The Stardust Thief

Stardust Thief is the first of a new trilogy by debut author Chelsea Abdullah that is out on the 17th! This book is inspired by One Thousand and One Nights, which was great because it's a source that I have little familiarity with.

The book follows three POVs: Loulie al-Nazari is a notorious merchant who sells illegal artifacts with the help of her Jinn bodyguard. Mazen is the second son of the Sultan and the son of a famous storyteller, and Aisha, a member of the Forty Thieves that serve Mazen's older brother. When Loulie is captured by the Sultan and forced to find a powerful, ancient Jinn artifact, these characters have to band together to survive.

I really liked this book! I enjoyed all three characters, but especially Loulie and her bodyguard Qadir. I listened to the audiobook and each POV had a different narrator and it was fantastic. I felt each character was distinct and I really liked their growth and their interactions throughout the book. I wish Aisha had gotten more of a story, though.

I also really enjoyed the setting. Abdullah did a fantastic job with making this world feel very distinct and cinematic; I always felt like I could picture whatever scene was happening without being bogged down by descriptions. In this world, Jinn are hunted and killed because their blood makes the desert grow and so areas that are more lush have had more Jinn killed there. So Qadir has to remain a secret and I think all of the magic, reveals, and worldbuilding done by Mazen's POV was well done.

The negative I'd have for this book would be inconsistent pacing. I felt the beginning was absolutely gripping and the last third was fantastic (I especially loved the ending), the middle was a bunch of overcoming random obstacles and then going somewhere else with more obstacles. It's admittedly part of the trope, but could have been cleaner. The plot was a bit too straightforward for all the meandering in the middle.

But this is still a great debut and I will absolutely be continuing this trilogy. Check it out!