mostly because of the characters if I can remember correctly since I read it years ago). I really didn't have any expectations for this book so it was a really nice surprise.

I loved the main characters (Adelaide and Cyrus) and also the side characters. I'm rooting for Aymen and I can't wait to learn more about him.

Besides the romance, I'm also curious to see if Adelaide manages to find what she's looking for in order to (view spoiler)

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for letting me read and review this book!

The subtitle The Selection meets Aladdin is definitely the best description of this book. Adelaide is forced to compete in a selection of young women, who will try to become the bride of the prince of Cahraman. However, Adelaide is no noble woman, she was a thief once. She was saved, but now (in order to save her rescuers) she must deceive everyone and win the contest.
Luckily for her, she meets the handsome Cyrus, who helps her on several occasions during the contest. Will Adelaide be able to win the contest? At the end of the book, the contest will be over, but not Adelaide's quest to save her rescuers. So find out for yourself in this retelling with a twist. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

The Selection meets Aladdin

ONE MONTH. FIFTY CONTESTANTS. ONE PRINCE. AN IMPOSSIBLE HEIST.



Thief of Cahraman was a delightful, genderbent retelling of Aladdin (with a few others in the mix - which I hope will be expanded on in future books!)


Ada is a headstrong, independent young woman who has learnt to navigate life wholly on her own. This has, however, led her to desperately desire a place to call home with people to call a family. She finds such a potential place with the Fairbons until she gets whisked away to a magical place in search for a golden lamp.


Her loyalties to the Fairbons gets used against her as a consequence for not stealing the golden lamp from the royal family of Cahraman. In order to gain access to find the lamp, she is entered into a contest to win the Prince of Cahraman.


The story tells the tale of friends made from unlikely lands, romance blooming in the secrets and that resilience and compassion is worth more than royal breeding.


I'm looking forward to the sequel Prince of Cahraman, which is due out in October 2018.
I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoy strong female characters, fairytales and developing romances.

So, I went into this with a little reluctance. I recently read another book loosely based on the Aladdin story and was highly disappointed.

I shouldn't have worried - this is a cute, bubblegum Aladdin/Bachelor mash up. And it's so much fun.

I loved our characters. Yes, I knew the identity of a certain someone immediately. Yes, I knew our final five immediately.

And I just didn't care.

I did care a bit that it's a cliffhanger. And, to be honest, the cliffhanger is kind of at a weird point in the book. I wasn't expecting it at all. But I'd read book two in heartbeat!

Simply a fun read.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

I have mixed feelings about this book. It starts off interesting, gets a little boring in the middle, and picks up again before delivering a killer ending that now has me eagerly waiting the next book. I love the movie Aladdin and the Selection book series so I decided to give this one a try and I've enjoyed the ride.

What was supposed to be a peaceful and quiet life for Adelaide suddenly turns chaotic when she's forced into a game to choose the next princess while also trying to steal a mysterious lamp. Then she meets Cyrus, an elusive servant in the palace who seems to take a liking to her and even tries to help with her quest.

This book is appropriate for ages 13 and up for mild language.

First of all, the cover of the book is very intriguing. The cover model is exactly as I envisioned her to be from reading the book. The synopsis drew me in to request this title and it was definitely a very enthralling read.

This is my first book by Lucy Tempest and I really enjoyed reading Thief of Cahraman. Her words indeed drew me in with the steady pacing and flow and the descriptions of the people and the scenery. The only thing that I would have liked more of was if she delved more into her world building. It's like the author started getting really into the descriptions, but then just stopped. If she had expanded the fantasy and mythical world in which the heroine lived in, then I would have felt more connected to the story. The little snippets of descriptions were still quite vivid and interesting so that had helped in learning a bit more of Ericura, Cahraman, and the other mystical countries. However, I wasn't too sure how any of the countries that the other ladies came from were connected to each other, or if they were even connected. Perhaps I was comparing it to our planet, where there were continents and countries.

I did like the main heroine, Ada and later on Cyrus, the mysterious "thief" and servant at the palace. Ada was described wonderfully - her easy mannerism and her big heart made me take her side every time she faltered or doubted herself. Ada was a thief by necessity, having been left alone to live with her best friend and her father. She also worked at a local tavern/bar and would defend the honor of those she cared and loved. Ada was sort of an anti-heroine. She wasn't perfect in any sense, but she would rather fight for someone else's honor than being made to look pretty or act like a demure lady. The description she gave herself was one of a giant lady, with dark hair and light skin that didn't quite match the natives of Ericura. Where she is truly from and who her mother was, it was a mystery in this story. I liked how Ada had no fear for herself, yet she wouldn't hesitate to do something to help those who desperately needed it. She endeared in my heart the more the story unfolded.

Then there was Cyrus - the mysterious servant and guard of the palace of Cahraman. While I did like Cyrus as he was kind and funny and helped Ada when she needed him. But the one thing that bugged me was how he so easily helped her get into the palace's treasury. I mean, why would someone so easily just trust a guest at the palace to find and steal a rare artifact? I wouldn't have trusted Ada so easily even if as a reader, I knew she had her own reasons for finding this mysterious artifact - a magical lamp. But Cyrus was a good guy and though he had his own secrets to hide, he was still a dashing and brave hero to Ada.

Other minor characters in the story helped the plot move along. While the plot was a bit slow now and then, it was leading up to something that was a big deal at the end. The description of the story indicates that it's a weaving or several fairy tales and similar to the story, The Selection. I did find elements of Cinderella and Snow White in the story and I suppose the choosing of the various brides from around the world was similar to The Selection.

Overall, Thief of Cahraman was a great book to read. I am definitely interested to read the next two installments to see how everything works out for Ada, Cyrus, and the other people in the Kingdom and the world.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

The Thief of Cahraman is the story of Aladdin with a twist. I loved Lady Ada and the Prince & that she was able to show her thief's talent in the bride competition. Tempest created a great talent of the underdog. Lady Ada definitely makes an impression on everyone she encounters. This is the first book in the series and I look forward to the next book and other offerings from this author.