4.5 Stars

I've been reading (and loving) a lot of fantasy lately and The City of Brass is one of my favorites. I loved almost everything about this book and it was a really interesting concept. The world is based on the Middle East, which is something I don't see often in fantasy where many authors stick to the medieval European world that's been done over and over again. Besides being based on a different part of the world, the world building itself is well developed and immersive. This is added to by the engaging writing style, which kept even the slower paced and description heavy sections interesting.

I'm a fairly character driven reader so I was never bored even when the pacing was slower because I care so much about the characters. I loved Dara, Nahri, and Ali and the side characters are also well developed and interesting. Everyone has flaws and their actions make sense based on their personalities and situations. Even if I wasn't rooting for a character to achieve their goal, I understood their motivations and could sometimes sympathize. I also appreciated that Nahri doesn't just automatically become an expert in healing djinn and her reactions to learning about magic and her ancestry are realistic. The only thing I would change is adding Dara's perspective because he's so interesting, but I understand why the author chose not to include that.

I personally loved this book and can't wait to read the sequel.