The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass?a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.

After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for

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Q&A

Physical or Ebook?
Ebook

Have you ever read a book by this author before?
No

Genre?
Adult Fantasy

Star Rating?

Rereadable?
Yes.

If it’s a series, would you continue reading it?
Definitely. I’ve already pre-ordered the second one!

Who would you recommend this for?
Anyone who enjoys really well developed fantasy novels.

Conclusion:

I was tossing around what I was going to review this book. Initially, I was going to go with 5 stars, but I couldn’t get past how unbelievably slow the first 50% or so of this book was. It took me about a week to finish this, which is virtually unheard of for me. I was a little slumpy, so that may have contributed a bit.

Regardless, this novel is absolutely fantastic. Once you get past the slowness of the book, the story telling really drags you in and doesn’t let go. I always have to give props to authors who create a ton of different characters and still has the ability to make them all seem so realistic. Of course, whenever you go into a fantasy novel, especially one as intricate as this one, there’s always a learning curve as you get used to all the lore. Take your time with this one, it’s good, but it takes some patience.

I loved Nahri and how intense she was. She was a tough MC who learned to take care of herself. I absolutely adored Dara and loved the romance between him and Nahri. I’m looking forward to that being expanded on in the next novel. At least, I hope it is. I ship them hard.

Ali was an interesting character and on one hand, I’m glad the author gave us alternating chapters in his point of view. There was valuable information that was provided during those chapters. However, I did find his POV with the castle politics and everything to be quite annoying when all I wanted to read about was Nahri and Dara.

Ugh.

Anyways.

In the end, I’m really glad I stuck this one out. It was a solid four star read and I’m excited to see what else happens. I wasn’t expecting the plot twists and I’m seriously anxious to read more.

*Side note: Thank you to Skye from Books in the Skye for buddy reading this with me and encouraging me to continue reading.

If you’re interested:
Goodreads
Amazon CA
Amazon

Until next time,