The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

So here we are…my first book review of 2016! I started this one just before the new year and finished it yesterday, and I don’t think I could’ve chosen a better book to lead the new year in.

Plus can I just say I LOVE the cover ❤

The story reminds me of this pendant I have hanging on my wall of a woman smelling a rose (people who have read it will probably know why) so I decided to add it to the photo below.

So now that I’ve rambled on, here’s the review!

Title: The Wrath and The Dawn

Author: Renee Ahdieh

Publisher: G.P Putnam’s Group/A Penguin Random House Company

Series Status: The 1st in a series (others yet to be released)

Number of Pages: 388

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars!

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(Found on Goodreads)

One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she’d imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It’s an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid’s life as retribution for the many lives he’s stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end.

I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS STORY!

I mean, I have a thing for retellings so I knew there was a great chance I’d enjoy it but I LOVED IT. SO MUCH.

I can already tell there’s something about this book that will keep me thinking about it until the second one is released. The release of the second book seems so far away! I need to know more of the story!

Anyway, back to this book.

I absolutely love the world in this book. It’s such a different setting from most YA books. With the Arabian surroundings, this story was described in a beautiful way that left me no problems with imagining the scene. It was refreshing to see a world so different from most books. Plus the language suited the world, whether it be the names, objects or titles used. It really did help in setting the scene.

I think what I adored most from this book was the two main characters – Shahrzhad and Khalid. I was definitely rooting for them through the whole book. Like, massively rooting for them. And I think Shahrzad is one of my new favourite characters of all time. She was just so outgoing and confident, but she also seemed genuinely like a real person, with conflicting thoughts and doubts.

“A true plague of a girl. And yet a queen in every sense of the word.”

At the beginning of the book I remember trying to suss out all of the characters. What were their intentions? Personality? What are they hiding? I was hooked every time I picked up this book. I needed to know more about the characters, and learning this gradually throughout the story had me gripped from the start.

I will say that I enjoyed Shahrzad’s perspectives more than the rest. I didn’t really care for Tariq, he was just sort of…there. Providing a bit of background. Luckily for me he didn’t have many perspectives compared. Although I do think I’ll like his perspectives more in the second book if they continue, because how this book ended suggests the next book is going to be very interesting indeed.

I enjoyed how there were stories within the story. Sort of like added extras. And how small elements of magic were included. The magic didn’t become the main aspect of the story, but sort of suggested there is more to this world than first seems. It just adds a bit more wonder to the book.

The ending was very sudden. It sort of spiralled towards a bigger problem that will be told in the second book, leaving me – as ever – wanting more. I need the next book as soon as possible!!! I can’t stop thinking about the story, I need to know the rest. I feel like Khalid at the start of the book.

UGH

As you can probably tell, I adored this book, so I rate it…

4.5/5 stars!

Order from Amazon!

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So there we have it!

Have you guys read this book? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!

And if you haven’t read it, is this book on your TBR?

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