Whereas The City of Brass pulled me in, this sequel grasped me. In fact, it might be one of the best books I’ve read in the last few years.

With all of the build-up out of the way,  Chakraborty has her hands free to weave an interesting story in which all of the established mysteries and characters get a chance to blossom. The political plots are further deepened and none of the characters are safe.  Tension lurks in different corners throughout the story, and you can never quite tell what will happen next. Eventually, this all culminates in an utterly satisfying climax.

It seems some readers were disappointed with a timeskip that happens quite early in the book.  However, I don’t share this sentiment. On the whole, I have very little critique. For me, Chakraborty took everything that was good about The City of Brass and improved on the elements that needed it. I understand that some people didn’t like the fact that the story moved away from its ‘young adult’-like atmosphere and romances to focus more on the political side of things. Indeed, one might say The Kingdom of Copper is a different kind of story when compared to The City of Brass in those regards. All I can say is that I wholeheartedly enjoyed reading this sequel.

If you liked The Kingdom of Copper, I can already tell you that the third installment of this series, The Empire of Gold, will be worth your while.