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achingallover's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
incredible
i will not stop talking about this to anyone who will listen
i wanted more zaynab but that's literally my only critique
the chosen name thing!
just. perfection.
i will not stop talking about this to anyone who will listen
i wanted more zaynab but that's literally my only critique
the chosen name thing!
just. perfection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
totallyshelfaware's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
5.0
This obliterated me. 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
micheala's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
I've been putting this book off for a while as I loved the first two books and I didn't want this trilogy to end. The thing that finally pushed me to pick it up was the fact that it was overdue at the library and I couldn't renew it and I felt bad not reading it or returning it lol
There really is no way to talk about the finally in a series without spoiling the rest of the series, so if you haven't read the Daevabad Trilogy, all I can say is I highly recommend it.
I'm not a particularly fast reader, but I finished this 750+ page book in 4 days. The pacing never feels like it's dragging or like any of those pages are simply filler. Everything feels important to the plot and necessary for this rich world and this stunning conclusion to an amazing trilogy.
We continue to have the three alternating POVs of Narhi, Ali and Dara and all three of those POVs feel like they were given equal importance (not like the author had a clear favourite that they wanted to spend more time with, like I'm currently encountering with another book)
I did spend a LOT of this book very frustrated with Dara, in that he keeps being willfully naive about what is going on and what he is assisting with. I mean it makes sense for his character, it's just annoying wanting him to get with it already. Plus spending so much time with Manizheh was infuriating - like I'm sure it was meant to be.
I liked seeing all the threads that were laid in the first two books concerning Ali and Narhi start coming together. Finding out the truth about both of their histories was very satisfying.
I also really appreciated the way things wrapped up. It's not all sunshine and rainbows (there was a genocide and civil war that just happened so it would have felt out of place if it had), but there was that hopeful tint to the events.
Overall this was a very satisfying conclusion to a series that I've very much enjoyed and I'm glade to finally have read it.
There really is no way to talk about the finally in a series without spoiling the rest of the series, so if you haven't read the Daevabad Trilogy, all I can say is I highly recommend it.
I'm not a particularly fast reader, but I finished this 750+ page book in 4 days. The pacing never feels like it's dragging or like any of those pages are simply filler. Everything feels important to the plot and necessary for this rich world and this stunning conclusion to an amazing trilogy.
We continue to have the three alternating POVs of Narhi, Ali and Dara and all three of those POVs feel like they were given equal importance (not like the author had a clear favourite that they wanted to spend more time with, like I'm currently encountering with another book)
I did spend a LOT of this book very frustrated with Dara, in that he keeps being willfully naive about what is going on and what he is assisting with. I mean it makes sense for his character, it's just annoying wanting him to get with it already. Plus spending so much time with Manizheh was infuriating - like I'm sure it was meant to be.
I liked seeing all the threads that were laid in the first two books concerning Ali and Narhi start coming together. Finding out the truth about both of their histories was very satisfying.
I also really appreciated the way things wrapped up. It's not all sunshine and rainbows (there was a genocide and civil war that just happened so it would have felt out of place if it had), but there was that hopeful tint to the events.
Overall this was a very satisfying conclusion to a series that I've very much enjoyed and I'm glade to finally have read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia
leahsbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This series has been absolutely amazing, and after finishing it, I’m both completely fulfilled and sad to see it come to a close. All in all, it was a great ending to the trilogy, although I’m hoping to see more come from the author.
The world-building continues to be absolutely incredible. This book ranges farther than the previous ones, allowing us to see even more of the wonders in this world. From the human streets of Cairo to Daevabad to other areas of the djinn world and even into the lands of the elementals, they’re all portrayed so beautifully and richly that I could feel as though I was right there with the characters with no effort on my part.
“The water arched around him like a tunnel, marshy roots and submerged trees stretching to hold up a glittering canopy of refracted celestial light, glimmering droplets, and dappled green lily pads. Fish and turtles swam past, the silvery whites of their bellies flickering like candles.”
Another area where this book really shines is the characters. They’re each so thoroughly created, realistic, and flawed, while the majority still retain that sense of lovability. It didn’t escape my notice that the major power players in this book were all female, while the male characters played supporting roles. Manizheh, Nahri, and Hatset were the strong women pulling the strings, and even though their motivations were very different, I loved that they found ways to reclaim power that had been denied to them.
I’ve loved Nahri from page 1 of book 1. She’s tough, smart, and not afraid to be who she is. However, her past has left her with no shortage of trauma, and she’s scared to get close to anyone. I can’t say I blame her. Fortunately, growing up in the human world has left her uniquely positioned to do well in a world where magic has disappeared. As usual, though, she’s forced to make some difficult decisions to save the world that she loves.
“Nahri had sworn never to be a pawn again, and yet here she was … forced to serve another master in order to save the people she loved.”
Ali has really grown on me over the course of the series. He’s begun to loosen up … slightly. His world has been turned upside down, and everything he ever believed changes in this book. He finds himself trapped in Cairo without magic, and there’s a slow-burn romance that builds throughout the book between him and Nahri. Even as he learns how to adjust his entire worldview, some things never change. Namely, his steadfast morals and his incredible lack of timing:
“‘Creator, it’s like you’re in a competition with yourself over picking the worst time to say something.’”
I seriously struggled with Dara throughout this book. I honestly felt for him in earlier books, but had a complete lack of empathy for him in the first half of the book. By the time he realized he was in a mess, he was too deep to get himself out of it. At that point, I found a little more compassion towards him. His POV chapters also gave us some more insight into what was going on with Manizheh. She was hard not to hate, although her history made it clear what made her the way she turned out to be.
“Dara was so sick of despairing over his fate, of guilt eating him alive. Now he was just furious. Furious at being used, at letting himself be used again and again.”
The pacing wasn’t consistent during this book. The first two parts were super slow. I kept plodding through them, trusting that things would speed up. And when they did, WOW! The action kicked off, and things started moving very quickly, so that the last 2 parts of the book flew by. I’m absolutely a Chakraborty fan for life, and will be eagerly awaiting her next project, regardless of what it is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Genocide, Gore, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Slavery
Minor: Rape
abigailp's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, and Medical content
cerilouisereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Murder, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
katrinarose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
icfasntw's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
QUICK PITCH: The final book in Chakraborty's Daevabad Trilogy, sequel to The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper.
VERDICT: I really cooled down on this book. The first two featured a lot of politicking, which is always my favorite. The third book felt like part adventure novel, part "hanging out with the bad guys so you know how bad they are," and part wrapping up a bunch of threads that were introduced in earlier installments as quickly as possible. The result felt a bit rushed and didn't hold my attention like the first two.
SERIES: Overall, I think the series is all right. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books and I love seeing fantasy stories from perspective other than "Western European." My biggest complaint is that I wish some of the longer threads, likethe marid , had been introduced and explored more thoroughly in previous books instead of all solved at once at the end.
VERDICT: I really cooled down on this book. The first two featured a lot of politicking, which is always my favorite. The third book felt like part adventure novel, part "hanging out with the bad guys so you know how bad they are," and part wrapping up a bunch of threads that were introduced in earlier installments as quickly as possible. The result felt a bit rushed and didn't hold my attention like the first two.
SERIES: Overall, I think the series is all right. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books and I love seeing fantasy stories from perspective other than "Western European." My biggest complaint is that I wish some of the longer threads, like
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, and Blood
azrah786's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
3.0
[This full review can also be found on my BLOG]
Back in March my 4 star rating spoke for itself, I had some issues with this book. I’ve been sat on my feelings for a good 5 months now and it hurt but I couldn’t help but knock off another star. It’s taken some time for me to finally finish putting my thoughts into words but I figured if I say my piece I can put this all behind me and not have all these feelings festering in the back of my mind.
I would like to start off by saying a (belated) MASSIVE MASSIVE thank you to Harper Voyager UK and Netgalley for granting my wish and giving me the opportunity to read The Empire of Gold early.
From the first time I heard about the Daevabad books I had a feeling they would mean something special to me, but I never expected them to wedge themselves SO DEEPLY into my heart. This (not so) little trilogy has very much taken over my heart and soul over the last year and I’ve formed some wonderful friendships through these books, so of course The Empire of Gold was one of my most anticipated release of the year! And let me just say what a finale, trust me when I say this book will have you feeling EVERY POSSIBLE emotion ever.
Shannon’s writing and storytelling is as magical as ever. In this final instalment we get to explore more about various aspects of this world that were only touched on before – venturing outside of Daevabad, meeting some new faces that give a bigger insight into the history and lore of the world, and some long asked questions are finally answered. Though I think I’ve made it obvious that this book was not my favourite.
[Please be aware that from here onwards this is probably spoiler territory. And apologies if this is more of a ramble than a review.]
My biggest issue whilst reading was the fact that I actually S T R U G G L E D to get through the first chunk of the book. And by chunk I mean more than half of it because part 2 is SO LONG that I forgot the book was actually written in parts lmao.
This came down to two major things.
1 - A certain “romance”
I have come to learn that romance can either make or break a book for me a lot of the time, and this time it was the latter..
Throughout this series I have personally read the relationship between Nahri and Ali as a platonic one, (Ali’s little crush aside.) That bffs borderline siblings vibe relationship.
Now during a period where he is mourning his brother, Ali 2 seconds later would be ogling at that same brother’s wife/widow – I’m sorry but doesn’t that sound messed up!?!?!? Furthermore, his devoutness has been such a large part of his character throughout the series yet he was constantly lusting over Nahri in this book – and I mean almost every other page – and that didn’t sit well with me at all.
And with Nahri, up until this point I’ve never read any of her actions to show that she reciprocated feelings like this for him. To me this honestly came out of nowhere and there were times when she was really acting out of character. Hence the romance felt forced and felt like a way to squeeze that one “oh look one of us is going to die so we like need to get together NOW before that happens lol” trope in.
I felt like this was such a disservice to both of their characters and I was just really disappointed.
What pissed me off the most though was - did we really need Nahri, my strong fierce independent woman who don’t need no man, getting tied up in ANOTHER romantic entanglement? Especially when there were more pressing things happening which deserved more page time!!??? (More on this in a moment.)
Just ONCE I was hoping for a well developed friendship to stay that way and not get boxed in by romance, but no.
2 - Not enough of the book was focused in Daevabad where the MAJOR PLOT was actually happening!!!
Now I understand Shannon’s decision to keep the 3 original POVs but there definitely should have been a better balance. 2/3 of the book takes place outside of Daevabad – the city where the world has literally gone to shit, where most of the secondary characters are and where the primary storyline is taking place!!!!
Yes okay, there were altercations with pirates and the Ifrit and the Marid in Ali's and Nahri’s chapters, which was when the story got a little exciting on their side, but double chapters of just gallivanting down the Nile felt like a waste of page time. I mean where did all the Marid stuff actually help in that final showdown!?!??
I was way more interested in what was happening in Daevabad so was eagerly awaiting the next Dara chapter. It felt like SO MUCH was going on there and I just wish we’d gotten another perspective (Muntadhir’s or ZAYNAB’S!!) so we could have seen more. It would have helped balance the narrative out a little.
Dara’s chapters also started getting darker which added to the imbalance because they were so jarringly different to the other two POVs, and they also got physically harder and more painful to read which didn’t help with my struggle. If I didn’t have friends who’d already read the book urging me to continue I probably would have just dropped it.
This blog post written by a friend voices a lot of my other thoughts if you want to check it out, but these were my initial concerns.
The last 20-25% kind of saved the book for me. The emotions I felt reading Part 3 in particular are unmatched to anything I’ve ever read before. And one of the biggest strengths of this book was definitely Dara’s arc. However, the more time I have to think about this book the more lacklustre this conclusion seems.
Don’t get me wrong there were some wonderful scenes and quotes in this book, many that I will treasure in my heart forever. I was very much SOBBING near the end and this series will always be special to me.
It’s just that like a couple of people have pointed out, as a whole it feels as though Shannon was trying to please everyone with this finale which in my eyes was its downfall.
Back in March my 4 star rating spoke for itself, I had some issues with this book. I’ve been sat on my feelings for a good 5 months now and it hurt but I couldn’t help but knock off another star. It’s taken some time for me to finally finish putting my thoughts into words but I figured if I say my piece I can put this all behind me and not have all these feelings festering in the back of my mind.
I would like to start off by saying a (belated) MASSIVE MASSIVE thank you to Harper Voyager UK and Netgalley for granting my wish and giving me the opportunity to read The Empire of Gold early.
From the first time I heard about the Daevabad books I had a feeling they would mean something special to me, but I never expected them to wedge themselves SO DEEPLY into my heart. This (not so) little trilogy has very much taken over my heart and soul over the last year and I’ve formed some wonderful friendships through these books, so of course The Empire of Gold was one of my most anticipated release of the year! And let me just say what a finale, trust me when I say this book will have you feeling EVERY POSSIBLE emotion ever.
Shannon’s writing and storytelling is as magical as ever. In this final instalment we get to explore more about various aspects of this world that were only touched on before – venturing outside of Daevabad, meeting some new faces that give a bigger insight into the history and lore of the world, and some long asked questions are finally answered. Though I think I’ve made it obvious that this book was not my favourite.
[Please be aware that from here onwards this is probably spoiler territory. And apologies if this is more of a ramble than a review.]
My biggest issue whilst reading was the fact that I actually S T R U G G L E D to get through the first chunk of the book. And by chunk I mean more than half of it because part 2 is SO LONG that I forgot the book was actually written in parts lmao.
This came down to two major things.
1 - A certain “romance”
I have come to learn that romance can either make or break a book for me a lot of the time, and this time it was the latter..
Throughout this series I have personally read the relationship between Nahri and Ali as a platonic one, (Ali’s little crush aside.) That bffs borderline siblings vibe relationship.
Now during a period where he is mourning his brother, Ali 2 seconds later would be ogling at that same brother’s wife/widow – I’m sorry but doesn’t that sound messed up!?!?!? Furthermore, his devoutness has been such a large part of his character throughout the series yet he was constantly lusting over Nahri in this book – and I mean almost every other page – and that didn’t sit well with me at all.
And with Nahri, up until this point I’ve never read any of her actions to show that she reciprocated feelings like this for him. To me this honestly came out of nowhere and there were times when she was really acting out of character. Hence the romance felt forced and felt like a way to squeeze that one “oh look one of us is going to die so we like need to get together NOW before that happens lol” trope in.
I felt like this was such a disservice to both of their characters and I was just really disappointed.
What pissed me off the most though was - did we really need Nahri, my strong fierce independent woman who don’t need no man, getting tied up in ANOTHER romantic entanglement? Especially when there were more pressing things happening which deserved more page time!!??? (More on this in a moment.)
Just ONCE I was hoping for a well developed friendship to stay that way and not get boxed in by romance, but no.
2 - Not enough of the book was focused in Daevabad where the MAJOR PLOT was actually happening!!!
Now I understand Shannon’s decision to keep the 3 original POVs but there definitely should have been a better balance. 2/3 of the book takes place outside of Daevabad – the city where the world has literally gone to shit, where most of the secondary characters are and where the primary storyline is taking place!!!!
Yes okay, there were altercations with pirates and the Ifrit and the Marid in Ali's and Nahri’s chapters, which was when the story got a little exciting on their side, but double chapters of just gallivanting down the Nile felt like a waste of page time. I mean where did all the Marid stuff actually help in that final showdown!?!??
I was way more interested in what was happening in Daevabad so was eagerly awaiting the next Dara chapter. It felt like SO MUCH was going on there and I just wish we’d gotten another perspective (Muntadhir’s or ZAYNAB’S!!) so we could have seen more. It would have helped balance the narrative out a little.
Dara’s chapters also started getting darker which added to the imbalance because they were so jarringly different to the other two POVs, and they also got physically harder and more painful to read which didn’t help with my struggle. If I didn’t have friends who’d already read the book urging me to continue I probably would have just dropped it.
This blog post written by a friend voices a lot of my other thoughts if you want to check it out, but these were my initial concerns.
The last 20-25% kind of saved the book for me. The emotions I felt reading Part 3 in particular are unmatched to anything I’ve ever read before. And one of the biggest strengths of this book was definitely Dara’s arc. However, the more time I have to think about this book the more lacklustre this conclusion seems.
Don’t get me wrong there were some wonderful scenes and quotes in this book, many that I will treasure in my heart forever. I was very much SOBBING near the end and this series will always be special to me.
It’s just that like a couple of people have pointed out, as a whole it feels as though Shannon was trying to please everyone with this finale which in my eyes was its downfall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
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