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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I quite enjoyed Chelsea Abdullah’s The Stardust Thief and was pleased to continue the trilogy with this book; I liked this installment even more than the first.
There is a lot about this series, and this novel, that I like: compelling world-building with inspiration from and references to ‘A Thousand and One Nights,’ multiple POVs, and exciting political intrigue and manoeuvring. The plot is well paced and really gets exciting and hard to put down, especially toward the end. Everything I liked about The Stardust Thief also applies here, perhaps even moreso.
My only gripe with the first book was that I felt the characters were not morally ambiguous enough. Everyone read, to me, as either straightforwardly likeable or as evil. This is an area I think this second book really improves upon. Motivations are, in several instances, not what they first appear; I appreciated Aisha’s storyline in particular in this installment. I do think that this novel would’ve for me been stronger had the hint of romance been left out entirely – it was by no means overpowering, but it also felt wholly unneeded and didn’t really add to the development of either characters in any vital way.
This is the second novel in the Sandsea Trilogy. Please note that this book would not work as a standalone.
Content warnings: violence, war, injury detail, blood, death, murder, confinement, grief, torture (almost all off page, not graphic)
Thank you to Orbit Books & NetGalley for providing me an ARC to review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I waited for so so long for this book to come out, and I’m so disappointed to be DNF-ing. The plot is too slow and I find I don’t care about any of the characters. I think the dynamic between Loulie and Qadir was the main driving force of my love of the first book, and the lack of Qadir in this one just made it fall flat for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes