Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - The City of Brass: A Novel

The first 20% and last 20% had me hooked, I really enjoyed it. It was the middle the really dragged this down, as I felt confused about which tribe hates which and the conflicts that were happening.

And not to mention the romance. It really came out of nowhere and the whole cave scene could be cut out as to me Dara and Nahri didn't have much chemistry, so it doesn't make sense that after a month of travels that we barely saw they'd almost have sex in said cave.

Overall, it's good if you want a political fantasy set in a historical time period (akin to Poppy War which is much better) then this is good! I'll pick up the second book for sure, but I would recommend reading reviews and borrowing from a library in case you find its not to your tastes.

(And also, because this is published by Harper Collins and you should support the HarperCollins Union that's still ongoing).

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madamenovelist's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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stephaniemcuervo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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foxonabook's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Synopsis: During an exorcism, known as a Zar amongst the religious of Cairo, Nahri, a talented conwoman, accidentally summons the djinn warrior Dara. Never one to believe in magic, Nahri is forced to reconsider what she understood of the world, and of herself as Dara takes her to the magical city of Daevabad where she forms an unlikely friendship with Alizayd, one of Daevabad princes with an affinity for the human world. But tensions are brewing and Nahri will have to make a difficult decision between the djinn warrior who saved her life and the new home that has so much to offer.
🧞‍♀️
Review: This has been on my TBR for over a year since I bought the trilogy with a Kobo gift voucher I’d received. I’m ashamed it’s taken me this long to finally read it because I didn’t know how much I needed a book inspired and influenced by the Middle Eastern culture until I’d read this.
🧞‍♀️
The world building is great, the characters are well rounded and the plot is not short of any action, twists or turns. I did feel like sometimes things or a character’s mood/motive shifted a little too quickly, but that’s just a minor detail.
🧞‍♀️
The only reason I’m not giving this 5 stars is because at points you could tell that this book wasn’t written by someone from the Middle East, and that broke the immersion for me. Though there is no denying that this is very well researched and clearly a labour of love, and I may be more sensitive to these things because of my own background 🤷🏽‍♀️

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laurareads87's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The City of Brass has been on my TBR for way too long: it's been recommended to me many times by folks whose reading preferences I trust, but I just never got around to it until now. I'm so glad I did -- I ended up buying the sequel before finishing. This has everything I look for in a fantasy series: political intrigue and scheming, compelling magic, multi-POV storytelling, solid world-building, high stakes maneuvering, and characters who are all ethically ambiguous at best. Definitely recommend.

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