Thank you to Metgalkey and the publisher for the arc of this book.

This is a retelling if you will of the Thousand and One Nights folklore. Loulie is the Midnight Merchant who illegally sells magical relics of the Jinn, in Disney’s Aladdin they would be the genie. She gets caught by the sultan and tasked with obtaining a special lamp for him or die. She, Prince Mazen, a thief and Qadir her Jinn friend set out together encountering many adventures and twists along their journey.

A truly well done Arab fantasy/myth book. Quick paced and adventurous. I loved how the stories were woven in and when she had a story teller actually tell the whole of one of the Arabian Nights tales. Truly clever writing of Jinn, their magic and having to hide. The characters were all multidimensional dealing with change and an uncertain future. We get multiple POVs. Mazen’s was honestly the weakest and he never got better.

It did feel a little long but I feel this was done intentionally to represent oral stories of the culture. Overall was well written and I’ll look forward to the next one.

The Stardust Thief is a fantastical character-driven story of adventure across a sea of shifting sands on an impossible journey to find an ancient relic in a hidden jinn city.

Loulie is the Midnight Merchant, known for procuring rare magical relics that she illegally sells in the Night Market. When the sultan hears of her and her abilities after she saves the life of his son, he summons her to the palace to blackmail her into going on a quest for him if she wants to keep her life: find an ancient lamp that houses a jinn king inside, buried thousands of years ago somewhere in the vast Sandsea. Accompanied by her jinn bodyguard, the best thief in Madinne, and one of the sultan’s sons, Loulie sets out into the desert to find the magical relic, which she knows will have deadly repercussions for jinn everywhere if it ends up in the hands of the sultan.

I absolutely loved this book! I have been excited to read it for months ever since I saw the stunningly gorgeous cover design, and it did not disappoint.

The Stardust Thief feels similar to The City of Brass while still being entirely its own story. I love that. Readers who loved that series need to read The Sandsea Trilogy next. The Daevabad Trilogy was incredible, and I’m so excited to find something similar—an Arabian fantasy about deserts, magic, jinn, and politics. I might even like The Stardust Thief more though…

This book was very easy to read and become immersed in. I feel like I flew through it, which is not normally the feeling I have while reading a long adult epic fantasy. I loved Chelsea Abdullah’s writing style, and it was very easy to get lost in these pages. It also helped that this book had very short chapters, which is always a good thing in my eyes.

I loved every character. Loulie is cunning and smart and strong. Mazen is delicate and precious and definitely my favorite character. Qadir is mysterious and safe. Aisha is hard-hearted and severe but I still liked her determination and resilience. Ahmed is charming and happy. Even Omar has his good moments too.

One thing that I didn’t really understand, however, is why the jinn killers are also so interested in jinn relics. They want the magical artifacts imbued with jinn magic, but the jinn can’t make them if they’re dead, and the killers’ goal is to slay every jinn. So that didn’t really make sense to me. I get that it’s about being powerful, but you have to keep some jinn alive so they can create more relics.

The Stardust Thief is full of unexpected plot events. I wouldn’t necessarily say plot twists because I believe a plot twist is when you expect the plot to go in one direction but then it suddenly “twists” and goes this other direction. This book is more along the lines of you have no idea what will happen next, so when the plot progresses you’re surprised because you never would have guessed that the characters would end up here or do this thing because it’s an unconventional outcome, but you roll with it anyway. So many things happened in this book besides what the synopsis on the cover alludes to, and I liked that because it made the story feel like it had more depth.

My only real complaint is that the last fifty or so pages had a lot of reveals in them that weren’t fully explained because the plot was moving along so quickly, and I’m not sure if I fully understand everything that happened or the implications of it all. The main characters would have these revelations of knowledge, but they wouldn’t outright say what they figured out, and it made me feel dumb because I wasn’t catching on. Sometimes the “obvious” things were not as obvious as they seemed. Other than that though, I have no complaints about this book. It was so very good.

I’ve recently discovered that I love Arab fantasies. Give me more of them. I appreciated that the Arabic words in this book were used in a way that the reader could intuit their meaning. Including them made the story feel genuine, but I’m also grateful I didn’t have to stop to define every new word because Chelsea Abdullah used them organically.

Overall, The Stardust Thief was phenomenal! It is a story for lovers of stories and adventures. Mini tales are dispersed throughout the novel, and I loved seeing how they were woven into the story after they appeared. I am so excited I got to read this book early, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the trilogy because I know I am going to love it. Any fantasy fan out there has to pick this one up.

4.5/5 - My rating for this book fluctuated between 4 and 5 stars so we're just going with 4.5! I am always one to immediately pick up fantasy books inspired by other cultures and written by women, and I LOVED this Arab fantasy written by an Arab woman! It was a little difficult to get into initially (sometimes it takes time to catch up with the world building that's happening when I jump into a new series), but I felt like the pacing was decent throughout, and it sped up exponentially for the last 40% of the book. The way that Abdullah wrote stories within stories in a way that seamlessly integrated into the narrative was artful and so well done. I thought each of the characters was well-developed, although some seemed more like YA characters than fully fledged adults. I love the magic system, and I hope we get to explore it more in the future books in the series! The last probably 15% of the book was just one after the other of "I should have seen this coming and yet I didn't see this coming at all" moments where the pieces that Abdullah set up early in the book fell into place.

This book reminded me a lot of The Daevabad Trilogy by SA Chakraborty, but with more magic and less political intrigue. I will definitely be buying this one for my bookshelf and *begging* NetGalley for ARCs of the next books in the trilogy. I MUST know what happens!

OH MY GOD???? That was literally the best fantasy book ive read in awhile.. This Arabian fantasy was everything.. The fantasy in this book the magic EVERYTHING was on point. Not 1 filler chapter every chapter was amazing. Not even kidding. Such strong powerful women in this book and i loved every second of it. So many powerful iconic characters and it makes me so excited for book #2 I NEED IT NOW. This book had villains and thinks would change and i wouldnt expect stuff ever. Such a fast paced fantasy such detailed writing..

The worlds and cities were so beautiful.

The rep was amazing in this book. The characters development was amazing. I cant say ONE bad thing about this book. This book was one of my highly anticipated reads of 2022 and i am so glad i got this arc.

I loved the magic in this novel the author's imagination is amazing. Seriously this was a phenomenal book.

STRONG 5 stars. If i could give more i would!!

Thank you netgalley for this arc!

The book is a modern day version of 1001 Arabian Nights. Abdullah does a phenomenal job of describing the world in deep depth. I enjoyed the plot and was captivated with storyline. It's well worth the read and I look forward to the next in the series.

A beautiful book about the nature of story-telling! I love the richness of the folklore/mythology, and the way that the tales were woven into the primary story. Qadir is a fantastic character!

Everybody loves a grumpy adoptive dad. Chelsea Abdullah writes with such splintering and beautiful agony that I was left with every bone broken, every vessel cut, and my ashes nothing but fragrant dust.

With storytelling like One Thousand and One Nights, pick up The Stardust Thief and enter a world of quests, legends, romantic princes, sibling rivalry, and unfriendly thieves under a desert’s starry night sky. Loulie al-Nazari, the Midnight Merchant, hunts and sells magical relics with jinn bodyguard, Qadir. When she saves the Sultan’s youngest son, Mazen, she’s thrown into his father's privileged world. Along with a cowardly prince, a grumpy jinn bodyguard, and an irritable swordswoman, Loulie must pursue a legendary land for an ancient magical lamp. Join this reluctant group as they face a vengeful jinn queen, vicious killers, and heartrending truths. You’ll enjoy the feel of the glittering sand underneath Loulie’s feet, the brush of the wind as Mazen gazes at the stars, and the longing of a soft-hearted prince as he looks upon a girl sharper than a bloodied knife. Watch the tightening of their hearts as they dance a drunken night of riches and laughter, and cry with them every step of the way, be it in happiness or heartache. Qadir’s grumpy but lovable adoptive dad persona will inspire you to hug anything within grasp as you find yourself desperate for that comforting but heartbreaking dynamic. Abdullah writes stories like a sparkling, burning thing painted against the pitch-black night, ever out of our reach. Gently touched with lyrical writing, Abdullah’s talent is making you feel like magic exists. You will be obsessed, trying to hold onto the magic, and dripping in the madness of your own making.

What a lush, stunning adventure!

This book absolutely dripped with scintillating magic. Every tiny drop more that I read about just left me in pure wonderment, I was so thoroughly enchanted by the world building.

The characters were robust, charming (even the non charming ones) and kept me hooked, even in the slower paced moments. I really loved Loulie, she is such a strong, smart, badass heroine. She was tough, but had some amazingly tender, vulnerable moments. Actually, all the female characters in the book were top notch. There's not a single one who I didn't find unique and memorable.

The pace was great, although I personally kept having to pull away from the text to look up specific terms and turns-of-phrase. That is probably my own ignorance/language barrier bias coming through, but it did take me out of the scenes a bit.

A must-read for lovers of magic and fantasy!

Luscious, adventurous, and dangerous, this is the book that every fantasy fan should pick up. With characters that jump off the page, and tales that suck you in like the sand tempest in the story, THE STARDUST THIEF has the potential to become an instant classic. Definitely pick it up!

This was such an INCREDIBLE debut. The world was fleshed out at once, the characters distinguishable and charming in their own ways. Literally got me out of a reading slump, kind of incredible, continuing Orbit's amazing run of their debuts.

Would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read a character-driven epic fantasy which draws you in like a warm hug.

3.5 stares for me. Lots to like about this book. I really loved the use of stories and story telling as both a plot device and a way to help build the world, I love the way magic was used, and I'm very curious to see what happens next.

Yet I couldn't help but feel I was reading a novel based on a movie - the plot lurches from huge action sequence to huge action sequence and there are far too many pages of bloody fighting for my liking. That emphasis sacrifices some time spent getting to know the characters better; which means there's a lack of depth and emotional connections with them - I honestly didn't care that much for anyone. I didn't hate them, but I also felt they were a bit one dimensional. I'd like to see more character development and fewer ghouls.

The Stardust Thief is intricate, rich with detail, and completely unputdownable. It's inspired by the Arabian Nights and follows Loulie, the Midnight Merchant with a secretive past, her bodyguard Qadir, and the cowardly (but adorable) Prince Mazen. Although the plot was definitely intriguing and kept my attention, it's the characters that really made this book for me. I loved Mazen so much, and I liked Loulie and Qadir a lot too, especially their banter.

Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. That is a debut! This book was a fun romp through the wild heat of the desert, steeped in magic and dripping with violence (but not in a gory way).

I loved the magic in this book. The jinns were fantastic, their magics and histories were intriguing, and while the beginning was a little slow to get going (which I think was a mood thing for me and nothing to do with the book itself), it picked up pretty quickly. The relics were so much fun - think Xiaolin Showdown meets A Thousand and One Nights.

But do you know what is disappointing? I read this one early... which means my wait for book two will be longer than the average reader. *stomps feet* Not fair!

Highly recommended. Definitely will pick up book two as soon as it's available to me!!!

The writing style reminded me a lot of the scifi series: Kushiel's Dart, very dreamlike. If you like writer's like Jacqueline Carey then the Stardust Thief is for you. Or BBC dramas. Definitely will make you think. I'm still trying to decide if I like the ending or not, but different can be good. The humor is a little dry compared to American so gave it 4 stars instead of 5, but that's just a personal taste. Overall look forward to seeing what else the writer pens.

The Stardust Thief is a story about memory. About remembering ones past, those you love, and those you sometimes wish you could forget. As much as this is touted as a retelling, it’s more so just proving what memory does to us all as a collective culture.

We remember with stories, and their importance can never be trivialized, especially as we continue to find new and different ways to keep them alive.

I loved these characters. They were damaged, and flawed, but they loved each other in their own way and time. Their relationships were precarious, and unsteady. Fitting for a book that spends most of its time on the always changing desert landscape.

I believed this narrative. I believed the betrayal and the conflict, and the search for meaning and purpose. This is a series I’ll see through until the end.

A retelling of Arabian Nights by an Arab author, one full of action and intrigue!

Genre: Adult Fantasy
Ages: 16 plus
Available for preorder on Amazon- release date is may

Screening: mention of gods being the creators of jinn and man, mentions of alcohol and drinking, mentions of dancing and music, seduction by a female jinn, jinn/fantasy/magic, battle/killing, (nothing is really gory or crude).

Loulie AlNazari is the midnight merchant, a collector and seller of Jinn relics (similair the lamp of the genie in Aladdin, relics contain remnants of Jinn and have powers). When the Sultan of the city commands her to get him a relic from a Jinn city no one has ever gone to before, she is joined by his son, her bodyguard, and a Jinn assasin. Together, this crew of four have to battle nature and foes to make it. But what they discover along the way could change them all forever.

The Arab rep in this book seemed authentic, and this is a book where an own voice Arab author is key. The Arabic language was correct and spoken well (I have read a book before supposedly based as an Arab fantasy but with the Arabic language all wrong in it and it drives me nuts). The Arabic food, Arabic clothing, and even the names all really flowed together to make it a well-written retelling of Arabian Night!

A note: nothing Islamic or Muslim in the book (besides saying Salaam as a greeting), but it is not meant to be a Muslim book.

I enjoyed reading this book; it def is a read to be savored over time, such as a true storytelling in Arabia (hakawatys in Syria for example). And even when I would come back to it after a while (like Sharazad’s tales each night), I would easily be able to follow along and get sucked back into the story and understand it. It was one interesting event after the other and the plot moved quickly forward and the story got better as it went along. I loved the little stories in the book and the little references to Arabian nights.

Ended on a cliffhanger, so I can’t wait for the next book!

What did you think? Of course five stars! It is as if this book was written specifically for me—Arabian night-inspired, deep lore, expansive world that you wish existed, and of course, MAGIC! Loved the two protagonists, the witty merchant & the cowardly royal, and DEFINITELY looking forward to seeing more of them!

I've decided the most important thing for me in stories is that the narrative structure feels like something new. A world can be expansive and imaginative, characters can be heartfelt and complicated, but I will struggle to rate a book above three stars if the story doesn't leave a memorable impression in my mind. The Stardust Thief fell into this trap. The setting was unique and brilliant, but the story and characters didn't feel like anything I haven't read before. I've also talked about this in other reviews but I feel like there has been a trend in recent "adult" fantasy in which the characters are aged up but the complexity of themes does not mature along with them. Not to say that. I haven't read some deeply thematically complex YA, but I feel like having older (read: late teens to early/midtwenties) does not an adult fantasy novel make. I liked Mazen and loved Qadir, but found Loulie to be aggravating and shallow. I did really enjoy Ayesha and wished she had more page time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and I honestly loved this book.

In "The Stardust Thief," Loulie al-Nazari, who's also known as the Midnight Merchant, makes a living hunting for enchanted magic items. Selling them is a very profitable business, but also a very illegal one. So, Loulie does her best to keep a very low-profile using disguises and aliases to mask her true identity. That works well for her until it doesn't. Everything changes after she saved the life of Prince Mazen, which draws the attention of his father, the Sultan. The Sultan blackmails her into going on a secret mission to find a magic lamp hidden in the middle of the Sand Sea. She embarks on the quest to find the lost city of the jinn and that magic lamp. It's a dangerous journey filled with bandits, ghouls and deadly jinn magic.

The story is heavily inspired by the Thousand and One Arabian Nights and I loved it. This story has everything you'd want from a novel inspired by the stories of Scheherazade: a cowardly prince, a magic lamp, ghouls, jinn and a dangerous quest across a vast desert. The story really pulled me in, and I got really attached to the characters. For me, it was literally un-putdownable.

I heartily recommend "The Stardust Thief" by Chelsea Abdullah. It's an outstanding debut from a talented new author. I give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

Neither here nor there, but long ago...

I was going to rate this a 4.5 but whatever I rounded up I'm very simple: if I thoroughly enjoy a book it gets a great rating from me.

The Stardust Thief is an own-voices fantasy debut from Chelsea Abdullah, inspired by the stories from Arabian Nights. Fans of the Sands of Arawiya duology and the Daevabad trilogy should pick this up.

As I said, I enjoyed this one. It follows 3 POVs: Loulie, the "Midnight Merchant"; Mazen, a cowardly prince; and Aisha, one of Prince Omar's forty thieves. They, along with Loulie's bodyguard, Qadir (who is also secretly a jinn in a world where most humans try to hunt and kill them), embark on a quest to find a magical artifact --what else, other than a lamp containing a jinn powerful enough so that the Sultan can eliminate the jinn once and for all, of course!

This was a fun adventure, but the real strong point here for me is the characters. Mazen is my sweet summer child who just loves stories and wants to explore the world. Loulie is so smart and cunning I love her - girlboss, gatekeep, etc. Aisha is a warrior who has been so focused on revenge and has possibly the mosti nteresting development of all three but I really can't say anything because it is very spoilery.

This has found family trope galore and it's so satisfying. I think we will also be gifted with a nice, very slow burn romance over the course of the trilogy (hoping, praying, begging, shaking, please Loulie and Mazen).

Looking forward to the next book!