Thanks so much to the publisher for this reviewers copy and of course S.A. Chakraborty for writing a truly compelling story.

This is one of the best trilogies I have read. I took a long time finishing this third book as I just didn't want the series to end. I loved spending time with Nahri, Ali and Dara. There were plenty of heart stopping moments, unexpected revelations and I found myself sobbing into my pillow on a few occasions too!

In short the Daevabad trilogy is; imaginative, unusual, with a great setting and wonderful characters. I hope Chakraborty has a new book out soon. She's definitely up there with my favourite authors.

Empire of Gold is a satisfying conclusion to a brilliant trilogy, due in large part to the character developments. Everybody grows up, confronting prejudices and shouldering responsibilities. Chakraborty pushes her (anti)heroes to face their pasts and confront their desires, weighing up who they wanted to be against who they are – and asking them to decide who they want to become.

The personal conflicts are all on point (if overdue in some cases; looking at you, Dara), but my favourite moments track Nahri’s journey from self-interested con woman to fierce princess, wielding her status to protect others as she loses her life-long battle with emotional complications like love and trust. However, they’ve all come such a long way since we first met them, and I have been so invested in every step. The accompanying emotional arcs have been just as engaging – I can even get behind the romance, although it’s the sibling relationships that I love best, both Al Qahtani and Nahid.

But it's not all about the people - as with its predecessors, Empire of Gold dishes up plenty of action alongside timely comments on leadership, the challenges of recognising and rejecting a toxic inheritance, and rising above the past to fight for a better, fairer world. For all the bloodshed and treachery along the way, it’s inspiring stuff that warms my heart and leaves me eager to see what Shannon Chakraborty tackles next.

https://lynns-books.com/2020/10/05/th...
4 of 5 stars
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Will it all work out?

You’ll just have to read it and find out!

Okay, first things first. Empire of Gold is the third and final instalment in the Daevabad Trilogy. Let me be absolutely clear, this is not a series where you want to jump in mid series and for sure you cannot read The Empire of Gold without having read the first two instalments. This series has plenty of lush worldbuilding, lots of history and plenty of well drawn characters. The inspiration and motivation is palpable and you will miss out on a veritable wealth of goodness if you try to jump on board at this point – well, at best you’ll miss out – at worst you’ll be in a positive world of hurt with absolutely no idea what’s going on. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

So, this isn’t an easy review to write being the final in the series. I seriously don’t want to give away any spoilers so I’m just going to chuck a few random thoughts and feelings around and let them land where they may.

At the end of book 2 I was quite literally gobsmacked. You could have knocked me over with a feather with that ending. I had no idea how this was going to go, in fact I just couldn’t see how the author was going to get out of the hole this one found itself in. But, I think I can safely say this ending managed to blow me away.

Still in Daevaba Nahid leader Banu Manizheh and Dara are trying to recover from the outcome of No.2. They’re trying to rally, magic has vanished although certain parties still have power.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (aka Cairo) Ali and Nairi are also trying to regroup. Both of them are struggling but they mind to find help in an old ally and in fact there is almost a rosy future for them should they choose to take that path. The choices. Stay in Cairo, learn how to make a living as an apothecary, enjoy life, become a couple, live happily ever after, or return to Daevabad and live under the tyrant who is now in control and who has made such despicable choices. Now, let me think? Peace, happiness and love or death and destruction. Well, obviously this would be a much shorter book if they took the easy route wouldn’t it?

Characters. Well, everyone is back in force and then some and I’m pleased to say that the character growth is great. These are such great characters because they’re not simply good or bad. Who is after all? They’ve made mistakes – some of them are very big, huge, bloopers. But, some of them are trying to work through these and make reparations of sorts. Some are bitter. Some are guilty. You get the picture I’m sure.

World building. I loved this world. I love the juxtaposition between the everyday world sitting alongside the magical and mythical Daevabad. The thing is, both have their pluses, both have their minuses and it gives a new meaning ‘to the grass always being greener’ – because maybe it isn’t. You cross over from one to the other and still life goes on. People live, people die, people fight and people love. But, I do love the way this author manages to conjure a sense of place whether you’re in the mundane or the magical.

In terms of criticisms. I don’t really have anything, I think this maybe could have been a bit drawn out in places, but I can’t say that made me hesitant to continue reading and I love the way that one of these storylines could lead to something quite different if the author chose to go in that direction.

Overall, this was a very satisfying ending. If pushed I would say that the middle book was probably my favourite (what middle book syndrome?) but this is an ending that I simply couldn’t foresee.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

If I thought that this series could not get much better after The Kingdom of Copper, I thought wrong. It can and it did. The Empire of Gold picks up almost exactly where The Kingdom of Copper left off; Daevebad has fallen, but nowhere near as neatly or as tidily as Manizheh might have liked. Instead of taking over with Ghassan and his successors dead, and the ring giving her full power in Daevebad, Manizheh is left with a divided city. Nahri and Ali have disappeared with the ring, Zaynab has rounded up the survivors from the Geziri tribe and they occupy huge swathes of the city and her pet Djinn is having second thoughts about the whole massacre thing.

In essence, everything has gone to hell and back, the city of Daevebad is even more divided and conflicted than it had ever been under Ghassan's rule - tyrant though he was. Manizheh was expecting an easy win; once Ghassan was out of the picture, she would have been able to take his seal and rule with an iron fist. Events got away from her and now she is struggling to find her feet again. Dara's chapters are especially fascinating in this novel; whilst Ali and Nahri are off having one adventure after another, Dara is actually on the front lines of the struggle for the city. His own inner conflict mixes well with the political tensions that have exploded around him. One of the things that Chakraborty does best here is to bring his conflicts to life, both internal and external.

My only main complaint is that whilst I really enjoyed Ali and Nahri's chapters, I can't help but feel a trick was missed here in not having a Zaynab point of view on display. In honesty, Ali and Nahri are together for much of this novel, so it wouldn't have taken too much effort to merge that entire narrative thread into one voice and instead pick up a third thread with Zaynab. She is leading the entire resistance on the grounds of Daevebad; she has forced a temporary piece between warring tribes in order to further her cause of overthrowing Manizheh. Much of this novel takes place outside the walls of Daevebad, so much of the initial nuance of the political power play is lost. That could have been rectified by focussing in on the civil drama of Daevebad through Zaynab.

But overall, that doesn't take away from the fact that this was an excellent culmination to an excellent series and that I flew through it at a rate of knots. I loved how the different areas of the world are still being built around you even in the later half of the final book of the series, how different cultures are still being brought to life and how the context of the Marid and the Peri are brought into play. This was everything I wanted from the finale to this series and I absolutely adored it!

LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED THIS. Such a magical read. Brilliantly written. I adore this series.

having read the previous books, I knew I'd love the last instalment of the Daevabad Trilogy. Gripping from the start. A must read!

I would like to start off by saying a (belated) MASSIVE MASSIVE thank you to Harper Voyager UK and Netgalley for granting my wish and giving me the opportunity to read The Empire of Gold early.
I read the book back in March but it has just taken some time for me to finally finish putting my thoughts into words.

From the first time I heard about the Daevabad books I had a feeling they would mean something special to me, but I never expected them to wedge themselves SO DEEPLY into my heart. This (not so) little trilogy has very much taken over my heart and soul over the last year and I’ve formed some wonderful friendships through these books, so of course The Empire of Gold was one of my most anticipated release of the year! And let me just say what a finale, trust me when I say this book will have you feeling EVERY POSSIBLE emotion ever.

Shannon’s writing and storytelling is as magical as ever. In this final instalment we get to explore more about various aspects of this world that were only touched on before – venturing outside of Daevabad, meeting some new faces that give a bigger insight into the history and lore of the world, and some long asked questions are finally answered. However, this book was not my favourite in the series.

My biggest issue whilst reading was the fact that I really struggled to get through the first chunk of the book. And by chunk I mean more than half of it because part 2 is SO LONG that I forgot the book was actually written in parts.

In short this came down to two major things.

1) I couldn’t get on board with the “romance” that was introduced in this book at all. This is primarily down to the fact that the relationship between this pair has always seemed platonic to me and the romance felt forced and rushed and initiating it in the third book took up valuable page time. I felt like there were some out of character moments and I was quite disappointed as it felt like a disservice to the charatcers.

2) Not enough of the book was focused in Daevabad where the MAJOR PLOT was actually happening and the difference in tone of the Dara chapters became so jarringly different to the Ali and Nahri one’s that the story felt unbalanced. Another POV from maybe Muntadhir or ZAYNAB would have really helped.

The last 20-25% kind of saved the book for me and the emotions I felt reading part 3 in particular are unmatched to anything I’ve ever read before. One of the biggest strengths of this book was definitely Dara’s arc. However, the more time I have to think about this book the more lacklustre this conclusion seems.

Don’t get me wrong there were some wonderful scenes and quotes in this book, many that I will treasure in my heart forever. I was very much SOBBING near the end and this series will always be special to me.
It’s just that like a couple of people have pointed out, as a whole it feels as though Shannon was trying to please everyone with this finale which in my eyes was its downfall.

I was lucky enough to receive this book as an eARC from Harper Collins UK via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I first read City of Brass I was in love. I devoured the book so quickly that it immediately became a favourite of mine. First chance I got I pre-ordered Kingdom of Copper and couldn't wait to dive into it, unfortunately, I was a little disappointed. I really struggled to stay interested and felt quite let down as I had enjoyed book one so much. But I really wanted to finish the series, if only to get a Dara/Nahri reunion that I felt we didn’t get in book two.

So I was both delighted and slightly sceptical about book three, I really wanted to love it as I did with book one but I was worried that if it was as big as book two (which I think it may have been) then I may struggle to stay interested again. As you can tell from the publication of my review, it took me quite a while to pick it up, especially since this was given to me to read and review before the release date. For that I do apologise, I have no excuses to why I didn’t read it.

Anyway, onto the actual review…

I enjoyed this one, I found it easier to follow and I loved the relationship building between Nahri and Ali. One of the things I struggled with book two was the two different characters having no interaction at all, I liked the different storylines but it felt like such a huge build up before they intertwined. Going into book three I was aware that book two had left off with Nahri and Ali leaving Daevabad whereas Dara and Manizheh having taken over the city.

However, I found the book was more fast-paced and I was drawn more into the story. As we have had a heatwave in the UK I was able to read the majority of it in the sun, which made it all the more enjoyable for me. I have always loved the world-building, it's so magical yet so realistic at the same time, I almost felt as though I was there.

Nahri is one of my favourite fictional characters, I love her determination to make things right, I love her attitude towards the characters, to make her life in Daevebad a better one with the hospital, and I just loved her relationships with those around her. I enjoyed her chapters the most, I found her to be the most interesting, whereas I found Dara’s chapters to be quite political and therefore I struggled to enjoy them, which is a shame because in the first book I really loved his character.

In regards to the end of the trilogy I was happy with how it ended, I was surprised that Dara wasn’t killed off (I mean I was happy, but not surprised) I did cry when he said goodbye, it felt like these characters had formed such a close relationship and to just be kept apart repeatedly by things which were out of their control. The goodbyes actually made me cry! I wanted Nahri to beg him to stay but I know that wasn’t her character at all, I really wished there was at least a kiss!

It was a great ending to a good series, I am hoping to re-read the series at some point, I really did love book one and its a shame I didn’t feel the same about the other two. I would give this book 4.5 stars!

Title - The Empire of Gold

Author - S A Chakraborty

Genre - Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre that I had explored a lot a few years back and as the years went ahead my tastes have shifted towards different genres. However, one book that had caught a lot of attention on Twitter and Bookstagram community apparently was the The City Of Brass and I had finally picked it up expecting a roller coaster ride of fun and here is my take on the third book The Empire of Gold. The reviews of all the three books will be up on my blog soon.

By the end of Book 2, we saw Banu Manizeh and Dara capture Daevabad by killing out most of the Djinns and Nahri and Ali escape her clutches by jumping in the cursed lake. Nahri and Ali arrive at Cairo and thus the book explores their journey of them moving to Ta Ntry and them coming in terms of their past, present and future.

Compared to the first two books, this one did disappoint me a bit in certain aspects. The first two books were pretty tight on plot, this one left a few issues around that I was not able to digest well. With some predictable plotlines and some plotlines that were utterly annoying (Ali's encounter with Marids), this book turned out to be the weakest in the trilogy.

Though I considered it the weakest, this trilogy still lived up to its expectations. The author has weaved the story so beautifully that one cannot help but fall in loved with the characters whether they are black, white or gray. A must pick for anyone who loves Fantasy novels and also the diverse representation is just spot on with this one

My Ratings for the book - 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4 out of 5)
The City of Brass - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (5 out of 5)
The Kingdom of Copper - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 (4.5 out of 5)

The final installment of the Daevabad Trilogy is absolutely great! This book is a wonderful conclusion of S. A. Chakraborty story and it's intense, brilliant and so awesome!

What an incredible finale to the most wonderful series.

It was a love at first page with The Daevabad Trilogy for me to be completely honest with you here. When I got approved for this ARC I jumped with joy.

We're back in this magical world with all of our favorite characters and we're in for a wild ride I can tell you that much.

The writing is absolutely gorgeous and S. A. Chackraborty is master story teller. I really admire her. Cannot wait for more books..

Will all our favorite characters make it? Will the ships sink or sail? You'll have to read it for yourself to find out but let me assure you that you won't be disappointed

Although it had been over a year and a half since I finished book two, Kingdom of Copper, opening the first pages of Empire of Gold felt like I had never been away from the series. Chakraborty’s style of writing instantly transports you into the action with the characters we have all come to love, and has managed to create both a book that adds so much to the already established lore and history of the world, while also perfectly wraps up the story we were first introduced to in City of Brass. I’m so pleased this series got such a great conclusion and can’t wait to read whatever the author publishes next!

This is one of my favourite trilogies of all time.
The story is one of the most gripping and kept me hooked from book one.
The characters are so well rounded and the relationships between them were so complex.
I think my most favourite part of these books though is the world. It was described so beautifully and I felt like I could picture it so clearly in my mind. Beautiful writing and this last one gave me everything I want from a conclusion.

The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty came to me gently, and yet as I closed the last page I didnt know whether to cry or to laugh.

I didnt think Chakraborty would be able to take me by surprise, and yet she did.
With every chapter, and every twist and turn she made this world more real, more climactic, and more heart wrenching. I could taste the food and cry with the characters - Daevabad became real and I feel blessed to have been able to visit.

I feel like this book tied up the loose ends of its succesors beautifully, but not so neatly that I didnt feel like the stakes were high (THE STAKES WERE REAL HIGH!)
We met new characters, we righted the wrongs and overall I felt like this book had everything I needed from a final book. Even humor, which somehow surprised me.

Over all, a stunning end to a adventure that started when we met a girl with magic at her fingertips in Cairo.

I especially found the world building and the characters to be exceptional - as well as the coming together of faith and political intrigue.
There is something utterly unique about this magical world, and knowing that I will no longer be returning in new adventures left me both nostalgic and a little sad.

This book was everything a maginificent conclusion to a fantastical series needed, and though I did find some part of the ending a little but too neat, I still cried happy tears at its end because the characters I had come to love came out on the other side almost whole.

All in all, beautiful.
Thats the word I mostly want to use about this book.

I can't find any fault to this book as the storytelling, the plot, the characters, and the world building were amazing.
This is a great fantasy series and this is the great end of that series.
A gripping and entertaining read that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I really was excited to read this book this wholde trilogy is one of my favorite.

This last book really deliver a lot of things that I like. First it was not heavy romance, I was a bit squared about that because I kind of have enough of everyone needing to be with someone. There are some stuff surrouding feelings but not that much.

The action was great I have a great time with the whole plot, mix between politics, folklore and beliefs it was fun en I was entertained. Plus I find the rythm just fine.

For the ending I really like it. It was a great conclusion for all the characters, I really like the choices the author made.

It was overall a great conclusion to the whole trilogy.

The Empire of Gold: My thoughts

MY REVIEW WILL CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS FOR THE EMPIRE OF GOLD!

It has taken me far too long to decide what I want to say about The Empire of Gold. All I want to say is that the final book is everything you can expect from this series. I cannot possibly say anything that will do this book justice, but I shall try.

The Empire of Gold is told through the perspectives of Nahri, Ali, and Dara, and we can see the events unfolding as they happen. As you can see mentioned in the synopsis, there is a lot of fighting and heartache. Ali uses his connections with the marid to help reclaim the city. Meanwhile, Dara does the unthinkable and destroys the one person he is taught to serve.

At times, this book had me on the edge of my seat, and Shannon adds in twists and turns, not letting us forget who the characters really are. We see lots of character development in this book. I also found myself wanting to hit Ali across the head for being dim. I love how Nahri stays true to who she is. As well as Dara realising that he needs to do so much before his people can trust him again. Honestly the end part broke my heart a little.

So, was this book just a battle? No, we saw so much about the communities of Daevabad. We see the city come together and start to rebuild towards the end. Also, my two favourite gays can be together at last! Despite the epic battle scene, this book manages to give each of the characters the ending they deserve. I feel like almost everyone gets the happy ending they deserve.

Also I am a big fan of MishMish and his apricots and I would die for him okay?

I understand that this may not have been the detailed and indepth review you were hoping for. However, finishing this book made my heart so incredibly happy. I will continue to recommend this series for as long as I’m breathing.

Chakraborty manages to awe us with her fantastic world and a submersible experience with Daevabad.

The astounding characters with a vivid and vibrant setting make this series a worthy of the hype.

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<p>Empire of Gold is the pitch perfect conclusion to the expansive fantasy trilogy that has captured my heart and mind over the past few years. Reading the ending of this book got me doing something I have not done in an age: staying up past 2AM alternating between crying my eyes out and smiling with glee. It was tough saying goodbye to the characters I've come to know and love, but I can think of no better farewell than this satisfying finale.</p>
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<p>The ending of Kingdom of Copper was ingeniously cruel, leaving the fandom reeling and begging for answers for over a year. The conclusion of this trilogy starts off where it all begins, in an unnamed Egyptian village by the Nile. This setting invited an examination of Nahri's personal evolution since book one, the ways in which her newfound powers and her found-family have both changed her and helped strengthened her existing identity. Nahri has played several roles in her life: Cairo street thief, companion of Darayavahoush, revered Nahid, wife of an emir, a healer, a survivor. Some of these identities were choices, others were a necessity for survival. With each, Nahri has reclaimed a position in a world that often sought to exclude her. In Empire of Gold, that personal journey delves ever deeper as Nahri navigated all of her past alliances to find a place where she belongs.</p>
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<p>Nahri's constant partner through Empire of Gold, Ali, had his own fair share of introspection. Like Nahri, he's no stranger to straddling between two worlds, especially since the marid's watery touch altered the fire in his veins. Ever idealistic, Ali grapples with the Suleiman's ring embedded in his heart and what it means for the future of Daevabad. Ali is the moral compass of this trilogy, and although he stumbles, he puts his all into walking a righteous path. This trait used to annoy the heck out of me in book one, where he was my least favourite character, but he's my Alu now and he must be protected from his severely deficient survival instinct. His growth throughout the series, like his character, has been steady and unassuming yet significant. Alizayd al Qahtani is no longer the intractable djinn prince we saw in City of Brass, but a leader with a vision for his people and Daevabad.</p>
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<p>To round off the point of views, we have Dara, who's character arc will forever haunt me. The series took the archetype of a brooding fantasy hero with a dark past and imbued it with so much more scope. Dara is by turns terrifying and vulnerable - but always deeply human. We have seen him struggle to reconcile his own past choices with the man he wants to be, the man he wants Nahri to see. In this book, Dara's heartbreaking journey continues, and his weakness is invariably his penchant to put his faith into the wrong people. His is a tragic tale for a man who can't help but hope, and trust, and love more than he should. Even as he commit atrocities, I can't help but root for his happiness, and his ending left me catatonic for days. Fellow Dara lovers, I see you and here's a virtual hug to you all.</p>
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<p>For me, the strength of the series have always been the characters and how much I am wholly invested in them. It's not just the main three characters, I would read entire books on Muntadhir, Jamshid, Zaynab, and Aqisa. The series has me wishing that fantasy adopted the brilliant tactic employed by romancelandia to give a spin-off novel to every secondary character ever. The villain of this piece, Manizeh, is at once infuriating and oddly sympathetic. There's also a host of new characters in this book that I grew to adore despite their limited page time. Needless to say, I would jump on Chakraborty's new titles in a heartbeat.</p>
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<p>It's not just the characters though, the world of Daevabad is greatly expanded in this book - where readers are treated to the sights of new lands and legendary creatures. The scope of this world feel so vast, I am a little bit bitter we could only see three books worth of it. The pacing was also a balanced mix of page-turning action and quiet character introspection. My heart pounded equally fast whether we were treated to a moment of intimacy between some favourite characters, or the numerous life or death situations the characters manage to come across.</p>
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<p>I can barely believe this is the last time I will be blogging about the Daevabad trilogy, it truly feels like the end of an era. I will never stop screaming about these characters and their world though, and I eagerly anticipate whatever else S. A. Chakraborty bless us with.</p>
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Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Voyager & SA Chakraborty for my arc of The Empire of Gold in exchange for an honest review.

WARNING SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

OK, so City of Brass was hands down one of my favourite books before it even became so well known and loved. I adored it, it was like nothing I'd read before. Nahri's journey, her friendship to potential love story with Dara, the tragedy of them being ripped apart. The city of Daevabad and all its magical wonderful things mixed with political intrigue, danger etc. It was enchanting.

I read Kingdom of Copper last week, I don't know why I'd put it off so long maybe it was some kind of premonition because it went from one of my highly anticipated reads, to a book that I struggled to pick up. Way too much politics and none of the intrigue, mystery, danger or anticipation that COB brought.

So I wasn't sure what to expect with The Empire of Gold. Initial thoughts it was somewhat better than KOC. I actually really liked the first half. Which found Ali & Nahri in a romantic situation. I liked the two of them together but I think this might have been more that I liked that there was a romance element and the flirting and angst was much like Nahri's relationship with Dara in COB rather than because I liked the two of them together. I also liked the history elements where we got the gaps filled in for Nahri's past and also learnt more about Ali.

What disappointed me was how straightforward everything seemed. For a very long book at almost 800 pages there were no moments that held me on the edge of my seat. I didn't really connect with the characters other than Nahri but even that was only in part 1 of the book. I felt like Nahri and Dara's feelings for each other were just words on a page I didn't feel like it was gut wrenching for her to let him leave or for him to leave her. At this point it had been pointed out so many times that he was now this ancient being or centuries old guy that it just felt weird.

Overall I feel like COB gave us a teaser for a potentially great series that ended in disappointment. In saying that, I would definitely consider reading a standalone novel by this author.