I love mythological retellings and have never dipped my toe into Arabic retellings before. I will be exploring the subgenera more! I am not a huge fan of books ending on a major cliffhanger but I get that authors do this to keep you buying the next book. This was a delightful read.

Solid introduction to this new trilogy. The chapters are not too long and the writing flows and is easy to read. (Some repetition of certain words and phrases, hopefully editing will correct) I liked all the main characters and felt connected to them and to the story. The foundation of friendship in this first book is really refreshing, with only subtle romantic undertones laced throughout, while they each concentrate on dealing with their own motivations and emotions. The magic is Arabian legends, specifically, a re-imagining of The Forty Thieves. There is, Loulie, a merchant who deals in rare artifacts, and who travels with a Djinn companion; Prince Mazen, the youngest son of the Sultan, who is tricked into hiding his identity and embarking on a perilous quest; and Aisha, one of the Forty Thieves tasked with watching the prince, and making sure her master's plan is successful. As they set out on a journey to recover a legendary and powerful artifact, each full of secrets which are slowly revealed, they forge a wary trust with each other as they attempt to recover the powerful item. 4.25 stars #netgalley

I enjoyed this book a lot. The mythology and magic was quite interesting, and the story very engaging. I look forward to reading subsequent books in this series.

Alexa, play Arabian Nights on max volume...

In her stunning debut novel, Chelsea Abdullah transports us to an enchanting and mystical world filled with magical relics and even more magical characters. Seriously, the imagery in this book is so remarkable - you can feel the sun's heat radiating off the sand and smell the spices in the market's air. As a brown gal myself, so many lines in this book sparked memories of walking through narrow, dusty alleys and painting my hands with henna.

While it was familiar and nostalgic, it was also mysterious and otherworldly - primarily due to the existence of jinn, the shapeshifting beings that, in this story, are hunted and killed by humans. But, of course, not all humans are anti-jinn - which leads us to our main character Loulie, whose best friend and closest confidant, Qadir, is a powerful jinn himself. Oh, Qadir... Daddy!?...Sorry...Daddy!?...Not sorry.

The kinship between Loulie and Qadir is probably one of my favorite parts of the book. There's so much mutual respect and trust; my heart wanted to burst just from reading scenes between them! The best part of their relationship is that it's not definable. It's not romantic, it's not father-daughter, it's not brother-sister, it's not even really best-friends - there are no words that can describe what they have, and I think Chelsea's ability to write their relationship so enigmatically is a triumph that adds to the mystical quality of the story.

The other two narrators in our story are Mazen, our adorably naive prince, and Aisha, the baddest bitch there ever was. These two could not be more different, and having them narrate parts of the story added so much flavor to the dialogue! If Loulie & Qadir are our resident Aladdin & Genie, then Mazen is Princess Jasmine. Lol He's just so stinkin' cute and precious and must be protected at all costs! He has all the naivete of a sheltered prince, but he thirsts for adventure and is surprisingly adaptable in the face of danger. I guess that would make Aisha Iago, which I think applies very well (especially with the whole playing-both-sides thing) but also very badly at the same time (in that he is a bird and she is a badass warrior) - but it's a fun metaphor, so I'm rolling with it.

Together, these four go on a journey across the desert dunes and meet with all sorts of trouble (magical and otherwise) along the way! The scenes that play out are epic!! The only criticism I might provide is that the book sometimes felt unnecessarily lengthy? Granted, this is what you expect from an epic adventure, but it felt like some parts/scenes weren't necessary to develop the plot. There were also some parts that felt younger than others? I literally don't even know how to explain that critique when I barely understand it myself lol. I know it's a YA, so it's obviously going to read as young, but it felt like the characters would react maturely in one scene but a little bit less so in another? But again, it's YA, so that's not an issue that holds a lot of weight, in my opinion.

I can't wait for the second book! I have so many questions (in a good way), and I can't wait to see how the story continues!

Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit Books, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Link to Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4643056781

-Love the inspiration and the jinn
-Love the twists and the three point of views
-I did find some of the last 10-25% to be on the slower side
-Am excited to see what happens next

Inspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights, this book weaves together the gripping tale of a legendary smuggler, a cowardly prince, and a dangerous quest across the desert to find a legendary, magical lamp.

I didn't end up reading the ARC, as I got this novel from BOTM. But I loved it nonetheless.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one, it's great for light fantasy lovers and fans of the A Court of Thornes and Roses Series..

Thank you to Orbit Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read the ARC. #netgalley #thestardustthief #chelseaabdullah

This was an amazing book! I had such a throw reading this. I enjoyed it so much I actually went out and bought the book! It's definitely worth the ride. And I'm excited to see it being continued as a series.

I loved absolutely every second of this book. From the very first page to the end and I think it's set up for a sequel and I cannot wait.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I quickly grew fond of our main protagonists and enjoyed their growth throughout the story. Aisha especially turned out to be a thoroughly fascinating woman and I look forward to learning more about her in the future. The plot was exciting and kept me hooked and speeding through the pages. I'm extremely excited to see where the sequel takes us after that adrenaline filled cliffhanger ending.

My only criticism is that there was so much plot that I started forgetting the information given to me in the early stages of the book (notably: the reason for their desert quest and Hakim's existence). Spoilers: Because so much of the book was set in the desert, I didn't realize initially that the first desert ruins they ended up in were not the city beneath the Sandsea they were looking for, which caused some confusion on my end until I realized the truth. But otherwise I was very pleased with my time spent reading this story!

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

A great debut and a beautiful Arab story. The representation is everything and I'm so excited for where Chelsea will take the story in the future! From the atmosphere, to the characters, to the EXCELLENT writing, I enjoyed every second of this story. The pacing was great in my opinion, and I found the switch between POV’s to be smooth and expertly done.

For representation alone, this book gets a 5 stars easily. Seeing Arabic on the page, unitalicized and casually used is something I feel I will never get over, and the experience was indescribable. The same goes for the addition of Arab food, dances and music.

For the rest of the story, though supremely enjoyable in every aspect, it definitely feels like a first book in a series. There was a little left to be desired in terms of character development for me, but I will absolutely be tuning in to the sequels because I am undoubtedly attached to them.

All in all, I absolutely loved this book and how it made me laugh, gasp, tear up, and made my heart so warm it nearly turned to flame.

In this ode to storytelling, a merchant of magical relics, her jinn bodyguard, a prince in disguise, and a thief fueled on secrets and vengeance set out on a mythical quest. The sultan requires them to seek out a royal relic lost beneath the sands, a lamp holding a jinn that is bound to his family. Not only are the characters on a journey of questionable repute under duress, but when they encounter obstacles of legendary proportions, the legends in question are presented as an aside, a fun way to learn about what they face while avoiding the dreaded info dump.

I loved the setting of this story, and the more I learned about the world, the jinn, and human politics, the more promise I could see in the trilogy. Unfortunately, I found the story slow-moving and the characters lackluster despite some good moments. The strongest relationship to me was between Louile and the jinn Qadir. It was refreshing that this starring bond was explicitly described as not romantic but more familial in nature. They experience ups and downs, big emotional moments, and choose each other first again and again. This was my favorite aspect of the book. The characterization efforts were not as strong, in my view. Especially given the three different POVs, I would expect each of those at least to offer distinct voices. However, the two women (Loulie and Aisha) have similar backstories (tragic), hangups (distrustful), and instincts (prideful) despite their different goals and world views. That leaves starry-eyed, optimistic Prince Mazen as the outlier. I noticed a similar trend with the two feminine ifrits we know best by the end of the book, their similar tragic backgrounds causing me to sometimes confuse them.

In essence, this book has a lot of promising aspects. Despite my admiration for specific, disparate elements, it didn't come together in an engaging picture that could sweep me along for nearly 500 pages. If you are ok with a slower pace, enjoy seeing a fantasy spin on Arab lore, and like when romance takes a backseat to other relationships, you might find something here worth your while. Thanks to Orbit for my copy to read and review!

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

Originally didn’t give feedback because I DNF, but it’s hurting my feedback ratio, so what I liked was the world and the characters because they were interesting, but it was so slow with the action that I had to stop reading. I also never rate books I DNF but this makes me.

The Stardust Thief is an inventive, immersive fantasy—I adored the intertwining POVs, motivations, and tension between characters. I can't wait for the next installment in the series!

Excellent debut. A bit slow at times but we’ll thought out and intriguing story. Excited for book 2.

Wow. Wow. Wow! If you want an artistically written story filled with striking details that plunge you into the pages, look no further. I cannot state enough what a masterful, artful, stunning story this was. While I typically do not read fantasy, I followed Chelsea Abdullah's Twitter account and had to see how her publishing journey culminated with this novel. This novel has firmly placed me in the fantasy camp. The Stardust Thief, inspired by the stories of One Thousand and One Nights, will captivate you and leave you wanting more. I cannot wait for the next one. Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC.

First off, the cover of this book is absolutely stunning and I was immediately drawn in. The Stardust Thief is a retelling of a thousand and one nights. We have desert settings, djinn, and a big cast of characters. We follow a few POVs in this story which I highly enjoy. Loulie is the Midnight Merchant who tracks down magical relics and resells them with her magical djinn bodyguard Qadir. Loulie helps save the sultan's youngest son from a rogue djinn and the sultan blackmails Loulie into traveling with his oldest son to the desert to find this magical lamp containing a djinn that you can control. Mazen is the youngest son of the sultan who Loulie saved who just wants to go on adventures instead of being stuck at the capital. We also follow Aisha who is one of the forty thieves that the oldest prince controls and who is sent on the trip with Loulie and Qadir. We have past and present in the book as well. I really enjoyed the flow of this story and the character development. With a huge cast of characters, sometimes it can be hard to tell apart the characters but I had no problem in this story. Every single character was unique and interesting and had their own secrets/growth throughout the story. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys fantasy; especially Arabian focused fantasy. I can't wait to pick up the next book in this trilogy. 4 out of 5 stars.

A late review but AHHH this book gave everything that it needed. I think this is perfect for those transitioning from YA Fantasy to Adult Fantasy. This book truly was an easy read and the world-building was intriguing. I enjoyed the character development as the story progressed. I love a good story about jinn and a 10001 loose retelling, especially from someone in the MENA community. Looking forward to the rest of the series