I was excited to read The Stardust Thief, and it's a fairly solid fantasy, but it didn't quite work for me.

The premise is fun: Loulie is a young thief with a jinn bodyguard, and they meet and save Mazen, a prince in disguise. They have to find a magic lamp and navigate a conflict between humans and jinn. There are references throughout to tales from 1,001 Nights.

I really enjoyed the world Abdullah created: it feels alive, full of colour and sound. The magic is intriguing and I was interested in the history and myth that brought us to the start of the novel. I loved the emphasis on the power of storytelling.

Unfortunately, I never became fully interested in the current-day characters and plot as I was reading. Loulie and Mazen feel a bit like generic YA fantasy characters for me, and the prose is fairly basic, with awkward dialogue. It reads quite young, though seems to be marketed as adult fantasy. (And I love YA fantasy -- but this one just didn't grab me.) I'm a reader who loves interesting characters and a strong voice. I wound up reading halfway and deciding not to finish this one.

However, I think readers who are more plot-driven will find a lot to like here. As I mentioned, the world is interesting and immersive, in a way that (for me) the characters aren't. It's a solid book, just not to my personal taste.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for my review copy of this book.