I knew this was a companion novel but I didn't realise how much we would get to see the main characters from Thorn again and I think that only added to my enjoyment. I adore Rae, she was an incredible character so fiesty and strong yet also caring and honest. She was absolutely a joy to read. The storyline was engrossing and I really loved the new characters as well as the ones we already knew, it was a really good mix. Totally evil cliffhanger to end on though, I warn you now.

I would 100% recommend this book whether you have read Thorn or not but I do think you get more out of it if you have read it.

I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars (I couldn't bring myself to give 5 stars when that cliffhanger is killing me).

In Intisar Khanani's latest edition to her Dauntless Path series, a new character is born. Amraeya ni Ansarim is a country girl at heart, born into a horse breeding family and fiercely protective of her sisters. For years children have been disappearing from towns and cities all over Menaiya including the younger sister of her best friend. Suddenly Amraeya finds herself traveling to the capital city where she becomes an attendant to the crown-princess and tasked with finding answers about the missing children. With a deft hand at intrigue and adventure, Khanani has once again created a fast-paced and engaging story with strong characters and thoughtful dialogue.

In this sequel to Thorn, the story centers on Rae and how she becomes a close confidant to the princess in the royal court as she tries to solve the mystery of children who have been stolen from their homes all across the kingdom. Rae, like Thorn, is a brave and gutsy heroine. Her choices are questioned because of her gender and her disability. But she will not be deterred. She is also witty and fast thinking and loyal. I love her so much. And @booksbyintisar is a MASTER at writing chaste romances that are 🔥🔥🔥If you have not read Thorn, do yourself a favor and pick it up today. Khanani’s pacing and storytelling skills cannot be beat. And yes, I can’t wait for further feisty, feminist adventures of Rae.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. When finishing the prequel Thorn, I did not see the need to write a sequel. I had figured that the sequel would be along the story line of the sorceress's curse on the other royal family members, but The Theft of Sunlight features an entirely new heroine. Rae doesn't let a physical disability or lowly status stop her from fighting for what is right. Even though set in a fantasy novel, the story of snatchers and missing children is timely with current events of sex-trafficking. I enjoyed the natural descriptions and magic in Thorn, but it is not as pronounced in this novel. The magic is not as pronounced in this book as it is in the books before it. The majority of the book is clean, with one or two expletives, mild violence (until the end and then it gets very gruesome, and no intimate scenes. The ending leaves you on a definite cliff-hanger, so I hope it does not take 10 years to find out the resolution. After knowing how the story ends, I would recommend it for my school to purchase.

Rae see's what the other side of the coin is like. After being asked to be Alyrra's attendant, the idea that she needs someone trustworthy doesn't make sense. However, she only knew bits and pieces of what happened to Alyrra. Not what her past which soon comes back to haunt her and annoys the whole kingdom to no end of how Alyrra's brother treated her. Alyrra still doesn't matter in their eyes. Things get a bit complicated when " The imposters Father" arrives for the royal wedding.
* refrence Bramble and Thorn

Rae's main goal is to find out more information on the snatchers, prove she is worth the same as everyone else respect wise. ( she has a turned foot) She comes from peasant area and considered a country girl.
However a weakness can also be a strength. Rae comes from loving family and home.

Alyrra was blessed to leave a cold family and home to move into a happy one with a weird start. Fates intertwined when both are destined to prove their worth. Can a goose girl and a person with a turned foot battle the world?

Strong badass women characters, surprising twists and turns. I've always wanted to see books that prove you can overcome anything an example to women/girls. You can do anything you want.
Brought out a lot of emotions in me however, I was little confused at the first few chapters. Whose P.o.V
That ending though......

Comes out March 23/2021 Arc was given to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I HAVE TO WRITE THIS REVIEW IN ALL CAPS. WHY, YOU ASK? WELL, IT'S BECAUSE I WANT TO SCREAM HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS STORY. MAGIC. WHO DOESN'T ENJOY A STORY WITH MAGIC? I FOUND THE CHARACTERIZATIONS REALISTIC AND RELATABLE. THE PLOT HELD ME THE ENTIRE TIME. I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THE BOOK IN ITS ENTIRETY. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT TO LOVERS OF YA.

Nooo! It can't end there!! Ahhhh!

I've been in a reading funk so far this year and haven't been able to commit to a book, but I got approved for this arc yesterday and devoured it. I read Thorn and Bramble last year and adored them, and have been waiting not-so-patiently for The Theft of Sunlight and it did not disappoint.

I love Rae. She's everything I want in a MC - intelligent, caring, strong, determined, and protective. Bren is delightful. My favorite characters from Thorn are also highly featured. It's just a great group of characters all around. The story is complex and kept me hooked wanting to know what happened next. I also really enjoy Intisar's writing in general - it's part of what drew me in while reading Thorn and I'm so glad I discovered her books last year. BUT I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ENDED THE BOOK THERE! I need more!!!!

That ending. Can I hold my review hostage until I get the next book?

Intisar Khanani is a fantastic author. I love the world and the characters she has created. It's the type of love that makes me hope this isn't a trilogy but a series that goes on and explores more of this world.

Children have been disappearing. Alyrra, main character from the previous book, has commissioned Rae to discover who has been taking the children. Rae has to explore dangerous locations in order to find the children. Fortunately, she is helped she is helped by a thief lord. Unfortunately, stronger people might be behind the disappearances.

This book is perfection. The characters are smart and kind. Alyrra's family get what they deserve. The romance builds at a sweet pace. I just want the next book.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

I didn't read Thorn, but from my understanding Theft of Sunlight takes places in the near future after Thorn. I did however read Brambles and enjoyed that quite a bit, I enjoyed Theft as well. It is pretty fast-paced and a great fantasy.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

TW:
kidnapping
Forced amputation
human/child trafficking
child slavery
ableism
violence (including familial)
child prostitution & exploitation

Well, what can I say? I thought Thorn was incredible but Theft has, somehow, managed to outdo the first book in this series. I was so excited to be sent a early copy of this wonderful story that I dived in hours after receiving it & it completely consumed me for three days. I fell in love with the disabled protagonist, the real-world issues seeped in magic, the world-building, the pacing, the writing, & just everything really. Intisar has very quickly become one of my favourite authors & I’m obsessed with the world & protagonists she has created. I stayed up late reading this book every night, & I’m still thinking about it now. I want to read it all over again. Intisar’s writing is like a very warm, very welcome hug. This book is everything & the representation means the absolute world to me.

⚠️ This book includes kidnap, human/child trafficking, modern/child slavery, ableism, chronic pain, violence, sibling violence, seizures, discussion of child ‘prostitution’/sexual exploitation, gory wounds & forced amputation ⚠️

Good golly this book is good.

So after falling in love with Intisar Khanani’s THORN, I HAD to read THE THEFT OF SUNLIGHT. I didn’t know what to expect, but Rae was a pleasant surprise. This book steps away from the Goose Girl retelling and become its own incredibly brilliant, fierce story about many things, including human trafficking. I love Rae and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

Side note— I do hope the editor does a better job in book 3 so we don’t have weirdly inverted sentences and missing words popping up. Just a pet peeve.

Breathe, deep breaths, exhale, phew.  This book is good, like really good, but it ends on a cliff hanger and I was not prepared for it because I read a digital copy and didn't think 528 pages had gone by.  Needless to say I was not emotionally prepared for there not to be a resolution.  Then the afterward said it was a duology, and I may have freaked out and contacted the wonderfully patient author and had her talk me down, because such words could imply that Thorn was book one.  Also, when I'm frantic I don't read clearly, but now all is well, she assured me there will be a conclusion, inshaAllah, to Rae's story.  Picking up chronologically where Thorn left off, this book is a companion in the Dauntelss Path series, but follows a different protagonist and while I highly suggest reading Thorn first, it is not necessary to understand this original tale.  So, phew, I am breathing again, and happy to venture back to Menaiya to share my review of a lovely story, written by an amazing Muslim who once again weaves such an engulfing tale that doesn't drag or have holes in the narrative, is filled with strong female characters, and text that reads so effortlessly it just sweeps you away.  Truly it is fun for middle school and up (13+), and clearly I'm not passionate about books and fictional characters and don't need to get a reality check.  

SYNOPSIS:

The book opens in a small village where Rae is in the market with her littlest sister Bean and their friends, Ani and Seri, when the unspeakable happens: Seri goes missing.  This isn't a tale of a child who has wandered off, it is about a child taken by the snatchers and the materialization that the rumors and horrors they have been hearing of children being taken, becoming very real.  Niya, Rae's middle sister is a secret mage who tries to track Seri, but can't break through the mark that keeps her hidden.  As the townsfolk exhaust all resources and resolve she is just another child lost, Rae gets an opportunity to find answers.  Her pregnant cousin has invited her to spend the summer at the royal court and attend the wedding of Prince Kestrin and Princess Alyrra.  Convinced that the palace must have more information about the snatchers, Rae reluctantly agrees to go and investigate what is being done to stop the country's loss of children.  Rae is nervous to leave her horse ranch, afraid of the teasing she will receive because of her twisted clubbed foot, but above all desperate to help her friend's family.  

Everything about Tarinon baffles Rae: the extreme poverty on the outer skirts of the palace, the vacant stares of the children, the ignorance of the courtiers, the politicking and secrets.  She doesn't get much time to ease into this new role though, because she is thrust head first in to it when asked to be one of Princess Alyrra's attendants. She once again reluctantly agrees, with the hope of getting answers to help recover Seri and other lost children.  After tests to gage if the princess can trust Rae, the two join together to secretly unravel what is going on.  This work in and of itself is incredibly dangerous as those that ask questions often go missing.  Her work is compounded when the princess sends her to get information from the head of a thief ring, Red Hawk, and his informants.  The closer Rae gets to answers, the more perilous situations she gets in and out of, often having to count on her bravery, determination, and wit to stay alive.  She finds an unlikely ally in Red Hawk's right hand man Bren, help and friendship in an employee in the tax office, Kirrana, and the need for favors from a Fae mage and his Cormorant.  As the investigation progresses, it leads to battles with neighboring thief rings, Rae held hostage at one point, getting her finger chopped off at another, the Circle of Mages seeming guilty, and royalty within the palace duplicitously involved.  All this while a week long royal wedding is underway and the princess's brother is attempting to kill the princess.  No wonder 500 plus pages still ends with a cliffhanger, eh?

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love the world building and detail and speed of the story, but I've really delayed writing this review as I try and pinpoint and articulate what it is about the characters that I truly am invested in.  And the answer is, I really don't know, it probably it isn't just one thing.  They are believable, and flawed, yet so very strong.  Rae in particular has her own self doubt and questioning, but she is a force and she makes mistakes, yet is still gracious and humble, she really is well rounded. There might be some romantic twinges between Rae and Bren, but she isn't going to compromise one bit of who she is for him or anyone for that matter, which doesn't mean though that she isn't still growing and learning.  The book absorbs you right away, there aren't dull parts that you skim over, or character's that you mess up and have to go back and clarify.  Unequivocally, the writing is superb.    

The snatchers are inspired by the slave trade and child trafficking that unfortunately is not fiction and is all too real.  I think the edginess and intensity is heightened when that realization occurs for the reader to see that it isn't just a fictitious conflict within a fantasy plot.

There is nothing Islamic in the book, the characters have their own religion that pops up as Speakers are involved in healing the recovered children and Alyrra goes to pray at one point, but it doesn't detail what that looks like.  The author is Muslim.

FLAGS:

The book is remarkably clean, especially for the genre.  It does mention that some of the girls snatched end up in brothels, and the guards sent to investigate take advantage.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I think I would absolutely do this for a middle school book club book.  To open the students eyes to quality writing, taking a real problem and nesting it in fiction to be sorted out, and just to see their response to the journey that Rae under takes would make for a great lunchtime discussion.  The book has not been released yet, so there aren't a lot of reader's guides or author interviews about it, but I suspect there will be soon.

Intisar Khanani has a way of creating female characters that stand out and make you want to root for them. Theft of Sunlight follows Rae's story. Rae doesn't let her disability define her, and is a relatable character. Loved the way this book touches on concepts of truth and right and wrong and how our character fights to retain who she is in a world that plays unfair. This book builds on the world we were introduced to in Thorn, and the characters I fell in love with in Thorn are also present in Theft of Sunglight and it is nice to see their story play in with Rae's story. My other favorite character is the thief who challenges Rae at every turn while having conflicts of his own. Love the way both characters grow throughout the book, and loved their interactions. Intisar does a great job creating the world that we get to in Thorn and learn more about. From the first page you're drawn into the world unable to let go.

I love this author’s work and have done ever since I read Thorn. This is part of a companion duology and recaptures that fairytale but still very grounded feel. Rae is an amazing POV character and I tore through the book once I got started. Can’t wait for the next one now since this ends on a cliffhanger!

After reading Thorn, I was very excited to start Theft of Sunlight. Theft is a fast paced fantasy that is a spin-off of Thorn, and it did not disappoint. I loved how this book had such a strong, badass heroine with a disability. We definitely need more of that in YA! I also appreciated how the author tackled the very real, and very serious issue of human trafficking.

Children have been disappearing across Menaiya for longer than Rae can remember. When her best friend’s sister disappears without a trace, Rae knows that she can not sit around and ignore the problem any longer. They believe the little girl has been taken by the “snatchers.” Rae decides to take her cousin’s offer to come and stay at the palace, where she hopes to find some answers from the royal court. She also hopes that she will be taken seriously due to her growing up in the country, and her club foot.

The court holds its own intrigue. Rae finds an ally in the foreign princess, who appoints her as an attendant. With the princesses blessing, Rae takes to the streets outside of the palace to find some answers. Here she finds some unexpected help from a street thief. As Rae begins to uncover more information, things become much more complicated and dangerous. Throughout the journey, Rae faces a lot of challenges, but she does not let what anyone thinks of her or her disability stop her. She slowly begins the process of loving herself.

Perfect for fantasy lovers, this one has an ending that will leave you breathless and dying for the sequel!

I enjoyed this fast-paced YA Fantasy! This story may be fantasy but it touches on the very real topic of human trafficking. I loved seeing Rae put the pieces together to build a case to find who took her friend. With the help of the future princess and a local thief Rae is determined to find out the truth. This was one adventure after another & Rae faces some serious challenges that lead to an intense ending. Beware this one has a cliffhanger that leaves you speechless!

The author did a great job writing a character with a disability. Rae doesn’t let her club foot slow her down.

I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for their next YA fantasy read!

I received The Theft of Sunlight from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!

I had read Thorn, the first book of the Dauntless Path series years ago, I believe again through NetGalley. I really liked it, but so long had passed until this second book came around that I didn’t remember much at all. I somewhat regret that, because I wonder how I’d seen the old familiar characters if this book with the knowledge from the previous one.

Either way, my question is: When is the next one coming?

Because The Theft of Sunlight was really cool! It took me just a few days to finish it (with work and whatnot inbetween), and I enjoyed the setting and the characters a lot, even the ones who I don’t remember much about from Thorn.

This book is basically a fantasy detective novel in a medieval fantasy world where elves and magic exist. What’s not to love?

The main character in this book is Rae – the daughter of a horse farmer, who, upon visiting her cousin at court gets appointed as the new princess’ attendant and leads the investigation of a child slave trade ring lead by a mysterious group known as “the snatchers”. Rae is brave, inquisitive and loyal, albeit a bit stubborn, and manages to make a group of interesting friends along the way, such as a tax clerk, a thief and an elf ambassador.

I liked Alyrra in this book, and I’m pretty sure I must have liked her in Thorn, because she is very clever and resourceful. The part I’m disappointed about is that I don’t remember her previous relationship with prince Kestrin, and how it evolved to what’s now in The Theft of Sunlight, because they were just so cute!

I’m really anxious, though, about when the next book is coming, because the ending of this one was an epic cliffhanger and I just can’t accept that it might take 5-10 more years until another book comes out. Up until the last few chapters I expected everything will be wrapped up neatly, and then poof! – that ending. I can’t take it, Netflix has made me unable to wait for the next episode’s coming out.

Ms Khanani, pretty please...

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our library wishlist and recommended it to students.

I have been waiting eight years for this book and it has been so worth the wait.

Rewind to 2012 – the year where I was applying for university scholarships and trying to finish as many books in my school library before I graduated. Sometime during the year, I participated in a blog tour for a book named Thorn, a retelling of The Goose Girl, and fell in love. Unusually for me, I signed up for the author’s mailing list and I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS BOOK EVER SINCE.

(Honestly, if there wasn’t a mailing list, I may not have remembered but I’ve been reminded of this on and off for years so can you imagine my excitement when I heard The Theft of Sunlight was ready??)

The Theft of Sunlight is set in the same world as Thorn. While you don’t have to have read Thorn to appreciate this, I highly recommend you do so because:

1) Thorn is a fantastic retelling of The Goose Girl and

2) It will help you understand a lot of the character relationships. While Rae, our protagonist, is a new character to this world, many of the main secondary characters were in Thorn and it really helps the reading experience if you know what they’ve gone through.

(Ok, I’m finally done with the digressions)

The Theft of Sunlight starts when Rae’s best friend’s sister is taken by the “snatchers”. In order to learn more about this mysterious, possibly magical group, Rae accepts an invitation from her cousin, who married a nobleman, to accompany her at court while she is pregnant. But shortly after she gets there, Rae is taken into the service of the Princess (the Prince’s betrothed) and given a secret, secondary task to investigate the disappearance of the children.

Honestly this book was phenomenal. Rae is the best – although she is born with a club foot, she has never let that get in her way and carries out her responsibilities as faithfully as possible. I also love how the secondary characters were mostly supportive and wholesome. For example, Prince Kestrin and Princess Alyrra’s relationship made me melt (this is the topic of Thorn so please read it) and I’m not a romance person! Rae and her cousin, Melly, was also uplifting to read, and I also enjoyed Rae’s budding romance with a certain side character.

But although the core supporting characters are all so lovable, there are, unfortunately, others. The court ladies are standoffish until a foreigner makes them band together around Rae and Alyrra (sounds familiar…) and the foreign prince, Alyrra’s brother is downright despicable. Overall, I thought the book had an excellent mix of characters, from those I loved to those I loved to hate.

The story was intricate and the world even more real than what I experienced in Thorn. I suppose that now the book is free from the frame of the retelling, Intisar has managed to really expand the world and build upon the story. We have court politics, we have missing children, we have family relationships – this book has them all. One note of warning: this book does touch upon domestic abuse and slavery, and Intisar does not shy away from the effects of these.

There’s also one more thing to note. If you are a completionist, you might want to avoid this book until the next one is out. This is a duology and it definitely ends on a cliffhanger. Like with Thorn, I’m now super hyped for the next book and hoping it comes out soon!

If you’re a fan of fantasy or just well-told stories with really strong protagonists in a unique world, can I please recommend in the strongest and most polite terms that you read The Theft of Sunlight? It is amazing and I’m sure you won’t regret it.

Disclaimer: I got this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Rae is fearless and I love seeing how she works as a thief and how detailed everything is. It comes out a couple of days before my birthday and I just adored this book. I'll be doing a detailed review on my blog closer to the release date but just know that this is a must=read!!