Confessions of a Literary Addict

This review is spoiler-free!

The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Series: The Wrath and the Dawn #1
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Retellings
Release Date: May 12th 2015 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover, 395 pages
Rating: ★★★★☆
Find it here: Goodreads || Book Depository

The food sounded so good while reading that I had to make myself some dishes just to sate my need. I’ve had couscous like four times in the past nine days, only because I made so much of it. (They were having a sale on it, along with dates, it was just fate.)

Anyway, the book.

This is a GORGEOUS retelling. Absolutely stunning in both imagery and prose, and the characters are nothing to turn your nose up at either. I’ll admit I was a little more invested in Khalid than Shahrzad simply because I was dying to understand what was going on in his world, but as the story progressed, I found myself enjoying them each on their own right, and then especially when they were together.

I know there are some faults, especially when you figure Shahrzad is at the palace to exact revenge on her friend and all the girls killed by Khalid, but then … doesn’t, and instead lives beyond the single night to exact her revenge later on (no spoilers!). I do find the reasoning behind her ability to live beyond a little flimsy, but, this is a fairy tale retelling, and fairy tales usually don’t make the most logical of sense. I don’t exactly expect this to be any different.

That bit aside, though, the story really is enchanting and captivating as you delve deeper into it. There wasn’t anything particularly shocking about the story, but I wasn’t there for shock factor, I was there for a tale, and that’s definitely what I got.

(Now, The Rose and the Dagger? That one’s giving me a shock, but I’ll get to that when I review it.)

Thanks for reading!