Review: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Title: The Wrath and the Dawn
Author: Renee Ahdieh

Publisher: G.P; Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Publishing Date: May 12th 2015
Pages: 395

Genre: YA Retelling

Series: The Wrath and the Dawn

Source:  Audio

  

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. 

This book was one of my most anticipated reads for this year. I grabbed the audio as soon as I could and dove into the read. It was incredible. I cannot put all my feelings and emotions for this book into words. It took me in, made me fall in love, then tore my heart out of my chest. It was more than I had hoped for and I am crushed but excited there is a book two. I need more and I need it now. 

This is a retelling of 1001 Nights. A girl marries a man who is said to be a monster. He marries at  night and kills his bride at dawn. The girl, Shazi, finds a way to stay alive. Night after night. Her true motive, not to stay alive but to seek revenge on the monster, her husband. He killed her best friend. In the time of planning and finding the time to avenge her friends death, she discovers truths, uncovers secrets, and falls in love with the monster. 

I have never read 1001 nights, I didn't even know what it was about. I did know that Aladdin comes from the story but that's about it. This story intrigued me. I did look up info about the original before
I started the book just out of curiosity and I thought it sounded marvelous and it was.

I still didn't know much about when I started the story and it was so much more than I anticipated. It was very engrossing, very romantic, very dark, very addicting. Once I started the read I couldn't stop. I was in for the long haul and I was immersed inside this world. I forgot about everything around me and just ventured. I loved everything! I adored the characters, I was amazed by the writing, and I was living the story. Not a thing I would change....except for the ending..... but I will touch on that later.

The writing, for sure, is what made this story for me. It was beautiful. It was well done. Tons of character development. The world was vivid. So vivid. I really thought I was living in this world while I read it. Its been way too long since a book totally pulled me in like this,

All the characters had depth.... so many levels and it took the entire book to get through all those layers. Which I enjoyed. It was page after page of really getting to know these characters. Learning their flaws, desires, secrets, strengths. I couldn't get enough. Each character dark and lovely. I couldn't hate any of them. Just lots of love.

Shazi was a strong character, bent on revenge. She wouldn't allow anyone or anything to get in her way. Or so she thought. The problem was.... Shazi had a heart. She loved fiercely. So that fierceness let her to her revenge but it also held her back and following through. I really loved her. She was smart and lovely and colorful.

Khalid... oh what to say about Khalid. So I knew from the start as it was obvious there were reasons behind the death. Now I didn't fully understand this reason or how he could do it but I knew that would come in time. The entire time from the beginning I couldn't hate him. His character drew me in and intrigued me. He was charming, he was withdrawn, he was mysterious, he was confident, I just liked him and as the story continued and Shazi's love became, mine did too. I fell for him. I sure did.

The romance, yes there was romance. A slow burning passionate but sweet, intense, awe inspiring romance. I can't explain the romance because it just needs to be felt. It was good, real good, great, awesome, life stopping goodness.

The ending was the only downfall for me. It was fast and non ending and heartbreaking and uggg... I just wanted to scream and throw the book except I was listening to it and didn't want to throw my mp3.

One more thing... the narrator rocked. I never really know what to say about the narrator except that with her and the writing, the book truly came to life for me. In fact once it was over I really didn't know what to do with my life for days... weeks even. It was hard and it its a series and it will be a while before the next one comes out. so sad!

A breathtaking beautifully written dark and tempting read.

I live in North Carolina (Go Heels!) with my husband Victor and our dog Mushu. My YA fantasy novel, THE WRATH AND THE DAWN, is available wherever books are sold. In my spare time, I like to cook, dance salsa, and wreak havoc on the lives of my characters.