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A review by themoonwholistens
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
2.0
[ upon further consideration, I have lowered my rating from a 3.5 to a 2.5. I don't think this book was bad but I just did not enjoy my time reading it. I think that the characters get swept up by the plot more than them actually make decisions that drive the plot forward and the build up was just... not there. ]
I liked a lot of things, but I was also, unfortunately, underwhelmed by a lot more. If you’re someone like me who cannot handle slow-paced books, you’re going to need to pack a lot of patience.
Hiba said that this read like a 500-page prologue and… I agree?? this book promises a lot and I think I was waiting for that
for some good news: this gave me a lot of Gods of Jade and Shadow x Aladdin vibes which was really fun
I think my expectations were just too high. I do think we need more Islamic rep in books, especially since I actually found the mythology one of the most interesting aspects of the whole thing. The writing style is very accessible while still feeling entirely transportive but the plot failed to capture my interest for the most part and I could not get myself to be emotionally attached to the characters. The info dumpy parts didn’t really help either even though the ideas were unique. I’m not saying that there weren’t any interesting parts in this book at all… but it sure did take a long time for them to get to the point.
the parts I enjoyed the most were the first 30% and the last 30% of this book, the middle portion was shrivelling my brain cells.
I did love the 18th century Cairo setting and what Nahri’s character ultimately meant in the ending of the book being what she is:. The underlying themes of oppression and believing that a certain lineage/blood holds superiority that was discussed within the plot was intriguing… but, again, it was mostly in the ending.
!! There is Muslim representation (the mythology was what I loved), which I can’t comment on the accuracy of but I will now be directing you to May and Hiba for some #OwnVoices reviews !!
I wouldn’t go into this expecting a sweeping romance that fit my reading taste but there is a romance. For the most part, I saw Nahri and Dara as friends, the dynamic was intriguing at best and boring at worst. I acknowledge that this was very trope-y but it was executed in a better-than-usual-way. I just really wished I was more invested in the characters. There wasn’t really anyone I was too interested to learn more about, which is important for me in a story.
I do think it has a lot of unique twists but it just never felt like the stakes were high enough even though I knew it was. The slow pacing just doesn’t match my personal reading preferences, especially when it comes to bigger casts and complex world-building that require me to be invested in more than a few characters.
Chakraborty’s passion bleeds through the narrative. I just think this book dragged on longer than necessary without capturing my interest the way it should. I’ll still probably read the second book because I have heard that it does get better but we'll see.
↣ If you enjoy a unique and descriptive world-building, you'll probably enjoy this as long as you don't mind the slow pacing. ↢
Still would recommend this, it just didn’t blow me way. I feel like if I read this a couple of years ago, I would have loved it.
i'm the unpopular opinion among our buddy reading friends so based on that ratio, there's still a chance that most readers will love this :)
— 2.5 —
⇢ content warnings// Blood, Child trafficking, Genocide, Gore, Rape (mentioned), Torture, Violence, War
I liked a lot of things, but I was also, unfortunately, underwhelmed by a lot more. If you’re someone like me who cannot handle slow-paced books, you’re going to need to pack a lot of patience.
“On the day of your judgement, when you’re asked why you didn’t stand up for what you knew was just… loyalty to your family won’t excuse you.”
Hiba said that this read like a 500-page prologue and… I agree?? this book promises a lot and I think I was waiting for that
for some good news: this gave me a lot of Gods of Jade and Shadow x Aladdin vibes which was really fun
I think my expectations were just too high. I do think we need more Islamic rep in books, especially since I actually found the mythology one of the most interesting aspects of the whole thing. The writing style is very accessible while still feeling entirely transportive but the plot failed to capture my interest for the most part and I could not get myself to be emotionally attached to the characters. The info dumpy parts didn’t really help either even though the ideas were unique. I’m not saying that there weren’t any interesting parts in this book at all… but it sure did take a long time for them to get to the point.
the parts I enjoyed the most were the first 30% and the last 30% of this book, the middle portion was shrivelling my brain cells.
I did love the 18th century Cairo setting and what Nahri’s character ultimately meant in the ending of the book being what she is:
Spoiler
a healer!! There is Muslim representation (the mythology was what I loved), which I can’t comment on the accuracy of but I will now be directing you to May and Hiba for some #OwnVoices reviews !!
I wouldn’t go into this expecting a sweeping romance that fit my reading taste but there is a romance. For the most part, I saw Nahri and Dara as friends, the dynamic was intriguing at best and boring at worst. I acknowledge that this was very trope-y but it was executed in a better-than-usual-way. I just really wished I was more invested in the characters. There wasn’t really anyone I was too interested to learn more about, which is important for me in a story.
I do think it has a lot of unique twists but it just never felt like the stakes were high enough even though I knew it was. The slow pacing just doesn’t match my personal reading preferences, especially when it comes to bigger casts and complex world-building that require me to be invested in more than a few characters.
Chakraborty’s passion bleeds through the narrative. I just think this book dragged on longer than necessary without capturing my interest the way it should. I’ll still probably read the second book because I have heard that it does get better but we'll see.
“In what world do men and women pay the same price for passion?”
↣ If you enjoy a unique and descriptive world-building, you'll probably enjoy this as long as you don't mind the slow pacing. ↢
Still would recommend this, it just didn’t blow me way. I feel like if I read this a couple of years ago, I would have loved it.
// buddy read with Tristan, Lenn, Angele, Rose, Pauline, and Pau
i'm the unpopular opinion among our buddy reading friends so based on that ratio, there's still a chance that most readers will love this :)
— 2.5 —
⇢ content warnings// Blood, Child trafficking, Genocide, Gore, Rape (mentioned), Torture, Violence, War