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A review by sgall75
The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
3.0
I was so excited to read this book, based on the stories from 1001 nights and the cover is just stunning.
Sadly, this book just didn't deliver on the exciting premise. The legendary Midnight Merchant, Loulie and her bodyguard are forced to join the gentle Prince Mazen and thief, Aisha, to cross the treacherous Sandsea in search of a long lost Jinn relic. This book should have it all; strong, female characters, a gentle, yet brave male lead, magic in a fantastic setting. I can see that this book would certainly be someone's favourite but that someone isn't going to be me.
I found the narrative to be very juvenile. There was an over reliance on telling the story rather than showing and so many adverbs I sometimes felt I was marking a year 6's creative writing project. I personally found the characters to be one dimensional and I couldn't get behind them or care for them. I did like the relationship between Loulie and Qadir, her bodyguard. I've seen this novel has a lot of five star reviews so it's one of those you'd need to read yourself to see if you'd enjoy it.
Thank you for Netgalley and the publishers for providing an ARC of this novel.
Sadly, this book just didn't deliver on the exciting premise. The legendary Midnight Merchant, Loulie and her bodyguard are forced to join the gentle Prince Mazen and thief, Aisha, to cross the treacherous Sandsea in search of a long lost Jinn relic. This book should have it all; strong, female characters, a gentle, yet brave male lead, magic in a fantastic setting. I can see that this book would certainly be someone's favourite but that someone isn't going to be me.
I found the narrative to be very juvenile. There was an over reliance on telling the story rather than showing and so many adverbs I sometimes felt I was marking a year 6's creative writing project. I personally found the characters to be one dimensional and I couldn't get behind them or care for them. I did like the relationship between Loulie and Qadir, her bodyguard. I've seen this novel has a lot of five star reviews so it's one of those you'd need to read yourself to see if you'd enjoy it.
Thank you for Netgalley and the publishers for providing an ARC of this novel.