First, I want to start this review with an apology for how it took for me to finally finish this novel. As anyone knows when you dive into the world of Daevabad, it will be a long and sometimes arduous journey, which requires a little more mentally than reading a fluffy romance or a young adult book. And unless you're living under a rock then you know there's a pandemic, which eats into a lot of one's mental stamina and so it took a moment for me to settle down to read this epic conclusion.

It was worth it. Side note, this is probably the longest ARC I have ever received and I have finally discovered after finishing that it was almost 800 pages. The story starts with Nahri and Ali in Egypt, who have woken up after diving into the lake and being swept away in the second book. The pair spend the first half of the book re-grouping and eventually, making their way to Ta Ntry, where Ali's mother, Queen Hatset, lives. However, this does go according to plan and Ali finds himself unraveling secrets about his ancestors that will come back to haunt him.

In Daevabad, Dara is dealing with Manizheh, who has finally seized control of the city without its protective veil and Suleiman's Seal. Coincidentally, it is revealed early on that Ali has the ring, but it has not been completely absorbed into his body, which means that neither Ali nor Nahri have access to their full powers. This, of course, throws a wrench into the plans for Manizheh, who must overtake the city without her magic. So, Dara is forced to deal with various political ends, such as Muntadhir, who is scheming, waging various fights in the city, and dealing with the increasingly ruthless decisions of Manizheh, who is becoming desperate.

The story did not really begin until Ali and Nahri became involved with the Marid. This forced the plot to start moving towards the conclusion in Daevabad and introduced some interesting depths to our characters. While I enjoyed the next part of the book, it did feel that the stakes were low and everything resolved a little too easily. In reflection, the book spent too much time getting Ali and Nahri to Ta Ntry and then moved rapidly through some of the final development to the battle for Daevabad, where it could have used more detail.

Despite this awkward pacing, the final part of the novel captured me and I read with rapt attention as this Daevabad story concluded. Chakroborty resolved everyone's arc in a way that felt realistic to the development of the character and to the demands of the new Daevabad. There were a couple of moments that made me tear up. Anyways, it fantastic to reach the end of this journey in Daevabad and I look forward to exploring more of Chakroborty's worlds in future works!

4.25/5 stars

This book had to convince me on a lot of things (especially Dara tbh). I've like the other books, but I never really fell in love with them. I also found them to be really slow for the most part. This one though? I was sucked in, and I ended up loving things and characters that I never expected to. I grew to truly understand the world and its characters. As the final book in a trilogy, I think this is gonna make die hard fans really happy. As someone who was skeptical going in, it gets my stamp of approval for sure.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A big thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for providing me with this Arc for an honest review.

This was an excellent conclusion to a really well-rounded trilogy. To those who haven't read City of Brass and Kingdom of Copper-- do so before picking this one up. To those who have been eagerly awaiting this conclusion to the trilogy-- it is amazing!

Picking up right where Kingdom of Copper leaves off, Nahri, Ali, and Dara each continue on their track of character development. Chakraborty does a stellar job at displaying inner conflict, victimization, and the nuances that comes from long and extended conflict. The finale is just as epic as I was hoping it to be, and I was left satisfied with the ending while simultaneously wishing I could continue to journey alongside with these characters forever and ever.

Some content notes to be aware of: abuse, described torture, mass murder/genocide, violence/gore, medical gore, suicidal ideation/self harm, enslavement

A full review will be posted on June 10th in my Ariel's Arcs segment on https://www.armedwithabook.com/

So many times, the conclusion to a series ends up being unsatisfying. But I thought Chakraborty thoroughly stuck the landing on this series finale. And the last sentence is perfection.

The thrilling conclusion of the Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty grabs a hold of readers with strength and ferocity that doesn't let go until the final pages.

After having barely escaped, Nahri and Ali are on the run. Struggling to harness the power of Suleiman's Ring, Nahri and Ali also wrestle with their own feelings on those they've left behind. Meanwhile, the ancient warrior Dara faces the consequences of his own dark and bloody past and what it will mean if he ever hopes to truly atone.

This trilogy is one of my absolute favorites. The cast of characters, so beautifully realized and complicated are the true heart of it. The world-building is unlike anything I've ever read before. I loved discovering new facets of the world in this volume, particularly with the Marid and my new favorite character, Sobek.

I truly couldn't put this book down. Chakraborty's masterful pacing in the last half of the book was inspiring. It was a mad dash, but she never skimped on details or making each and every final moment with these characters count.

It made me laugh, it made me cry, suspicions that I had were confirmed, and hearts were broken and healed with gentle, distant promise. I loved it.

I received my copy and took a couple of hours to mentally prepare before diving in - it's no secret this series means a lot to me and I've been yelling about it for years.

The final book picks up where it left off: Total chaos in Deavabad, Nahri and Ali thrown through space to Cairo, and magic gone from the world. What ensues is such a fun ride that I couldn't put down.

Nahri and Ali have a thrilling adventure, that at times had my heart racing for them. I loved their story so much. They have such good hearts and care deeply about their people, and have both finally gained the power and wits they needed to help them. Their friendship has come so far and the relationship between them feels very earned to me.

Dara's plot is very dark, and I found it frustrating and heartbreaking. His blind faith in Menizheh has led him so far down a path of destruction, even if it is also rooted in caring for his people. If anything dragged for me, I think it was some of his plot, but I did love it overall and think his ending is well-deserved, bringing me to tears.

The last third of this book was so exciting, with so much action and many magical creatures, and I loved every second of it. I'm so sorry to see this series end, but this book couldn't have wrapped up the story better. Much thanks to Chakraborty for bringing it into the world, I am going to miss these characters very much!

This was a book I’d been eagerly awaiting and it ended up being even more wonderful than I’d hoped.

Empire of Gold is the third, and final, book of the Daevabad trilogy and it starts with Nahri back in Cairo, almost a mirror of the beginning of the trilogy in some ways. There is adventure, court intrigue, alliances and betrayals, and strong friendships and chosen family bonds. I don’t know if the plot of Empire can easily be summarized, but it was wonderful and thrilling and worth every tear I shed.

The first half is mainly a journey for Nahri and Ali after ending up in Cairo but she is able to reconnect with Yaqub, her apothecary friend. They don’t have magic since Suleiman’s Seal has been removed from Daevabad, but that doesn’t stop Nahri from being the healer she has always been. Ali gets to explore the human world he’s always been fascinated by and their friendship deepens during their time in Cairo.

But while Nahri and Ali are building and finding happiness, Dara is stuck in an ever-grimmer nightmare under Manizheh’s command as her Afshin. Manizheh has been broken by Ghassan’s treatment of her and her brother, and so she keeps turning to violence as the answer to rule Daevabad. Dara can only look on in horror because he cannot shake the teaching that Nahids are holy and he must unquestioningly follow them. But he also doesn’t want to only be the Scourge, a weapon for Nahid control. His arc in this book breaks my heart many times over because he wants to be better, but isn’t given a chance to be anything more than a weapon.

It is when Ali and Nahri make their way back to Daevabad that things really start to pick up and revelations and horrors pile up. Ali and Nahri have big dreams of a bright future for the people they care for and want to protect, but they also recognize those wishes and dreams will not come easily. Peace and change never do. And just getting back to Daevabad to begin trying to make change costs more than they planned or realized it could.

The Daevabad trilogy has been an incredible ride from day one and what a satisfying conclusion Empire of Gold is! There’s open ends for future stories in the world, but the main story feels concluded and wrapped up wonderfully. I heartily recommend this series for fans of epic fantasy and an interest in Egyptian history and Islamic folklore. This book, this series will not disappoint!

An epic conclusion to a magical trilogy. If i could ETERNAL SUNSHINE one series and read it again for this first time, it would be this one. There’s one subplot I feel might have benefitted from being introduced a bit earlier and perhaps one more editing pass but in all, as always, I was completely swept up by Chakraborty’s rich description and fully realized characters. Looking forward to what she does next.

If you're reading this review, you're likely aware of S.A. Chakraborty's Daevabad Trilogy and that The Empire of Gold concludes the series. If you liked the first two books, you will not be disappointed with this one. Chakraborty continues her slow-burn, careful buildup, character driven style. As a reader, I feel like I've built a relationship with her protagonists, and navigating the last halfish of the book was a knot of stress about how their tales would conclude. It's ultimately hopeful, but not without mountains of tragedy and heartbreak, perfectly in line with the other books.

Something I love about the author's writing style is how she's so careful to build the motivations of the characters, which unfold along many small steps that eventually reach critical mass and explode. Plot resolutions feel earned. No one is inherently evil or even full on virtuous, and who falls where at a given moment can be murky. There are so many alliances, vengeances, debts owed, that nothing has a clean solution.

In many ways, this story is about the total demise of a Daevabad that has been broken over the course of more than a millennium, by the horrific events concluded The Kingdom of Copper. "Every time I think there's no lower our world can sink, we all plunge deeper." How can one possibly hope to fix something so broken? The characters must wrestle with themselves and make difficult tradeoffs for the wider good.

One of my favorite early scenes, without giving away much in the way of spoilers, comes when Dara and Manizheh are interrogating the captured Muntadhir. Manizheh threatens the life the emir's sister, citing the example of what happened to Dara's sister during the previous war. The remarks outrage Dara and encourage him to question his loyalties to Manizheh. There is a strong familial bond between Muntadhir and Zaynab throughout the series. We both feel the danger, and we're reminded how it parallels Dara's how experience must have felt, rendering the flashbacks he's had thinking about his sister more tangible. This scene develops an unlikely bond between Muntadhir and Dara, while having sense of real threat expressed by Manizheh amidst that backfire.

I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed this book/series, but a review should be kept to a manageable length. To me, this is a must read series among the contemporary fantasy titles out there. Yes, the books are long and serious time investment, but it's worth every minute. This book was the perfect diversion during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I'd encourage the rest of you to pick it up as well.

In the last installment of Daevabad Trilogy, Chakraborty amps up politics, romance and violence and brings the series to a satisfying end.

When we left Nahri, Ali and Dara at the end of the Kingdom of Copper the magical city of Daevabad was in deep jeopardy. Manizeh, Nahri’s mother had conquered the city by committing genocide, aided and abetted by her Ashfin, Kaveh and Nisreen.  Nahri and Ali escaped Manizeh’s clutches by jumping into the lake, taking Suleiman’s ring with them only to find themselves transported to Egypt. And magic disappears from the hands of the djinns.

And it’s at this cliffhanger that Empire of Gold begins. Nahri wakes up in a small abandoned village on the shore of Nile, with a dying Ali besides her. This is the start of their long journey back to Daevabad; a quest of sorts fighting ifrits, river monsters, pirates, family feuds and life-threatening attacks.

Meanwhile, in Daevabad, Manizeh coup has not exactly been a success. Alienation from her own tribe pushes Manizeh to even crazier acts of cruelty to which Dara is a witness (but not a silent one, thank god!)

Empire of Gold is the darkest of the three novels with gruesome battles, cruel deaths and loads of family drama. The POVs involving Nahri and Ali are the light in this darkness. The Daevabad Trilogy is essentially a coming of age fantasy novel for these two flawed heroes who want to change the world. The minute Ali and Nahri met in The City of Brass (in a very Pride & Prejudice fashion), you knew theirs would be a friendship of the ages. After having lived through two novels of conflicts and misunderstanding, these two finally find common ground and goals. Thanks to Ali, Nahri finds courage to fight again and rebuild her life. And in return Nahri teaches Ali to temper his ideals so they can bring real change. They support each other in the bleakest of hours. 

Ali has always been my favorite of the three characters as he has always been very clear for what he stood for. Nahri spent the first two novels trying to survive, and Dara is a man of a different age with no ideas of his own. It’s Ali who is the first to introduce us to the injustices of the magical world. It’s mostly through his lens do we see what Daevabad is struggling with. In this third book, we explore his connection with the marid and his struggle to come to terms with what he finds. Ali of Empire of Gold is more cautious, subtle and ready to be the hero that Daevabad deserves. 

Nahri’s biggest challenge has been a lack of agency in the first two novels. Yes, she made choices, but a lot of elements were out of her control. In book 3, she truly takes charge.  She strongly leans into her Nahid heritage and refuses to be a political pawn anymore. Her journey from Cairo to Daevabad makes for a very emotional reading–to see her back in a home that she always missed, her acceptance of her future in Daevbad and the cost that comes with it. 
And then there is Dara’s POV! I may be in the serious minority, but I just don’t get the love people have for this character. I remember the exact scene in The City of Brass when I stopped caring for his character–the one when he hurts his hand on a glass table so he can see Nahri. I just don’t have any empathy for this kind of machoism. And it was all downhill from there. While I understand his love for Nahri, what baffles me (apart from other fans who continue to love him) is Nahri’s continued devotion. Despite knowing why he is called the Scourge of Qui-zi  his part in aiding Manizeh’s genocide, his racism and his antiquated world view.  Yes, you can pity him and feel for him–but what is this connection that festers over years? It’s almost like the writer is trying to please the fans. 
Without spoiling it for anyone, in this book Chakraborty does an excellent job of filling in his backstory and evoking a lot of empathy for him. Yes, there is a redemption arc, but there is a lot of soul searching that gets him there, and he doesn’t come across as a very bright djinn. I am hoping for some healthy debate on this when the book comes out. This is where the book loses a star.

It took me 3 days to get through 800 pages of this wonderful finale to the series, mostly because I kept going back and rereading chapters. Chakraborty keeps the strengths of her previous novels - excellent world building, interesting characters  (a new river lord that is utterly fascinating) and strong character growth. We get to see a little of Muntadhir and lots of Jamshid. We travel the Nile, visit Ali’s maternal home in Ta Ntry and encounter many magical creatures like the peris, shedus and marids. This is an almost perfect ending.

I have mixed feelings about this book. While in terms of the series, it's very good, I was a little frustrated by the romance. The thing about the romance is it could be interpreted in support of or against, and I really would like it concretely platonic. Other than that, I did enjoy it. And it really did wrap it up well.

Quick confession: When I saw the page numbers of the book, I draw the blanket on my face and try to hide from the book. Nearly 800 pages! I’m so happy it was not a paperback, I’m holding right now! I don’t want to look like wrestler after finishing my reading (I was looking like giant when I finished Dark Tower series of Stephen King book! It gave me cries to look at my triceps!)

Of course the other two books of the installment were long, too but when I start reading something (and you may guess I’m reading two times faster than normal people. But This overusing your brain and killing your brain cells softly technique earned me scrutinizing and suspicious looks and daily at least 10 emails: are you a robot? You cannot read all of them. FYI” Yes I can and yes I will!) time stops! I stop eating ( thankfully I resume my drinking habits, thanks to my stocked straw collection! After the quarantine: it’s five o’clock at some place in the earth, cheers!), becoming more asocial (which makes my husband happier and my neighbors happiest), living and feeling the book fully.

But I felt so likely because I already invested in this series for so long and after the cliffhanger of second book, I was really curious about the story’s progression so I want to yell at myself to have second thoughts to start this one. So I grabbed it. It already glued to my hands, my mind, my heart and to my soul. Here we go! Let’s get lost in the story inspired by Arabian nights!

I have to admit: The strongest thing about the book is its unique, impeccably detailed, layered, well-crafted characterization. Interestingly one of my favorite characters is Dara. I know his POV was darker, more gruesome and depressing when you compare with other two POVS but I found those parts more realistic, stunning and vivid. The emotional part of the story fed by slow burn Alizayd and Nahri’s romance. I enjoyed the characters’ development and their inner journeys. They grew, they lost, they hurt, they ached and experienced versions of them were much brighter and likable.

I got really surprised but I root for Muntadhir and Zaynab a lot and I wished they have their own POVS ( I know the book would have more pages than War and Peace with their additional narrations but I still wanted to read their inner thoughts and wanted to learn more about the characters!) Fingers crossed, maybe we get a spinoff and see the supporting characters have their own books!

The conclusion was amazing. There are so many unexpected twists make you flabbergasted, shocked. (My spidey senses retired throughout my reading so I didn’t see any of them coming)
I’m so happy to read this ARC but I also feel sad and nostalgic as usual when a trilogy ends and I have to say goodbye to all those characters I invested for a long time.

I’m rounding up 4.5 start to 5 and I’m closing it with red-rimmed eyes at 4.26 am in the morning! It was a long reading marathon for me but truly it was worth it!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Voyager for sharing fantastic conclusion of trilogy in exchange my honest review!

Wow! What an excellent ending to this sweeping trilogy. I loved the ending with the exception of who Nahri ended with. Alas, I’m team bad boy for life. Even though I adored all three books in the series I always disliked the writing style or prose, sorry I don’t know how to explain it, I’m sure there’s a fabulous articulate way to say what I was trying to say. Ok now back to the subject, MUNTADHIR and JAMSHID, were hands down my favorite! Alizayd was annoying as usual for me. Nahri and Alizayd should be Platonic friends for life. Anyways, I felt this series ties up all the loose ends. Definitely will be recommending this book to everyone! Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

I was a fan of Chakraborty from day one. The Daevabad trilogy opens with a strong and engaging first novel and finishes with an even better finale. We’ve seen an increase of Middle Eastern inspired fantasies over the last handful of years, some good and others not so much. But this series exemplifies all that we love about classic fantasy - engagingly consistent characters, beautiful world building, magic and mayhem, thoughtful examinations of morality and motives, and tortured love stories. Chakraborty delivers tried and true tropes as well as modern concepts without losing the characters or the world in the process. I loved everything about The Empire of Gold and I look forward to what Chakraborty has in store for us next.

Well done- the author stuck the landing on this one! Nahri, Ali and Dara all have their arcs completed in a satisfactory way (at least to me).

I don't want to do much with spoilers, so I'll speak generally. We get to see the capital of Ayaanle, we get to have magic flying boat rides and go under the ocean to negotiate with the biggest sea demon ever, the peris (air elemental beings) stick their beaky noses in again, Nahri gets to ride a Shedu (and I want one bad!) all is explained with regard to the mysterious origins of our characters.

All the characters act like themselves- true to what they would do instead of doing things for plot purposes. The author has developed each character so that you can understand why they act as they do, and each had great sacrifices to make. The setting of this world is one of the richest I've ever had the enjoyment of losing myself in. The plot had interesting intrigue and characters that you knew would have tragic ends, but the one upsmanship of "I'll threaten you", "no, I'll threaten you more" was toned down. I was happy to get swept along in this epic tale. I feel like the author might have left the door open just a crack for more books? That would be AMAZING, but I am happy with how this series has been concluded.

Oh, Dara, I can't quit you. I do love a tragic bad boy. I would always make the wrong choice in a love triangle.

This sequel is AMAZING!!!!!! I didn't put this book down at all. I read it for a few days straight. The story...AMAZING. The characters... AMAZING. I fell in love with it. S.A. Chakraborty created another piece of fantastic art.

Breathtaking. Mind-boggling. Heartbreaking.
This is easily the best book I've read in years. Chakraborty writes like a a magician skilled at enrapturing your mind and soul and this book - as the kids say it - had me properly shook. If you thought the first two books were good, this one is gold. Pure, unadulterated, shining, shimmering gold. You'll think about it for days and weeks and months and years to come and this is going to set an entirely new standard for pretty much anything else you read from now on. Everything else will disappoint you. All you'll be able to do is read and re-read and re-read the trilogy until the end of time. It will be glorious. I am ready for this!

Why, oh why did I want to read this book early? Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED it so much, but not being able to talk about it is physically hurting me. I have literally texted friends begging them to let me divulge spoilers (Joleen, you da real MVP). Now, I’m going to write a spoiler free review…it may be short as I try to avoid the hell out of oversharing. I placed a warning in my header, but I want to reiterate – do not read this review if you haven’t already finished The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper!

S.A. Chakraborty has destroyed me. Over the course of 400+ pages, she ripped my heart out of my chest, stomped on it, and then somehow managed to carefully put it back together. The poor battered thing has some bandaids on it, but its thankfully still beating. The romance was absolute perfection. Over the course of this series, I have shipped Nahri with Dara, and then Ali, and then Dara again, and then…well you get the point. When I started Empire of Gold I genuinely had no idea how Chakraborty could possibly write an ending that would ensure that all characters involved got what they deserved. Somehow, she managed it. In the end, I genuinely believe that Nahri ended up with the person best suited to her.

The best part about this series though wasn’t the romance. It was the character development. I can’t stress enough how much these characters have grown over the course of the trilogy. Ali, Nahri and Dara all went through so much and came through it all completely changed for the better. Hell, even Muntadhir grew in ways I didn’t see possible. Somehow Chakraborty managed to change and grow not only the main characters, but also a huge group of supporting cast that I found myself deeply caring about by the end.

Empire of Gold wasn’t an easy end, and I cried more than I have in a long time, but it finished in a way that left me satisfied. All loose ends were wrapped up, every character’s ending was deserved and well thought out, and the series wrapped up on a hopeful note. I can’t wait to read what S.A. Chakraborty writes next and genuinely hope that she revisits what has become one of my all time favorite fictional worlds.

I loved the first two books in the series so when I saw this title on NetGalley I was excited, but also nervous about how S.A. Chakraborty would end the trilogy. She did not disappoint.

The book starts where the plot left off in book 2, and alternates between Dara, Nahri, and Ali's POV. Even though we got to know the characters through the first two books, it was great that even in this last book the characters were still developing and not stagnant. I feel like each of the main characters and even some of the side characters went through a lot of growth in this book, in fact, which made them feel more life-like.

Chakraborty did an amazing job of pulling together all the strings from the first two books to create a stunning conclusion with twists I didn't see coming. While this book is action-packed, Chakraborty was able to find ways to slow the pacing so that the reader doesn't get overwhelmed. I definitely recommend this book, and I can't wait to see what Chakraborty writes next! 5 stars.

A wonderful wrap up for this enchanting series! There was no shortage of action and intrigue and the romance kept you on edge for the entire book. It is a beautifully written world that was so easy to get lost in!