Daevabad Book Tag

Today is the first day of the World of Daevabad Blog Tour! Make sure you check out my previous blog post to see who is taking part!

Okay so obviously everyone knows how obsessed I am with the Daevabad trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty so I have created a book tag inspired by the books!

And if you haven’t read the books then you really need to fix that!

So you can do this book tag on your blog, Instagram or twitter just make sure you link back to this post and tag me (IG: @thetsundokuchronicles Twitter: @thetsundokuc)

Also make sure you use the hashtag #DaevabadBookTag so everyone can find your post!

Tag some people so they can also take part and have fun!

So here is the book tag:

1 Nahri e-Nahid – Resourceful character

2 Alizayd al-Qahtani – Nerdy character

3 Qahtani siblings – favourite sibling relationship

4 Darayavahoush e-Afshin – Broody character

5 Jinns, Marids & Peris – Books with mythical beings

6 Daevabad – Books with magical cities

7 Ghassan al-Qahtani – Villain you root for

8 Muntadhir al-Qahtani – Dramatic characters

9 Zaynab al-Qahtani – Books about female empowerment

10 Navasatem – Books with celebrations or feast scenes

11 Queen Hatset – Books with royals

12 Jamshid e-Pramukh – Character that took you by surprise

13 Lubayd & Aqisa – Favourite sidekicks

14 Royal Guard – Books with epic battles

15 Emir Joon – OTP

And here are my answers for the tag:

1 I love how resourceful Shahrzad from The Wrath and the Dawn is.

2 Cress from The Lunar Chronicles is an absolute nerd and fangirl and I loved her so much!

3 I love Laia and Darin from An Ember in the Ashes. They go to the ends of the earth for each other and to protect each other.

4 Nasir from We Hunt the Flame is the ultimate broody character!

5 The Beautiful is a murder mystery with werewolves and vampires!

6 Wicked as you Wish has a magical city and lots of fairytale references.

7 The Darkling is a wonderfully complex villain who truly believes that what he is doing is for the best for his people and it leads him to commit unspeakable atrocities.

8 Hypnos from The Gilded Wolves is ridiculously dramatic and I loved him so much!

9 The Candle and the Flame is full of amazing women getting stuff done!

10 That Can Be Arranged by Huda Fahmy has a wedding scene!

11 The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala has several royal characters and even a lost princess.

12 Carmen from We Set the Dark on Fire was surprising in many ways. I wasn’t sure what to make of her when I started the book and she really surprised me.

13 I really loved the side characters in The Extinction Trials by S.M. Wilson. They were so well rounded and I was totally rooting for them and was absolutely terrified for them!

14 The Nyxia trilogy is full of epic battles and I really loved reading them, they were completely enthralling!

15 If you know me then you know that my ultimate OTP is Adam and Zayneb! I absolutely adore them and their friendship and how they slowly fall in love while keeping it halal.

So that’s all of my answers!

Everyone is welcome to do the tag! I hope you enjoy doing it!

Be sure to check out all the other posts too!

Netflix Adapts Daevabad – (I Hope)

Earlier this week, Shannon caused my world to stop spinning when she shared the news that Netflix are developing The City of Brass trilogy into a show. As you can imagine I absolutely lost it. I spent a very unproductive afternoon screaming about this on the potato heads discord and also on my twitter.

I am simultaneously excited and terrified about this though. I mean I know that it may never actually make it to actually becoming a show BUT if it does, will they do the books justice?

I need them to cast the characters properly, I don’t want any whitewashing of the characters and the characters are all different ethnicities that I really hope they get it right. Alizayd and Zaynab are Somali, Muntadhir is arab, Jamshid and Dara are Persian and that’s not even including all the other tribes who come from all over the world. Please, please, please get it right Netflix. I will absolutely riot if they don’t.

But Shannon has said that if this show gets made she will be involved in it so at least I can breathe a little easier now.

And just imagine if they get it right, it would be absolutely stunning and a show of epic proportions! The stunning scenery, the beautiful outfits, the delicious food, omg I am going to sob my way through that first episode.

Speaking of first episodes, the first chapter opens with the fajr adhaan and Nahri in a black abaya! I am actually going to cry if they open with that. And Ali’s first chapter is him praying fajr too and I will finally get to see a YOUNG PRACTICING MUSLIM WHO FIGHTS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE on screen. ON SCREEN. Just the thought of seeing that is making me sob. Can you imagine all those young Muslim boys who will watch this and see a practicing Muslim man who is also the hero and that they aren’t mutually exclusive?!

I have such high hopes for this show, please Netflix don’t disappoint me. I will come for you all if you mess this up!

There are so many scenes I am so excited about seeing from the royal library with the librarians on their magic carpets to Ali and Nahri studying and geeking out in the library. The scene with Ghassan and Ali (chapter 17) which was INTENSE and just imagining that scene is going to be amazing. Also when Nahri first summons Dara and she realises that maybe Yaqub was right and she should have listened to him. There is just so so much I want to see in this show.

I could actually see all my favourite characters come to life! There will be a theme song there will be new fans and it could mean that so many more people could pick up this absolutely phenomenal trilogy to read the source material.

This book means so much to me on so many levels and being able to see it on screen, a fantasy that has a middle eastern setting that has people of colour as the main characters, that shows Muslims as the heroes. It could be everything and more and I hope it gets the justice and hype it absolutely deserves.

The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty – ARC Review

Thank you to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was the absolute perfect conclusion to the most amazing trilogy I have ever read! This review will contain spoilers for the first two books so please don’t read this if you haven’t read the first two books. I have tried to keep this review spoiler free!

You can read my review of The City of Brass here and my review of The Kingdom of Copper here.

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

Before I start my review let me just say, I love Alizayd with my whole heart and I will forever be thankful to Shannon for bringing him to life and giving me the complex nuanced Muslim rep of an apologetically practicing young Muslim I had been craving.

This whole trilogy is phenomenal and Empire of Gold was an absolutely amazing conclusion which simultaneously left me satisfied and yet left me craving more stories of all the amazing characters. The story starts where The Kingdom of Copper ends which was a nice surprise as I had no idea what to expect with how much time had passed. But The Empire of Gold starts exactly where book two ends so we see the aftermath of everything that happened in The Kingdom of Copper.

Shannon’s writing is extraordinary, I am completely immersed in the world that she has created, I can almost touch and taste everything and any and all food references left me craving it all. Her world building is absolutely phenomenal and in this book we get to explore new places that are part of the Daevabad world including Ta Nytry and all I want to do is go on holiday there, it sounds incredible.

This trilogy has some of the most complex characters I have ever read and they all make you see their side of the story which makes it more complicated as to who you want to root for. No character is perfect, they all make bad decisions, things they regret and they all have to deal with the consequences of these decisions. It made each of them more compelling to read.

We get the point of view of Nahri, Ali and Dara so we see what is happening both in Daevabad through Dara and outside Daevabad through Ali and Nahri. Through Ali and Nahri we see them trying to recover after ending up in Cairo and their chapters are much more light hearted and at times absolutely hilarious and it contrasts starkly with Dara’s point of view which is really dark and at times very difficult to read.

I found myself going back to reread Ali and Nahri’s chapters and their banter and awkward flirting and skirting around their complicated feelings and honestly it was a joy to read. The first half of The Empire of Gold has some of my favourite scenes in the whole trilogy, especially chapter nine. I love that chapter with my whole heart!

Nahri’s story arc was so wonderful to read. She goes from a con artist in the streets of Cairo to leading a rebellion and fighting for justice for all in Daevabad. I loved watching her grow throughout the trilogy. She has been through so much and because of her circumstances she finds it hard to trust people and open up to anyone in case she gets hurt but watching her slowly open up to Ali was so wonderful to see. She deserves to have someone in her life that she can trust and depend on and who won’t hold her back or dictate her life.

Ali is of course my favourite character in the whole trilogy, it’s no secret how much I love him and watching him grow from the naïve teenager to the man we see by the end of the trilogy was truly wonderful. He is still socially awkward and has the absolute worst timing but he learns and grows so much throughout the books. He is still unapologetic in practicing his faith yet he has learned that Islam is not black and white and there is a lot more nuance to the religion than he initially believed. He also learns a lot about his families past and heritage which also affects him in many ways. Especially in chapter thirty seven I felt for him so much. His story by the end is one of a man who will rebuild his home and care for it’s people and he is still driven by social justice but just like he is there for Nahri, Nahri is also there for him to ground him when he may get carried away with his ideas of change.

Dara’s story arc was fascinating to read, I really do not like him, he spends so much of the book saying how he has been made into a weapon, which is true and I hate how the Nahid council manipulated him into becoming who he is, yet it takes him far too long to learn and take a stand for himself. There is a scene where he is talking to Kartir about this and Kartir tells him to instead think of all those victims who died and to try to atone for his mistakes and I just wish he had learnt that earlier. I wanted him to realise that actually the shafit or jinns weren’t the ones who caused his life to become what it was it was in fact the Nahid council and to spend more time thinking about how to make amends for his actions. I felt like screaming ‘please Dara use your brain’ at him many times! It got to the point where it was very difficult for me to empathise with him anymore but there was a chapter that despite everything I truly felt for him and could not believe that Manizheh actually did that. But Shannon’s writing is truly exceptional that she created such a complex character that people see in so many different ways.

We learn a lot and have many questions answered that have been on our minds since reading the first two books and yet I wanted more. If Shannon had written a thousand page book I would have happily read it, I am not ready to leave Daevabad. I am especially not ready to leave Ali, Nahri, Muntadhir, Jamshid and Zaynab. I want to know more I want to follow their lives post Empire of Gold. I especially wish we had gotten to see Muntadhir’s or Zaynab’s point of view in this book. It would have been so interesting too see what was happening in other parts of Daevabad and these two siblings trying to work out how to save everyone from within.

I also loved seeing Ali and Nahri’s relationship develop over the trilogy. I loved how they were rivals and initially hostile towards each other and were forced to be around each other and ended up becoming friends and slowly we see something more. The fact that despite them developing more than friendship feelings for each other doesn’t stop them being friends was so wonderful to see. Ali is of course smitten (though he constantly denies this). Nahri slowly develops more feelings for Ali in Empire of Gold and when anyone points this out she also denies it but I really loved seeing such a healthy relationship in a book. Ali expects nothing from her, he knows that she finds it difficult to let people in and he lets her decide where their relationship goes. And of course the awkward flirting was absolutely hilarious to read. No smooth lines between these two idiots and I loved them for it!

Shannon ended the trilogy beautifully, it isn’t a happily ever after, instead we get to see a hopeful new beginning for all of the characters as they navigate their lives with all the changes that will inevitably happen. This trilogy will forever hold a special place in my heart and I couldn’t have asked for a better conclusion.

I have so much I want to know about their lives at the end but I also love the ending. I could talk about this book forever, there is so much more I want to say but I don’t want to spoil anyone so this will have to do for now.

PS. I will never be ready to leave Daevabad so I am praying that Shannon returns here one day but I am also very excited about reading her next series which will involve pirates!

Why Alizayd Al-Qahtani from The City of Brass Means So Much To Me

It’s no secret how much I adore the Daevabad trilogy by now. I am completely and entirely captivated by the books and there is so many reasons why I love these books, but I am going to discuss one of the many reasons today. That reason is Prince Alizayd al-Qahtani. He has stolen my heart like no other character has and I want to share why I love him so much and how much his character means to me.

From the moment we are introduced to Ali I knew I would love him, the very first thing we see him doing is going to pray Fajr at the masjid and it made my heart explode to see a main character unashamedly praying. His relationship with Allah and his devotion to practicing his faith is one of the things that made me completely fall in love with him. This was the Muslim rep that I was craving for, for so long. To see a Muslim character be unapologetically Muslim.

Every single time he is in a difficult situation his immediate response is to turn to Allah to seek help and guidance from Him. I cannot even begin to express how much I loved seeing this. At the beginning of Kingdom of Copper we see him being chased and almost killed and yet when he is faced with certain death in a desert all alone, he prays, he turns to Allah and asks for help and has faith that Allah will guide him.

And not only is he someone who is consistent in nourishing his soul through prayer he also emulates the characteristics we are taught by the Prophet (pbuh). He fights for social justice something that is a huge part of Islam and consistently and passionately fights for those who are not treated properly and the poor and needy. He gives his time to helping those in need without expecting praise and recognition. This is something that is so important to so many Muslims, especially something that the youth do consistently yet we never see this type of rep.

Also the fact that Shannon made him a young Muslim man who was devout but not a radical or terrorist was especially endearing to me because they are consistently shown as the villains in media. And he was such a nuanced and complex character where we see that he struggles in his faith at times and can be seen as judgemental because of his beliefs yet he perseveres.

He is taken by Muntadhir to Khanzada’s palace and there surrounded by beautiful women yet knowing that he is not supposed to stare at them, he reminds himself to lower his gaze. I absolutely loved that Shannon included this scene especially as he didn’t tell the women that they should be ashamed of dressing in a certain way, but that he himself needs to control himself.

Another instance is when Nahri and him are in his room and he calls a guard in saying that a woman and man should not be alone in a room and this is another thing that young Muslims are having to deal with regularly so it was so great to see these instances in the book. We also see how people are condescending and judgemental towards him and make fun of the fact that he doesn’t drink or want to sleep with anyone before marriage and my heart felt for him in these scenes.

People may see that as acting judgemental when he refuses but it is a part of our religion and lots of young Muslims try to avoid and they are also looked down on. Which also made him double down on his rigidity when it came to these things but he learnt to grow and see that not everything is black and white. It really made him so relatable and reminded me of navigating through these things when I was a teen.

One of the reasons that Daevas don’t like Ali is because they think that he will cause problems for them because of his continuous fight for justice for the Shafits but we see several instances where this isn’t the case. From the young boy who shoots an arrow at him and he doesn’t punish him for it, which he could have easily done. To the end of The Kingdom of Copper when he goes against his father to protect the Shafits but also ensures that every other tribe including the Daevas are protected. I loved seeing that distinction in the books, that despite him not liking most Daevas he still would protect them and wouldn’t allow innocent Daevas to be hurt. My heart could not take it, we can see the type of leader he could become, and it could be a great one.

I absolutely love how flustered he gets when girls are obviously flirting with him or is often completely oblivious about it. I love how he loves his siblings even though they don’t always see eye to eye. It was so lovely to see a complex sibling dynamic, siblings who obviously love each other but because of their positions they are often pitted against each other because it benefits others. I loved seeing how much he loved his brother and how Muntadhir was always protecting him because he knew he was oblivious when it came to politics.

His friendship with Lubayd and Aqisa was so wonderful to see especially after everything that happened in the first book. He has never been able to make real friends and he finally made some true friends who looked out for him. I cried happy tears for him to finally see him happy and enjoying life yet he still does everything he can for the community he lives in. His values and beliefs haven’t changed and this was something we see consistently throughout both books. He still does everything he can to improve the lives of those who need help. He helps with the irrigation and improving the conditions of the people of Bir Nibat.

Lastly, I loved seeing how he was such a nerd and absolutely proud of it and completely owns it. I loved how excitedly he would talk non stop about the things he was passionate about and he would have to be told to stop talking. I loved that he was reader and essentially had a library in his room because what booknerd can’t relate to that?! It made my heart burst with joy to see a practicing Muslim who was also a booknerd.

One of my favourite scenes in The City of Brass is when Nahri and Ali are in the library and he’s teaching her to read and they are both basically being geeks together. And we learn that he would love to travel and see the world and wants to just soak up as much knowledge as he can. His love and passion comes through in this scene so beautifully. Another thing that I loved seeing that we see in this scene and throughout the books is that despite being a prince he doesn’t expect servants to do every small thing for him, he searches for the scrolls himself instead of just telling the librarians to go get it for him and it was refreshing to see that he isn’t a privileged spoiled brat.

I related so much to him in so many ways and I will forever be thankful to Shannon for writing this book and creating Alizayd. I could go on forever about Alizayd and all the small instances we see what a wonderful character he is but I think my essay is long enough and if you read it all, thank you!

PS. I have a whole section on my blog dedicated to the Daevabad trilogy so if you’re a fan do check it out!

My Favourite Quotes From The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

It’s no secret how much I absolutely adore The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty. If you follow me on my social media you know that I regularly fangirl and basically throw this book at everyone to read and my most anticipated read of the year is Empire of Gold which is out on June 30th so you all still have time to read the best books you will ever read before the final book is out!

In this post I am going to share my favourite quotes from the first book, The City of Brass and it may just convince you all to go read or reread the book!

So here are my favourite quotes:

He was an easy mark. – The very first line of the book and instantly convinced me that I will love this book and Nahri!

“Suleiman’s eye!” it roared. “I will kill whoever called me here!” – an apt introduction to Dara.

The best tales always have at least a kernel of truth. – This quote is amazing on so many levels because what the book is inspired by and how much of real history Shannon weaves seamlessly into the books.

“You’re some kind of thief then?” “That’s a very narrow minded way of looking at it. I prefer to think of myself as a merchant of delicate tasks.” – Look by this point I was already in love with Nahri but damn her sass is so on point!

“Oh calm down, sheikh.” Zaynab shivered. “It’s cold up here.” “Cold? We’re djinn! You are literally created from fire.” – I love the banter and the squabbling between the Qahtani siblings. I want more of it please!

“I think I should like to learn to do this” “Pick a lock? She laughed. “Are you planning a future as a criminal in the human world?” “I like to keep my options open.” – I love this whole chapter when Nahri and Ali are just chilling and studying like the nerds they are!

“I’m coming back Nahri,” he promised. “You’re my Banu Nahida. This is my city.” His expression was defiant. “Nothing will keep me from either of you.” – While I am not a fan of Dara, I have to admit he does have some great lines.

“Come on Nahid. A Qahtani fool is offering is offering up free information surely your instincts are telling you to take advantage of it.” That drew a slight smile, tinged with exasperation. – Ali and Nahri have such a wonderful friendship and I just want to see more adorable scenes like the library scenes in this book.

In what world do men and women pay the same price for passion. – The parallels to our society and the raw truth and the context it was said in was honestly chilling.

Nahri always smiled at her marks. – The last line of the book parallels the first line so well and it made me cheer for her after everything she had been through, I knew she would be a force to be reckoned with in the next book!

And here is my absolute favourite line from the book:

Greatness takes time Banu Nahida. Often the mightiest things have the humblest beginnings. – It’s such a wonderful line in so many ways, not only is it inspiring and motivating but in the context of the book, it’s something that I feel indicates that Nahri will achieve great things.

So here are my favourite quotes from the book! If you read the book tell me some of yours!

I have also written these blog posts about the Daevabad books:

I have also reviewed The City of Brass here and The Kingdom of Copper here.

I have also created a Daevabad book tag which you all welcome to do! Please do tag me if you do it! I would love to see your answers!

I wrote about why you should all read the Daevabad books here

And this post is about when I met Shannon last summer. You can read it here.