The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1) by Renee Ahdieh

5 "Arabian Lure" Stars

Back Cover Blurb -

 

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.
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I actually finished this book yesterday, but when I tried to type out my review, I noticed that my emotions were a little all over the place and my review was not making a lick of sense, so I slept on it and here I am, trying again – here’s hoping for the best.

 

 

When I started this book, I actually went into it a little blind.  Having foregone my typical pre-reading ritual, I did not read, seek out or otherwise know anything on what the book was based or regarding and I think it worked out in favor for the book.  For instance, after reading this book I realized that it was inspired by A Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights (as some might know it) and that’s not a title that I am familiar with.  Had I known this beforehand, I’m fairly certain that I would have gotten a copy and read it prior to reading this one, which in turn would have ended up giving me a base comparison on which to judge and that normally doesn’t end well for the “inspired by” or “retold” books.  So, not having any prior information or prior knowledge of the original before reading, I found myself really loving this book.

“One hundred lives for the one you took.  One life to one dawn.  Should you fail but a single morn, I shall take from you your dreams.  I shall take from you your city.  And I shall take from you these lives, a thousandfold.”

A curse born of hate and a nation in dissent and unrest, The Wrath and the Dawn is a novel charged with mystery, heart break, cunning and death.  With ruthless leaders plotting and grief stricken families hell-bent on revenge, the world is falling into chaos and in the midst of it all, we find just one boy and one girl with an unbidden love so fierce, that it threatens to destroy them and everyone around them.  Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down. 

“This boy-king, this murderer…she would not permit him to destroy another family.  To rob another girl of her best friend-of a lifetime filled with memories that had been and never would be.”

Despite the wonderful storytelling and writing within the book, it was the actual character’s themselves that held me captive and kept me their very willing prisoner till the end.  And speaking of the end, something else that should be of note, something else I failed to find out until the end of this book due to my lack of research beforehand, is that this book is a saga…sooooo….it ends in a somewhat cliffhanger.  I’m pretty sure that my neighbors heard my scream of “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” across the way when I came to this point and if they are book nerds as well, I’m sure they recognized that wail for what it was, if not, then that could account for the weird looks I was receiving this morning.  Regardless, don’t start this if you are one that likes your books closed up nice and tidy by the end, because by the end of this book – that is when things are really getting started.

“A mere trinket?  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.”

The Wrath and the Dawn is a beautifully written story with a myriad of loveable and not so loveable characters that are certain to entertain you.  Set in a time and place that I myself am unfamiliar with, a few of the terms and items in the book flew right over my head and had me going, “Errr…the what?” However, Ms. Ahdieh has graciously provided a glossary in the back pages of the book for the readers like me and it is a great reference for those moments you find yourself thinking the same as I.  I didn’t know it was there until I reached the end and had I known, it would have saved me a lot of time I spent “googling” things, so you’re welcome!

“Lost forever.  In this kiss.  This kiss that would change everything”

Overall, yes, yes, yes.  I absolutely recommend this to everyone.  I think it has a little something to offer readers of all types and though it is mostly considered a YA Fantasy read and both the main characters are between the ages of 16-17, the story and writing are so compelling, that even those factors become background noise to the story itself.

Happy reading, until next time...