Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - La Cité de Laiton

It took me a while to really get into City of Brass but it really caught my attention toward the end and I loved it.

The first half of this book especially is very slow, it‘s littered with worldbuilding that is, admittedly, pretty complicated. I was also so incredibly bored by Ali‘s POV until more than halfway through, mainly because it felt very isolated and it was hard to get a feel for where his part of the story was going - or at least why his POV needed to be there.
Occasionally it felt like a bit of a chore because it‘s very densely written, but the book did a good enough job at leaving crumbs to keep me hooked until the end.

Once I got to the end things ramped up and I think I‘ve actually lost my mind because I am dying to get to the sequel. I love how the book conveys the hardships of ruling, of dealing with a war and with rebellion, with court intrigue and the necessary sacrifices. All of the characters are wrapped up in so much shit and the fact they all have to make devastating choices to deal with it is such a strength of this book. It‘s nice to read something that doesn‘t equip its characters with copious amounts of plot-armour and arbitrarily backs them into narrative corners as a way of railroading them to the next plot point.

I will say that this rating is probably a bit higher than it would be were I not very eager for Kingdom of Copper. City of Brass really felt like it was weighed down by the need for exposition, and I‘m hoping that that the sequel will pick off at a similar level of suspense and intrigue as this ended on and make all of the set-up worth it.

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boba_n_books's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

If you’re looking for something magical, beautiful, and intriguing… you’ve found it in The City of Brass.

This gorgeous novel takes readers on a fantastical journey throughout the djinn world in the Middle East: Daevabad. Told through two perspectives, one insider and one outsider, you slowly learn more about the politics and racial tensions between the different tribes of djinn and the half-breed shafit.

Tensions run high, and allegiances will be tested as both POVs learn to navigate the world of Daevabad. Everything is not as black and white as it seems. Who can they trust? And how can they tell what is right?

You will absolutely fall in love with this world and the characters who inhabit it. I’m immediately picking up book two because I have to know what happens right now.

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hannah_and_her_stories's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

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