Loulie is the Midnight Merchant, a criminal who (illegally) sells jinn magic with the help of her jinn bodyguard. She does her best to lie low, but attracts the attention of the sultan after saving a boy she finds out is his son. Now, she must embark on a journey to find an ancient lamp with the guidance of the sultan’s older son and his group of jinn killers.

The prose was so lovely and immersive! The writing was really nice and I can’t wait for more from the author, especially the rest of the books in this trilogy. As a supplement to the main story, folklore stories were also included, which really helped me better follow the main story.

Going into this, I was worried it would be really slow-paced due to its length. However, that was not the case, and there was so much action throughout the story.

Highly recommended for fantasy fans!

I loved this book so much. It reminded me of City of Brass combined with We Hunt the Flame. I loved the Arab rep too. The thing that was missing was romance imo.

4.5 stars!

The Stardust Thief is an incredible introduction to a new fantasy series. A story full of jinn magic, political intrigue, and rich characters, I cannot wait to see where this series goes!

In The Stardust Thief, we follow Loulie al-Nazari, the famed Midnight Merchant, and her mysterious bodyguard Qadir as they are hired (read: forced) by the sultan to retrieve a magical long lost royal heirloom. Sending his son and one of the esteemed Forty Thieves along to ensure the job is completed, we get a multi POV story that is full of twists and turns that had me SCREAMING and turning the pages frantically for the last ~30% of the book.

One of the things I loved most about this book was the setting. It's always so exciting when the setting itself is a character in the novel, and the Sandsea truly stands as a character in its own right. The human characters themselves are also fantastic. I loved that this was told from several POVs! It was so interesting to be able to dive into the thoughts of each of the characters as they went on this incredible adventure into the Sandsea and learn of their motivations and drivers. I cannot WAIT to read the next book in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Stardust Thief
Chelsea Abdullah
OUT TOMORROW!!

The Stardust Thief is a mesmerizing fantasy story inspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights, with stunning atmosphere, magical relics, fantastic jinn, and incredible characters.

In this multi-perspective start to a series, we follow three characters, each with their own motivations, aspirations, and baggage. Through a series of misadventures, a merchant of illegal magics, a cowardly prince, and a royal thief end up traveling across the desert in search of a magical lamp desired by the sultan. The world building in this was handled in such an entertaining way, with magical tales sprinkled throughout the story like legends. There is a lot going on in this world, but the storytelling is always at the center of the book, allowing for the reader to absorb the luscious details without ever feeling overwhelmed or lost. In addition to that, this book is THRILLING. There was a moment in the first third of the book that honestly felt like it was it’s own climax to the story, and I loved it.

This book has some minor flaws, particularly that the middle third lacks a little bit of the momentum that is so prevalent in the rest of the story, but the pay-off was immense and made the whole journey worth it.

I had a great time with this book, and eagerly await the release of book 2 (hopefully only a year from now!! 🤞🏻). If you are looking for a magical and approachable fantasy story, with lore and atmosphere to get lost in, I highly recommend this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Orbit books for an early finished copy of this novel!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy. I feel like young adults would enjoy this book, but the characters are more for adults. The magical Arabian landscapes, folktales, and cultural traditions are reminiscent of Aladdin stories. Fans of We Hunt the Flame and Rebel of the Sands would love this novel, and this book is my 3rd favorite book of all time (after those two). Religion is not a focal point of the book, but knowing some Arabic vocabulary would be helpful (I recommend a glossary for print editions). I appreciate that romance is not a main point in the story line, and the violence is not graphic. However, I cannot recommend this book for classroom libraries due to the profanities. I wish the profanity would be edited out, because this book is amazing otherwise. I can't wait for the sequel, since I enjoyed this book so much, and the ending really is a cliffhanger.

I am a bit torn how I feel about this book. Definitely has a lot of pros and a handful of cons.

Pros: An exciting and magical setting with a super interesting and unique concept. I love the idea of the relics and having ordinary items be magical. The hunt for the magic relic is a fun quest. And the characters are all complex and I found myself really liking them. However..

Cons: I felt like this story really took a while to get into it. I kept wishing for the action to start and for the plot to really take off. Also, there were some lines that were written not in English, which added to the setting but I wish there was some translation, whether in the actual story or a glossary somewhere I could look at to figure out what was being said.

Overall I think it was a good story and I'm glad I read it, and I look forward to the continuation in the next books!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC of this book!

"Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land—at the cost of sacrificing all jinn."

This part of the synopsis sold me instantly on this book and I'm so glad I requested it. "Midnight Merchant", "lamp", and "jinn" had me eager to read this one especially. The book is based on "One Thousand and One Nights", and presents them in a new and fun way. My favorite parts of this book are the jinn and relics that we learn about along the way. The magic system is so interesting and I'm very excited to learn more in the next book. My only complaint is that so much was going on, that I felt like we reached the climax of the book and I forgot all about the end goal of finding the lamp. After that the book felt a little slow to me, but it was obvious we were being set up for the sequel. It picked up at the end and left on a cliffhanger, which I can't wait to dive back into when the sequel is published. Amazing fantasy novel, I highly recommend to fantasy readers.

This is a stunning book! Mythology at its finest! Vibrant world building and amazing characters with a deep narrative that is just wow! This is a great story with tales from “a thousand and one nights”. Enjoyed this story greatly!

Thank you Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was originally a 3 star read for me but the last 20% as well as the set up for a sequel bumped it up to a 4 star. There really wasn’t much in this book to complain about, the plot and characters were interesting, I really enjoyed the magic system and the jinn’s, and the writing was very good. Overall it was just missing that certain something to make it a stand out read. Maybe someone else would find it have that missing factor but for me there was something holding me back from connecting completely with the book. The middle portion felt a bit repetitive and I think instead of continuous action it could’ve been a better time to add in more development for the characters. It would’ve made the scenes that were supposed to be packed with emotion more hard hitting.
However it’s still a fun and fast paced fantasy and I’m really excited to see where the sequel will take it !!

I was so excited to read this book as soon as I read the synopsis and saw it was inspired by One Thousand and One Nights. I was OBSESSED with Aladdin as a child and that led to a fascination with this collection of Middle Eastern folktales, as well. So, I was looking forward to seeing a new creation inspired by these stories in the voice of someone from that particular part of the world. Luckily, it didn't disappoint!

I definitely got gender-swapped Aladdin vibes from the story, especially at the beginning. There wasn't a ton of romance, though, which surprised me at first. In retrospect, I like that the story didn't lean too much into the romance because it leaves the door open for multiple options in future installments and allowed us to get to know the characters as individuals. Although, I already have the coupling I'm hoping for in mind, but I won't tell yet. :)

I really enjoyed how the stories from One Thousand and One Nights were incorporated throughout the book, both as events faced by the characters and as stories told as part of their culture. The book also tackled the theme of story-telling being a powerful force that can be harnessed for both good and evil. It illustrated how stories shape culture, religion, and conflict in a myriad of important ways.

The prose was excellent. I honestly never really wanted to put the book down once I started reading. It was vivid and descriptive without being overly bogged down by details. I felt like I was in the desert fighting all the sand along with the characters. The world-building was interesting, and I enjoyed learning more and more about the Jinn and their magic as the story went along. The pace was fairly fast, especially once the characters embarked on their journey, and the plot didn't really allow very many quiet moments. In general, I'm not a huge fan of the quest trope and tend to get bored with it quickly. However, this book managed to keep my interest with all the different obstacles and villains faced. It was actually all quite a lot for one book, and I did find myself wishing for some quieter moments to get to know the characters even better. Instead the book imparted knowledge about the characters by way of information learned or revealed during their many tribulations, which was entertaining but lacked a depth of feeling. It seemed almost as if the author was afraid that readers would be bored if the characters weren't doing something every single second.

Speaking of the characters, I ended up really liking each of them, which was not guaranteed based on my feelings at the beginning of the book. They all started out pretty one-dimensional, especially Aisha, but over the course of the novel, each of them developed into rather complex, three-dimensional people. All of the POV characters were weighed down by their trauma and losses, and each one had developed unique coping strategies to avoid dealing with their pasts (withdrawal from meaningful relationships, loyalty to a fault while being motivated by nothing but revenge, & literally fleeing from one's life). The struggles they faced on their journey forced each one to confront their emotional baggage. Despite all the growth, I never really got the sense that this group of characters ever formed a cohesive unit. There was so much mistrust that I never really got the found family vibes I was expecting to eventually develop. All the secrets and reveals were interesting, but by the end of the book I wasn't really shocked by them anymore and would have preferred more of them be revealed earlier on in the story. Some of the reveals just ended up seeming like afterthoughts. Although, maybe they will be more important to the next two books.

I only have a couple more thoughts... I promise. lol. I really think that adding a POV for Omar would have made this a 5-star read for me. It would have helped prevent all the major reveals from getting squished in at the end, and the story would have had an anchor showing what was going on in the capital instead of relying on finding out after the fact from brief asides. So much of the interesting political maneuvering happened "off screen," and it all seemed to be in the effort of keeping those dang secrets until the very end. Backtracking a bit to all the things that happened over the course of the journey... it really was a bit too much when put together even though I loved reading each piece of it individually. There were times during the journey that I honestly questioned why the characters even cared about their objective anymore given the things they experienced and learned about on the way. I think removing one of the journey's major obstacles and adding an Omar POV could have solved both of these "problems" for me. Although, at this point I really do feel like I'm being nit-picky because I did love this book.

All in all, this was an action-packed adventure with great prose, fast pacing, wonderful world-building, and a cast of characters I grew to love. Personally, I would have loved more quieter moments of relationship-building for the characters and an increased focus on Omar's role in the story throughout. However, I'll definitely be back for the next two books because I enjoyed this one a lot. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars!

The Stardust Thief is a fun book, with a great magic system and worldbuilding accompanied with good action. But I'll be honest, I skimmed through it after bearing to attentively read the first few chapters.

For a premise that had me excited, the book turned out to be average as a whole. I loved the worldbuilding the most, all the storytelling, jinns and history involved with references to Arabian Nights kept me going through the book. The characters were interesting too, Mazen might be a loser but he's my loser, Loulie and Qadir's relationship is a favourite aspect in the book and Aisha was simply intriguing.

I wish I had more good stuff to say about it but the book quickly lost its grip on me. Mainly because of the length which dampened the excitement of the plot revealsThe Stardust Thief has unnecessary scenes and monologues inserted in places that demotivated me to continue reading. There was something exciting happening at a point and followed by boring pages that threw me off. The average writing didn't help to keep me hooked either (which as other reviewers have said, reads like YA fantasy, certainly not the standard what I expect from an adult fantasy).

Not sure if I'm interested enough in the other books of the series but for readers looking for a fantasy by an Arab author with a captivating quest and great setting, I'd recommend this to you. Especially if you're looking for something in between YA and Adult fantasy!

***4 .25***
Overall

I really enjoyed this book. A story inspired by 1001 nights with its characters engaging and endearing I found myself enraptured by this tale. A medium paced book that kept me interested through most of it. Loulie al-Nazari is a great heroin as she sets out on a quest with an improbable group to find the infamous lamp we all know about from the original story with unique twists and turns along the way.

The one thing that I did not like as much as I would have hoped was that while it was marketed as an Adult novel, a lot of it read like a Young Adult novel. Now that is not a bad thing, I love reading YA, however when you go into a book expecting a certain level of maturity and stakes, it feels just a tad lacking.

Cover
The cover is eye-catching and jives with one of the many usual cover types we are getting with fantasy stories these days.

Recommendation
If you like stories inspired by legends of old and are looking for something that is not western inspired I defiantly recommend this book. I will 100% be reading the next book.

***I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for my free and honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for the opportunity to read this book early***

Reviews Posted on TikTok, Goodreads, and Storygraph
May 15, 2022


I do not think I am a good enough reviewer to express how much I loved this book. Like it was absolutely amazing, and if I could read the second book now, I would. The plot was on the slower side, but for me, it was perfect because everything was laid out so well, and the world-building was so well executed. I loved how the characters both completed and contrasted each other throughout the book. And the ending had me gasping and dying to get a hold of the next book.

The plot and foreshadowing throughout were some of the best I have seen. I never felt like the world-building was bringing shoved in my face, instead, I learned about it by experiencing different character perspectives. While things take a little while to pick up, it is so worth it because the world that the author creates is just so magical and breathtaking. Also, any book involving jinn is going to go to the top of my list, I could just read all the retellings.

If a book has multiple POVs, I’m going to read it. I feel like I always get a better understanding of the world and the plot as a whole. At times the characters seem like polar opposites, and at others, they are mirror images of each other. I enjoyed this because it showcased how time and trauma change people.

The ending was so good. Like I saw some things coming because of how well the author played things out, but they happened in ways that I could never have imagined. Don't get me wrong, so many things at the end still surprised me and just made the whole reading experience that much better. The cliffhanger has me already waiting for the next book.

Overall this has quickly become one of my favorite reads of the year and is one of the few that I can see myself rereading.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah is a lush adult fantasy inspired by A Thousand and One Nights and set in a fictional Arabia where magic is real. The story is told from several points of view, including Loulie, who sells magic illegally as the Midnight Merchant. She is served by Qadir, her jinn bodyguard. One day, she meets a prince, and she embarks on a quest to find a magical lamp with immense power. Along the way, she encounters friends and enemies who are established characters in their own right.

Here is a captivating excerpt from Chapter 1, which is from Loulie's point of view:

"When Loulie al-Nazari was told by the One-Eyed Merchant to meet on a small and humble dhow, she expected, quite reasonably, a small and humble dhow. But the dhow was not small, and it was not humble. It was, in fact, quite the opposite.
The Aysham was a behemoth of a ship, with full sails, a spacious deck, an impressive assortment of rooms, and a lofty crow’s nest. It was, by any measure, a very nice ship. Had she been here as a passenger, she would have enjoyed exploring it.
But Loulie was not here as a passenger. She was here as the Midnight Merchant, an esteemed magic seller, and she had come to meet with a client who was keeping her waiting long past their scheduled meeting time. I will call for you the first hour of moonrise, his message had said. Only, the hour had come and gone, and Loulie was still waiting for him on deck, dressed in the star-patterned merchant’s robe that made her stick out like a sore thumb."

Overall, The Stardust Thief is an amazing, engrossing adult fantasy that will appeal to fans of the Daevabad Trilogy or the Bone Shard series. One highlight of this book is that it is an #ownvoices book. Although the world in the book is clearly fictional, I am so happy that the Middle-Eastern-inspired story is being writen by an author who was born and raised in Kuwait. Another highlight of this book is the climax, which was explosive. I had trouble keeping track of the characters at first, but everything came together by the end, and there were several exciting twists that I did not see coming. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of fantasy in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in May!

THE STARDUST THIEF, the first book in a planned trilogy, spins a spellbinding tale of the power of stories. Loulie al-Nazari, the famous Midnight Merchant, locates and sells jinn relics with the help of her jinn bodygarud, Qadir. She prides herself on staying out of political schemes, but unexpectedly becomes an unwilling pawn in the sultan’s ultimate quest to rid the world of all jinn. They, along with a prince and one of the forty thieves, Aisha, begrudgingly begin their search for a magical lamp in the Sandsea.

I thought the characterization was quite well done in this book. It alternates between the three points of view of the main characters: Loulie, the prince, and Aisha. Both Loulie and Aisha witnessed horrible events young in life and survived. Through their chapters we see how these events formed their personalities. Loulie avoids long term commitment, only trusting Qadir, who rescued her when her entire tribe was murdered. Though she’d never reveal it, she’s a sensitive person and holds those she trusts to their word. Aisha, who encountered violence at the hand of the jinn, turned to a life of vengeance. As one of the famed forty thieves, she seeks out and kills any jinn she encounters. The prince, who has a penchant for storytelling, is sheltered and cowardly, but not remiss of morals and loyalty. As he experiences the world beyond the palace walls for the first time, he becomes more self aware of his perceived shortcomings and grapples with those insecurities.

As someone who knows nothing about jinn, I thought the magic system was easy to understand. That is, the jinn are the magic system. What was less clear to me was the flashbacks of jinn history that the main characters experience on their quest. These flashbacks serve a purpose. But I found it a bit confusing to keep track of the history experienced by the jinn and how that motivates them in the present. I think this is mostly my own personal issue; but I do think some of this is because things will hopefully become more clear in the next books.

However, on the whole I enjoyed learning about the jinn and their history as told from their perspective and from human folklore. One of the overarching themes of THE STARDUST THIEF is that stories offer immortality and grains of truth. But because the survivors pass on the stories, those truths become muddled or sensationalized by the winners. In this case, the winners are the humans. Their fear and greed of the jinn and their magic lead to, frankly, an ongoing genocide of the jinn. As the main characters learn more about the jinn, they inevitably learn about history from a different perspective. This ties in with another theme related to storytelling: stories have power. Just think about how pundits spin facts into half truths to suit their beliefs and move the public based on emotion; or how others may use storytelling to teach a lesson.

Another theme of this book is facing one’s fears. This includes those that are internal and unseen by others, or those of a more physical nature. As I mentioned earlier, Loulie is afraid to get close to anyone after losing her whole family and tribe as a youth. The sheltered prince is a pacifist, afraid of death and of finding himself in a situation where he’s forced to kill or be killed. Even Qadir has secrets of his own that he’s afraid to share with Loulie out of fear she’ll despise him. This ultimately leads to lessons in trusting others and in understanding that it’s ok to ask for help to push through one’s fears.

Finally, for lack of a better word, destiny plays a significant hand in the plot. Or, rather, events that transpire are born from the results of past events. “What if” scenarios become abundant as the characters learn more about each other, their families, and the past.

Overall, I really don’t have any critiques. THE STARDUST THIEF was a refreshing change of pace for me with respect to the fantasy genre. There were some delightful plot twists, a couple of which I had my suspicions about, and a couple of which surprised me. The pacing moved along at a decent clip, though I found the second half more engaging. The writing style is easy to comprehend, the characters are multi-faceted, and the world is rich in folklore and forbidden magic. It’s a very solid four stars in my mind. The only reason I chose not to rate it higher was because of my personal reading experience. I didn’t find myself so sucked in that I wanted to binge read it like I’ve felt with other books. However, I absolutely plan to continue with the trilogy, especially after that ending!

Thank you to the publisher and author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review reflecting my opinions.

Already eagerly awaiting book number two. Seriously this book is a breath of fresh air In the retelling space. It takes everything and adds a twist on it. If you like this woven kingdom this book is so much better imo.
Still a solid 4/4.5 since if book two is better could be a 5 star but cliffhangers kill me.

I love this book and while I refuse to give spoilers I really really hope some of the plot happens the way I want it to.

4.5 stars. This is a magical One Thousand and One Nights retelling with jinn, relics, ghouls, thieves, princes, magic lamps, and more. I loved the desert atmosphere and felt very immersed in the world. There are three POVs: Loulie - the Midnight Merchant, Mazen - the youngest prince, and Aisha - a jinn hunter/thief. Loulie sells relics illegally and has a jinn named Qadir for a bodyguard who sometimes turns into a lizard and their relationship is my fave. I adored poor sheltered Mazen and his soft heart and his love of storytelling. I understand Aisha’s importance to the story but her POV was my least fave.

This book is on the longer side but it reads quickly due to all of the twists and turns and betrayals and revelations. There’s no romance but there is potential for some in the next books. It ends on a big ol cliffhanger and I’ll definitely be reading the next one, I think this has potential to be a really epic series.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

The Stardust Thief felt like a book I should have really liked. It's a story about a quest by a group of people thrown together by circumstance! There's magic and intrigue and great world building! Characters grappling with the idea of what it means to be brave and loyal and good! With all of those things going for it, this book should have really dug its claws into me. And yet, I found myself struggling to really lose myself in the story.

First the good: The world of this book is lush and vibrant, very much reminiscent of - and inspired by - A Thousand and One Arabian Nights. There's plenty of descriptions of food and drink, of the heat of the desert, of the lush vegetation sprung from jinn blood and the varying levels of discomfort the characters feel with that. On the subject of the characters, all three narrators felt reasonably distinct, and I enjoyed getting to see the same world through their different lenses.

That said, I never quite felt like I connected with any of the characters. Backstory was handed out at odd times - or not at all - and I don't think I ever really got a sense of what any of the main characters really wanted, other than the villain who seemed to mostly want power. Obviously, since this is the first book in a trilogy, not every morsel of information can be doled at once, but I think I needed something more to really get to know these characters and make me care about them. Two characters (temporarily) died, and I didn't even feel that emotional about it!

I also found the pacing to be odd and inconsistent. Events happened in short spurts, with long stretches of very little in between. There didn't seem to be much sustained drama in the narrative arc, meaning I had trouble getting invested in any sort of consistent way. In some ways, the plot mirrored the characters' journey through the desert too closely: Long stretches of dry sand with only the occasional oasis to break things up.

I think, in the end, this just wasn't the book for me, though it has plenty to offer that might entice other readers. But I personally won't be waiting with bated breath for the next installment.

3.5/5

I had a lot of fun reading this book! The pace is quick, the story is clear to follow, and the characters are all pretty interesting. I loved all the jinn magic and the different types of magical beings and items throughout the story.
Even though this is the first book of a trilogy, it still has a lot of plot in it. Of course, there is some time at the beginning to introduce the POV characters and their backgrounds, but this introduction time doesn't go on too long and things begin to happen pretty quickly. I enjoyed all the main characters' perspectives and really liked the side characters as well. Based on the cliffhanger of an ending, the next book will be awesome, and I'm planning to read it.
I did wish that the characters had a little more to them to help me connect with them better. There are quite a few plot twists and scary or sad moments in this book that didn't have a full emotional effect because I didn't fully care about the characters yet. I imagine this will get better as the books go on and there is more time for them to develop!
Overall this is a fantasy I would recommend! It's easy enough to follow that I'd even feel comfortable recommending it to people who don't read a lot of fantasy. I'm excited to see what else this author writes!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
THE STARDUST THIEF is the exact type of fantasy book I’m always hoping I’ll find. The fairytale-esque telling within a fantastic setting and the fully realized characters grab you from the start and don’t let go. The three POVs let you fully understand Loulie, Mazen, and Aisha and their motivations and I always love seeing how different characters react to certain scenes. Not to mention it made it impossible to put down from the need to know more!
I cannot wait to return to this world as The Sandsea Trilogy continues and I already know I will gladly reread before each release—and love it each and every time!