The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh | Book Review #131

“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?”

If you didn’t know The Wrath and the Dawn was inspired by A Thousand and One Nights. There are multiple points of view, with the main view point being from Shazrad. There’s an interesting prologue that really sets the tone of the story without telling us what the story is about. So in a way, the prologue moves you to read the rest of the book.

I have got to say that this book surprised me in many ways, but at the same time, was very…. annoyingly predictable at times. There are some things that annoyed me about the book, while there are some things that made me so happy about this book. I don’t know what one has more points to the team though, so lets get down to business, shall we??

The few things that I liked about this book are…

“Some things exist in out lives for but a brief moment. And we must let them go on to light another sky.”

I love Shazrad, and how self reliant she is. She could totally do the stuff herself, and in fact, she does a lot of the things herself, when her maid-turned-friend isn’t there to help her. Shazrad is really a character who, if you mess with her, she’d definitely kick your ass. Shazrad is a girl of many hidden talents.

I love Khalid’s character. He’s the type of character, that in the story, everyone is made out to hate, but in actuality, he’s faced with ultimatums left and right. Everyone has made him out to be the bad guy. And Khalid doesn’t let anyone get close, at all. Yet there are the close few to him, that know him personally. I got the feeling that said people would definitely stick up for Khalid when he isn’t around. They would also absolutely go out in the streets, shout from the rooftops that he is indeed a great man, but Khalid forbids that. And the vicious cycle of his people hating him goes on. Khalid is an incredibly interesting character, and my heart breaks for him over and over again.

I absolutely adore the family setting that seems to have fallen around Khalid, Shazrad and their comrads. They seem to all have their little jokes about everything, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have their secrets. Oh, they do. And of course, Shazrad gets to know most of them. – This family that Shazrad has fallen into.. they’re for one another. No matter what. They all love each other fiercely.

“On pain of death . . . you are as important to him as his own life.”

I also really loved the descriptions, and the settings as well. I like how each character was set up. Even if I didn’t really like those characters. I also admire how realistic Shazrad is. With what she expects, and doesn’t expect of things to go. Shazrad is really the glue that keeps them all together.

Now onto what I didn’t like about this book….

I absolutely hate Tariq’s character; his “hero” complex.. Tariq really believes that Shazrad is his and belongs to him. ..He might love her, but I only think it’s a fascination. He thinks of Shazrad like a possession, and once Shazrad is in his hands again, he won’t let go of her. Shazrad will learn to resent him, and everything he’s done, built, and thrived for. Tariq is a character who refuses to see what’s in front of his eyes. His belief system is so strong that it would be a rare thing to be able to tell him something different, and have him listen. He’s so ignorant to the world that it…pisses me off so much.

“A shared history does not entitle you to a future, my friend.”

(When that was said, I was like, ‘SO TRUE!!! — PREACH IT, OLD MAN! PREACH IT! SHOUT IT FROM THE MOUNTAINS!’)

There are a few characters that are annoyingly pretentious, and that in itself just pisses me off beyond belief. Especially Shazrad’s dad. Like…I can’t even with that man. And if he’s done what I think he’s done, then I’m going to end up hating him even more than I already do.

So, as you can see, The Wrath and the Dawn was a book that had me at completely polar opposites. I’m incredibly in denial of the second book, The Rose and the Dagger… but I’m going to read it anyway. I just hope that all of the characters get what they deserve. Whether that be someone gets a happy ending, or if someone has to die. — Seriously! This book has me at polar opposites.