This book was slightly slower than the first, however this isn't to say it was boring! It just focused a lot more on politics, deceit and alliances etc rather than big events however the ending picked it back up again. I specifically loved the development and storyline of Ali, cant wait for the next book!

A massive improvement over City of Brass. I really fell in love with this book and I was lukewarm on CoB, which felt very slow and many characters felt unsympathetic. 

Chakraborty has fixed many of these issues with KoC. She takes greater care to make all of her characters feel more sympathetic in this book, while keeping their moral complexities in tact. And she again delivers an absolute gut punch of an ending. 

KoC takes place five years after the events of CoB. Even as Ali is exiled, Daevabad seems intent on drawing him back into its political machinations. Nahri has taken her place as Banu Nahida and struggles against the yoke of King Ghassan's rule.  With a once-in-a-century celebration looming and an unseen enemy plotting revenge on the city, the characters' lives weave together as everyone angles to achieve their own goals. 

 Spectacular. Show stopping. Amazing. I throw all the praise at this book, because it's so beautifully written and it builds so well on the previous book. It dives deeper into the meaninglessness of vengeance vs. the true healing power of justice. Because the shafit aren't wrong and the Daevas aren't wrong and those clamoring for a better life aren't wrong, but since no one can address the pains of the past without murder, no one can devise a way to move forward. Well, Nahri and Ali could, but no one ever listens to the best characters.

This book also skyrocketed Ali to the top of my list of favorite characters. The previous book of "the oppressed can have some rights" is burned away as he gains more confidence in his own moral clarity and is able to see a life outside of the palace (also, Aqisa and Lubayd are the best additions the vast cast of characters). Muntadhir plummeted pretty far down the list with the petty jealousy and the fear his father beat into him taking over his love for his siblings, Jamshid and what he knows is right. Like, the whole

lie to embarrass Ali and then causing a massacre and like only realizing after the fact that all this death was his fault? Fuck him. Though the ending reconciliation was pretty damn satisfying. But also, fuck him.

 

 I empathize with him, but it's also part of the cycle of revenge and status quo and trying to please their abusive father to become an abuser himself. I also liked the expanded role for Zaynab and Hastet, and it was nice seeing Nahri finding female allies. Additionally, Dara (a character I like in spite of my morals) slowly figuring out Just Following Orders is a paltry excuse when he's doing atrocities. 

Overall, a stunning sequel. I cannot wait to read the final installment.