Review: The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes, The Wrath & The Dawn #1
Pages: 388
Copyright: 2015 
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Buy: Amazon

Review of the second in the series: The Rose & The Dagger

Summary: from Good Reads
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.


Feelings: 
Shahrzad was looking for revenge for her grief not love.

The beginning of the story shares something with A Thousand and One Nights. However, I felt like this novel gave a bit more of a human side to both Shahrzad and the king. Truthfully, I don't even remember the king's (sultan's) name from A Thousand and One Nights. This story is less about the stories that are told by Shahrzad and more about the relationship between the characters. There is a lot of mistrust between characters; of course there is. You marry a king who has killed all of his past wives after one night, and that is bound to cause a little bit of suspicion.

What I really liked about this was that it went into more of the back story and more of the characters stories. I think I would have been bored with this novel if it had followed the same pattern as A Thousand and One Nights. The Wrath & The Dawn focused more on Khalid so that we begin to feel compassion for him. This compassion is not something that is easily given and as Shahrazad comes to have feelings for him the reader too begins to wonder about the boy-king and what made him the way he is.

At the very beginning of the book we get a hint that the killing is something that isn't a choice.

"It is done."
His father nodded, and the soldier left.
Again, the two men stared up at the sky.
Waiting
A drop of rain struck the arid surface beneath their feet, disappearing into the tan stone. .....Soon, rain was falling around them at a steady pace.
"There is your proof," the general said, his voice laden with quiet anguish. (p. 2)

We don't know why but this opening to the story gives the reader something to question. We realized with the first chapter that the opening happened a while ago and we are put into the middle of the conflict. I liked that. It gave me a reason to keep reading.

What I didn't like was switching between character's perspective. I didn't mind the perspective's of those around Khalid and Shahrzad but I didn't really like those outside of the castle. I know they had a purpose but I didn't enjoy reading those chapters as much. The author did a good job removing any compassion I had for Shahrzad's father and Tariq Imran al-Ziyad. I really didn't like their perspectives. While I didn't enjoy reading from their perspective, I do understand why it was in there and how it added to the story. I enjoy reading from characters perspectives I liked. I'm hoping that the characters I didn't like as much in this end up getting explained a little more so that I can relate to them better in future novels.

I'm looking forward to the next in the series. I highly recommend this to readers who enjoy young adult fantasy with kings, queens, romance, conflict, and a little magic.