The Wrath & the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn)

I loved the premise of this one, it sounded compelling and full of mystery. Shahrzad is a wonderful character and continues to be brave and independent throughout the duology. I enjoyed the hints of magic and am excited to see the development of this in the second book. There are elements of darkness throughout, which added to the suspense/mystery elements of the story. My one concern was the bizarre insta-love, and apparent lack of consent in the beginning of the book? I almost DNF after this scene, however, I did enjoy the remainder and this did not make a reappearance.

I absolutely LOVED this Middle Eastern tale. A retelling of an d tale that I had vaguely heard of but didn’t know too well so I don’t know how much it followed it other than the basic story of a king who kills his brides and the brave new wife who stays her execution by telling the king tales at night. The story had me enraptured very early on, the characters are really well described so I had such a clear picture in my head of all the characters and the setting. The palace was exquisite. The dialogue felt authentic and I loved the Persian terms sprinkled throughout, I may even adopt some of them into my lexicon. The plot was tense and sweet and thrilling. I loved the strong female lead. The only thing that stops it getting 5 stars is I was confused at a few points and it took a little while to figure things out. It wasn’t always clear. Plus when it switched to a different character it took me a little while to remember who that character even is (I’m really bad with names) I adored the story and need to read the next book perfect 😍

After reading the final page of this first part of Khalid and Shahrzad’s story, I am not quite sure whether to shrug my shoulders or say that I enjoyed it. It was a pleasant enough book. I liked the romance, even if I did not quite understand it and the setting added a bit of magic. However, I do not feel Shahrzad’s character is explored enough. I never felt like I got to know her that well. I felt it was strange she did not seem to have emotions regarding her physical relationships at all. Surely, a young girl of her age would have lots of thoughts and feelings about such things. Unfortunately, although I did enjoy The Wrath and the Dawn, especially the first half, in the end it fell a bit flat for me. it really did not have enough substance for my personal tastes. I simply wanted more from it. I doubt it will stay with me very long. Just to clarify, it is not because this is YA, as there are plenty of YA books that do satisfy that itch. It was entertaining enough, but I do not think I will be continuing this series.

Any one who knows me knows that I love fantasy, its my favourite genre. Since reading all of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo's books nothing has really compared until now. This book is phenomenal. The atmosphere that Renée Ahdieh was able to create with her writing is incredible. I felt like I was living and breathing in this beautiful world. The characters are really original and interesting and not at all predictable in any way. The plot was so fast moving that I had a little trouble keeping up and actually getting into it at the beginning but once I had read a couple of chapters I was so completely immersed in this world with these amazing characters that it blew my mind. Even though it is fantasy and the things that happen aren't real Renée really did well making you believe in it. Not many books have made me feel this way and when I did put the book down and then picked it up again after a few hours, I just fell straight back in to it like I had never put it down in the first place. While reading this book there is a mystery that you just can't help but try to solve before you actually find out and that really keeps to engrossed. The book follows Shahrzad when she decides to volunteer to be the Caliph of Khorasan's new bride. But he is a murderous king that brings a new family heartache every single dawn. Each night he takes a new bride and come morning they have been killed. At sixteen Shahrzad's closest friend falls victim to Khalid and so she decides to volunteer while determined to stay alive but also looking for vengeance. The complex plot is very well woven together and Shazi and Khalid's character development and relationship progresses slowly and in a realistic way that really draws you in and makes you care what happens to them. I also enjoyed the slow burning romance and I think that it was also fabulously done. The way we follow Shazi journey when she at first hates Khalid and how she is extremely angry and shocked by him to then find herself developing feelings toward him the more she gets to know him and uncovers the truth I think was beautiful. It's definitely romance done the right way and I think it is one of the best and most well written romances that I have read in a very long time. “What are you doing to me, you plague of a girl?” he whispered. “If I’m a plague, then you should keep your distance, unless you plan on being destroyed.” The weapons still in her grasp, she shoved against his chest. “No.” His hands dropped to her waist. “Destroy me.” That is really one of my favourite scenes because the snark and tension is overwhelming and I just love it! Now there is also some banter here and there between other characters not just the main two and I love banter and angst honestly the more the better and it really was just the topping to an already amazing story. I loved how loads of effort...

I am not at all familiar with 1001 nights, so this story was entirely fresh for me. It was a bit slow to start, but not at all uneasy to read. I loved Shazi right from the start, though Khalid took some time to grow on me. I love the banter going on between Shazi and her handmaiden Despina. I was pretty confused by the insta-love and really could not see why Shazi was falling in love with Khalid, but by the end of the story I found myself saying "aww" to myself a lot. Which I really never do. Towards the end, I found some of the most beautiful words of love I've read in a while, so much that I had to stop and write them down in my reading journal. Now that I've finished the story, I'm totally sold on this romance and am pretty upset by what seems to be about to happen! I did find the chapters focusing on magic to be kind of strange and, well, just really weird. Hopefully that will be explained a little more in book 2. Overall, it wasn't perfect but I definitely enjoyed this story. It's a keeper in my library for sure.