The Wrath and The Dawn (The Wrath and The Dawn #1) by 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?
Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end.
My Review:
The Wrath and The Dawn was recommended to me almost a year ago by my bookstagram friend Tyffany and I bought this book and its sequel during Good Choice Reading's Virtual Signing last May but for some reason I didn't read it until now. And as I write this review I'm sitting here wondering why it took me so long because I loved this book so much.
The Wrath and The Dawn is a fantasy retelling of Shahrzad and the thousand and one nights. If you're unfamiliar with the tale its about a Middle Eastern sheikh or king or something that after being betrayed by his first wife marries a new woman every night, murdering his brides the day after the wedding but then he marries Shahrzad, who stalls him from killing her night after night (for presumably 1001 nights) by telling him a story every night but stopping in the middle of each so he'll have to wait until the next night to hear the end. And by that time the ruler has fallen in love with his enchanting bride, so he decides not to kill her at all.
This book follows that basic storyline with a twist, Shahrzad is the best friend of one of the girls Caliph Khalid has killed and she marries the young Caliph to get close enough to get revenge for her deceased friend by killing him. But the longer she spends in Khalid's company the more she sees that he's not the monster she thought he was, but a broken soul who's being forced to kill one bride after another as an awful sort of penance.
At the same time her childhood love is gathering forces to save Shahrzad and kill the Caliph. Can Shahrzad admit her love for the man she holds responsible for her friend's death? Or will they become casualties of the brewing war?
Like I said, I loved this book! The storytelling was great, I could see everything so clearly and I loved this reimagining of the 1001 nights story. Shahrzad is a strong female character who meets her true equal in the (not-so-) cold-hearted Khalid. I also love the minor characters we're introduced to at the palace, especially Despina.
I saw Tariq and Shahrzad's father as villains in this book and I worry for how things will go in the next book. Will Khalid and Shahrzad get a happy ending? I can't wait to read the next book and find out!
My Rating:
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
5 of 5 Stars!
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