The rest of the supernatural world considers them monsters and they are, but they’re also so much more. But, I do love the way this author manages to conjure a sense of place whether you’re in the mundane or the magical. It takes a long time for the real action to start and it feels like much of the beginning of the book, up till Ali and Nahri get to Ta Ntry is largely treading water. She’s a survivor, a fighter and dammit, she deserves every happiness she could possible achieve and get. You know there are boy-girl embers there, and plenty of high energy escapades and battles to keep emotional levels high.

I dove into this one almost immediately upon release, and I am pleased to say that the last Wayfarers book is just as good as its predecessors. Dara and Nahri see each other, long lost friends, lovers exchanging a long, knowing, warm, happy, nostalgic glance for the first time after who knows how many years (but we can tell time has passed), smiling and maybe with some tears and then fade to black. This almost felt like a slice of life moment for them and it was so enjoyable – despite everything going on, everything they left behind. Empire of Gold by SA Chakraborty – great character arcs, lush world building, a little bittersweet but ultimately satisfying.It is always a bittersweet feeling when you reach the last sentence of one of your favourite series. Chakraborty concludes her Daevabad trilogy with such emotional anguish that readers will come away needing time to mourn the loss of such a great series and time to process the events taken place. So, they decide to head back to Daevabad but along the way they encounter a very powerful and ancient Marid. Nahri and Ali are recuperating from their battles and recent escape, reconnecting with some old friends and family, including some very unexpected family, and trying to figure out what to do with their lives.

We see hope, but also the inevitability of backsliding and a long lasting culture of mistrust and power playing. I really liked the ending for how much we got to see of things resettling, after the climactic battle. Especially because I knew there was no reason for them to be sad, so I just wanted to jump into the book and tell them everything was fine.I appreciated that recovery from the events of the book were presented as a work in progress because that felt realistic, but I would’ve liked something that felt more conclusive. Let me tell you that – while everyone probably has a different opinion on how that love triangle should have been resolved or whether it needed to be there ein the first place – I was more than happy with the ending. What he did for her in letting her go and walking away… coming full circle to book 1 and the cave they stayed in… oh man.

As he progresses into the complicated story of his own true identify and grows closer to Nahri, he begins to see the overarching complications of love, interaction, and history.PICTURE THIS: Dara dropping off slave vessels to the cave, Nahri showing up at the same time to check if some have been left - either alone or with her children (or maybe it’s just her children, oh my gah) (I also don’t even know if this is possible with the veil up, ha). Afte rall, Nahri’s mother has taken Daevabad, Ali is trying to get over his brother’s death, and Nahri still can’t believe what Menizah and Dara have done… As understandable as this quieter period in their lives is, as eager was I for the story to pick up again. This setting invited an examination of Nahri’s personal evolution since book one, the ways in which her newfound powers and her found-family have both changed her and helped strengthened her existing identity.