Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. While I loved The City of Brass and was eager for another middle-eastern fantasy, especially from an Arab author, the writing wasn't immersive enough and I felt unmoored from the narrative, never really feeling any drive to read and ultimately feeling bored by the experience. I'm sure others will feel differently.

I really enjoy Arabian retellings and The Stardust Thief was no exception!
I was magically transported into a dessert world where humans are at odds with the jinn- many see them as evil and the sultan and his son are ruthlessly known for eradicating the jinn.
Now, character driven stories are my FAVEEEE. Who doesn’t love a found family trope- especially when each character is flawed and forced to work together while they also cannot stand each other?! Lol
We have Loulie aka the midnight merchant - super cool and cunning, she is a criminal who sells illegal magic with her jinn bodyguard Qadir by her side
Then we have Mazen the youngest crown prince who lives in the clouds and is the type to sneak out the palace to hear stories
And finally we have Aisha- one of the older prince’s thieves- she is ruthless and unapologetic and will probably stab you lol

After being forced to go on a hunt for an ancient lamp by the sultan, Loulie and the gang are set on a dangerous quest filled with mystifying encounters and a ton of sand. Loulie is opposed to finding this lamp as she is aware the jinn population will suffer greatly because of it. However, she has no choice and is whisked away where she will discover secrets of her own.

As most of this story is unfolding while the crew is traveling, the build up and world building is beautifully done. I truly felt like I was traveling with the crew and dealing with jinn possessions, visions, and sandstorms. I really enjoyed everyone’s stories and learning more about them and their past. I think my favorite is Mazen because he is just so wholesome and I wanted to protect him LOL I loved that the female MCs were so badass- I really enjoyed every POV.

Overall, this was a great story filled with adventure and mystery perfect for fan of 1001 nights.

I’ll say in the first quarter I wasn’t sure if this would be the book for me, but as I neared the halfway point I couldn’t put the book down! It was addictive and fast paced. I was happy that some of the character dynamics shifted from what we were seeing in the first half because I desperately wanted certain characters to TALK! Haha! I grew very attached to Loulie and Mazen, but that ending made me very concerned for what’s to come in the next book!

I loved the narrative structure and the fact that many of the revelations in this book came through storytelling. The interludes where we got to dive deeper into this world through a story really captivated me.

Overall The Stardust Thief was really fun and I’m highly anticipating the sequel!

hmmm i'm not sure how i feel. as we all know, I'm not big on sff. but i was following chelsea on twitter and wanted to give this novel a try. the writing is excellent, but i would say maybe it's just not for me? i'll give it another try in the future.

The Stardust Thief was an amazing read. I couldn't put it down. If you're a fantasy fan, this should be on your TBR. It's inspired by stories from A Thousand and One Nights with the tales woven throughout. It's an epic adventure with magic and jinn abound, but at its heart is an exploration of family and belonging. I loved Loulie and Qadir's relationship and really need them to hug it out in this trilogy at least one time, if not more. This is the only way I will be satisfied.

Read The Stardust Thief if you are a fan of epic adventures, found family, retellings or stories inspired by myths, and strong female protagonists. This is one of the strongest debuts I've read this year. (4.5 stars rounded to 5 stars)

A theif selling to the "magical black market" (a favorite small trope). Normally I would know who my favorite character is in a multi-POV but surprisingly on my 1st go around I can't figure it out. The pacing in the middle did through me up for a loop. I wish the characters background was casually thrown in instead of a a flashback everytime. I didn't get the internal thoughts of the Jinn in this book but maybe I'll get it in the next book (fingers crossed 🤞🏾)

Rating: 4.5/5

It’s been quite a while since a fantasy book captivated me like The Stardust Thief. I was utterly mesmerized by the characters, the world, and just the magic of it all.

The book follows Loulie al-Nazari, who is known as the Midnight Merchant, a criminal seller of magical relics, as she is given a quest by the sultan to find an ancient magic lamp. Aided by her jinn bodyguard and joined by the sultan’s youngest son in disguise and one of the oldest prince’s thieves, they journey across the desert to the Sandsea.

The protagonists really shine in this – all of them are such strong, interesting characters, and I was invested in their journeys. Usually with a multi-POV book, I find myself skimming for some characters, but that did not happen here. I especially fell in love with Aisha. And even the characters whose perspectives we do not get to see hold their own. Qadir was such an amazing mystery, and Omar was a fantastic antagonist (side note: I probably love Omar a bit too much considering how terrible he is).

I was a bit disappointed, admittedly, that the protagonists seemed somewhat isolated from each other, and there was a distance between them. Loulie and Qadir were in their own world, and Mazen and Aisha were in another, but Mazen and Aisha were not even that close to begin with. While they all definitely bonded to various degrees by the end, I’m not sure I would say any of them are close friends yet (aside from Loulie and Qadir, of course). But all the dynamics and relationships are so complex and well-developed, and I do appreciate the author taking her time with them. I loved how there was no romance for now, but there is definitely potential, and I am excited for the possible slow burn.

The worldbuilding was also a strong point. It was clear and the magic system was not overly complicated while still being complex and interesting. I loved how we’re given the stories, and the way they play into and unfold related to the plot. And the pacing was well done for the most part, too. I was admittedly more invested in the action parts of the story, but the slower moments did not detract from my enjoyment.

Overall, this was just a wonderful, enthralling read. I really don’t have much to say, just that I hope any adult fantasy lover picks this up because it was a beautiful journey full of excitement and adventure. I am unbelievably excited for the next book in the series.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to get an eARC of this.

Amazing world-building and magical storytelling. It is a One Thousand and One Nights retelling and I love how the author incorporated these stories. The plot was intriguing and the characters were well developed. Can't wait for book two because that cliff hanger!

The growth of fantasy into pulling from non-classic European history/mythology has been explosive (in the best way), and thus we the readers get to benefit from novels like Chelsea Abdullah's The Stardust Thief. Abdullah's setting feels authentic and vivid, hinting at the rich worldbuilding underpinning this great first entrant into the series. I love unique and clever magic systems, so was very pleased as the plot allowed the characters to learn more and more about the magic around them. Abdullah also writes combat to her character's understandings and abilities; action through the eyes of one protagonist feels very different than through another, which really sets them apart and makes them feel alive. I'll definitely be watching for the rest of this series.

A fun adventure with fantastic world-building and a solid magic system. Loulie and Qadir were easy to love as characters, but I did find the writing to be a bit juvenile at times.

This book was a great start to a fantasy trilogy! I really liked this mythology based adventure story and found the book to be very entertaining and enjoyable. The magic system development was really interesting to read about and I think the world building was done well too. It does start out a little slow, but once the setting and characters are established, the pace definitely picks up. The last quarter of the book moves super quickly and left me very excited to see what happens next. Each of the three POVs, Loulie, Mazen, and Aisha, felt unique to me as they all were going on this quest with different motives. I really liked how each character had their own backstories and connections to the myths. Qadir, Loulie's djinn bodyguard, doesn't have a POV in this book, but I thought he was such an interesting character and I hope we get more from him in the next book.

City of Brass is one of my favorite trilogies and it is based on similar myths, so I was very excited when I heard this book was coming out. I was even more excited when I recognized some of the stories and felt like Abdullah adapted them in a refreshing and unique way. I'm so glad I read it and I'm really excited to see where the story goes next! I'd definitely recommend it to fantasy fans!

The Stardust Thief is one of the best books I have ever read. Unforgettable characters that are well developed and lots of action that centers around all types of twists and turns. As the story progresses, we learn more about the characters' pasts and what has made them into who they are at present. The world development and magic usage are impressive. The concept of relics and magically imbued objects allows magic to be used by all. Nothing ever is what it seems. The magic could be simple and practically useless or life-altering, often allowing the unexpected to occur. This story is filled with action and adventure as they start in the Sultan's city and travel across the desert searching for a powerful relic. However, as truths become known and lies unravel, and we begin to see the past merge with the present, will the Midnight merchant discover the truth and who she can trust before it's too late?
I have nothing negative to say about this book. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend this book for those that enjoy fantasy. If you want action, adventure, magical beings, betrayal, and revenge offset by hope, friendships, found family, strength, and sacrifice, this book is perfect. I had trouble putting it down and enjoyed trying to predict what would happen after each new twist was revealed. I eagerly await the next book.
11

Opening line: “Neither here nor there, but long ago…”

Book Thoughts: Really enjoyed this epic story based on 1001 Arabian Nights. I personally felt there are a lot of similarities to the Daevabad series (City of Brass) but in a good way since I love that series so much. Stardust has much less world building and back story into the djinn mythology, but added other interesting concepts with the relics and magic. Stardust is also an ode to storytelling and stories and a time before everything was written down. Just read the first line! This is the first in a new trilogy and I definitely plan to read the rest when they come out. A fabulous #FantasyFrenemies buddy read!

Thank you to #NetGalley and @orbitbooks_us for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my review.

TW: body gore, ghosts, death of a parent, kidnapping/imprisonment

This was a great start to a series and I'm definitely looking forward to the next couple of books now cause I'm hooked.

The Stardust Thief is inspired by One Thousand and One Nights and weaves in Arab folklore into the story of Loulie, Qadir, Mazen, and Aisha's journey. Some are even relative to recognizable stories from 1001 Nights. I really enjoyed the folklore and how the author interjected the story with a legend that would also be relative to the story of the characters! I loved the magic and mythology in this book, I'm a sucker for anything mythology based and this is perfect with the lore and inspo behind it!!

The only complaint is that I didn't really care for the characters until near the end. Most of the journey is a solitary one for each of the characters and you don't see them together often. You have dark lord type villain, that I'm hoping we will see more of and understand their motives. Loulie, Qadir, and the folklore were the main driving factors for me enjoying this book.

There is little to no romance, but plenty of action in this book. Once chaos ensued, it never really stopped and I really enjoyed that. I hope we get to know the characters more and they get more fleshed out as the series goes. But, overall this was a good read and I really do recommend it.

Disclosure: I received The Stardust Thief as an ARC and I'm voluntarily leaving this review.

→ 4.25 / 5

Wow, that was fun!

This took me some time to get through not because of the book, but rather because of own personal life interfering with downtime. In fact, the times I was able to get in even 15 or 20 minutes of reading each day provided to be a lovely literacy escape.

In fact, once I hit the 40% mark, I found myself reaching for any second of time just to get through one more page. Eventually, I crammed in the last 60% of the book into three days because I needed to know what was going to happen to our exciting travel companions!

This story is full of mythology and vibrant world-building with such an immersive narrative for a debut.

I'm very excited to see what comes next not just for The Sandsea Trilogy, but for Chelsea Abdullah as well!

This debut fantasy novel was super enjoyable, with great depth to the story and wonderful characters. There were so many complex elements woven together into this amazing story. I am most definitely looking forward to the rest of the trilogy!

Loulie, Mazen, Aisha, and Qadir were such great characters. While the plot was also very interesting and there was plenty of excitement along the way, these characters are what shone the most in this book. Their personalities, quirks, mistakes, strengths, and dynamics created the biggest part of my desire to keep reading. Learning pieces of their background and motivations throughout the book was very intriguing. There were so many high-stakes scenes that had my stomach in knots while waiting to find out their fates!

As I said, the plot was also really, really good. There were so many unexpected events thrown in the path of the main group along the way and they had to make quick adaptions and sacrifices to survive. The magic and tales incorporated into this book were awesome, particularly the djinn met throughout the story. The imagery and descriptions were very vivid and I felt transported into the story each time I picked up this book.

I had very high hopes for this one, but I have decided to put it down for now at 30%. I was expecting a much older, more intricate fantasy story. At its core, this is a YA adventure story. Which is not bad, but it isn't what I gravitate toward any more and I do feel like was miss marketed. Of what I read, the characters were very bland, but I did like the magic introduced.

No spoilers because I am reading an eARC and I need everyone to go preorder this now (thank you, NetGalley + Orbit).

This book is filled with all of my favourite things. What a stunning debut by Chelsea Abdullah.

This novel had so many elements I love in fantasy. It was epic with a beautifully rich world and interspersed with lore and storytelling elements. I sort of struggled to get into the book and there were some pacing issues in my opinion, but once I finished I was fully invested in these characters. I loved Loulie and Qadir's relationship (though some of their arguing started to feel repetitive by the end) and really enjoyed being in Mazen and Aisha's chapters as well.

While I found climax of the book to be fairly predictable, in this case I don't see that as a hinderance because I still mostly enjoyed the ride getting there and I think it worked with the old tale/storytelling aspect of the narrative. Overall I thought this was a really solid debut and look forward to seeing what happens next in the series.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for more diverse fantasy options. I also think it has good YA crossover appeal for those who are looking to branch into adult fiction.

This was the June read for my Fantasy Bookclub and across the board got 4 to 5 stars from all who joined. With crossover appeal to young adult and adult this is a great recommendation for older students. I will be recommending this one to all my students.