Chelsea Abdullah

Stardust Thief

The Stardust thief is a wonderful and enchanting fantasy inspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights. The author did a fantastic job at subtly weaving the tales into the story. 

DUDES WITH EARRINGS ALERT! 😏

It was so refreshing to have a male character who's not a muscular macho warrior. Mazen is a h̶̶̶̶̶i̶̶̶̶̶m̶̶̶̶̶b̶̶̶̶̶o̶̶̶̶ curious prince who loves stories. Loulie or Layla is the midnight merchant who sells relics (objects with magical powers). “I would rather marry a dust-covered relic than a man,” Loulie, mood. She travels with Qadir w̶̶h̶̶o̶ ̶i̶̶̶̶̶s̶̶̶̶ ̶̶̶̶a̶̶̶̶ ̶̶̶̶d̶̶i̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶l̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶f̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶, her jinn bodyguard and father figure.

“You rely on me, but I also rely on you. We are a team, you and I.”

“You are the most courageous person I know, Loulie al-Nazari. Without you, I would still be aimlessly wandering the desert, lost in my grief. You are not weak. That is why I follow where you walk: because I trust you.”

“The compass led me to you, and it is with you I shall stay until destiny demands we part ways.” 

Tell me this isn't the most beautiful thing in the world 😭. 

Loulie is brought before the sultan, and he blackmails her into going on a quest to find a relic, to which a powerful jinn is bound. He appoints his son Omar, a jinn hunter, to supervise her. It is actually Mazen who joins her—in return for a favor from Omar—disguised as his brother (with the help of a relic), and Aisha, a badass woman as well as one of Omar's 40 thieves. They travel into the desert and face many dangerous creatures. At the end, we find out who the true villain of the story is, that fucks everything up. 

We never really get Loulie's and Ahmed's backstory, so I'm missing a bit of context there. And to the Stardust thief, I hope both sides of his pillow are warm. 

Can't wait for the next installment. I've recently finished The city of brass, so if you're looking for similar vibes I'd definitely recommend The stardust thief.

Arc provided by publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Stardust Thief

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