Overall I enjoyed this book, and I will want to read the second book when it comes out.

This book is inspired by <i>One Thousand and One Nights</i> and several stories are told throughout (formatted quite nicely). One of the POV characters is also a storyteller and that comes into play in several different parts of the story.

There are 3 POV characters: the Midnight Merchant, who finds and sells jinn artifacts with her bodyguard/companion; a Prince, who has been rather sheltered his whole life; and a thief, who has her own agenda.

Much of this book takes place while several of the characters are traveling together. And although they do have adventures along the way, I found this section of the book to be the least interesting. I liked the beginning, in setting up the characters, and the ending better. But the ending seems almost a little too fast paced and it was hard to keep up with everything going on, especially with the jinn.

One of the tropes listed for this book is found family, which is one of my favorite tropes; however, the group in this book doesn't really feel like a found family. Maybe that will happen as the trilogy continues, but they barely work together most of the time in this book.

I do think the book does set up a good foundation for the rest of the trilogy.

Arab inspired fantasy and literature is my favorite kind of literature. I might be a little biased given that I, myself, am arab but that’s besides the point.

Loulie was such a refreshing protagonist. I love seeing arab women doing their thing and her dynamic with the other characters was something so beautiful to see.

This book deserves five stars just for the depictions of arab food, dances, and just culture in general. It’s so rare to see them represented well and it’s clear that although the author is arab, her research goes beyond her own experiences. Being able to see arabic words transliterated and not left in italics leaves me with such an indescribable joy.

I cant wait to see more from this series and more from this author.

A solid debut novel!

This book follows three points of view: a legendary thief with a jinn bodyguard/father figure, a sheltered prince thrust on a journey he’s highly unqualified for, and a mysterious jinn hunter who may or may not be trustworthy. The last, Aisha, was by far my favorite character (unfortunately the one with the least POV chapters). She was intriguing and badass, and I wanted to know more about her throughout the story. The other two main characters were pretty standard, and I wish they had a bit more depth. I didn’t connect with them as much as I hoped to.

The descriptions of the various locations were detailed and vivid, though the overall worldbuilding was pretty basic. A lot of time was spent on the characters’ journey through the desert, and while there was plenty of action throughout to keep it from going stale, readers who don’t enjoy reading about travels to a destination may find this story slow at times.

While I think this book could have been stronger in some areas, I think Abdullah has a lot of potential in the future!

This Middle Eastern inspired fantasy was such a fast paced, adventurous book! It was non stop action, revelations and twists! The world building was great, and the characters were well written! I have always been a sucker for books with Jinn, lush deserts and magic, and this book was all that and more! I can’t wait to see what is next for Loulie, Mazen and the gang!

A fun fantasy book that cured my reading slump! I recently read a fantasy book awful enough to make me swear off the genre for a time. I was so sure that the genre was a lost cause but this book made me think otherwise. I think that that's a testament to how good this book was! Excited for what's to come and can't wait to immerse myself once again in the world and the characters' lives in the sequel.

Lush storytelling and endearing characters. This was a beautiful novel that only reminded me of my own love for the cultural roots that is storytelling. Still, in its beauty I found myself wanting more complexity, more stakes in the aftermath, and ending where our characters don't run away and leave it to someone else. The Stardust Theif reads like a YA Fantasy, and while there is nothing wrong with that, I was going in expecting the dark and fascinating intrigue I've come to love about Adult Fantasy. The novel reads easy and slowly, again not all bad things, but this did take away from my overall excitement.

Chelsea Abdullah is a new must-buy author, and I couldn't be happier!

The Stardust Thief took me on a rollercoaster of emotions... to put it simply. I went from laughing to screaming to hyperventilating to biting my lip and obviously— finally— to crying. These characters are a breath of fresh air, and I love their continuous journeys into moral ambiguity as well as their self discovery into their personal identity. Loulie will always hold my heart because she reminds me of my own ambition and curiosity, especially when it comes to situations where you really shouldn't be curious haha. Mazen reminds me of one of my favorite underutilized trope— the teddy bear male lead. He's honestly the epitome of a clutzy prince, running around trying to help bu only making it worse. It's amazing! Aisha, in many ways, reminds me of my typical fantasy women because she's strong, loyal, and absolute in her decision making (at least until the ~thing~ happens). You can tell an author is phenomenal with their characters when they can create side characters nearly as fleshed out as the leads. Qadir comes to mind immediately as well as Ahmed.

I couldn't tear myself away from this story, and even during the slower portions of the novel, I was entertained by witty banter, dynamic new environments, or political intrigue. Every scene had a point to be made in terms of the overall plot, and I love simply getting to enjoy it. My only real critique in terms of world building is that I wish Omar was in more scenes. Now I know why he wasn't because he's a scheming lil' prince, but I couldn't help but want more. He's the Stardust Thief himself, so I thought he would've played a much more significant role throughout the entirety of the story besides sending the entourage on their quest,

One of the best surprises when it comes to debuts is great writing. I wasn't necessarily expecting bad writing, but I was blown away by Chelsea's ability to double task with world building and purple prose. The dialogue drew my attention but never felt forced or out of character. Even when the actual stories arrived, they felt fundamental to the story, and I loved her slight shift in storytelling in those moments. It felt distinct from her own writing, but it still held that magic from the main story. Basically, she gave me a beautiful world to consume as well as prose that felt lifelike in description. Besides Omar, the fighting descriptions were the only other issue I found because I could not picture them well, particularly the last one, but that could be due to the inherent chaos of the scene.

Overall, I need the sequel like yesterday please because I cannot wait over a year for more! Not after that cliffhanger!!

Thank you to Orbit Books for letting me review an eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have been blessed in getting arcs that I am so anticipated to read, so thank you, netgally and publisher, for approving me of this again.

I have always preferred characters over plot. I truly believe that a book will feel flat for me if I didn't care for the characters. So many stories are like, except for the Stardust Thief. I love every single one of them especially Mazen. I love my himbo, my bff.

I didn't give this a higher rating because I truly believe that Chelsea Abdullah can be better. Her writing and her world are so good but I do think she can improve. And I can't wait to see that next book

This book was insane it kept me on the edge of my seat for hours. The writing was just so beautiful and it followed some of the styles of traditional arab literature/ poetry which added so much to the book. Even the small references to arab culture had me going insane because it’s so rare that we find authors who actually are from the region/research writing about it. The setting and characters were just so intricate that I reread it right after because I didn’t want to leave the book. This is going to be one of those books I buy for friends’ birthdays because I need to force them to read it.

"The Stardust Thief"
I'm absolutely sure that all my friends will be OBSESSED with this story. It's an *ADULT* Arabic story with everything I like, a wonderful retelling of a tale I love and was passionate about as a child. The book has so many events that I didn't expect and the ending of it is WONDERFUL and it's just the beginning of a trilogy that I think will be very famous in the world of books when it launches, in May. I CAN BARELY WAIT.
5 stars.

*Spoiler free*

This was a bit of a weird book for me, because I thoroughly enjoyed so much of it, and yet I didn't fall in love with any of them. I think it's a fantastic book, but all my feelings boil down to it just wasn't for me.

The characters are extremely strong, and the dynamics between them are even better. Grumpy Father Figure and Headstrong Daughter can't be put in front of me without me becoming a sucker for their entire dynamic. And these are only two characters. There's a legendary thief, a cowardly prince, and a prince with lofty ambitions. That's only scratching the surface. There is quite a lot going on, but it's excellently crafted.

The world was also so vast and so well built. There is so much there, and on top of the many characters, it created for a book with an incredible amount of death.

Though, I did feel like that the plot was jerked to the side multiple times for what looked like side plots to take place, but they were actually the main plot. I don't know if this had to do with my expectations for book or something else, but it just wasn't my favorite part.

Overall, this was not a bad book! I did enjoy it, even if some parts didn't quite ring as true as others.

Unfortunately, something about this writing style led me to give up on this title around 15%—there was nothing wrong with it at all— "It's not you, it's me" kind of thing—but yeah, super sad about it. I was my most anticipated book of 2022.

Loulie al-Nazari, the Midnight Merchant, trades in relics-- items that carry jinn magic. When the sultan tracks her down and forces her to go on a journey to find one of the greatest relics of all time, she forms a reluctant alliance with the prince and one of the legendary forty thieves. Together with them, Loulie and her bodyguard Qadir-- a jinn posing as human-- set off on a mission rife with danger, knowing things are not as they seem.

The Stardust Thief drew me in from the very beginning, and had me breathless throughout. It's a beautifully written story full of intrigue, compelling characters, and a world full of wonder. It was one of my most anticipated books of 2022 and it absolutely did not disappoint.

This was a really fun book. I loved the setting, and how many different tales from the One Thousand And One Arabian Nights were woven into the plot. I enjoyed the variety of characters, and how the plot didn't go how I expected it to go, but was still satisfying. Definitely recommended if you love some Middle Eastern-inspired fantasy that whisks you off into magic-fueled adventure!

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Stardust Thief is a wondrously rich fantasy with all the depth and power of a story that's thousands of years old. Secrets unfurl with every chapter, because nothing is at it seems in this story. I love the characters we meet on this journey and felt their emotions and motivations keenly. I am very much looking forward to more work from Chelsea Abdullah and will be recommending this to all my friends!

This was amazing. I loved the way the author did a retelling of the Arabian Nights and merged them with her own story. Can't wait for the sequel.

I loved this book. It helped fill my "City of Brass" stories perfectly! Based on the stories from the Arabian Nights, this novel takes the reader on a journey through the world of Jinn and politics. Loulie is an awesome character to follow, with flaws that she recognizes and tries to overcome. Several scenes drew me to tears, which is a feat for a book! I recommend this book very highly!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because I do think the series and writer have potential. There's a lot to like about the Stardust Thief, and while I am giving it "only" 3.5 stars, I don't think it's a bad book (nor should 3 stars should be considered a bad rating, although I know many see it as such). It simply did not really grab me the way that I hoped it would.

First, what's good: Chelsea Abdullah is a good writer. While I would not go so far as to call this prose lyrical, as some have, I think the prose is solid. I was never confused about what was going on, nothing is cringey about the dialogue, the descriptions give me a sense of the place even if they're not particularly poetic. The book is very readable, and although the writing style is not as descriptive or dense as some adult fantasy, nor does the prose feel juvenile.

The story's premise is also a good one. The basic idea is that the main character, Loulie, finds and sells djinn relics on the black market. The sultan learns about this ability of hers and sends her after a legendary epic, a potentially deadly mission into djinn lands. She brings with her her djinn bodyguard (who is also her closest friend and coincidentally, a djinn), a prince, and one of the prince's elite fighters. Interspersed with the narrative are actual folktales from 1001 Nights, from which the book takes some of its inspiration.

The cultural details, from Arabic words peppered throughout to the descriptions of foods to the architecture, make the world feel rich and alive. The worldbuilding, mostly inspired from real world Arab culture, feels at once familiar and fantastic. Although I don't speak Arabic I have decent layman's understanding of the history and culture of the region, being a historian myself, but I feel like even a reader without any background knowledge would not feel lost or out of their depth with only the author's worldbuilding to go by. There are mysteries to the worldbuilding, but their slow unraveling is part of the plot, and we learn about them along with the characters.

Where The Stardust Thief fell short for me: I had a very hard time investing in the story. Perhaps due to the rather episodic nature of the 1001 Nights structure, halfway through the book I still wasn't quite sure what direction book 1 was headed. It takes a painfully long time for the main story in The Stardust Thief to really get started, which is fine, I don't mind a slow burn story, but in this case it also felt a bit unnecessary.

Part of this is due to the choice to write a multi POV story with characters who are all on the same journey. There are three main POVs, the Midnight Merchant, Loulie, the prince, Mazen, and the fighter, Aisha. Despite these characters being in the same place, they have very little emotional attachment to each other, so their interactions are often very surface level (with the exception of Loulie and her bodyguard, who is not, incidentally a POV character). However, the presence of the POVs also means that the main events of the book are often rehashed multiple times. When a big event happens during the halfway mark, we experience it from two characters' POVs, then we experience the aftermath, we get several characters examining the same event and reflecting on it. Multiple POVs in the same place work best when each character gives a new perspective on the same event, or character A notices something that character B does not, or interprets the event in a different way, or tells the story differently (think Rashomon). While the voice of each character is distinct enough in The Starlight Thief, the perspective each character brings isn't really fresh enough to warrant three POVs.

Of all the relationships in the book (none of which are romantic, so far), the friendship between Loulie and her bodyguard Qadir is by far the most satisfying one to read. It's obvious they have a long history and their respect and affection for each other is shown through their actions and the way they relate to and think about each other. I appreciate that we're not simply told that their friendship is important to each other, it's demonstrated. Likewise Prince Mazen, who is a bit of a disaster, is shown to be a disaster. He makes huge mistakes and sometimes those mistakes have real consequences. Nevertheless, he's sympathetic and we hope to see him growing more competent and gaining a sense of purpose. That said, perhaps because I was never quite certain what the characters really wanted, or what the emotional stakes were, I had a hard time connecting to them. They had all the ingredients necessary in good well rounded characters, but I kept waiting to really care about them, and while there were moments, I never fully bought in.

This is the first book in a trilogy, and book 2 could really ramp things up for all I know, so I am keeping an open mind. The Stardust Thief is not a bad book, but for me it doesn't quite cross that line from good to great.

This book was a little confusing at first, and a little slow, but once it sped up a bit, it hooked me! I loved the characters, and I loved the story! I love how it transported me to another world!

The Stardust Thief was my most anticipated release in 2022 and to some extent, it did live up to the hype. Let's break it down.

Overview:

♥️ Fairy tale retelling
♥️ No romance
♥️ Jinn/human friendships
👍 Multi POV
👍 Morally good characters with a touch of grey)
♥️ Adventure story

Quick recap: The Stardust Thief follows a seller of illegal magic (Loulie) as she is coerced into retrieving a magic item by the Sultan. She travels with the sultan's son in disguise (Mazen), as well as one of the oldest prince's 40 thieves (Aisha) and her Jinn partner.

This is first and foremost an adventure book. It's written with the same cadence as recent released like The Jasmine Throne or The Unbroken, but the execution itself is actually a little closer to Shadow of the Gods or a Sanderson book. Don't pick this up expecting massive character studies, flashy politics, or epic romance.

If you are looking for a book with sweeping, epic action scenes and incredible magic, you are going to love The Stardust Thief. If you love storytelling within a story, monsters that can be friend or foe, and Arab folklore this is your story.

The story follows beats from One Thousand and One Nights and weave these tales in seamlessly. Its so beautiful seeing these fairy tales come together naturally and revealed over the course of the story. Some are told as tall tales by main characters, but many are actually written into the bones of the book, with different characters playing different roles from folklore. This also influences the spirit of the book's storytelling.

You have a ton of action scenes and moments where our heroes are stopped in their travels to deal with monsters, evil humans hiding in the shadows, spoiled royals, and more. Again, these moments are perfectly woven into the fabric of the plot.

The characters might be my biggest disappointment, but I want to be clear that they are by no means bad. There are 3 POVs, and each character is relatively predictable and played safe. They are all incredibly charming and likable, each with great and distinct voices, but there are not a lot of risks taken with the characters. Aisha, the elder princes thief is probably the most complex character in the bunch, but she can also be a little more tedious to read because her motivations are relatively ignorant and her main focus is revenge. Mazen is a cowardly, kind prince inspired by his mother's storytelling. He will be quite popular with some readers but I was not very interested in him.

Loulie is a wonderful baby angel, and her relationship to Qadir is unquestionably the strongest relationship in the book. They have a beautiful bodyguard codependent friendship going on and their moments together are the hi light of the character interactions.

None of these characters connect too much and you are mostly watching them deal with their own problems, which can. be disappointing at times. They do become something a little closer to friends later in the book, but the character relationships are not the focus of the story. I say this because going in knowing that can help manage expectations so you can enjoy the other great things The Stardust Thief has to offer. As a side note, there was no romance which I absolutely LOVED, because if romance comes later it will be EARNED. If the book plans on not having any romance at all, that is also awesome. Either way, more books where nobody gets together in the first book!!!!

The book is named after Omar, the eldest prince and the villain of the series. Im actually most intrigued to learn more about him..particularly because the book is named after him; but he is also set up as one of the more layered characters.

If I had one thing I would say i'd like to see improve in book 2, it would be for Chelsea Abdullah to take a few more risks or develop some of her darker characters. There is so much potential here and despite my criticisms, this was a genuine joy to read cover to cover. Its a very strong debut and i'm fairly confident I will be following this author's career moving forward (including the next installment of The Sandsea Trilogy).
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