leighmillonig 's review for:

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

5.0

adventurous dark emotional 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

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As good as the first book, this second installment in the Daevabad trilogy had even more character development and political intrigue – while still being really action-packed. Dara's back, and it was interesting to get inside his head in this book. Though it's still Nahri and Ali's story. The friction between characters who love each other (just about everyone in the book, lol) was really compelling and I loved  how the usual messy family tensions get much higher stakes in a ruling royal family like Ali's. This book really dives into the themes of religious and racial prejudice, genocide, and the perpetual cycle of revenge that can last generations. Super thought-provoking and with clear allusions to real-life Middle Eastern strife both past and present without ever being overt or judgmental.