Well, this book. THIS SERIES! Wow, probably one of my favourite series that I’ve read in recent years. I will say for this book, I know it’s supposed to be standalone, and I definitely think it would be alright to come in at this book, but I also think that those certain emotional moments just won’t hit as well if you haven’t read the previous books. So, I’d recommend reading the other two first (and also, they’re very good and you should read them anyway!)

Overall, I thought this was a fantastic (if a little bit heart rending) way to end the series. I loved seeing the way the world was at the beginning of the series and then coming to the end and seeing how much it’s changed since then. And of course, seeing all my favourite characters grow and change throughout the series was amazing.

I really loved Illi, it was so easy to root for her, and I love how human she is. Doore really has a knack for writing relatable and very human characters. Those little mistakes and missteps they take really make them easy to root for and connect with.

It’s always a little tricky to review a third book in a series, cause if it’s done right all those wonderful things kind of border on spoilers, but I will say that I think it does a great job of creating a self-contained story, introducing a new and wonderful character, while also providing a satisfying end to the series and tying up some of those unanswered questions from previous books.

Seven years have passed since our favourite characters from books one and two saved Ghadid from the nightmarish events that are spoilers for book two.

This book focuses on Illi, who lost her family in the siege and now lives under Thana's care. She was too young for the family business in a professional sense but did receive many years of training, only to be one of the first denied official status when it was decided that the assassins wouldn't be needed in their former capacity. Now she and the cousins keep Ghadid safe in other ways. Primarily against the Guul.

Heru is still there, and about as popular as he's ever been. When it turns out he's been harbouring a terrible spoiler from a previous book Ghadid throw him out. Frustrated they can't see his brilliance, and at how dismissive they are at the fact Heru helped save Ghadid, and for... other reasons... Illi follows him. And it doesn't hurt that a certain someone is part of the caravan, someone Illi hadn't planned on seeing again, but certainly isn't disappointed to be spending more time with them at all. 

Like the first and second book we focus on different characters in the third. Amastan and Thana are certainly important characters but the focus is on Illi, and the grief that's still haunting her from the siege and everything they experienced with Thana and the rest were saving Ghadid from a different part of the land. Illi was right in the middle of it, fighting the re-risen dead, seeing the fires gut their homes, and all the rest of it. 

Characters still drive this book, although the plot is still engaging and fast paced, thanks to be large amount of travelling that takes up this book. Representation is throughout. The fight scenes are engaging and believable, as is the healing, religion, and world building in general. If I could have anything I'd have liked to see more mention of the food, but that's always been a quirk of mine. 

This is easily a series that could keep going indefinite really - focusing on more and more cousins, then more generations and so forth. So if you could just get on that, please, that would be awesome.

Thank you to the author for giving me the opportunity to read an arc of the Unconquered City.

It was a wonderful read and a great ending to a vibrant fantasy trilogy. The story built upon the foundation of its predecessors and explored the world and the magic and the repercussions of the ending of the impossible contract.
Reading this felt like coming home, and slipping back into a familiar word and writing style.
Reading about the characters from the previous novels and how they've grown and matured over the year filled me with such joy I thought was only possible to experience through well crafted fanfiction.
Illi was an incredibly strong and caring who carried the world upon her shoulders. Throughout the story she learned to process some of the trauma and guilt of surviving the events of the impossible contract which was both moving and oddly cathartic. I always really love K. A. Doore's protagonists who are realistically flawed and incredibly relatable and how they must confront this and are forced to grow through the story and accept themselves. Honestly considering the unhealthy way Illi deals with her trauma and survivers guilt and her ptsd makes me hope they have a therapist in Ghadid she can talk to.
The chemistry between Illi and the characters was both electric and natural. She shares a deep love and friendship with her cousins which was a high light. And the chemistry and sexual tension betweeb her and the love interest was amazing. I was internally screaming and occasional externally squealing because of it haha.
That being said I personally didn't find the plot and ending as satisfying as the Impossible Contract. Maybe it was because my expectations were so high but it didn't impact me like I thought it would.

The Unconquered City was probably the most enjoyable to read of all the three books and I loved how some of loose threads from the previous books were tied up in this one.
The exploration of the mythology and magic was so much fun to read about. Illi's more literal inner demon was snarky and funny at times. They gave more depth into the history of the world and shifted the perspective of the previous novels and really challenged what the characters thought they knew of the world.

Overall it was a great addition to the series and highly recommended.

I love the Chronicles of Ghadid and this final volume did not disappoint, wrapping up the previous two volumes in a way that was both satisfying and enjoyable. Previous characters make cameos and old threads are resolved, even as a third rollicking fantasy story takes place. Highly recommend the entire series.

The Unconquered City is, first and foremost, a distinctly satisfying wrap-up to the Chronicles of Ghadid series. It takes you back to a familiar world, for new adventures, and ties together the last threads of storylines introduced in the first two books. Namely, the return of a character I shall not name, so it’s a nice surprise.

In The Unconquered City, we meet Illi, a cousin who works to defend the city against attacks from the sands. She very much views this as her mission following the Siege, seven years earlier, and also works with Heru to quiet guuli (although Heru is obviously scheming further too). But when General Barca arrives one day with the news that guul attacks are getting worse, she follows her to Harthage to save her family.

The best part about this book is that it actually considers the toll that some of these big fantasy events have. I’ve read so many epic fantasies that just seem to ignore the mental health of their characters after everything happens. (I mean, if you want to create a world where mental health is not an issue...go ahead? I guess? Strange hill to die on, rather than representing it, but okay.) This one centres it.

I think a strength of this series is in the characters and worldbuilding, and that is no less the case here. By the third book the world feels so familiar that falling into it is like some form of coming home. And the characters were definitely what had me reading it almost obsessively (yes, I finished it in one sitting). Particularly certain characters from previous books that finally came back, yes, but also everyone else. I loved seeing Amastan, Mo, Thana and Heru again.

And honestly, if you haven’t got onto this series just yet, there’s no time like the present! You are seriously missing out otherwise.

This series is really trying to dive deep into my heart. It WANTS me to love it. It WANTS me to shout it out on a mountain top. Yeah, it's enjoyable. Totally bingeable! But I still have the same problems with it as I did the first two and that concerns the depth of everything. Everything just feels so baseline when it comes to environment (though so creative!) and even characters, though these can be read as standalones, each new character introduced I just wanted more from.

I think my expectations were too high for this third installment, just wanting this third and final book to be GREAT.. I was expecting a faster pace, a more flushed-out mystery, a main protagonist to root for -- yet this novel lacked all these. For one, the pace starts out somewhat moderately, and then never picks up speed, not even at the climax. I enjoy books whose tempos ebb and flow in the right places, and the Unconquered City felt like it was set on cruise control the whole time. Yes there are absolutely action scenes but there's something about them that I felt to be lackluster.

I feel horrible giving this a low rating because I want to love this series and I will give this author another chance because K. A. Doore as a person is a joy so keep writing Doore!

will be posted to Book of The Gay blog on June 16th
will be posted to instagram on June 16th & Will update with link
is currently on Goodreads
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I received an ARC from Tor and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Remember when I said that The Impossible Contract upped the emotional game for me. Well The Unconquered City took all of that, added ten times the emotional weight, and absolutely crushed me. In a good way. I promise.

The Unconquered City is set seven years after the events of The Impossible Contract. This time, the story follows Illi Basbowen, one of the last assassin’s being trained before the siege, but now works as part of Ghadid’s militia, protecting the city against the attacks of guul. When a General from the neighbouring city of Hathage arrives, she confirms they are also seeing increased attacks and exposes a catastrophic secret hidden on the outskirts of Ghadid.

Illi is suffering from the trauma of the siege on Ghadid. She has nightmares, flashback induced panic attacks, and keeps herself emotionally distant from those around her. She works with Heru, who has stuck around Ghadid after the events of the last book. Heru is emotionally closeted, and lives on the outskirts of the city because no one trusts him or his blasphemous magic.

Illi meets Canthem, a non-binary babe and a member of the Hathage’s guul guard, at Ghadid’s market before everything goes to hell. She starts off on what is supposed to be a short affair. But when Illi and Heru are forced to leave the city, Canthem is part of the guard that escorts them through the desert.

Like in The Impossible Contract, I thought that the relationship conflicts (both romantic and otherwise) were realistic. Illi is suffering from her trauma, and pushes away people who try to get too close to her. She and Heru can have a somewhat antagonistic relationship, but it drives her actions and their consequences.

I’m not going to lie, this book might have made me cry (it definitely did)...more than once. It had a lot of emotional weight, and it was an excellent conclusion to the series. It tied up the loose threads from the last book, while also being an entire story on its own, and brought everything to a satisfying close.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for anything K. A. Doore writes in the future, because I have really enjoyed this diverse, queer, non-eurcentric fantasy series.

The Unconquered City is the third and final novel in The Chronicles of Ghadid series, and I am completely shaken up about that fact. I've fallen so in love with this world, I'm simply not ready to let go of it.

It's been seven years since the horrifying events of the Siege. Ghadid us recovering, albeit slowly. Cousins like Illi Basbowen are struggling to find their place in this new world. Well, maybe not all of them.

Illi never had a chance to take on any contracts, and while hunting the evils that seek to take her family once again has some satisfaction, it isn't quite the same thing. Perhaps that is why she takes the time to learn as much as possible from Heru.

The real question is, would she have hung around, even knowing all of the trouble and adventures his presence would cause her? The answer is almost certainly yes. Illi is on a path for greatness, after all.

“Then all worries were lost in a flurry of motion; there was no more time left to waste.”

Holy cow. Tell me it isn't over. Please, tell me it isn't over. I loved The Chronicles of Ghadid, and I simply adored The Unconquered City and everything it had to offer. K.A. Doore has done it again, and with exceptional grace.

I'm honestly still reeling from everything that happened in this book, I'm not even sure where to begin. For starters, I suppose I should say that I love the timeline. Setting it seven years after the events of the last book gave the world time to heal, while also allowing secondary characters to grow and change. It was brilliant.

There's simply so much to love about this novel. The opportunity to see characters from the first and second novels all grown up. The world itself. The politics and water rationing. I adore each and every little bit of it.

Without a doubt though, the way trauma is represented in The Unconquered City is unparalleled. Both on an individual and group level. Illi is personally going through so much thanks to the Siege, as are all of the Cousins and members of Ghadid. It's both emotionally tense and beautiful to see, as odd as that may sound.

On to the core plot; wow. Can I just use that as my summary? But seriously, I adored the latest plot. It was even more steeped in politics than ever before, and I just couldn't get enough of it. There's the internal politics of Ghadid, but then larger politics as well. It was fascinating. Especially in regards to water and resources.

Seeing so many characters come together once again for the series finale...it was so powerful. I think that is the main reason I've been left reeling here. K.A. Doore provided us with a chance to say goodbye, but that made it all feel so real. Perhaps too real, in a sense.

I don't know what K.A. Doore is planning on working on next, but I have no doubt that I'll be reading anything and everything they come up with. As soon as possible.

Unfortunately, I was not hooked enough with book one to continue with the Unconquered city
I will not be reading this book but thanks a lot for sending it :)

Hello Gemmies! I have a new book review to share with you today. Please note: I received a digital ARC of this book (via NetGalley) from its publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review.

The Unconquered City by K.A. Doore is a wonderful epic fantasy and the third and final book in the Chronicles of Ghadid trilogy. Let's start with the cover. Ok to be fair, all the covers in this series have just been gorgeous! Book three is no different with another strong female warrior with weaponry in hand! I love that each book has a separate color theme and the shades of blue and water imagery in this one is significant to the storyline.

The Chronicles of Ghadid has turned into one of my all time favorite fantasy series. The Unconquered City is so amazing and a great end to the series. I cannot tell you enough how much I loved it! Now, you can read these stories out of order, but I recommend reading them in chronological order in order to really appreciate the growth of the characters and the progression of all the different storylines. The Unconquered City takes place seven years after the events in The Impossible Contract. The action starts right away and maintains a pace that keeps you gasping as you turn each page. Along with the action is the underlining theme of dealing with past trauma and the hope for building something better in the future.

This world that K.A Doore has created is so detailed and unique and we get to see it expanded even more from the first two novels with the introduction of another city. We also get more adventures in the desert and undead camels! The Unconquered City is another well written character driven story. We follow the story of Illi, a younger cousin and assassin in training in the first two books; now all grown up and a protector of Ghadid. We are also reintroduced to old favorites like Thana, Heru, Mo, and Amastan as everyone tries to deal with rebuilding their lives while fighting off a new threat to their fragile peace. I loved the relationship between Illi and Heru. Heru is such a character and socially awkward that he became my favorite of the entire series. This book made me laugh, cry, and bite my nails in suspense! I really, really don't want the series to end!

If you are a fan of epic fantasies, adventure, assassins, blood magic, necromancy, mystery, complicated love stories, and kind of happy endings then go read this book! This gem published by Tor Books is set to release June 16, 2020, and is available for pre-order from all major booksellers.

I give The Unconquered City 5 out of 5 gems. I loved this book and series and hope we got more stories set in this universe. Happy Reading!

The Unconquered City picks up seven years after the end of The Impossible Contract and is primarily focused on Illi Basbowen, a younger cousin of Amastan and Thana who lost her parents during the Siege. She has PTSD from that night and the smell of blood especially triggers flashbacks to that night. She tries to live her life in the moment and avoids making new connections for fear she’ll lose the people she cares about. When a new caravan arrives in Ghadid, she meets Canthem, a member of the Guul Guard, and they begin to spar which also develops into an affair of sorts, because Illi knows they’re going to leave so anything started is temporary. But when Merrabel, general of the Guul Guard, reveals that Heru has kept a sajaami in Ghadid for the last seven years, he is exiled and Illi joins his to Hothrage because she’s become the new housing for the sajaami.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and loved the additional development of the magic in this world. There’s adventure elements and elements of mystery as Illi tries to figure out how to get rid of the sajaami. Sajaami are extremely dangerous and she wants nothing more than to destroy it when she realizes it’s more than likely the reason guul have been becoming a bigger problem for Ghadid over the last seven years. I also really loved that Yufit (from The Perfect Assassin) made another appearance and a resolution was reached. The ending had a lot of hope and the feeling of new beginnings for Ghadid.

I really liked Canthem but I, as a nonbinary person, do have some complicated feelings around how they were introduced. This series is very queernorm but when Canthem is first introduced the initial description is making note of masculine movements and feminine movements basically while Illi can’t determine if Canthem is a man or a woman. It was also awkward how Canthem says they’re neither man or woman because it felt like a way to make it clear and obvious rather than letting Canthem just be. Because The Unconquered City has a nonbinary character (which was one of my biggest excitements with this book), I paid a little more attention to how gender was handled and like revealed, and something that stood out was when another character wearing a tagel (face covering) was introduced their voice being higher pitched was what led Illi to gender them as a woman, which feels like in some ways it takes away from Canthem’s existence because things that should be gendered (movements, voice) are still being used to assign or reveal gender of characters. I will say Canthem overall was decent nonbinary representation in my opinion, and there’s no descriptions of their naked body or misgendering or any of the BIG NO-NO trans things, but there was the in-text things that I mentioned above that did make me raise my eyebrow a little. Other nonbinary readers may feel differently, but I did want to talk about my thoughts on that specifically in my review.

Overall, this is a really strong conclusion to the Ghadid series and Illi is a wonderful main character. I loved how this book tied up some threads from the first book and I loved seeing Amastan, Mo, and Thana as the world continues and they continue making their place and finding their happiness in it. The high-stakes adventure and machinations of people were engaging and I really enjoyed the reading experience.

The Chronicles of Ghadid comes to a close with an epic story of community mourning, healing, and recovery as Illi is tasked with going away to Hathage get rid of the sajaami which is preventing all other restless spirits from passing on. There's an f/enby romance, the lesbians are back, and all that assassination goodness we've come to love.

The guul continue to be the absolutely scariest things, but I really loved how Doore gave everyone--from cousin to captain to guard to marab--the agency and ability to face them. The fear was still there but it wasn't insurmountable, especially as the threat takes over all those living in the Wastes.

Though this book introduces a third narrator, there are so many call-backs to the first book and dealing with the consequences of The Impossible Contract that make those necessary reads. The reader leans about the terrifying creatures at the same pace the characters do. Such a slow burn of conveying information is hard to pull off, and yet Doore has mastered it.

The romance between Illi and Canthem was such a delight. There was only one caravan! Their flirtations were so on point (who doesn't love throwing knives and training sequences as a vehicle for chemistry). More over, I really liked how that relationship and others (namely between Illi and Heru) played a major role in the finale and the emotional arc of the Chronicles of Ghadid as a whole. No person is an island and the theme of community coming together for mutually assured survival was so good throughout.

A fabulous end to a wonderful queernorm trilogy about found family and community coming together to solve a major undead problem.

4.5 stars

That was a really funeral conclusion to one of the best fantasy surprises I've had in 2019!

The book takes place seven years after The Impossible Contract and explores the consequences of individual and collective trauma through the eyes of Illi Basbowen.

What started as a family of assassins is now what protects Ghadid from the guul that in increasing numbers threaten the city they all love. I loved seeing the relationship among the cousins, both the younger generation and the generation of Amastan and Thana, the previous two books' protagonists.

While the previous two books can be read as standalones, this last one greatly relies on book two's knowledge, and partly on knowing Amastan's story from book one (if you, like me, like to read books for that sweet character development), so make sure to read those first (and honestly, why wouldn't you?? they're great).

I can't say a lot about the plot without spoiling pretty much everything from this book and the previous ones so you'll have to read the book for yourself for that, but I thought the high stakes were well-balanced with both humorous and tender moments.

And speaking of tender moments! Although I should say both tender and hot. I loved the f/enby romance in this so much! Canthem is so swoony and smooth, I honestly got a crush on them myself a little. The dynamic between Canthem and Illi is of the "one night stand turned crush, with a side of forced proximity" kind (oh my god there's only one caravan) and it was so much fun.

A lot of my favorite moments also involved characters we've already met in the previous two books, I've already mentioned Thana and Amastan, among others I can't spoil, but I can't not mention Heru with his undead camel 🐪 and his, uh, social skills. Which, if you're wondering, are still equal to zero. Also, I'm officially launching the hashtag #hehasalabassistant. If you know you know.

I can't wait for more people to read this so I won't be alone in my suf- uh! I meant so we can talk about that bittersweet ending* :)

*don't worry, the romance is HEA!

I'm simultaneously sad that this series is over and looking forward to whatever K.A. Doore writes next. This series had one of the coziest atmospheres I've ever read, it made me feel like I was living in this desert city with the main characters, and every time I started a new book it was a bit like coming home.


TW: past trauma and PTSD, intensive thoughts, brief mention of suicidal ideation, blood magic, character death

Content warnings: Blood and blood magic, violence, depiction of injuries, major character death.

First things first, The Unconquered City is much more of a direct sequel than The Impossible Contract was – where those two could be read in either order, with cameos from each book appearing in the other, this story is set seven years later and wraps up the storylines for everyone. We follow Illi, a new viewpoint character, but both Amastan and Thana (our previous main characters) play a large role in the climax of the book, so it’s pretty necessary to have read their books first. That being said, I think this still has a fairly self-contained plot, so don’t worry if you don’t remember everything, as this has its own satisfying and full arc both in terms of plot and Illi’s character.

Illi is a great main character, and I think her combination of self-confidence and self-doubt will ring true for a lot of readers. She’s part of the same assassin family as Amastan and Thana, but after the events of previous books, they no longer take contracts on people, but instead work to protect Ghadid from the guul, dangerous monsters that stalk the sands. As well as her assassin training, she’s also apprentice to Heru, who was central in The Impossible Contract, and now lives in the city working on magical experiments. I loved seeing previous characters return a little older and wiser – they feel true to themselves, but also believably aged. I particularly liked seeing a different side of Heru – as Illi’s employer, he has almost none of the banter with her that he did with Thana, so it was interesting comparing the two different views of him. The characters are a real strong point of this series as a whole!

The Unconquered City is a little more serious than the previous two books, with very impressive high stakes, but it still manages to keep that fun, high-energy spirit going. These books feel like really classic adventures, full of mystery, fights, captures, escapes and magic – they’re really great to just get lost in for an afternoon. Plus, we get another well-written queer romance, this time between Illi and a non-binary guard, Canthem – it’s great to see their identity stated clearly and fully accepted on the page. I love the queer-norm world of Ghadid! It’s so refreshing not to have to worry (especially in fantasy where the author has so much control over society’s thoughts), about anything homophobic coming up, and just relax into the story.

I don’t think this is my favourite of the series (The Perfect Assassin is just too perfect!), but it’s a fantastic wrap up of everything that’s come before, and a really entertaining read in its own right. Four and a half out of five cats!

A brilliant capstone to an endlessly inventive, heart-pounding trilogy. Also, Doore needs to stop making me cry so much. (Just kidding. Never stop.)

This book was amazing! Strong plot! Powerful characters! A plot that held my attention the entire time!!!! I couldn’t put it down. I needed to find out what happened next!

Review copy provided by the author, who is a personal friend and shares an agent with me.

This is the triumphant conclusion of the Chronicles of Ghadid. Previous protagonists make appearances for more than cameos–they have substantial roles, they have been allowed to grow in their lives, and it’s so much fun to see how. But this book belongs to Illi.

Illi is a braid-wearing, truculent cousin who has been serving as Heru’s research assistant as well as training as an assassin and guul-slayer. She has already lost so much in the first two books of this trilogy, but Illi puts her head down, sets her chin, and keeps going.

Until now. Now Illi is caught between powerful forces–including Heru–who are not treating her like a person, and there’s a sajaami at stake. Powerful, manipulative, ready to eat souls at a moment’s notice. Including, if necessary, Illi’s. The people she can trust are all people she wants to protect–the people with enough power to help her? She can’t trust. And between Ghadid, only now beginning to rebuild, and strange, sea-side Hathage, the answer has to be somewhere. Illi has the skills she learned from both magical research and assassin training, but she needs more. She needs her cousins. She needs Canthem, the intriguing caravan guard. She needs…missing pieces from centuries ago. And she needs it all last week.

Resplendent, definitive, and recommended.