A beautiful, sweeping narrative. It pulls in elements of fairy tales, certainly, but builds a world and plot all it's own. With a cast of complex characters and a constantly twisting plot, it's compelling in a way that keeps you reading through the long descriptive passages.

"The Theft of Sunlight" by Intisar Khanani is a captivating fantasy novel that continues the gripping journey started in "Thorn." In this sequel, the author masterfully expands the world she created, introducing new characters and delving deeper into the magical elements that define the series. The protagonist, Rae, faces even more complex challenges as she navigates political intrigue, magical mysteries, and her own inner struggles. Khanani's writing is immersive, drawing readers into a world rich with detail and nuance. With its engaging plot, well-developed characters, and exploration of themes like power, justice, and identity, "The Theft of Sunlight" solidifies Khanani's place as a talented storyteller in the realm of YA fantasy.

I absolutely loved all three books in this series! I purchased Thorn because I loved the cover art and I really enjoy fairytale retellings (Goose Girl!). Theft of Sunlight has such awesome female representation of sisterhood, disabilities, bravery, strength, and friendship. It ends on a cliff hanger but The Dauntless Path is already published!

Intisar Khanani is such a fantatsic author, she never dissapoints with her fantatsic storytelling. The Theft of Sunlight is no exception to this rule. It is a truly wonderful read that I will recommend to friends and followers alike. Thank you for the oppotunity to read it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I love how this book drew me in and captured my attention! The characters were well thought out and easy to root for.

I love the main character, Rae, so much. She is loyal, brave, smart (so smart!), and someone I would be honored to have in my corner.

I love the disability representation – Rae has a clubfoot that’s been present since birth and has been teased and treated differently because of it. In the book, she goes on a journey with it and I saw a lot of character growth and change in Rae – especially with having more faith and trust in herself. She came to a realization about herself and how she felt about her body that I loved to see.

I did read the first book in The Dauntless Path series, Thorn, and I do have to say that I really missed Thorn a lot. She was still in the second book, but more in the background, as Rae is in the main character. I just loved Thorn so much that I missed those characters and knowing her point of view. I very much appreciate how the book features an abused woman taking back her power – very inspiring.

Rae is such a strong character. She never wavers from her core, from what’s important to her. She always tries to approach things as carefully and conscientiously as possible, keeping a clear head in the most dire of circumstances.

The book ends on a cliffhanger and I am definitely reading the next one. Fantasy lovers, lovers of strong characters, people who want more disability representation in books, lovers of fairy tales… you will not regret picking up this series.

This book is perfect for you if you love:

🌻 Fierce and brave girls that will move mountains for those they love and innocent children preyed by the darkness that has fallen over their land;
🌻 Mysterious thieves with a touch of mischief;
🌻 Darkness looms in the shadows, waiting to consume a whole political and magical system;
🌻 A fantasy world inspired by Muslim culture;
🌻 Companion novels that give you a glimpse of the characters you left behind -- I love Alyrra and Kestrin sooooo much! I wish there was another book about them (or a short story).

I’ve always loved fierce and brave girls, who have a gentle side to them when they’re with their loved ones. Rae from A Theft of Sunlight is particularly one of my favourites: a female warrior with compassion, ready to sacrifice anything for her beloved sisters.

Despite having a disability, she never allow it to diminish herself, and simply let the fire in her heart continue burning as she fights to save those she cared for. Her feistiness can sometimes be worrisome, but leave it to Rae to survive two thief lords at the same time and a lot more dangers all by herself.

I may have loved Thorn more than anything in the Dauntless Path series, but A Theft of Sunlight owns a huge chunk of my heart too. With a relentless heroine like Rae, politics in court, an imperfect justice system, a certain handsome thief with soft hair, and a long wonderful royal wedding, what else can I ask for? This book is a literal perfection!

I love Thorn, and I was delighted to read the sequel! The story is very beautiful! I love how it takes place in a Muslim culture! The story is also evenly paced! Thus, this is a must read for fans of Shannon Hale, Jessica Day George, and Gail Carson Levine!

The Theft of Sunlight picks up almost where Thorn leaves off. Rae has come to court to figure out why children are getting snatched off of the street. While at court. Rae because a lady in wait for the Princess Alyrra. She meet other court members and guards who help her (and hinder her) quest for answers. There is a lot of maneuvering. You can tell Instisar put a lot of work into Rae's story. Great character development, lovable characters and a lot of determination!

It ends on a cliff hanger so be prepared!

I read the little novella and then dived into this one and I was hooked from page one. I love how Khanani's stories just pull you into from the very start. I loved every pages of this story and I can not wait to see what else this author has in store!

Intisar Khanani's writing gets more and more polished with each publication. I love the way she brings fantasy worlds to life and enjoy her compelling characters.

This is a beautiful fairytale fantasy read! As someone who reads a ton of fantasy novels I can truly say this one was great! It was beautifully written and very different from other fantasy books!

The Theft of Sunlight is a delight of a book. Khanani's thoughtful attention to critical social and cultural issues shines through on each page, beckoning the reader to re-examine systems of oppression and injustice wherever they may be found. Reading Khanani's prose was like watching a beautiful tapestry unfurl--so many glimmering threads woven into one piece. Rae was an implacable heroine, utterly believable in her authenticity and resourcefulness. At times, I was laughing out loud at her bravery and grit. Like the heroine, Khanani is unafraid to expose the institutions of greed and injustice that shadow our world, from the horror of human-trafficking to the cruelty of ableism. Similar to Thorn, the slow-burn romance of Theft is somewhat muted, but not insignificant. It would have been fulfilling to see the two express their affection more directly, but I have high hopes for a sequel. And what a high-stakes cliffhanger! I am eager to get the next book in my hands as quickly as possible!

Thank you for writing this book, I will be recommending it to future students who are of appropriate age.

This is a beautifully written story! I loved the characters, plots, and hard topics it addressed throughout. Rae is such a fierce heroine, and despite her own challenges, endlessly defends those who can't defend themselves. I loved watching her character grow through the book, especially as she learns to love and appreciate herself too. I was not expecting the cliffhanger ending and I'm not sure how I'm going to wait until next July until it comes out, but I really enjoyed this one! Fantastic YA that had great content while also maintaining a prose that made it hard to put down!

I adored Intisar Khanani’s Thorn, so I was super excited for the start of a new duology set in the same world – and I think I might have loved this even more?

The Theft of Sunlight is set a little while after the events of Thorn, and althought you don’t need to have read Thorn to jump straight in here as this is a new story with a new heroine, you will get a lot more out of a couple of the subplots if you are familiar with Thorn’s characters, as they form a significant part of the supporting cast. I definitely recommend at least reading the prequel short story The Bone Knife, which is in the back of the UK edition of Thorn – I think some aspects of the set up might be a little opaque without knowing Rae’s backstory and I really wish that story had been included here rather than in a different book. Anyway, it’s worth tracking down if you find the opening to The Theft of Sunlight a little confusing (and you’ll only benefit from reading Thorn if you haven’t already – you can see my review of that here!). Where Thorn was a reworking of The Goose Girl fairytale, this is not a retelling, but an expansion of the world that really adds depth to an already interesting setting.

Regardless of whether you’ve read anything else in this world, it’s easy to fall in love with Rae’s practical, go-getting attitude, and her determination to help everyone. She’s a little naive about the courtly world and the realities of city life, which leads to some sticky situations, but I think anyone who loves a fiercely kind and principled Tamora Pierce-ish heroine will find plenty to like about Rae. I loved her friendship with cheeky thief Bren, and it was great to see Alyrra, the heroine of Thorn, again – in fact, I don’t think there was a single character here I didn’t find compelling, even the ones I didn’t like!

I adore a court-adjacent fantasy, and this is a great one – I loved Rae’s fish-out-of-water view of all the decadence and plotting. But as well as all the glamour, this story does tackle some dark subjects, with Rae’s main quest being tracking down the perpetrators of a human trafficking operation, and the contrast works really well to highlight what’s wrong with both the court and the city. I loved how Rae’s investigations involved so much actual work – so often a main character can stumble across things by coincidence to further the plot, but Rae actually has to use her brain here, and I really enjoyed her smarts and the glimpses into the way the kingdom is run (you know I’m a sucker for some good statecraft).

The pace is nice and quick, and there’s always something going on even when Rae’s hit a block in her investigations, so even though this is over 500 pages, it was a really fast read for me as I was just so engrossed. I read it for the first time in a sleep-deprived haze in the middle of the night when my baby was a few weeks old, and because I was reading the ebook I didn’t notice the end of the book creeping nearer; when I hit the phenomenal cliffhanger, it took everything I had not to shout ‘NO’ aloud and wake the baby. I am desperate for the next book! And I’m so glad that Hot Key have picked it up in the UK – I’m keeping my fingers crossed for those of you elsewhere that the sequel will be available for you soon.

Intisar Khanani is fast becoming one of my favourite YA writers. Her work is so intelligent and kind, and she has a real knack for drawing a living, breathing society. I’ve mentioned Tamora Pierce in this review already, but if you’re looking for more court fantasy in that line, books that centre justice and humanity amidst their adventure, you really need to read this (and Thorn too). Five out of five cats!

The Theft of Sunlight is no ordinary YA fantasy, in the best way. It's not a light read but it is a great one. This book tackles important topics such as human trafficking, a broken justice system and disability all while infusing magic throughout.

I don't want to give too much away but, I'll just say it was a joy getting to see Rae, the main character going from being self-conscious of her disability to owning it and believing in herself. You can't help rooting for Rae as she uses her loyal-ness, fierceness and cleverness to fight for justice!

Also side note- We need the 3rd ASAP with that cliffhanger!!

Wow. I was not expecting you love this book as much as ai did. It is was simply amazing and a breath of fresh air!!

This YA fantasy novel did a fantastic job of avoiding a lot of tropes that many other YA books give in to. Differently abled, brave MC without super powers in a non-white fantasy world!

First of all, the MC is not the chosen one and doesn't have phenomenal cosmic power. She doesn't even have magic (*gasp*). What she does have is fierce determination, empathy, and a love of family. She also deals with how other people view her because she has a physical disability. Watching her deal with the prejudice and years of degradation was humbling. The setting is not full of white people, which was also refreshing. There's the HINT of a love interest but no insta love. You can really see how the two characters are building a realistic relationship built on mutual respect and ideas vs insta love or abuse (why does YA broadly romanticize abusive relationships seriously???). The MC is actually proactive and doesn't sit around waiting for the plot to happen to her (also refreshing in a YA book). 10/10

I received a free ARC from the publisher, which has not affected my review.

An incredible work from one of my favorite authors. The Theft of Sunlight follows Rae as she works to uncover the truth about the snatchers, but there are many familiar faces from Thorn. I loved getting to know those characters better, and seeing them continue to grow. The story gets moving quickly, and tackles human trafficking in a respectful way with all the gravity it deserves.

Favorite things:
Rae as a protagonist. She is so practical, principled, and uncompromising. When she’s done wrong she doesn’t excuse her actions, or let others excuse them for her. That was really cool to see, and gives the books a different feeling than a lot of other YA.

Seeing Alyrra and Kestrin working together and trusting each other more and more.

The descriptions of the weeklong wedding celebration!

Rae loves her family so much. Orphan hero/absent parents is super common in YA, so it was fun to see Rae having adventures despite having a tightknit family – and in fact drawing strength from her family’s love.

Having a protagonist with a disability that really affects her life and worldview, but in no way diminishes her dignity and autonomy.

Bren!

The cover is so beautiful!