Review: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Posted by The YA Book Traveler , Friday, August 28, 2015 12:00 AM
The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1)
by Renee Ahdieh
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?
Wow, you probably are like, WHAT? Are you crazy? Well, I suppose perhaps because, gosh, I did NOT like The Wrath and the Dawn.
Why you might ask?
1. Sharzhad. I found Shazi extremely annoying. She rubbed me the wrong way right from the beginning when she was arrogant enough to think she could survive the night when no other woman had. Her little trick did seem to work but still she was so confident that she would be ok. This seemed unrealistic to me. All the characters including a boyfriend was also convinced that if anyone could survive it would be Shazi. I didn't like her character. She did get better throughout the book but it was a bit too late for me to make a real connection.
2. The love triangle. Ugh, this love triangle made me crazy. Tariq was super annoying and also really full of himself. How could one boy save a girl from a palace heavily guarded? I could not connect with his character at all.
What I did like:
Yes, there were a few things I liked.
1. The writing. There is no arguing here, Renee's writing is fantastic. I could easily see, hear, smell and taste everything in the world building.
2. The food. My favorite thing, to be honest, was the food. It sounded so delicious.
3. Khalid. I suppose Khalid was my favorite character. He seemed to be the most interesting of them all and his reactions to situations seem appropriate.
4. I did enjoy the chemistry between Khalid and Shazi.
5. The diversity! Yay! This was one of my most anticipated books this year in part to the diverse setting.
Sadly, The Wrath and the Dawn did NOT work for me. I found the characters annoying, the plot not that exciting, the mystery to be unsatisfying.
I am okay with being the black sheep of the crowd but am sad to say that this didn't live up to my expectations.
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.
My Thoughts 2.5 Stars
Wow, you probably are like, WHAT? Are you crazy? Well, I suppose perhaps because, gosh, I did NOT like The Wrath and the Dawn.
Why you might ask?
1. Sharzhad. I found Shazi extremely annoying. She rubbed me the wrong way right from the beginning when she was arrogant enough to think she could survive the night when no other woman had. Her little trick did seem to work but still she was so confident that she would be ok. This seemed unrealistic to me. All the characters including a boyfriend was also convinced that if anyone could survive it would be Shazi. I didn't like her character. She did get better throughout the book but it was a bit too late for me to make a real connection.
2. The love triangle. Ugh, this love triangle made me crazy. Tariq was super annoying and also really full of himself. How could one boy save a girl from a palace heavily guarded? I could not connect with his character at all.
What I did like:
Yes, there were a few things I liked.
1. The writing. There is no arguing here, Renee's writing is fantastic. I could easily see, hear, smell and taste everything in the world building.
2. The food. My favorite thing, to be honest, was the food. It sounded so delicious.
3. Khalid. I suppose Khalid was my favorite character. He seemed to be the most interesting of them all and his reactions to situations seem appropriate.
4. I did enjoy the chemistry between Khalid and Shazi.
5. The diversity! Yay! This was one of my most anticipated books this year in part to the diverse setting.
Sadly, The Wrath and the Dawn did NOT work for me. I found the characters annoying, the plot not that exciting, the mystery to be unsatisfying.
I am okay with being the black sheep of the crowd but am sad to say that this didn't live up to my expectations.
With any black sheep read, I would still strongly suggest you to read it. Most people LOVE this book. It just wasn't for me.
Aw, I'm sorry you didn't like this one. But I guess we can't like EVERY book we read. ;) Thankfully, I adored this one (and I am VERY picky, haha, so it was a miracle I liked it) and I agree--her writing is SO beautiful. I'm looking forward to the sequel. Lovely, honest review! :)