The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty

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 a devastating battle, Nahri must forge a new path for herself. 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 family—and 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.

3.75 stars maybe 4 on a good day.

4.0 out of 5 stars

It took me a little while to sink back into this story, but once I did it was a treat to return to Chakraborty's richly drawn world. Her prose remains lush, fresh, and infinitely readable. Apart from an explosive finale, the excitement levels were dialed back a bit from the first book and the character building was more centerstage. Since Chakraborty has already established her main trio of characters, she could really focus on fleshing out their motivations and exploring the depths of their complex psyches. Even as each page crackles with magic, at its core, this is a captivating family drama that continues to ratchet up the tension as the book progresses.

Overall, I thought this was a really solid middle book. It charted new territory and told a contained story that was engaging, satisfying, and left me looking forward to what comes next.

My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

Well I thought I really liked the first book in the series, but it turns out I was here for the human girl / damaged immortal boy thirst. Chakraborty put less of that and more story in this one.

I mean, it's a good story and if you liked the first one, do continue. Characters evolve and grow and they're far more interesting. But it still won't be for you if you liked the first one for the YA romance trope.

I....may have an unpopular opinion on this book. First, I LOVED the first book of this trilogy, The City of Brass. Absolutely loved it. It was one of my favorite books of that year. I like this one significantly less. I think that probably wouldn't be the case if I had read this in quick succession, but I read City of Brass when it came out, and had to wait a year for this one, in which time I read around 200 more books.

I expected a certain amount of backstory explanation in Kingdom of Copper - and it wasn't there. I think the book assumes you remember everything that happened in City of Brass - and I most certainly did not. I don't remember why we have the division between the djinn and the daeva, or really which is which. I know the shafit are part human, part...djinn? Daeva? See that's the problem. These are very politicky books and forgetting key parts of the political drama makes this book VERY hard to follow. I don't know WHY there's conflict between certain people, and I don't recognize missteps when characters make them because I've forgotten who has which opinions.

All the worldbuilding explanations are in the first book, and they aren't revisited in this one. Had I KNOWN that, I might have re-read City of Brass before this came out, as much as I dislike re-reading anything.

All of that aside, and despite my confusion, I mostly enjoyed this continuation of Nahri's story. We delved a little more into murky bloodlines, the more recent past of Daevabad, and the more ancient past of Nahri's healer ancestors, the Nahids.

I still love Nahri, I like Ali a little more, and I like Dara a little less. I am curious to see where the third book leads, especially after the cliffhanger ending of this one. I just might have to re-read both City of Brass and this one before reading the trilogy's conclusion.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.