Unfortunately, I did not get around to reading this title but I still hope to sometime in the future.

Alina Boyden’s Stealing Thunder tells the story of Razia Khan, who was born as the Crown Prince with wealth, status, and power beyond what most will experience. Razia was also born as a woman in a man’s body, and she gave up all of her wealth and power to become her true feminine self and leave behind the hatred she faced from her father. Razia now lives with means far below the most debased laborers and works as a courtesan in Bikampur by day and a thief by night. If her past were to be revealed, she would risk a death sentence. Razia has caught the interest of Prince Arjun of Bikampur. Their connection is strong and their romance becomes a main part of the story, and their connection is threatened by the game of cat and mouse they find themselves in (Arjun is looking to catch the thief in Bikampur, and Razia is the thief).

I enjoyed seeing trans representation—both in the FMC and the author herself. Razia is a strong character and she is created in a way that doesn’t overly rely on her status as a trans woman. Her transition happened before the book, so Razia is finally living externally as the woman she always was inside. One thing I liked was that Boyden wrote Razia as a cunning, kind, flawed woman. She wasn’t overly perfect or imperfect, which made her feel real and not like a character in a book. I think the author being trans helped to avoid some of the potholes I see authors fall into trying to write trans characters, where they become too concerned with uplifting the trans character that they don’t make them a whole person with strengths and flaws. The trans characters tend to be all bad or all good—Razia was imperfectly both.

The story itself wasn’t for me, though I liked aspects of it. One thing I’ll mention—this is billed as an adult fantasy novel but it reads firmly Young Adult fantasy, both in style and characterizations. There is a villainous character named Karim who is also a prince and who assaulted Razia before her transition when she was living as Prince Salim. By the end of the book, I felt that Karim was presented in a somewhat heroic way that felt disingenuous to his actions earlier in the book and his lack of remorse. I also found the plot to be a bit meandering, though I admit that YA fantasy is not a favorite genre of mine and I may be the wrong reader for it. Sometimes the world building makes my eyes glaze over, because I am after all a character-driven reader.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

I know that it’s been a couple years, but I remember enjoying this book. I thought Razia was an interesting character, and definitely the sort of character I’d like to see more of in my fantasy and sci-fi tales. If we have worlds with magic and interdimensional spacecraft and whatnot, then certainly we have worlds where characters of all sorts of gender and sexual identities exist and live amongst others of society, and honestly there should absolutely be areas of the realms, worlds, planets, systems, whatever, where they are accepted and enjoy a good life.

So Razia was born and raised to be the Crown Prince of Nizam, but has always felt that she is a woman. The fact that she is able to get away from a life that couldn’t or wouldn’t recognize her for the awesome person she is, well, I’m glad she was able to get away and forge a new life for herself, and a profitable one at that.

Of course, seeing that means that naturally the story has to have her cross paths with someone who will lead to her wading back into the political wars and turmoil of the life she left behind.

From what I remember, I believe I liked Arjun, Prince of Bikampur, as well. And I thought their connection made for interesting moments. Also, I’m pretty sure the magical creatures and all of that were pretty fascinating too. The worldbuilding was pretty good too, and I like seeing more stories that don’t feature fantastical realms based on European lore and history and topography. Give me more diversity in my fantasy reads, thank you. Although, I definitely need to give this book a reread before I could speak more in-depth on certain aspects of the characters and plot.

But I will say that having Razia come face-to-face with her father, well that was definitely a moment that was needed and deserved. You know having to face someone from her old life, someone who didn’t recognize her value and greatness because they wanted to force her to be someone she wasn’t.

I definitely would like to re-read this, so I could pick up Gifting Fire, the sequel.

Protecting her identity means life or death in this immersive epic fantasy inspired by the Mughal Empire.

In a different life, under a different name, Razia Khan was raised to be the Crown Prince of Nizam, the most powerful kingdom in Daryastan. Born with the soul of a woman, she ran away at a young age to escape her father’s hatred and live life true to herself.

Amongst the hijras of Bikampur, Razia finds sisterhood and discovers a new purpose in life. By day she’s one of her dera’s finest dancers, and by night its most profitable thief. But when her latest target leads her to cross paths with Arjun Agnivansha, Prince of Bikampur, it is she who has something stolen.

An immediate connection with the prince changes Razia’s life forever, and she finds herself embroiled in a dangerous political war. The stakes are greater than any heist she’s ever performed. When the battle brings her face to face with her father, Razia has the chance to reclaim everything she lost…and save her prince.

This book was okay for me. I appreciated all of the incredibly important representation in this book. I thought some parts kept spinning over the same emotions/issues. That got frustrating for me. I also had a hard time keeping track of all of the places, people, and things. The world building was pretty good but there was almost too much going on for me to keep track of everything.

A fairly well written story with intriguing plot elements. Not brilliant but a good read. Our library system bought several copies.

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

This novel had an interesting premise because it was a fantasy set in ancient India. However, there were some graphic and disturbing scenes that made it hard for me to continue reading. Still, it is very well-written but I did not care for the violence and mutilation in this novel.

I read this book in one sitting! It was fast paced, full of adventure, witty characters, and suspense. Of course I loved the trans protagonist and dragon-like creatures. The thing that keeps me from giving it a full five stars is how the dead name was used as a plot point several times. What keeps this book from being a totally fun adventure was the trauma of having one identity be revealed and used against them (also mentions of rape) which to me took away a bit from the joy of the heart of the story and its protagonist. Because most of the book was so strong and hopefully, the times when it wasn't were more jarring to me. The happy ending was so cathartically wonderful that I gave this book a hug after finishing it. Her story really made me smile and root for her during this adventure and love story in the way great romantic fantasy novels can do.

I was originally interested in this book because it was described as a fantasy with a transgender main character; however, as I was looking at various reviews and trying to read it myself, it seems like the author may not have handled the character in the best way. There is quite a bit of controversy over both the transgender character and the cultural setting, and I'm not sure that now is the best time for me to dig into something like this. I'm hoping this is not the last fantasy that features transgender. But maybe publishing can find some own voices to present the topic a little better.

Razia Khan is a highly capable heroine: sympathetic, talented, and incredibly strategic. All of these skills serve her well in both her previous life as the Crown Prince of Nizam and her current life as a highly desired dancer/sex worker and thief in her dera. Insert a love interest (who accepts her as she is) and turn up the dial on political complications, and you have the start of an immersive Teen fantasy series that centers this princess without it being wholly about her transition. I hope that Razia's character grows in subsequent books and we get the opportunity to see her really overcome future challenges through her wit and ingenuity - not just because she's the protagonist.

Content-wise, it lightly deals with transphobia, sex, and an off-page, non-graphic rape. There are battles and the violence is implied but not heavily dwelled upon.

Alina Boyden's STEALING THUNDER will rightfully gain attention as the first major-publisher fantasy novel to feature a transgender lead character—as written by a transgender woman. What Boyden pulls off so skillfully is putting you in the shoes of this former-prince-turned-harem-dancer, quickly building empathy and awareness for its transgirl POV. The chance to meet a refreshingly different kind of character in likely unfamiliar circumstances, while wrapped in a historically-inspired fantasy world should be draw enough for fans of fantasy. Then add in cleverly reconsidered dragons, royal/political intrigue, high stakes thievery, romance, and found family. It's well-crafted and fast paced, even as it builds a lush setting that often subverts the western reader's expectations.

I interviewed Alina about her journey to writing STEALING THUNDER, and the educational and lived experiences that informed the work, on the Fictitious Podcast: https://www.fictitiouspodcast.com/alina-boyden-stealing-thunder-s5e06/

I loved the context of this book as much as the story itself. As part of the “Own Voices” movement, the speculative fiction community has examined not only the inclusion of transgender characters but asked who writes about them. This book is the first fantasy novel featuring a transgender character and written by a transgender author to be published by a major house. Alina Boyden sets her tale in a non-Western culture in which transwomen have an established cultural niche. She draws her inspiration from the Indian tradition of hijras, which dates back as far as 3000 years ago, referring to third gender or trans-feminine people. Texts such as the Rigveda, Mahabharata, and Ramayana mention such people in a respectful way, in contrast to the actions of the British Empire in attempting to erase the hijra community entirely. In India, hijras who are assigned male gender at birth sometimes castrate themselves, wear feminine clothing and adopt feminine names, live together in households, relate to each other as female kin (sisters, daughters, etc), and perform at events such as births and weddings.

One such is this novel’s protagonist, Razia Khan, born as the Crown Prince of one of many small kingdoms in this alternate pre-British India, including training with the magical feathered dragons called zahhaks, which are a rare and powerful military asset. Now she works as a skilled dancer and courtesan, working and living in a tightly knit household, a dera, ruled by an insatiably greedy madam. In addition, she’s a thief whose booty supplements their income. After being engaged to provide entertainment for a wealthy merchant, she falls in love with the handsome prince of Bikampur and gains his affection in return. But all is not well, for her very life is at risk should her father learn of her whereabouts, a bully from her tormented childhood appears at court and recognizes her . . . and war is brewing. Razia’s training and natural aptitude make her a genius at the use of dragons in military strategy, and her sound advice brings her the esteem of her prince’s father.

The style and pacing of the story invites the reader to savor this world and its culture. The enumeration of settings and details, including jewelry and clothing, and the beat-by-beat descriptions of action and interactions, which are then repeated, create a slow spiraling effect. All of this is interwoven with Razia’s own internal monologues, so that we are able to experience her world and her personal history through gradually evolving lenses. At first, I questioned the slow pace and repetition, but as I noticed how the descriptions – what Razia notices and the context in which she places it – reflected and embodied Razia’s own personal growth, I found it highly evocative and satisfying. Small details, like the conversation between Razia, who chose castration as a gift, and a eunuch who had to come to terms with the involuntary loss, evoked a much larger world of consent, choices, and power.

Razia begins the story terrified of discovery, uneasy about stealing but so grateful to her madam that she feels she has no choice, and pathetically desperate for love. As she comes to accept being valued, she discovers her own courage – a trait she believed she lacked because she had been told – and beaten – so many times as a child for being unmasculine. She doesn’t take the easy way out, whether it’s accepting the likelihood of betrayal to her father, and subsequent assassination, or the risk of losing Arjuna’s love by telling him the truth about her thieving, standing up to those who once bullied her, or always, always remaining true to herself as a transgender woman. It would have been so easy for the story to follow the typical Romance tropes based on misunderstandings so easily cleared up by a single conversation, and Stealing Thunder avoids them all. By the end, I not only cheered Razia’s commitment to a genuine life, I had a greater understanding of how she has managed to find empowerment within the superficially submissive, dependent role of a hijra courtesan.

I really expected to love this book - a trans heroine who works as both a courtesan and thief while hiding from her father sounded really exciting. Unfortunately the writing style didn't work for me - it was really repetitive and (while I hate this phrase) did way too much telling instead of showing. Plus some of the main character's choices made no sense -- Razia is afraid of her powerful father finding her, but inexplicably reveals her true name to a prince almost immediately on meeting him. And while I completely empathized with her need to be loved for who she was, she kept repeating the same things. I am putting this book aside for now, but may pick it up again later. I do hope that more fantasy books by trans authors are published and promoted.

Loved it! The writing, setting, characters, and world building are all top notch. The cover is stunning and I felt like I was swept off my feet the moment I saw it. This is a definite purchase for the library!

I try to read book pertaining to certain parts of the year (i.e. heritage months, holiday-themed stories), so this is one of the titles I stacked up in preparation for June. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first, but I did end up enjoying it by the end.

Having read other reviews, I understand why other readers are upset at the idea of a fantasy in a Middle Eastern setting with a trans POC main character written by a trans white woman. I would like to read one more fitting to the #OWNVOICES category in the future, but I truly did enjoy multiple parts of this storyline. Razia was able to find her happiness and loved a man who forgave her for any mistakes she made in being a thief in the past. Sometimes, it is nice to read a fantasy without the grittiness of reality. There were parts in the story that touched on challenges known within the experience of transition, which prompted me to reach out to other trans friends to learn more about. Maybe this is not the go-to representation for the trans fantasy genre, but this serves as a good stepping stone, in my humble opinion.

Stealing Thunder was a book that had immense appeal for me. Inspired by the third gender that exists (and is legally recognized) in India known as the hijra, it stars Razia, a former prince living her true self as a hijra courtesan. Although I’m not trans myself, I was looking forward to experiencing a new perspective and couldn’t wait to read about a trans main character in a fantasy setting (fantasy is one my FAVORITE genres!). I went in with high hopes, although I hadn’t read many queer books, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

At the very least, I can say this was an interesting story, although that might be the extent of it for me. The story line is a typical romance trope – Razia meets a captivating client, who actually seems to like her for her, he finds out who she really is, they fall in love, and live happily ever after. It was a fluffy romance, which I didn’t mind at all, but story and character development didn’t happen until the last bit of the story.

Much of the story is propelled by Razia’s inner dialogue with herself, and the constant repetition of stating her past choices and history that led her to her current life, as well as all the things she missed when she used to be a prince – but it’s all okay because she’s living as her true self. It was exhausting and tedious to read the same thing for pretty much 75% of the story.

Any action that occurred was generally of Razia’s own doing as well – telling herself she couldn’t tell anyone who she was or what she did, and then divulging exactly that, causing herself angst and stress over telling people her secrets. What bothered me the most though, is that it really wasn’t a fantasy in any real regard. They had magical dragon-birds called “Zahhaks,” which were phenomenal and beautiful described, but that was the only aspect of the story that was fantastical in nature, and even then, you only really got to enjoy them at the very end.

All that being said, I loved the world-building. Boyden provided beautiful descriptions and imagery, and while reading, you could picture every aspect that was described. It was so colorful, and while the story itself was lacking, the descriptions compelled me to continue reading. The end of the book was by far the best; I was bored through most of the story until the end, and then it exploded in a flurry of action, adventure, and development.

Overall, this book was just okay, and I came out feeling more than a little disappointed. I would say that it’s worth a read though for the queer perspective and the imaginative language that pulls you through Razia’s world.

Stealing Thunder was one of my later reads in May and it truly surprised me.

This book follows our Trans protagnist, Razia, as she works as both hirja dancer and master thief in order to secure her safety and future. Additionally she is driven to protect her sister hirjas from their mercenary guru. When fate conpsires to spin her onto a collision course with a handsome and kind prince, Razia sees the potential to either realize all her dreams or to have them shatter before her eyes.

This does so many things right! The setting is lovely. I have read so many fantasy books. So many. After a certain point, the worlds all start to blend together because they have a similar vibe. Not this one. One of my favorite things about this book is that the setting. It, is so distinct and real that it feels like another character altogether. There is so much intrigue, so much darkness, lurking in the mysterious island that I just fell in love. I'm also a sucker for country politics, and getting a few glimpses of that was so exciting.
Thehe characters are interesting, and THERE ARE DRAGONS. There are pitfalls, triumphs, and adventure..

There are a few moments that come off a little clumsy, but as a debut especially, this one is a stunner!

Stealing Thunder is an ownvoices novel with a trans princess! I was so in! I cannot speak to the accuracy of the representation. I will leave that to others more knowledgeable. However, I LOVED Razia and I also like Arjun. I though their relationship was really great. I loved the world building as well. I flew through this story it was that good.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am so glad books like this are starting to fill the shelves!