The Wrath and the Dawn :: Review

The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Ahdieh

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

     Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.
   

  She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all. 

(Prepare for some squealing)


First things first: This book is amazing. I had super high expectations and this book surpassed them all. That's really saying something. There is so much Persian culture (which has always fascinated me), so much intrigue, so much.... Everything. There's even a little bit of magic -- only hints throughout the book, then a bit more at the end. I'm curious to see where the author takes that.


What I Loved: 

The words. Every.Single.Word. was so beautiful. Her descriptions? A masterpiece. I fell in love with each page. This book seriously helped me as a writer -- I want to imitate this style in my own writing because it's just so darn beautiful. 

The characters were real. It was easy to sympathize with the heroes and hate the villains. The main character, Shahrzad, was so snarky and intelligent, it was wonderful. Khalid, the boy-king, had a wit to match Sharhzad's, though he didn't always show it (those two are so perfect). Other honorable mentions include Khalid's cousin and captain of the guard, Jalal (one of my personal favorites) and Despina the handmaiden. Then of course is Tariq, who I hated. He just needs to go, okay? He is waaay to arrogant for my liking.

The story kept me guessing with every plot twist. There were a few things that I was able to predict, but I didn't mind at all -- I read this book in less than 24 hours because I could not put it down. The love story was sweet and not at all forced (which is a pet peeve of mine). The POV changes often, and that annoyed me every now and then (because I just want to get back to Shahrzad, please!), but every POV change -- in fact every thing in the book -- was there for a reason. Looking back now, I'm glad that the story was told through multiple narratives, because it helped me truly see what was going on.


What I Didn't Love:

Not a darn thing.

Honestly, my biggest problem was the ending. I didn't realize that there was a sequel and started to panic when I realized that there were only 3 pages to solve all the world's problems. When the book ended, I just stared off into space. "It can't end there?!?!" Then I flipped over a few pages and found an excerpt for the sequel. That still doesn't make me feel all too happy. I have to wait a whole year to find out what happens next. *Sigh*

I give this book 5 stars. Two thumbs up. As high praise as I can. Because it deserves it. I will definitely be watching this author, because boy oh boy, she has a gift. 

So go buy this book. Now. You will thank me. Trust me. This is one of the best books out there.

Have you read The Wrath and the Dawn? If not, is this the type of book that you'd like? Why/why not?

Emily
xoxo