I actually finished this book a while ago, before I read Snow Like Ashes, but I'm doing a review for this one too! The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Ahdieh (Ah [A as in apple] -dee- eh). And this book was simply AMAZING, well more than amazing actually. It's one of the best books I've ever read!
Description:
The book is a retelling of the centuries-old "A Thousand and One Nights" which has been translated and re-translated countless times since its origin which no one quite knows exactly. But it's where we get the stories of Aladdin and the Lamp, Sinbad the Sailor, The Fisherman and the Jinni, etc. The story is set in the ancient kingdom of Khorasan which is ruled by the 18- year- old Khalid. Every night, Khalid takes to wife a new bride, only to execute her at dawn the next morning by strangling her with a white cord.
The story follows Shahrzad, a young girl of sixteen, who volunteers to marry the caliph in order to exact revenge for the murder of her best friend. Shazi's stories and wit are able to get her through the dawn, but each encounter with her husband brings her closer to the realization that he isn't the monster she was led to believe. Shazi is determined to find the reason for the murders of the brides and avoid a deeper, rising threat as well.
Review (SPOILERS!!)
This is a book that I know I will treasure eternally and read countless times until the end of my existence because that's how good it is! The writing style of this book is so artistically poetic and beautiful. The descriptions in her books are so musical and detailed that I was immediately swept away into the ancient, early days of the Arabian and Persian cultures. The beauty of this book just amazes me! The story is an alluring work of art!
The cover itself is so very beautiful, and the inside is so addictive to look at!!!
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| IMAGE FROM: paperfury.com |
I mean, look how beautiful the inside cover is of Shahrzad. And there's even a map of Khorasan inside! I really absolutely enjoy maps in books! It's a strange book fetish....but so is smelling the pages among other things...Does anyone else have this problem??? #booknerdproblems
And onto characters: I really really loved Shahrzad (I couldn't find an official pronunciation list, but this is how I say her name: shar-zawd). At first I was a little taken aback by her brazen, sassy, almost grumpy attitude toward everyone...but then I found I enjoyed her wit and sarcasm so much more than other YA female characters I read about now. You know, the ones who are all mopy and precious and can't fend for themselves. But Shahrzad was fierce and independent, proving to the men in this book that even in ancient times women did not want to be controlled and supervised like some pretty, little doll.
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| IMAGE FROM: www.aliexpress.com |
I also really liked the idea of her not using sights (this is kind of like an aiming device that helps for long distance shots), actually closing her eyes and remembering where her target is before releasing the strung arrow. It's something she can definitely brag about to the men who use the sights when aiming. It makes her even more hardcore than she is. Every time she pointed it out I just had to laugh!
The Caliph, Khalid (again, I don't know so just a guess: kuh-leed), is one of my favorite characters now. At first, I actually really despised him. The whole time I was thinking, "How do you live with yourself after so many lives you've taken." I hated any justification for his actions that came to my mind, instead focusing on how rotten he was. And then of of course, he just has to go and say a bunch of romantic stuff and call Shazi his queen and make me fall in love with his character. By then he became that young, troubled character that's really actually hiding his fears behind all the fierce anger and indifference. His protectiveness of Shazi is so endearing, I found myself clutching the pages so tightly because my heart was rocketing inside my body. I felt so giddy every time they spoke to one another. Although, I did get a bit annoyed with him when he waited sooo long to tell Shazi about the curse. Every time she gave him the opportunity, he ruined it in the worst way and I was torn between beating him in my mind and rolling my eyes:) And the story of his first wife and all the letters he wrote to his dead brides really broke my heart. I knew then that it wasn't his fault for all the deaths and he was a victim of a curse conjured by a crazed father who really really hated Khalid:) The Caliph was just doing what he could to protect his kingdom. My favorite scene of him was when he saved Shazi from being strangled to death and practically destroyed all the guards who hurt her (and then called her his queen:) it was beautiful.
I also loved the description of his bronze, muscular, swordsman chest (*intense fan girling*). I laughed aloud when Shazi and Despina sneaked into the tournament to watch the caliph and the rajput showing off their skills. I could definitely see it in my head! I'm pretty sure I would've done it as well, and plenty of other girls would have helped I'm sure!!
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| IMAGE FROM: sword-site.com |
Khalid's weapon, the shamshir, is a bit different from the traditional Persian scimitar. The blade is slender and longer and tapers off to a more pronounced curve.
Tariq was actually my least favorite character in this book. I admired his bravery and his loyalty to Shazi. He really did love her to storm the Caliph's castle and try to overthrow Khalid. I loved the whole falconry image of him. I mean, not many people's hunting animal is a beautiful, deadly falcon. But I also didn't like him getting in the way of Shahrzad's romance with Khalid:) At some point I began to see him as an almost tantrum-throwing character. He was so cocky, it made me picture a child who holds a grudge and begins screaming when he doesn't get his way. That's how Tariq felt for me. He was really arrogant, believing he could just take down Khalid like it was nothing and swoop in and save the day, riding off with Shahrzad into the sunset or something! I was just shaking my head at his actions, almost mentally cringing, because I knew that Khalid could destroy him in seconds. Anything with Shazi is enough to turn Khalid into a raging bull (not that raging bulls are bad per se:)). And when he killed the rajput, that was the final straw. In my head, logically, I knew he acted out of self-defense. But I had really started to like Shazi's personal guard. To see him, the best swordsman in the country, taken down by an arrow was so depressing.
Jalal was absolutely amazing! He was just so charming and easily likeable. He's one of those brotherly characters that you absolutely adore because he eases the tension by cracking jokes and things. Despina was also a really interesting character. Her words should immediately put you off, but you actually really enjoy her sass. She's always so straightforward with Shahrzad, the complete opposite of how handmaidens act in stories. It's hilarious and brilliant!
The ending absolutely killed me! It wasn't even an abrupt cliffhanger, but I still tore me open. I couldn't stop flipping through the book, wondering if there was another page that somehow didn't make its way into my copy or at least an epilogue or something. It made me so depressed and angry that Shazi was being taken away from Khalid and the Caliph accepted it because he was doing it to protect her. And it was partly Shazi's father's fault the city had to blow up and be set on fire and stuff. I was literally raging through my room, clicking through the author's tumblr to see what was going on! And then the date: 2016!?! That's a whole year! I can't survive not knowing:) Renee Ahdieh is really an amazing author!!!
Favorite Quote:
I've highlighted something on pretty much every single page of this book! That's how beautiful the writing was. The quotes in it are so romantic and inspiring. I think my highlighter ran out because that's how much I loved the sentences and words in this story. but if I have to choose one:
"In my life, the one thing I have learned above all is that no individual can reach the height of their potential without the love of others. We are not meant to be alone. The more a person pushes others away, the clearer it becomes he is in need of love the most." (Musa, 137)
Final Rating:
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This book, of course, deserves a 5 star rating! Actually, I would give it more if that was allowed:) I'm sure it is..:)
I recommend this to everyone because it's amazing!!!
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