The Wrath and the Dawn
The Wrath and the Dawn {The Wrath and the Dawn #1} - Renee Ahdieh
Blurb: 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?
Rating: 5/5 stars
My Review:
Wow, let me start of by saying that I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK AND SERIES! aajbdikufgkancbi I don't think you understand that the story behind this was terrific! This book had so much hype behind it that I was scared it would disappoint me.. but BOI I WAS SO WRONG! Everything about this book lived up to my expectations and know I know why the hype was real! ahahaha, enough fangirling for now. :D
Okay, so lets talk about the beauty of this book and why it was pretty much goals in every aspect. The Wrath and the Dawn is a retelling of Shadow Spinner. I personally didn't read it when I was a child so I went into it blind, however a lot of people told me that its amazing and I should give it go!
The Wrath and the Dawn has a lot of Persian culture with a sprinkle of magic. Now coming from a middle eastern background this was an amazing change. I loved seeing words I knew and could visually in my head due to real life experience. Not only that, but visualizing the whole story was one heck of an experience that just made me love the book even more. The descriptions of the food, the clothes and the rooms were gorgeous. NOW this is a book that knows how to incorporate culture beautifully and makes the reader appreciate it.
However, when I found out that there was going to be magic in this, I was a little worried because I wanted to know how Renee was going to incorporate it. I was pleasantly surprised by it. When I say sprinkle, I mean sprinkle. The descriptions of what was going on during scenes with "magic" were memorizing and it wasn't over the top.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BEAUTIFUL CHARACTERS! YEESSS!
- Shahrzad is the main character here. She jumps into the deep end by volunteering with one goal in her head. Size doesn't matter here because she is small with the big mouth. Her sass is pretty much what I aspire to sound like when I talk to people. Not only is she sassy but she is also pretty witty along with being sweet. AND THIS IS WHAT GOT ME! She can play her roles very well.. she can manipulate people into thinking what she wants them to think with her play on words and stories. Amazing..
- Khalid is the vicious boy-king in this story. He kills a girl every night before dawn. Now, we all go into this story thinking that he is evil and should be "put down" however, I and the majority of readers were just intrigued. We wanted to know more because that couldn't be all the boy-king was, right? Look, a lot of people will probably shout at me for saying this but I fell for Khalid because even though he is one piece of work and is constantly angry.. he has also been left alone and abused. I'm a sucker for someone with a tragic backstory and I know this is cliche but I really felt sorry for him. He tried so hard not to be his father and a lot of people believe he has turned into his father! Now imagine trying to be your own person and make a name for yourself but get pushed down because of something your parents did? I would hate it.
REGARDING THEIR RELATIONSHIP TOGETHER. I ship them so much.. they are the perfect combination of sweet and sour. They actually work well together and bring the best of each other out!!! I love it when you are in a relationship and they encourage you to be the better person, to constantly improve on yourself and to be you. This is what this relationship is to me. I know it had a rocky start at the start and it seemed like it was never meant to be.. but yes, they are perfect for each other.
- Despina is Shahrzad's handmaiden. If there is anything I have learnt from books it's that the handmaiden is pretty amazing. However, Despina is a force to be reckoned with. I LOVE HER!
Her friendship with Shazi is goals. Even though they are sarky and mouthy to one another, they look out for each other. They stand together and they are there for each other when the time comes. Also, her crush on Jalal makes the story much more interesting!
- Jalal is Khalid's cousin but also the commander of the guard. Now here is the thing.. I love the relationship between Jalal and Khalid because its a typically brotherly relationship. Jalal wants to help Khalid but you know Khalid is a stroppy teenager who doesn't want anyone's help. AHAHAH it's adorable.
- Tariq just... no.. I have this sneaky suspicion we were introduced to him because of a love traingle and thank the HEAVENS it didn't take off like most books. Yes, it was present in the first part of the book but Shazi didn't spend like 4 books trying to decide between the two? ahaha, anyway, if we forget about the love triangle, I don't think there is anything else that makes him special. I mean half of the event's happen because he wants his girl back.. but not for the right reasons.. I believe that he doesn't actually love love her.. I mean there is friendship love and I want to spend my life with you because you make me a better person etc etc love.. and Tariq fell into the friendship love. He claims that he loves her because they had a cherished childhood. Not only this, but I also just didn't like him because he never listened... {well not until the last part of book 2} He did everything to benefit him and not the people around him... okay, character rant over!
- Omar is the wisest man known to mankind. He was introduced to help Tariq and his rebellion to get Shazi back. Oh and yes, just like Omar we are all suckers for a good love story. Everything he said and did was calculated and had meaning behind it. He didn't do anything without thought and thinking about the people around him and their well-being. We don't see much of him but he definitely has a standing in the book.
I think that's all the "main" characters covered. There are definitely more characters to talk about but I feel like you should discover them yourself and form your own opinions about them.
STORY TIME!
The concept behind this book is that Khalid kills a bride every night.. well, that is until Shahrzad shows up! She survives the first night by telling stories to Khalid. Even though she is scared she might not survive she holds her hope that the boy-king will listen and want more stories the night after. This was an interesting part of the novel because I didn't expect it? Well, if I read Shadow Spinner then I would but since I didn't, it really intrigued me. The writing was perfect and everything flowed really well. The transition from stories to real life was exceptional and made you feel like you were listening along with her.
Relationships between the characters were developed really well. Considering the situation Shazi was in, she did really well. She made friends with Jalal, Despina and even her body guard. Her relationship with Khalid bloomed into something beautiful and meaningful.
Fast forward to the end of the book.. AHHHHHHH EVERYTHING WAS AMAZING. The ending was actually amazing.. It ended really well. Renee really wrapped it up well.. yes, we are left with a slight cliffhanger because we want to know more and continue the story. I shipped Khalid and Shazi so much. Their relationship grows throughout the novel and it develops into something special between them and the readers. Relationships with other characters were established and everything just worked really well.
Luckily I didn't have to wait to read The Rose and the Dagger! So I leave you with a passionate suggestion.. READ THIS BOOK IF YOU WANT TO BE ENLIGHTENED.
Okay.. yeah.. read this book if this sounds like your type of thing and please do share your thoughts with me. I think I talked about this book to my mum for an hour talking about the characters, story and relationships!
