Book Review: The Stolen Kingdom by Bethany Atazadeh

Title: The Stolen Kingdom: An Aladdin Retelling
Author Bethany Atazadeh

Medium: Advanced Readers Copy. 

Blurb: How can she protect her kingdom, if she can’t protect herself?

Arie eagerly anticipates becoming Queen of her humble kingdom. Even when a Jinni’s Gift manifests before her 18th birthday, she fights to hide the forbidden ability.

But when a neighbouring king attempts to marry her and steal her kingdom, discovery feels imminent. Just one slip could cost her throne. And her life. 

A Jinni hunter and his crew of thieves are her only hope for removing this Gift. And she must remove it before it’s exposed. Or die trying.

The Stolen Kingdom is a loose “Aladdin” retelling. Set in a world that humans share with Mermaids, Dragons, and the elusive Jinni, this isn’t the fairytale you remember…

Purchase The Stolen Kingdom: Amazon   Abebooks  The Book Depository 

My Review: 

Before reading The Stolen Kingdom, I was a little apprehensive. I’m not the biggest fan of Aladdin (I know, that’s not going to sit well with a lot of you) so coming into this I needed to force myself to keep a very open mind. 

I’m glad I did. 

The Stolen Kingdom opened at the perfect place as Arie learned the fate of what could become of her self and her kingdom. The story from there held my attention until the last page. 

I found the pacing pretty much spot on, the character interactions seemed natural and not forced. I enjoyed that none of the characters was extremely trusting of Arie, the secretive interloper. I find a lot of fantasy novels push everybody on the trust train way to easily but I found that the way Bethany Atazadeh did this was way more natural than previously experienced. 

Another thing I enjoyed about the way this novel was set out is that while there were speckles of romance sprinkled through the story, it was not one of the main focuses. Again I feel like that in a lot of fantasy novels (including one that I am writing) the romance often overshadows the mission. I feel the ‘lack’ of romance really honed in on the importance of the tasks that each person was needing to complete. 

With the sudden passing of my little brother on July 15, I needed something to take my mind away from real life for a while. The Stolen Kingdom was exactly what I needed. I am extremely eager for book 2 later this year. 

I am thankful and pleased that I was selected to review an ARC of this novel. It was a refreshing read that I enjoyed immensely. I gave it a 4-star rating on Goodreads. 

 I highly recommend that you head over to where ever you buy your books and pick this one up, you won't regret it. 

Purchase The Stolen Kingdom: Amazon   Abebooks  The Book Depository 

Keep up to date with everything Bethany Atazadeh:

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Website: https://www.bethanyatazadeh.com

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