Review: The Wrath and the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh

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.

The Wrath and the Dawn Duology:
The Moth and the Flame (Short Story)
The Crown and the Arrow (Free Short Story)
The Wrath and the Dawn
The Mirror and the Maze (Short Story)
The Rose and the Dagger

Visit Renee Ahdieh's website for more information

Review:
I have to admit I was a little nervous when I picked this book up, it has a lot of mixed ratings amongst my friends so I knew it was going to be one of those books that I'd either love or hate but the cover made me buy it anyway and now, having read it, I have absolutely no regrets. Right from the very first page I was drawn into the world that Renee Ahdieh has created and her writing is absolutely beautiful. She paints such a vivid picture of Khorasan that it's almost more like watching a movie than reading a book and I was enjoying the story so much that I'd ordered the sequel before I even hit the halfway point.

I loved Shahrzad's character in the beginning, the way she was so bravely determined to be chosen as the Caliph's next bride so that she could turn the tables on him and kill him before he could kill her and the fact that she obviously has the skills to back up her quest. I'll admit things go a little wobbly for her when she arrives at the palace and can't quite bring herself to carry out the deed but you know what? I was so sucked into the story that it really didn't bother me all that much, especially when you start to see that there's much more to Khalid's side of the story than you first suspect. I'm not a fan of insta-love but the way their relationship developed didn't feel too rushed for me, the attraction was there from the beginning but I didn't think feelings started getting involved until they'd started getting to know each other a little better.

Add in the fact that I really enjoyed getting to know the side characters and I just found this an incredibly enjoyable story that I ended up devouring really quickly. It's taken me a long time to get around to typing up my review (it's a good job I take notes because I'm ridiculously behind again at the moment) but now that I finally have I'm excited that I'll be able to pick up the short stories and finally read the sequel. The Wrath and the Dawn had a pretty killer cliffhanger so I'm desperate to see what happens next!

Source: Purchased

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Review: The Crown and the Arrow - Renee Ahdieh

Seventy-one days and seventy-one nights had come and gone since Khalid began killing his brides. This dawn, Khalid would mark the loss of the seventy-second girl, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. Khalid didn’t know how many more of these dawns he could take. And there was something about this latest girl that piqued his interest. Not only had she volunteered to marry him, but at their wedding ceremony, she had seemed not the least bit afraid. In fact, what he had seen in her eyes was nothing short of pure hatred. She was about to lose her life. Why wasn’t she afraid? Why did she hate him so? He had never before gone to his wife’s chambers before her death at dawn. Tonight would be different.

The Wrath and the Dawn Duology:
The Moth and the Flame (Short Story)
The Crown and the Arrow (Free Short Story)
The Wrath and the Dawn
The Mirror and the Maze (Short Story)
The Rose and the Dagger

Visit Renee Ahdieh's website for more information

Review:
Although The Crown and the Arrow is set right at the beginning of The Wrath and the Dawn and technically considered a prequel I'd actually recommend reading the full length novel first because you'll appreciate this story much more if you're already familiar with the characters. It's not long enough on it's own to let you get to know anyone so I don't think it would have as much of an impact if you read it first.

This is basically Khalid and Shahrzad's first meeting but from his point of view rather than hers and I did enjoy getting to see what he was thinking when he found out that she volunteered to be his next bride.

It seems a bit petty to complain about the length of a free short story (this is around 9 pages long) but I really would have loved more from Khalid's point of view. I'm definitely looking forward to finding out how the story ends in The Rose and the Dagger though.

Source: Free Kindle book from Amazon

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Review: The Moth and the Flame - Renee Ahdieh

It started as playful, if barbed, banter before rising to a fateful wager with a most notorious rake—the Captain of the Guard, Jalal al-Khoury—who may have finally met his match in a lovely, if haughty, handmaiden, Despina. But she, too, seems to have met her match in the handsome Jalal. What begins as a tempestuous battle of will and wit in short order becomes a passionate affair spurred on by tragedy of the worst kind.

The Wrath and the Dawn Duology:
The Moth and the Flame (Short Story)
The Crown and the Arrow (Free Short Story)
The Wrath and the Dawn
The Mirror and the Maze (Short Story)
The Rose and the Dagger

Visit Renee Ahdieh's website for more information

Review:
Although this short story is technically set before the start of The Wrath and the Dawn I'd actually say it's probably better to read it after the book because you'll already be familiar with the characters involved. I don't think I'd have enjoyed this so much if I'd read it as a prequel so I'm glad read it later on.

It was really nice to get to know Despina a little better and see the beginning of her romance with Jalal. He's used to women falling all over him so he's quite taken aback when Despina doesn't seem all that interested, he goes on an all out charm offensive though and it's not hard to see why she finds him impossible to resist.

It was interesting to see Despina's take on Khalid and his first bride too, I expected to feel really sorry for Ava and I did to a certain extent but at the same time I can't help thinking that she caused an awful lot of trouble over something that's really quite stupid. Khalid had never lied to her or led her on, they had a marriage of convenience (something quite common historically, especially amongst royals) so yes I'm sure she wanted him to love her but under the circumstances I think she was expecting a little too much too soon and her actions were ultimately selfish ones that had disastrous consequences.

My one complaint about this story was that it was too short but I'm hoping we'll see much more of Despina and Jalal in The Rose and the Dagger and I'm really looking forward to continuing the series.

Source: Purchased

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