Stealing Thunder by Alina Boyden – a Review

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Description:
Protecting her identity means life or death in this immersive epic fantasy inspired by the Mughal Empire.

In a different life, under a different name, Razia Khan was raised to be the Crown Prince of Nizam, the most powerful kingdom in Daryastan. Born with the soul of a woman, she ran away at a young age to escape her father’s hatred and live life true to herself.

Amongst the hijras of Bikampur, Razia finds sisterhood and discovers a new purpose in life. By day she’s one of her dera’s finest dancers, and by night its most profitable thief. But when her latest target leads her to cross paths with Arjun Agnivansha, Prince of Bikampur, it is she who has something stolen.

An immediate connection with the prince changes Razia’s life forever, and she finds herself embroiled in a dangerous political war. The stakes are greater than any heist she’s ever performed. When the battle brings her face to face with her father, Razia has the chance to reclaim everything she lost…and save her prince.

Review:

Stealing Thunder by Alina Boyden is the first book in her new fantasy series with the same title.  When I started reading this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but upon completion of this story, I am happy to say Stealing Thunder was an excellent read.  The story did start a bit slow, which is normal for any worldbuilding in fantasy; but the second half was very exciting and awesome. 

Razia Khan is our heroine throughout the entire book, and she is a trans gender woman, who gave up life as a crown prince to live her life as a woman.  Razia escaped from her evil father, to become a hijras in Bikampur, where she lives with other girls who are dancers, some also being transgenders.  She is one of the finest dancers, a courtesan, as well as being a thief to help her leader pay bills.   Over time, Razia has become the best at everything she does.

During one of her performances, Razia meets Prince Arjun and both become attracted to each other, as they begin to spend a lot of time together.  He also discovers that she is stealing expensive items for her leader, and arranges for her to leave her dera, bringing along two of her ‘sisters’ to become his concubine.   When Razia left her family, she missed her zahhak (dragon) and Arjun allows her to ride his zahhak, bringing back her memories of her long lost dragon,  Sultana.  When Razia goes to live with Arjun’s family, his father puts her down, even though his son cares for her, but with war on the horizon against a powerful enemy, Arjun’s father will quickly change his tune.  Razia’s background as the young heir to the family throne, gives her amazing knowledge and skills that will push her into the forefront of this war.  Those who look down on her, such as Arjun’s father, her cousin, and others, will begin to see how smart she is, as well as being able to know how to stop and defeat their enemies. 

I loved how Razia finds her lost dragon, Sultana, and uses her abilities to climb a mountain, and get the help they need to defeat the enemy.   But that will bring her face to face with her father, who is determined to kill her.  Can Razia be able to use her savvy, smarts and Sultana to help her win the battle for her life?  To tell too much more would be spoilers, and you really need to read and enjoy the wild and climatic ending.   

The last half of Stealing Thunder was very exciting, nonstop action, with flying dragons, aerial battles, and a heroine who stood up to the challenge.  This was also a sweet romance, as I did like Razia and Arjun together.  Alina Boyden did a great job writing this wonderful fantasy, and I for one cannot wait for the next book. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher