The City of Brass

Unfortunately, it just didn't do it for me. Wasn't a big fan of most of the characters to begin with, but they only got worse as the book progressed (the protagonist & especially Dara, I only really liked the character of Ali), along with some forced romance that just couldn't be salvaged by the pretty great worldbuilding. I really wanted to like this book, and I still kind of did for the most part, but ultimately it just didn't do it for me.

Really have to be in the right mood for young adult fiction unless it hits the right spot, this one just hasn't in a while.

Amazing setting, promising characters but I'm 186 pages in and it's not very compelling. The characters' actions don't fully make sense. For instance, how on earth did Ali meet his “best friend” while in the notoriously isolated citadel?? I'm also confused by all the different groups.

It was ok.

I find it funny that people are reviewing this book saying it has no plot... the plot is huge. There are so many different ways it could go. I listened to the audiobook which really helped me get into the story quickly.

Yes, the book is long, but Chakraborty is setting up a MASSIVE world on the scale of Game of Thrones with just as many warring factions. I loved this book. I guess if you don't like political intrigue, you may not like it.

Yes, it does take time for Dara and Nahri to travel to Daevabad - this is an epic, people! You have to establish Nahri's relationship with Dara. That does not happen overnight.

Anyway, I don't use GoodReads much anymore, but I had to come on here and say my piece. Totally out of my element here as far as the folklore that inspired the story goes - but I really enjoyed it.

–MINI SPOILERS–

I loved the feeling that Nahri was not sure who to trust when it comes to the oral history of Daevabad and the Djinn - is Dara just as bad as everyone says, or are the Qahtani's lying about a whole lot to keep the throne? Probably a little of both. History is written by the victors.

Totally ship Muntadhir and Jamshid. Excited to see Ali's fish powers.

Can't wait for Kingdom of Copper!

DNF - PG 50

Why?

I don't know what it is that I need to make me like a character. If I did, I think I'd probably have a much easier time finding it - and finding books I didn't have knee-jerk reactions to.

So, I met Nahri and feel nothing for her. I mean, she could have the potential to grow into a character I could like. And, in truth, I would continue reading if not for one major problem: the character I can only assume is Dara. I liked him for a split second. I mean for like five sentences, I thought he was going to be fun.

He's not.

He's a high handed, controlling male that isn't even human. I read some reviews on the ‘romance' and thought that it surely couldn't be as bad as they say. I flipped through the book only to discover that Dara is trying to set up a marriage for Nahri of the proper blood. During this, Nahri alludes to their time in a cave, what I can only assume was them having sex. Here her romantic interest is, completely disregarding what she wants in favor of telling her what is best for her. Because, of course, he knows.

One of the biggest problems for me in books, one of the quickest ways I will quit, is when people aren't being treated with respect in a romance.

There is no respect here.

(I also would have liked to have been warned that this did have a romance, because I might not have went for it had I known.)

One of my favorite reads of the year. Book one is packed with action from the begining, though for some people it might feel like a slow-burn. But it's all worth it, trust me. I loved every page and when I finished, I just had to immediately start book two because that cliffhanger at the end...

100% recommended.

This novel won a metric frack tonne of awards, positive reviews and effusive praise. I can see why after I read this rich Middle Eastern fantasy, the first of a trilogy and the author Chakraborty’s intriguing debut.

"On the streets of 18th-century Cairo, young Nahri—she has a real talent for medicine but lacks the wherewithal to acquire proper training—makes a living swindling Ottoman nobles by pretending to wield supernatural powers she doesn’t believe in. Then, during a supposed exorcism, she somehow summons a mysterious djinn warrior named Dara, whose magic is both real and incomprehensibly powerful. Dara insists that Nahri is no longer safe—evil djinn threaten her life, so he must convey her to Daevabad, a legendary eastern city protected by impervious magical brass walls. During the hair-raising journey by flying carpet, Nahri meets spirits and monsters and develops feelings for Dara, a deeply conflicted being with a long, tangled past. At Daevabad she’s astonished to learn that she’s the daughter of a legendary healer of the Nahid family. All the more surprising, then, that King Ghassan, whose ancestor overthrew the ruling Nahid Council and stole Suleiman’s seal, which nullifies magic, welcomes her. With Ghassan’s younger son, Prince Ali, Nahri becomes immersed in the city’s deeply divisive (and not infrequently confusing) religious, political, and racial tensions. Meanwhile, Dara’s emerging history and personality grow more and more bewildering and ambiguous". -Kirkus review

In this syncretic, nonderivative and incredible backdrop, Chakraborty has constructed a compelling yarn of personal ambition, power politics, racial and religious tensions, strange magics, and terrifying creatures, culminating in a cataclysmic showdown that I did not see coming.

Can not wait to follow this in the next novel The Kingdom of Copper.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Thoroughly enjoyed this one! I was struggling to finish a different book and it's nice to have one that breaks you out of your slump. I love a morally grey main character that grows over the course of the story and it has just the right amount of romance without pulling away from the plot. Madly impressed that this was the author's debut novel because the worldbuilding is amazing.

Easily read, mostly because this is more in the YA genre than in the adult genre.
The 20-year mc behave a little to often like a 15/16yo for my taste, and sometimes I really miss some more world-building. I often had a too hard time imagining the world they moved in, and placing the different locations in relation to one another.
And then there were smaller mistakes like a full moon's glow lighting up the night during a storm (with heavy rain).

The plot is the element pulling this book in direction of the adult-genre. It's complicated and filled with ancient history affecting the many characters motives and the plot in general. I appreciated that and kept me interested, even though I sometimes lost track because it went a tiny bit too fast.

It's decent. And yes, I'm picking up the next one from the library right away. I hope the mc grows with the challenges and becomes more adult than teenager with time.
Do I want to spend money on it, and have it take up space on my book-shelf to read again? Probably not.

Holy SMOKES! Shivers. Chakraborty knows how to write an adventure. This first book was so action packed, I can barely even! I've never needed to “know what happens next” more with a book series than this one. Absolutely stellar start to what I'm sure is going to be an incredible series

4.5 rounded up.

Dear god the end of this book is WILD! Can't wait for the next!!

I really enjoyed this! It’s not necessarily a must read, but it’s definitely intriguing. I think my main complaint is an overuse of the word “djinn” which given the setting is definitely forgivable. Very curious to see where this story goes.

I buddy read this one with Erin. This book has been on my radar for a while, but I kept putting off reading it I think because I thought it was going to be too high fantasy for me. I'm glad Erin suggested we buddy read it because overall I did end up enjoying it. It is high fantasy, so I did have trouble keeping up with everything that we were being told. I mean there's a lot of characters not to mention all the different types of Djinns it was all just slightly too much for me. That being said though it wasn't so much that I couldn't keep up with the overall story. The characters themselves is what had me hooked. Also, I should mention that apparently this was the authors debut, and I had no idea that was the case until literally right now. I was left confused about some things in the end but I'm hoping book 2 will remedy that.

This could have been a great book for me except I was confused half the time. There's an overwhelming amount of world building and politics going on. If I re-read this then the politics would make more sense, but I don't have time for that. 
Honestly, if it wasn't for the end of the book I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the book as much. I'm on the fence about continuing the series, I want to know what happens but do I really want to read another 2 books?

3.75 ~ 4

Awesome world building, but the story is slow and unsatisfying.

DNF @ 22%. I just cannot be bothered to finish this. It read way too much like YA and I don't like YA. I was all into it being a story about a hardened young women who's a master thief in magical Cairo and that's not what I'm getting. Firstly, we only see Nahri being a thief for about 2 seconds before the plot line takes a sharp left into class struggles between the half bloods and the pure blood djinn in a magic city. Second, I was expecting Nahri to be smarter. She's spent this entire book so far just asking Dara questions that I feel like she should know considering she grew up in Egypt where these legends and monsters are from. The couple of chapters I spend with Ali the Prince were infuriating. He's a teenager by Djinn standards and you can tell. He's a spoiled, clueless boy who clearly has had horse blinders on his entire life because he doesn't seem to understand the depth of oppression that the half bloods are experiencing in his own hometown?! Even though he's secretly working with the half blood rebellion in a limited capacity when we first meet him?! The only character who wasn't getting on my nerves was Dara. And he's a battle hardened djinn with PTSD and a snarky attitude. So because these two idiots (Nahri and Ali) don't know shit about shit, Dara is the only person driving the plot forward by info dumping after being asked a million questions. I'll pass on this series.

World building was pretty good but every character besides Ali could use some work. A plus is that it didn't feel like it was trying to stereotype middle eastern culture.

Mad respect for the focus on language and names.

Gave it another try — might write down thoughts after I process the book tomorrow.

Sadly, it's a dnf @ 55% initial rating 2 stars

So sad to dnf it as I was convinced I am going to adore this series but unfortunately it's been a struggle to get this far and I am not going to subject myself to this no mo. The world building was really nice albeit a little too complex at times but I would be very interested to learn more. However, I just cannot stand 2 out of 3 main characters, as much as i try to force myself to continue, whenever there is a chapter from Nahri's POV, the book becomes painful to listen to. They are simply uninteresting and whiny to me, and the romance makes me cringe. Also not digging the idea of reading about a love triangle with romance written the way it has been so far, im good, thanks. 

I have heard that this series gets better near the end of the first book but sadly i dont think i have it in me to make it till the end, which is a shame cause i expected this to be exactly my kind of book. Giving 2 stars for Alizayd, who is the sole reason I made it this far.

4,25⭐

The City of Brass has a fast-paced beginning that sucks the reader right in. Once Nahri and Dara reach Daevabad the plot slows down and gets a little muddled. There are a lot (maybe too many and underdeveloped) competing factions and conflicts: between pureblood djinn and shafits, between the different djinn tribes and other magical elementals, and between those who support the currently ruling Qahtani family and those who are intent on bringing back Nahid rule, using Nahri.
Although the plot was entrancing, I had some issues with the execution of some of the concepts. The parts that needed more elaboration were a bit rushed so you kind of lose track of the story and especially backstories of some characters and the world overall.
What I most liked about this is that it's a different type of culture that the influence is taken from, Middle Eastern rather than the typical Western, and focusing on a desert-based culture brought some great moments. I really loved the fact that although it's a longer read it feels very fast paced and easy to get into, and it's a really enjoyable one too.

I was very excited for this book, not only because everyone seems to love it, but especially because it is a #OwnVoice muslim /middle eastern fantasy and I have never read anything similar.

Despite reading fantasy since I was little, it was more difficult for me to picture and understand this world, which supports that there is little diversity in fantasy writing, being mostly based in Western culture and civilizations.

Chakraborty writing is detailed and beautiful, the world she creates is rich, and the characters are layered and credible. The way our opinions regarding characters actions are molded throughout the book and different POVs is a testament to her writing ability, and I am very impressed with it.

I found the pace of the book rather slow, which reduced my interest in the story to the point where I was determined to not continue the trilogy. However, the last chapter and the epilogue are fantastic, and that was enough to change my mind.

Recommended for fantasy readers in general

The beginning of this was slow and it took me awhile to care about both POVs. I almost gave up a couple times, but I really enjoyed Amina Al-Sirafi, so I kept going. I am so glad I did! By the middle, I was interested. By the end, I was enthralled! This is one of my new favorite authors.