Review: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

18798983The Wrath and the Dawn
(The Wrath and the Dawn, #1)
By: Renee Ahdieh
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Published: May 12, 2015
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

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?

 

 

1thoughtsEvery night a girl is taken from Shahrzad’s village, forced to marry the caliph, and when dawn rises she is hung. No one knows why the cruel king does this but they have no choice but to obey. However, after Shahrzad’s best friend is taken as a bride, she decides enough is enough. She volunteers to become the caliph’s bride in the hopes of getting revenge. What she doesn’t expect is to actually fall in love with the man who has been behind the death of so many young girls.

This was an interesting story and not one that I am familiar with. There’s really no lag time leading up to everything. The book starts with Shahrzad becoming the caliph’s wife. We also follow Tariq (Shahrzad’s boyfriend) as he makes his way to Shahrzad to save her. The Wrath and the Darn definitely had an exotic feel to it. There were a lot of words that I am unfamiliar with. While reading the story I flipped to the back of the book in hopes that there would be a glossary but didn’t see one and didn’t want to ruin the ending. It wasn’t until I finished the story that I realized that there is a glossary between the ending and the snippet of the next book. So, there were a lot of times when I had no idea what they were referring to because I didn’t know about the glossary. Now, to some that may not bother you but it really bothered me because I had no idea what was being said. If there is a need for a glossary it should be in the front of the book or the very back so that readers don’t have to search between spoilers for it. That’s just my personal opinion though.

The romance in this is a little weird. You have Shahrzad who goes into this planning to kill the caliph, Khalid, but soon finds herself falling for him instead. This is the same guy who has killed hundreds of girls. Then you have Khalid who apparently takes an immediate liking to Shahrzad. Again, he’s come across hundreds of girls and Shahrzad is the one he can’t resist. The one who lives to dawn. Heck, she’s the only one he’s consummated the marriage with… and we are talking the first night, not later down the road. I just didn’t understand why Shahrzad was so special. I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy the romance because it was interesting seeing the softer side of Khalid when he’d let his guard down around her, but it was a little hard to swallow.

The Wrath and the Dawn is definitely a great addition to the YA community. It’s unique story that will take readers on an exotic journey. However, I’m not overly sure if I will be continuing with the story. I may pick it up from the library if I see it but it won’t be one that I will be actively seeking out.

1favequote“The more a person pushes others away, the clearer it becomes he is in need of love the most.”

kRISTIN

8 Thoughts on “Review: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

  1. I can see why the romance aspect is a bit hard to swallow. Great review 🙂

  2. I’ve heard nothing but good about this one so thanks for your review. Now I’ll go into it with my eyes open if I ever read it.

    • I was really excited when I snagged a copy at comic-con because I’d been reading all the awesome reviews on it. I think the romance is what did it for me. It was just too quick for my tastes.

  3. It’s insta-love/lust of course! Heck, when they know, they know! They don’t waste time!

  4. I have been hesitant about this one and I think I’ll try it from the library. Thanks for a helpful review!

Leave a Reply to Kristin Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Post Navigation