This debut novel is the first middle eastern inspired fantasy trilogy and will definitely become your newest obsession. It’s definitely on my list of favourite books I read this year.

The Stardust Thief draws heavily from One Thousand and One Nights, specifically the story of The Forty Thieves. It’s told from 3 PoVs: a criminal who smuggles and sells illegal magic, a cowardly prince and a jinn hunter who works as a member of the forty thieves. I enjoyed reading from each of their perspectives and absolutely loved the characters, Prince Mazen in particular. While I love reading about hot, cocky fictional men who are assassins and fear nothing, I found it refreshing to read from the perspective of a male character that constantly feels insecure and is basically very naive. Loulie and Aisha did most of the heavy lifting in this book, in terms of the action scenes but it was nice to see how much Mazen’s character changed by the end of the book. He slowly came out of his shell and grew more comfortable with himself.

I loved every part of this book, especially the plot which grew more interesting with every chapter. I probably would’ve binged this in a day if it weren’t for my reading slump. The constant action and fighting along with the really cool plot twists kept me hooked until the very end. This series is perfect for fans of the Daevabad trilogy.

All in all, I can’t wait to read the sequel, which is going to be a long wait. So much for my sanity.

An intriguing novel that combines the legend of the forty thieves, Aladdin, and a storyteller who charmed a king with a new twist. Jinn are considered evil and are hunted. Some people are treasure hunters, selling items with magic to others, some are killers, but each one has their secrets. Loulie travels with Qadir, her jinn companion that save her life years ago. Loulie cannot image her life without him. Mazin is the youngest child of the sultan, who is kept under guard but wants to see the world and enjoys storytelling, but is a coward. A chance encounter forces Loulie into a no choice situation that has them searching for a lamp along with a thief who has been given a mission beyond the treasure hunt. Keeping secrets, all four of them do. As they encounter jinn, they discover the stories told are not all quite what they were believed to be and there is more to it than meets the eye. Another though is pulling the strings, for this individual has had plans in motion for years. Betrayal and secrets affect them all, but can they overcome them in time, for the mission is a dangerous one and they all will need there wits about them to survive.
I received this novel from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Stardust Thief is superb. It is the most epic of epic fantasy. And it deserves every ounce of its fervent hype. I think Abdullah is a great author, she was able to keep me thoroughly immersed with settings and by creating well-realized characters with spectacular developments. I genuinely don't have words to convey how absolutely immense it is. The multiple POVs were particularly interesting and I loved all the characters.
If you like any sort of fantasy, you need this book it. I'm already itching for the next book!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions

I really wanted to like this one but I couldn't get through it. The writing was a bit clunky and the characters didn't have much development or believability. I'm so sad, I really wanted a book like Daevabad or A Master of Djinn

Full review to be posted closer to publication date! Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

As a consummate storyteller, as soon as I saw the synopsis for The Stardust Thief, I knew it was going to be the book for me. And boy did it not disappoint! I loved the plot and the character dynamics of this book, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

DNF. I was hoping for really beautiful prose, but instead the writing is surprisingly plain. It also reads more like YA than Adult Fantasy to me; the characters definitely felt more like teenagers than adults, and everything seemed very simplistic, from the worldbuilding to the plot to the writing.

Not a *bad* book, but not what I was expecting and definitely not for me.

Full review closer to publication date!

I'd like to thank the publisher, Orbit and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my highly anticipated releases and it exceeded my expectations!! Full review will be up on pop culturalist closer to release date. If given the opportunity I would LOVE to interview Chelsea Abdullah about this. This is an Arab inspired Adult fantasy and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this!!

This was superb. Absolute perfection. Every character, every detail is so well written. I wanted this to end but I also wanted it to never end. I cannot wait for the next book.

The Stardust Thief is the first novel in a trilogy that is sure to make a lot of readers’ best books of 2022. It’s rife with interesting characters, deep lore, and stories of magic and jinn sprinkled throughout creating a world that feels lived in and used.

I would recommend The Stardust Thief to fans of Chakraborty’s The Daevabad Trilogy. Both have similar settings and well developed characters, however The Stardust Thief is slightly more magical with less politics.

The Stardust Thief is an Arab fantasy told from three perspectives: Loulie, a criminal merchant, Aisha, a member of the king’s thieves, and Mazen, the king’s son. Each perspective offers a different look at the world and its rules. Loulie was easily my favourite character followed by Mazen then Aisha. Though Loulie annoyed me at times, she felt real and wasn’t infallible despite being the main character. This created an air of unpredictability throughout the novel.

There were so many twists and turns throughout the novel that I never saw coming. The end of the novel is exciting as the truth is revealed leaving the characters uncertain of their future. The Stardust Thief also ends on a fairly significant cliff hanger with new information that was fairly obvious by the end if you were paying attention.

Overall, The Stardust Thief is an excellent introduction to The Sandsea Trilogy rife with interesting characters and intricate world building made real with in-world stories and jinn magic.

This is one of my top reads of 2022. A story about stories: the ones we tell each other, the ones we tell ourselves, the ones we accept, the ones we need to question. I expected a fun fantasy romp and I got that, but I was also punched in the face with all these FEELINGS.

Loulie is a compelling main character. The tragedies that she has overcome, her snark, her feral recklessness, her golden heart. Qadir is my favorite. He's my husband. All his secrets and lies, all his courage and protectiveness, all his raw power and the way even his lizard form can give Loulie The Face.

I love Mazen and Aisha. I love the twists and turns. I love the compelling villains. Above all, I love the themes of found family, of who we are and who we want to be, and the sendup to oral storytelling that pervades every word. Chelsea Abdullah is definitely an author to watch.

I really enjoyed the stories of this book. I love anything based on Arabian Nights, and the author did a great job making the story vibrant, engaging, and original. There were also multiple well-developed characters. There is some strong language in this book so I personally won’t be reading anything else by this author.

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.