Bookocraze: Book Review | The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy #2) by S.A. Chakraborty

The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy #2)

by S.A. Chakraborty

My Review for Book #1: The City of Brass

Return to Daevabad in the spellbinding sequel to THE CITY OF BRASS.

Nahri’s life changed forever the moment she accidentally summoned Dara, a formidable, mysterious djinn, during one of her schemes. Whisked from her home in Cairo, she was thrust into the dazzling royal court of Daevabad and quickly discovered she would need all her grifter instincts to survive there.

Now, with Daevabad entrenched in the dark aftermath of the battle that saw Dara slain at Prince Ali’s hand, Nahri must forge a new path for herself, without the protection of the guardian who stole her heart or the counsel of the prince she considered a friend. But even as she embraces her heritage and the power it holds, she knows she’s been trapped in a gilded cage, watched by a king who rules from the throne that once belonged to her familyand one misstep will doom her tribe.

Meanwhile, Ali has been exiled for daring to defy his father. Hunted by assassins, adrift on the unforgiving copper sands of his ancestral land, he is forced to rely on the frightening abilities the marid, the unpredictable water spirits, have gifted him. But in doing so, he threatens to unearth a terrible secret his family has long kept buried.

And as a new century approaches and the djinn gather within Daevabad's towering brass walls for celebrations, a threat brews unseen in the desolate north. It’s a force that would bring a storm of fire straight to the city’s gates . . . and one that seeks the aid of a warrior trapped between worlds, torn between a violent duty he can never escape and a peace he fears he will never deserve.

My Review for Book #1: The City of Brass

My Book Rating

🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

My Book Review

The Kingdom of Copper proved to be an excellent sequel that, to my utter surprise, captured my attention even more intensely than the first installment in the series!

In fact, I was so invested in this novel and series that I kept imagining all the exciting ways the story could turn and twist towards. But, S.A. Chakraborty still managed to blow my mind by the end.

The story of this novel begins 5 whole years after the events of The City of Brass, finding our heroine, Nahri, having been forcefully married to Emir Muntandhir. In the meantime, Ali has been living with his new companions in Am Gezira, far away from Daevabad. This soon changes, however, when he is forced to return to the city from which his father exiled him.

Surprisingly enough, apart from Nahri and Ali's Points of View (POVs) this story also features chapters by a third voice, that of Dara, who, yes, has been resurrected by none other than Nahri's own - evil - mother, Manizheh.

Thankfully, his chapters weren't as frequent throughout the novel, and mainly served to give us a heads up of Manizheh's plans to take over the city and how she planned to do this... Because, let me tell you, the way was extremely creative on the author's part but completely sociopathic on Manizheh's part.

As you might have guessed already, I'm not particularly fond of Nahri's mother, although I will admit that I came to like Dara from his narratives. Other characters that made their appearance for the first time or more frequently and I immensely enjoyed reading about where Hatset, Ali's mother, Jamshid, whose scenes with Muntadhir were so so cute, and Zaynab, who earned my respect with her loyalty to her brothers.

On the contrary, Muntadhir momentarily lost my respect with his childish behavior and his antagonism towards Ali. Not to mention the fact that I totally don't want Nahri to end up with him... Despite the fact they're married, that is...

Regarding the pace and plot, it flowed flawlessly, jumping some months ahead between a few of the chapters, so that the story would progress quickly but meaningfully, an element I actually appreciated.

S.A. Chakraborty's writing was even more impeccable than in the first book, and I found myself unable to put this novel down, even in the - not so - early hours of the day. In fact, I stayed up more than once in order to read more of my favorite characters, anxious to find out how their story would unfold.

All in all, an amazing book that made me even giddier about this world and characters than the first book, and even more excited to jump straight to the final installation!