The Wrath and the Dawn
Ratings152
Average rating3.8
The Wrath and the Dawn sounded like one of those millions of other “A Thousand and One Nights” re-tellings. But this was not the case. It is a beautiful book filled with passion and torn-up regrets and overwhelming emotions. It is a book that deserves to be read a thousand and one times.
I didn't expect anything from this book other than “oh it's Young Adult- how fun.” I was definitely blown out-of-the-water. Khalid and Shahi were two beautifully, flawed characters who deserve the world but believed that they deserved nothing. One wanted revenge and the other just wanted the past to be rectified. Tariq can go kiss someone else's ass for his own inflated ego because he needs to stop.
I can't wait for the next book. I'm dying for it.
Beautiful book. The story, the setting. Not a lot of action but it's mostly a romance YA novel. Fast read, wish it was longer but the sequel is coming soon.
Actual rating: 4.25
Normally I would bump a rating of 4.25 down to 4, but, ah, screw it.
Because this book was really, really good. I went into this expecting a fiery, sexy romance in a brilliant retelling, and do you know what I got?
A fiery, sexy romance in a brilliant retelling.
Just the setting alone is awe-worthy, and the characters are each unique and leave a lasting impression. Will I mourn the death of [insert the name of that one guy here]? Yes, definitely.
The romance was on point, as people say. I was playing Off to the Races by Lana Del Rey shamelessly, because it was oh so good. You could say there was a “love triangle”, but honey, let's be honest- it was only ever Khalid. Even in the first 10 pages, it was always Khalid.
I would say more, but it's getting late, and I really have to study. Anyways, you should totally read it because
1) It's a retelling, and who doesn't love a retelling?
2) The romance is SOOOO good (how many times am I going to have to say this?)
3) Shazi is such a great heroine. One of my favorites.
So yeah, get on that folks. Because this book is one heck of a joyride.
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.
Loved this! The writing was so alive and descriptive that I felt like I was actually there. I could see everything so clearly in my mind, I could smell the food at the feast, I could almost hear the characters. The whole story felt really, just, alive.
Okay, yeah, there's kind of a little insta-romance here, but I didn't mind it??? I've read much worse instalove than this! And Shahrzad was a brilliant main character and it felt very justified when you read her thoughts about it all. I'd love to hang out with her for one day. I think that'd be awesome.
(PS: am I the only one who kept imagining Shahrzad as a black-haired Daenerys Targaryen? I just couldn't get rid of that image!)
(PPS: the narrator of the audible audiobook did an AMAZING job, you have to listen to it)