Synopsis:
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.
With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan’s oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie’s past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything—her enemy, her magic, even her own past—is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality.
Review:
Firstly, I’d like to say thank you to Orbit Books for sending me a review copy of The Stardust Thief in exchange for an honest review.
This book was absolutely amazing and I loved everything about it. The Stardust Thief is a fantasy inspired by Arabic folklore, most importantly inspired by One Thousand And One Nights. Chelsea Abdullah includes some of the stories in the book which I really enjoyed, mainly because I don’t think I’ve ever come across anything like that in anything I’ve ever read in the past. The Stardust Thief Has magical Jinn, beautiful world building and lovable characters. The author really allows the reader to care for their well being and since I am a sucker for Character driven stories, I found this perfect for me.
The Stardust Thief is multi POV which I enjoy because it allows me to build a connection with each of the characters. I really like how even though the characters are Thrown together in the most unfortunate way, they slowly start to develop their own individual personalities as well as developing their unlikely friendships. As for Loulie, she ends up learning more about her Jinn Bodyguard than she thought she knew. Loulie and Qadir’s relationship becomes strained but slowly grows stronger than ever as the story progressed. Aisha and the Prince duo were also impacted because of their journey and they developed an unlikely friendship. I really enjoy strong friendships in stories and I enjoy the thrill of not knowing who you’re going to trust. Chelsea Abdullah does such a great job writing her characters out.
The way I pictured the world was almost like a mixture of Aladdin and a heavily planted, magical oasis. Those that read the book might understand what I mean by that. I like the magical element of the Jinn blood and how it can turn a dry piece of land to a beautiful, enchanted garden. The description of the desert makes you feel as if you were there and the heat, oh the heat. Not only does Jinn blood create life but the actual individual magic each jinn can control is interesting.This beautiful book is just full of all types of magic and I loved it. I enjoyed the quest that the characters embarked on and how they stumbled upon enemies on the way to their intended destination. I especially liked how the author described the end of the book and because of that I will be super anxious for book 2.
I have not stopped recommending The Stardust Thief since I started reading it in the beginning of the month. I know for a fact that everyone will love this book. Not only is this a Fantasy, it has beautiful prose that a lot of you will appreciate. The Stardust Thief will become your new favorite book as soon as you pick it up. Not only is it character driven, it also has an amazing plot.
Happy Reading!
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