Book Review: The City of Brass

Title: The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1)
Author: S.A. Chakraborty
Genre: New Adult | Historical Fantasy | Mythology
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: November 14, 2017
Source: Publisher
Format: e-ARC

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 . . . (goodreads)



I want more of this, and I want it now. 
Plot: In 18th century Cairo, Nahri was an orphan con-woman with a knack for healing. One day, she unknowingly unleashed a long-forgotten djinn and forged on a journey to rediscover her past and serve her people. 

And I loved every minute of Nahri's journey with Dara and how complex the djinn rivalries were. The City of Brass was told from the perspective of both Nahri and Ali, the prince to the current djinn royalty, so we got to see both sides of the story and understand why each side might see the other as the "enemy". There was a lot of cat-and-mouse play and new discoveries by the chapter, but I was intimidated in the beginning. There was a lot of djinn terminology that I didn't understand and I'm still a bit confused with the complex relationships between with djinn tribe, and I'm sure I'll have to give this one a reread before the sequel is released. And can we talk about that ending? The City of Brass had one of the most intense-showdowns I've read in a while and the cliffhanger was just cruel. 

Characters: Nahri was just as you would expect: she was stubborn and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. I especially loved how she handled herself when presented with vipers wanting to see her fail. Dara, the mysterious djinn warrior, had a questionable past, and I think was the love interest? I'm unsure; while the romance was hinted at, it was nowhere near a focal point of the City of Brass. Ali, the second prince of the current royal family, was also a contender. Regardless of who romanced who, they were each interesting characters that I wanted to get to know more. 

Worldbuilding: The amount of detail that went into The City of Brass was astounding, and I'm thankful for the glossary that Chakraborty included at the end; I highly recommend that readers utilize it since there was a lot of information to digest. I mentioned that it was overwhelming for me, but I wholly appreciate the amount of detail that the author poured into the City of Brass.

Short N Sweet: The City of Brass is imaginative and addictive; you'll want to pre-order the sequel as soon as you finish!


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