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Neither here nor there, but long ago…
Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land—at the cost of sacrificing all jinn.
With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan’s oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie’s past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything—her enemy, her magic, even her own past—is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality.
(summary from Goodreads)
What a beautiful, magical book!
I loved the magical, enchanting Arabian setting of this book. The Stardust Thief wonderfully incorporates stories from One Thousand and One Nights to weave a well written novel full of magic and adventure. The world was immersive and it was easy to lose myself within the journey and the characters. I loved the legend and stories of the jinn and the storytelling.
This is such a wonderful debut from an Arab woman writer. I love the characters, and the varying POVs I felt added to the story. Loulie and Mazen were such interesting characters and I loved their character arcs. I can’t recommend this enough for fantasy lovers and look forward to more installments.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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