Information:

• Goodreads: 4.39 out go 126 Ratings as of March 12, 2025 – release date is April 15th.
• Age Category: Adult but reads more closely upper end of YA in my opinion
• Series: Sandsea Trilogy, Book 2
• Genre: Fantasy

Summary:

Loulie, the Night Merchant, and Mazen are trapped in the jinn realm, which is currently crumbling thanks to a certain king. In order to get back home and to Qadir, they must save the jinn world. The world is on the cusp of collapse and Loulie and Mazen find conflict and shady people around every corner. They are faced with considering their own lives, as well as fix the mistakes of others. Meanwhile, Aisha is fighting her own fight as well.

Review:

I gave this a 3 star rating. I adored the first book in the series. The world is so intricate and beautiful. There are jinn, magical relics, actual flying carpets. It is absolutely stunning. The world building is even better within this book, as we actually get to see the jinn world. The characters aren’t even really what I struggled with. They are fun and interesting. This book is about them deciding their legacy. Do they take on someone else’s or carve their own?

It’s a book full of introspection. Mazen is deciding what kind of ruler he is willing to be, if it comes to that. Loulie is deciding who to believe and trust in, particularly when her trust in specific people is called into question. Aisha is navigating her hatred for the jinn while having one live currently sharing her body. You see a lot of character arcs throughout this book, especially when looking at how they were in the beginning of the Stardust Thief. There’s even a cutesy little romance growing, but no worries about that taking over, it doesn’t. It’s barely there at all, but still sweet. My gripe with the characters is that my favorite and the one I wanted to see the perspective of and learn more about is hardly in this book. It’s even named after him and he’s hardly in it.

Next is the writing. The prose is nice; it’s not overly descriptive and not overly simple. It has a lovely flow that feels perfect for the book. The battle scenes are absolutely phenomenal and gripping. Unfortunately, it was also incredibly repetitive. I lost count of how many times Loulie or Mazen commented on Rijah’s eyes – I get it, they glow and they almost never change their eyes when they take the form of someone else. I know it’s a way for the two of them to note whenever it’s Rijah they’re looking at and not someone else, but it just got so repetitive. I swear, the comment “but the eyes were glowing blue and I knew it was Rijah” (not a direct quote, but something very, very similar) at least 5 times within one chapter. Still, each chapter ends on a cliff hanger that has the reader desperate to keep turning pages.

While the writing is done really well, aside from repeating specific phrases, it also reads as if it’s the older portion of YA instead of purely adult. I have read two of these books now and I have no idea how old these characters are. I can believe Aisha is an adult, but Loulie and Mazen? They read as 15-16 at most. They feel so immature. Maybe that’s because they’re constantly around other characters who are centuries older than them. I’m willing to give it that benefit of the doubt, but it just reads as extremely well-written YA in the way the characters interact with one another and view things. That’s not a bad thing at all, just something to take note of.

The plot also felt like it took a small step behind the characters in this one. The first felt like the plot was two steps over the characters, so it makes sense. The plot is still absolutely happening, but it’s the characters making these big decisions that feels more like a focal point. Still, the plot was incredibly interesting. I hate Omar. There were times the characters were confused on who to believe and who to trust and I’m still not sure who is doing what. I believe that’s on purpose. Hopefully. There’s a queen who has made some fucked decisions, but ultimately wanted what she thought was good for her people – though her plan was hurting them. There’s an ifrit who feels alone and abandoned and is acting out on that – though her plan was saving the jinn realm. There’s a servant of the queen who hated her more than anything and is apparently the biggest villain of them all? I like that it’s not a nice and pretty bow. I like that each of them are bad people in some aspects and great people in others. You can feel for each of them.

Ultimately, this was slightly a bummer. But, I’ll give it to Chelsea Abdullah, she knows how to write an ending because that ending has me absolutely needing the next book immediately. It’s well-written with a stunning world and compelling characters, but it was not what I was expecting this book to be or what I wanted it to be. That in no way makes it bad, it just wasn’t what I wanted. And that’s okay. I do think a lot of people are going to enjoy this even more than the first. Are you planning on reading this one? Let me know!