The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

Welcome Back, Booklovers. I've been trying to read more adult fantasy this year and sticking to my goal of stepping outside of my comfort zone. I've been hearing so many things about The Stardust Thief all year and was going to wait until release until Orbit offered me a copy. And I'm glad they did because I'm still playing catch up with my TBR and this was just what I needed in between contemporary reads. 

Loulie al-Nazari, infamous jinn relic seller is recruited by the Sultan to retrieve a magical lamp from the Sandsea after she saves one of his sons from being posessed by a shadow jinn. Her jinn bodyguard Qadir accompanies her alongside Mazen and Aisha. Mazen is blackmailed into pretending to be his brother Omar on the journey and unlike his brother, he's not equipped for it. Aisha is one the forty thieves trusted by the real Omar and a jinn hunter.

The Stardust Thief was an interesting read for me because there were sections where I couldn't put it down but there were also sections that I felt coasted along. The beginning took some time for me to get into but I was really vibing with this world. Someone told me this was dark fantasy but while there is some violence I didn't find the tone to be dark. It's a sweeping action and adventure fantasy with the characters journeying through the desert. 

At first I was wondering why Aisha even had a pov when we went 8 chapters without her having one only to then wait another 8 chapters to get her pov again. But she actually ended up being the most interesting character in the story for me. I found myself really enjoying her chapters. 

For Loulie and Mazen to get so many chapters I wanted a little more character development for them. While identity was a big theme in the book Mazen's journey was my least favorite. He's very gentle and at times overly idealistic which results in him getting a rough wakeup call. I enjoyed Loulie's relationship with Quadir and it was nice when they were in scenes together and she had someone who made her address her emotional turmoil. Even though the three are traveling together because they're all dealing with their own internal conflicts at times they felt a little disconnected. But I really feel that problem was solved towards the end.

This book was inspired by One Thousand and One Nights and I do like how the original source material was woven in. There were even little short stories which had there own sections as opposed to exposition dumps and I found that so unique. The world was also vibrant and I had a clear picture of it. I also like how the magic was explained with the jinn relics and the backstories of certain characters without being overly confusing.

I'm interesting in seeing were this trilogy goes in book 2. Also for the people who read fantasy looking for a big sweeping romance, there isn't one here. Though there were hints and I'm glad the author didn't force it. I think people who struggle with larger fantasies like I do sometimes will also appreciate how this story reads.