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kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.75
From the second I started the first chapter I was immediately obsessed. The storytelling is genius and so brilliantly written, I could not put it down.
Six of Crows inspired chaptering, with each one written through the perspective of a main character. Heavily inspired by A Thousand and One Nights in the best way. The worldbuilding was gorgeous and descriptive, I loved the characters and the quests. The stories within the story - the history of this fantasy world which shapes and deepens your understanding of characters.
I am one for enjoying when heroic quests go awry and everything goes wrong and good lord did things go wrong for the characters. Many times. Betrayal, heartbreak, loss, pain, old foes, new foes, deceit. It all very much happens in this action-packed story and at times it is brutal.
I am very interested in seeing how this trilogy plays out, however, as this book ended in an interesting way. Not on a cliffhanger as such, but I am looking forward to seeing what happens after this.
Six of Crows inspired chaptering, with each one written through the perspective of a main character. Heavily inspired by A Thousand and One Nights in the best way. The worldbuilding was gorgeous and descriptive, I loved the characters and the quests. The stories within the story - the history of this fantasy world which shapes and deepens your understanding of characters.
I am one for enjoying when heroic quests go awry and everything goes wrong and good lord did things go wrong for the characters. Many times. Betrayal, heartbreak, loss, pain, old foes, new foes, deceit. It all very much happens in this action-packed story and at times it is brutal.
I am very interested in seeing how this trilogy plays out, however, as this book ended in an interesting way. Not on a cliffhanger as such, but I am looking forward to seeing what happens after this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, and Alcohol
writteninmagic's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
3.5
The world-building was well-written. My favorite parts were the tales of the Jinn and other characters; they added complexity to the characters, especially to the magical beings. There was a variety of magic throughout the story, and I liked that there were limitations to the powers.
The characters were okay. I didn't feel particularly attached to them. On another note, the instance where a dangerous and powerful item was left behind because a character supposedly forgot about it (even though they were highly aware of some of its powers) made little sense.
While the journey for the characters was long, the book also felt longer than necessary. At times, especially in the middle of the story, it felt like it was dragging along. Several things are left unanswered by the end. With all that said, I'm interested enough to give the second book a read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
angeldevoursliterature's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing
stargazer_ley's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The facinating focus on Arabic cultures is a pleasant change of pace for me, however I found myself wanting a glossary to define certain terms. While context provided some measure of assistance, I would have preferred actually having the information (Google is exactly helpful when I don't know what I'm trying to find.) That said the characters and story were compelling and I found myself constantly having to mentally update my theories. It was overall a good book that I'm glad I purchased and I am looking forward to getting the next volume. :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Slavery, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death and Cursing
cookiecat73's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book wasn't 100% my thing, but I have incredible respect for the author. The world and magic was cool and interesting, and character development was really well written, but it was the plot that blew me away. The twist were really well done and way they tied everything together was brilliant. It also gave you all the pieces you needed to figure things out for yourself (and it was incredibly satisfying when I did) whilst also providing explanations for anyone who didn't figure it out yet, but in a way that wasn't beating you over the head with it or talking down to the reader, it just felt like the characters figuring it out themselves.
Personally I had no real interest in the romance/crush aspects, and some of the torture/violence was a bit much imo, but my biggest issue was the fake-out deaths. If it was just Aisha's I wouldn't have much of an issue because there were still consequences, but Mazen and Qadir's I don't think serve any real purpose, and they made threat later on feel hollow for me. In general there are a lot of times where people sustain what should be serious injuries, but then they just recover? It made me feel like the characters would just be fine whatever happened, which made any times where there was meant to be danger and threat feel less meaningful and more hollow. Thankfully the plot and twists were really really interesting and well done, so I still was invested in the book, but I think if maybe those 2 deaths weren't there and some of the injuries either didn't happen or had more consequences I would have enjoyed it more
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
courtwj's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing
mal_grace's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
I enjoyed reading this book, but I wish there was less language. The first half of the book has a few minor curse words, but the latter half has a smattering of harsher language throughout. Otherwise, a solid read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Cursing and Gore
thecatconstellation's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.25
Overall, I really enjoyed this. Lots of adventure and twists. I do think it dragged at times while going too fast at others. Can’t wait to read the next one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cursing and Alcohol
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Chelsea Abdullah had some good ideas here, but in the end, this novel left me slightly confused and underwhelmed.
First, to the good stuff. I liked how Abdullah intertwined the best-known Arabian Nights stories into her tale, incorporatingScheherezade, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and I'm sure there were many more stories woven in that I was unfamiliar with . The first hundred pages or so The Stardust Thief are snappy and pacy in style, and I was thinking "oh, this is going to be a cracking good story."
It wasn't long after our narrators - Loulie, Mazen and Aisha (as well as Qadir) - set out on their journey (not a spoiler as it's in the official blurb) that I started to get confused. It was still incredibly gripping to read - but I was no longer as invested as I was in the beginning.
So what went wrong? For me, it was a number of things. A few plot holes which I couldn't rationalise to myself. Too many convenient escapes where someone or something turned up at just the right moment. The characters felt too thin and weren't developed enough to make me care about them. I was confused about jinn lore and exactly how the magic worked. And I think it was too long, with twist upon twist until it became impossible to keep track of who knew what and when.
In conclusion, a strong start and some clever ideas, but the worldbuilding and character development left a lot to be desired.
First, to the good stuff. I liked how Abdullah intertwined the best-known Arabian Nights stories into her tale, incorporating
It wasn't long after our narrators - Loulie, Mazen and Aisha (as well as Qadir) - set out on their journey (not a spoiler as it's in the official blurb) that I started to get confused. It was still incredibly gripping to read - but I was no longer as invested as I was in the beginning.
So what went wrong? For me, it was a number of things. A few plot holes which I couldn't rationalise to myself. Too many convenient escapes where someone or something turned up at just the right moment. The characters felt too thin and weren't developed enough to make me care about them. I was confused about jinn lore and exactly how the magic worked. And I think it was too long, with twist upon twist until it became impossible to keep track of who knew what and when.
In conclusion, a strong start and some clever ideas, but the worldbuilding and character development left a lot to be desired.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Self harm, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy
Many murders and violence occur through magical means.bookishflower's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“I am Loulie al-Nazari, the Midnight Merchant, and I am the master of my own fate.”
I wouldn’t have picked this up if it hadn’t have been in the Fairyloot May box, but I’m so glad I did! I tend to be intimidated by adult high fantasy, but this was easy to read, had beautiful and witty writing, with nuanced characters you can root for. I think this would be a great entry to adult fantasy books if anyone was looking for one.
I adored the importance of storytelling, and the ambiguity of good and evil in this book. I also loved Qadir, Loulie, Mazen and Aisha. I hope we get to see their found family develop more and explore more of the world building as the series continues! I will definitely be continuing with this series! This book took me back to my love of stories and a thousand and one nights when I was younger.
I wouldn’t have picked this up if it hadn’t have been in the Fairyloot May box, but I’m so glad I did! I tend to be intimidated by adult high fantasy, but this was easy to read, had beautiful and witty writing, with nuanced characters you can root for. I think this would be a great entry to adult fantasy books if anyone was looking for one.
I adored the importance of storytelling, and the ambiguity of good and evil in this book. I also loved Qadir, Loulie, Mazen and Aisha. I hope we get to see their found family develop more and explore more of the world building as the series continues! I will definitely be continuing with this series! This book took me back to my love of stories and a thousand and one nights when I was younger.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement and Alcohol
Minor: Child death and Cursing