The Rose & the Dagger

5/5 stars As always. As ever. As a rose to the sun. I am envious of writers, because for some reason they are able to find the right pattern of letters to construct worlds, create friends or enemies, fashion together a beautiful romance, and destroy a reader's life. [a:Renee Ahdieh 4600197 Renée Ahdieh https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1487663209p2/4600197.jpg] is a prime example of this.This book is a masterpiece inside and out. I took my time reading every word, getting to know every character. I found myself emerged into the beautiful world and trudging along with each character's trials. But because I took so long to finish, my thoughts are so disorganized that I can't herd them together for a longer, organized review. So I guess I'll just have to say this: for a sequel, this book was phenomenal. I have just finished this book maybe 10 minutes ago, and I'm already craving more. In all honestly, I enjoyed [b:The Wrath & the Dawn 18798983 The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1) Renée Ahdieh https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417956963l/18798983.SY75.jpg 26724902] much, much more, but this book wrap up the series in such a unique, memorable way that given a few weeks to think everything over, the series might find its way onto my favorite books of all time list. Truly magnificent. Astounding. Breathtaking. All positive adjectives.

“For it was easy to be good and kind in times of plenty. The trying times were the moments that defined a man.”

This is a fitting conclusion to the amazing duology. It is every bit as beautifully written and captivating as the first one. There is definitely less romance and flirtation in this one, because the time for those has passed. It's all about working together to break the curse, protect the loved ones and rebuild the city. There is a lot of growth in the characters of Khalid and Shazi. Shazi truly embodies the calipha of Khorasan even when she is not among her people or allies. Khalid becomes more trusting of his love. The conflict between Khalid and Tariq is thrilling and I was praying that one wouldn't hurt the other. Shazi's sister Irsa is introduced who is initially quite fearful but comes into her own at a very crucial moment. There is betrayal, heartbreak and conspiracy here, along with flying carpets, magical serpents and murderous books. The author shocks us with plenty of jaw dropping moments right till the end and I devoured all of them. And the ending is amazing – all characters showing what they are truly made of. Thank you my favorite booktuber @ Thoughts on Tomes for finally making me read this series which was lying on my TBR pile forever. Can't believe I missed it till now. Better late than never!!!!

“True strength isn't about sovereignty. It's about knowing when you need help and having the courage to accept it.”

Pacing started off relatively slowly but really crammed lots of action in at the end. Appreciate that the ended the story in 2 books and she didn't try to drag out the story just to create an unneeded trilogy. I enjoyed Shahrzad as a character, and the retelling of Arabian Nights was fun. Like the first book, the descriptions drag on far too long, so gloss over all of those. I listened to the audio book at 1.75x because the narrator was a tiresomely slow reader.