A review by ericageorge91
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I LOVED IT! I FUCKING LOVED IT! 

It’s been about two months since I’ve been this invested in a book’s characters and their world. City of Brass might not be for everyone, BUT IT SURE AS FUCK WAS FOR ME 😭

The world-building was lush and intricate. If I’m honest, it might have been a little too intricate at times 😅. I fought for my life trying to understand the different djinn tribes and their characteristics and politics. Did it pull me out of the world at times because of that? Yes, but once I got the hang of this world, I was sucked in. This was set in a Middle-Eastern/Muslim-inspired world, which might be tough for Western readers but, I think if you can read Game of Thrones, you can make it through this book. 

Part of me wishes that Nahri and Dara had gotten to the City of Brass sooner. Another part thinks that we needed time for that relationship to grow from reluctant allies to something more. Because they took so long on this arduous journey, their feelings for each other felt earned. I got so into it, I could almost forget the age gap.

Almost 🥴

This story is full of magic, morally grey characters, and political intrigue. There is so much history and bad blood between various characters and groups of people that I don’t even know who to root for. I ate this shit up. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

TW: Death, violence, slavery, human trafficking, torture, age/gap romance, discrimination, rape (mentions/off page),
Rep: BIPOC characters, Middle Eastern characters, queer SC characters 
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