Reviews with content warning for Slavery - The City of Brass

Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

118 reviews

mousmoulo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense

5.0

FIRST FIVE STAR OF THE YEAR!!!!!!! i'm going insane.

my brain has been rewired and i'm ready for the sequel

(if anything else happens to

ali or jamshid

i'm committing prosecutable crimes this is a warning)

Content Warnings

jenn_amanda's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

seanml's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

There are many conflicting words and opinions that The City of Brass brings about. The most important one though is this: promising. It's marketed as adult fantasy, and yet you'll find many instances of tropes and ideas popular in young adult literature. The person of low social class thrust into a very powerful position of luxury, the romance between a normal person and a god-like but very dangerous but VERY hot individual, a healthy dose of normal person thrust into magical world they didn't know was there a la Harry Potter. Much of the dialogue sounds very modern despite the story taking place in the 1800s and many characters being hundreds of years older than that. Moving past all that, I would still recommend this book. Chakraborty understands her world and her characters well enough to give the reader investment and interest in this world. The novel's biggest selling point is the society she creates - the conflict between a pureblood upper caste and a mixed lower caste is nothing new in literature, but Chakraborty treats the plot with precision and care. No side is made out to be a faceless villain, but there's also no preachy sense of 'both sides are equally bad' going on. There's no sense of preachiness at all: the world feels lived in and at its natural conclusion of thousands of years of buildup rather than artificially held together for the plot. The pros outweigh the cons and I hear the sequels improve in spades. 8/10.

Content Warnings

bobbyeight's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am unwell. Just couldn't put the book down, it's 1am and now I don't know what to do with my life 😂 (thankfully I have book 2 to jump into)

Content Warnings

queerreaderchaos's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

lesliehirgelt's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

pandaintheshelves's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

I loved this book.

I enjoyed the Middle Eastern mythology and the Muslim rep in a fantasy setting. Can't attest for their accuracy because I don't belong to the culture, but it was a nice change of pace. So, if you're a fantasy lover looking to diversify your readings, I'd definitely recommend this one.

The FMC is resourceful, brave, and witty, without falling into the "I'm not like other girls" type. She's also morally grey, impulsive, and relatable as a young character in a dangerous world with very high stakes she's learning to navigate. And she's not the only interesting one

One of the things that I enjoyed the most about this book is that every single character has its own voice. No one feels flat, and you end up caring for them no matter how little time they appear.

Yes, this is a YA story (or at least is how it's marketed around here) but it has very adult themes. Also, there are moments of very explicit violence. So, please, check the content warnings.

What could be a deal breaker for some readers but wasn't for me?

It's slow-paced, especially at the beginning. But as the first book of a trilogy, that's not surprising. Around the 50% mark, things start moving faster.

Also, the world-building takes a lot of pages. But given the complexity of the universe we're reading here, and the way it was balanced with presenting the characters and their conflicts, I was not bothered.

If you're a fast-paced, give-me-some-action-now kind of reader, this may not be for you. But if you want to give it a try anyway, I'd recommend the audiobook.

Also, I would like to clarify THIS IS NOT A ROMANTASY BOOK. Yes, there's romance, but it's not the center of the story. This is high-stakes fantasy WITH a romantic subplot.

Having said that, I loved the banter between the characters involved romantically. Some of the scenes got me giggling and kicking my feet in the air while making tea kettle noises.

Content Warnings