s.a. chakraborty |

GoodReads Summary:
The final chapter in the bestselling, critically acclaimed Daevabad Trilogy, in which a con-woman and an idealistic djinn prince join forces to save a magical kingdom from a devastating civil war.
Daevabad has fallen.
After a brutal conquest stripped the city of its magic, Nahid leader Banu Manizheh and her resurrected commander, Dara, must try to repair their fraying alliance and stabilize a fractious, warring people.
But the bloodletting and loss of his beloved Nahri have unleashed the worst demons of Dara’s dark past. To vanquish them, he must face some ugly truths about his history and put himself at the mercy of those he once considered enemies.
Having narrowly escaped their murderous families and Daevabad’s deadly politics, Nahri and Ali, now safe in Cairo, face difficult choices of their own. While Nahri finds peace in the old rhythms and familiar comforts of her human home, she is haunted by the knowledge that the loved ones she left behind and the people who considered her a savior are at the mercy of a new tyrant. Ali, too, cannot help but look back, and is determined to return to rescue his city and the family that remains. Seeking support in his mother’s homeland, he discovers that his connection to the marid goes far deeper than expected and threatens not only his relationship with Nahri, but his very faith.
As peace grows more elusive and old players return, Nahri, Ali, and Dara come to understand that in order to remake the world, they may need to fight those they once loved . . . and take a stand for those they once hurt.
Review:
The Empire of Gold was one of my most anticipated releases of 2020. It did not disappoint in any way shape or form. It’s going to be really hard to talk about this book without spoiling the previous two books. So, I’m just going to say that it was incredible and I loved every page. It was a wonderful conclusion and I highly recommend it. Now, if you don’t want to be spoiled for the first two books in the series read no further.
This story starts off right where book two ended. Dara and Manizheh are in Deavabad, trying to get everyone under their control. Much to their displeasure, everyone that isn’t daeva is resisting. So, their part of the story is very political. Lots of Dara trying to meet with leaders of each faction and failing. There’s tons of action and political drama. I thought the best parts of Dara’s perspective were when he was starting to realize that maybe Manizheh was going too far.
We jump into Ali and Nahri’s story in Egypt. The two find themselves on the bank of the Nile river. Ali is not doing so great and Nahri’s magic is gone. I absolutely adored the time this two spent together in Cairo. I loved that Nahri got to see the old man that owns the apothecary again. I loved that he’s who she went to for help when she didn’t know what else to do. Ali and Nahri spend a lot of time together while in Cairo. They also travel from Cairo to Ali’s mother. They need to regroup and figure out what they’re going to do to get Daevabad back. Ali is dealing with figuring out his Marid powers, and things get infinitely more complicated with this topic (which I totally loved. I loved the Marid plotline. I thought it was completely fascinating.) And Nahri is just trying to accept that it’s up to her to save her world from her mother. I really liked seeing Ali and Nahri grow closer. Their relationship was always complicated and it was no different in this story. I also really loved Nahri getting to spend time with her brother, once he finally knew he was her brother of course.
Overall, I loved every single thing about this mammoth-sized book. We got to see Nahri visit the person that helped her in Cairo. We got to see relationships strengthen and others end. We got a wonderful conclusion to a world filled with characters that I love so much. I think the way the world was left was a great resolution, the best possible one. I was sad that my time with these characters in this world was over, but I was satisfied with how things were wrapped up.

Quotes:

“She told me to keep myself whole. That there wasn’t any shame in taking care of yourself in order to help those who needed you.”

“Not wanting to be destroyed by despair doesn’t make you a coward. It makes you a survivor.”

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.