Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: The TN R.E.A.D.S challenge for June includes reading a recommended book. 'The City of Brass' was recommended by a good friend who has a pretty good track record of suggesting books so while the heft of the book was a bit daunting, I had faith it'd be a good one!

Overall rating: This was a slow starter for me. Not because of the content of the book, but because it took me a bit to get into the groove with the characters, words, phrasing, and cadence of the book (I did enjoy this one as an audiobook). I'll be honest in saying that throughout the entirety of the book, this was a common theme - not quite always knowing where I was in the book or with what character. There is some great interconnectivity between characters but if you're not paying attention, or if you're listening versus physically reading, it can be a bit hard to follow.

'The City of Brass' is very Aladdin (setting, theming, characters) meets Harry Potter (magic, mystery, finding one's own true power) meets Hunger Games (cultural differences, war, pomp and circumstance disguising cultural/racial destruction). Overall, I really enjoyed the concept and plot of 'The City of Brass' but I really struggled to follow everything. Did that stop me from already requesting the second book in the trilogy from my local library? Absolutely not.