The Wrath and the Dawn

“Love is a force unto itself sayyidi. For love, people consider the unthinkable.... and often achieve the impossible. I would not sneer at its power.”

I grew up watching Alif Laila on TV. Watched and heard different stories from Arabian Nights like Sindbad, Alibaba, Aladdin etc. What I didn't know initially was that all of them originated from 1001 Nights. And I definitely didn't know that it still fascinated readers after all this time. So, when I heard about this new reimagining of the tale(s) that is so highly rated, I decided to pick it up.

“Give him the love that will enable him to see it for himself. To a lost soul, such a treasure is worth its weight in gold. Worth its weight in dreams.”

This book follows Shahrzad, who volunteered to marry the caliph Khalid to exact revenge for the murder of her best friend Shiva. Shiva's cousin and Shazi's first love Tariq decides to kill the caliph himself to get her back and starts gathering forces from like-minded nobles and supporters. Shazi's father Jalandar turns to dark magic to find the strength to get his daughter back and become powerful. And then the unthinkable happens; Khalid and Shazi fall in love.

“I know Love is fragile. And loving someone like you is near impossible. Like holding something shattered through a raging sandstorm. If you want her to love you, shelter her from that storm. And make certain that storm isn't you.”

I really thought I had outgrown romance novels. Even though this story has some mystery, fantasy and magical elements, it's heart is a love story. So, I didn't expect to really love it. But surprise surprise!!!! I did. I fell in love with both of them – the boy king pretending to be a monster and the girl who can't stop herself from falling for him. Even though she seems vulnerable in love, Shazi is a very strong young girl – equal parts fierce, stubborn, determined and so full of love. Khalid is a ruthless king but also a boy who just needs love – this paradox is captured very well. Jalal and Despina are wonderfully written supporting characters and their flirty and playful natures bring much humor amidst all the angst. But the best part of this book are the words themselves. The writing is beautiful and captivating throughout – the descriptions of the palace, the lavish clothes and jewelry, the smells of the food, Khalid's letters full of his unspoken feelings, Shazi's inner turmoil – all the words are vivid and rich and soulful. I fell in love with the characters because of this exquisite writing. And finally, these same beautiful words broke my heart.....

“For nothing, not the sun, not the rain, not even the brightest star in the darkest sky, could begin to compare to the wonder of you.”

4.5 Stars

I need more of Shahrzad and Khalid and now I have to wait until May 2016 to find out what happens and to read more of their incredible story. This was an amazing debut filled with beautiful writing, breathtaking scenery, and strong, determined characters.

This book was beyond hyped when it came out and I contemplated buying it many times in May and June, but I held off and I have to say I'm really glad I waited for the hype to wind down. I still went into this book with high expectations, but I did not go into it with the insane amount of people furiously reading it at the same time.

Right from the beginning, I was pulled into this story. The writing is stunning and entices you right away. This book is a retelling of 1001 Arabian Nights which I'm not really familiar with so I cannot say much on how it matches up or how it compares as a retelling, but I can say that I loved this story. I also really loved the scenery throughout this book. I always knew exactly what was going on throughout the book and could easily picture the setting and that is a credit to Renee Ahdieh's amazing skills.

My only issue with this book was two-fold. At the beginning of the book, there seemed to be a lot of unnecessary eye descriptions. I'm not really sure why I picked up on this, but I feel like a lot of the descriptions related to eyes and it was a bit unnerving. And I know that is weird to say when I loved how descriptive this book was, but there was something about the eye descriptions at the beginning that did not sit with me.

Second, I know we all love the villain (or bad-boy) love story, but I felt like Khalid was not your full villain that he was made out to be. While he seemed like a villain at first, he really was just a tortured soul. I cannot really complain too much because I still loved his characterization but I think labeling him the villain is wrong.

Finally, the last thing I want to say is Thank You, Renne Ahdieh for making this a duology. Way too many YA books think they need to be a trilogy and this can cause series to be drawn out and have way too much filler. And secondly, thank you for not adding a needless love triangle to this duology. You definitely had the opportunity to but, I applaud the lack of executing it!

So as you can tell, I loved this book and it is definitely one of the best I've read this year! I cannot wait for The Rose and the Dagger to come out so I can find out the conclusion to Shahrzad and Khalid's epic story.

7.31.2021 Update: I wrote a really cheesy review about this book back when I was freshly 18 and you can read that below but ohmyfucking God this book is even better than I remember. Someone please run me over bc I will never find love.

Original Review:

10/5 stars

“My soul sees it's equal in you.”
How the hell do I review a book like this? How am I suppose to give it just five stars, when it deserves all the stars in the night sky? How do I search through the language I've spoken since birth to find a string of words that could possibly describe my love for this novel?

I'm not good at writing reviews, I am the first to admit that, but I see myself growing better with every book I do take the time to review. I can easily put together a few casual words to place my feelings before me, let others know what I like and what I disliked about what I just read. Yet, with the Wrath & the Dawn, I am speechless. I don't know how to process everything I just read and put my emotions and thoughts into words. I don't know how to take the words I do somehow create and place them into paragraphs that together will somehow make sense. I just don't know.

I finished this book yesterday, and my mind, my body, my soul still aches for the story even as I trudge non-stop through the sequel. The characters seemed so real, every time I forced my eyes away from the whimsical writing, I could see Shahrzad and Khalid in front of me, talking, kissing, smiling. I felt Shahrzad next to me and her hatred of Khalid evolving into love. Never in all my years of reading has it ever been so easy to imagine the characters, to feel as if I already knew them.

These characters quickly became my friends. I rooted for them throughout their adventure together. As they slowly fell in love, I rooted for their romance. When they finally came together, when they found something in each other that no one else could see, when they perfected each other in a way no one else could, I rejoiced for them, celebrated their love as if it was my own.

I went to sleep, and thought about this book. I let my mind wander through slumber, and it dreamt about this book. I woke up and yearned to read just a word from this book.

Everything about The Wrath & The Dawn was perfect.

More then perfect. It was impeccable. Flawless.

It was a read I'll never forget.