The Wrath and the Dawn
Series: The Wrath and the Dawn #1
Author: Renee Ahdieh
Published May 12th 2015 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Synopsis
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.
Goodreads

Review
Now this was some book! I've heard truly amazing things about The Wrath and the Dawn since ARC reviews popped up in the blogging world, and they were by no means overstating things. I am so pleased I caved and bought this book, as I think it might be one of my favourite 2015 books!

In The Wrath and the Dawn, a retelling of the tale of A Thousand and One Nights, we follow Shahrzad as she marries the hated Caliph Khalid, who has been killing his brides on a nightly basis, for unknown reasons. Shahrzad's sole reason for the marriage is revenge - her best friend, Shiva, fell victim to the caliph, and Shazi can't let this go unpunished. As she survives night after night, she starts to slowly fall for Khalid, and lets go of her revenge, filled instead with an amalgamation of conflicting emotions. Running parallel to this, her fiancee, Tariq, is doing everything within his power to save Shazi, and take down Khalid once and for all.

First things first, I was conflicted on buying, and starting this book. I recently read another adaptation of the tale of A Thousand and One Nights, A Thousand Nights, which let me down so much. Because of that, I was wary that I would also dislike The Wrath and the Dawn, but, as I said earlier, I loved this! The characters were so unique, and left me with some conflicting feelings. Shazi was truly the best protagonist this book could've had - she was feisty, strong, and a little bit vulnerable. She knew what she wanted, and fought with herself over her feelings toward Khalid - just how I'd imagine anyone would be. When faced with difficult situations, she stood her ground, and everyone loved her more for it, especially Khalid.

Now, Khalid, he was wonderful. I know I should really hate him for killing so many wives, but I honestly loved him from the get go. As we saw him through Shazi's eyes, we discovered more about him, and why he was how he was. I found him swoony, and somewhat sweet, and I fangirled at every interaction between him and Shazi - which I'll get to later. Tariq, Shazi's 'other' love interest, was a bust. I found myself bored during his chapters, and the more I read about him, the more I disliked him. I couldn't see him as a viable suitor for Shazi, and found him underestimating her too much. I really hope there is less of him in the sequel, The Rose and the Dagger, but don't think there will be.

The romance of this book was as swoonworthy as I expected. Like I said, whenever Shazi and Khalid shared a scene, I was ready to fangirl. I truly loved them, and they are yet another couple to add to my growing list of OTPs. I am extremely invested in their relationship, and need more of them in The Rose and the Dagger. I feel as though my heart was ripped out of my body at some parts of this book, and was ready to cry at times - and I'm not normally a emotional reader.

All in all, this was a perfect book. If you, like me, were a bit wary about reading The Wrath and the Dawn, let go of all your wariness, and get your hands on a copy as soon as you can. I am in awe of Ahdieh's writing style, and can't wait to read more in the future. I think I'm going to have some book hangover after this book, and don't know how I can over come this - if you have any advice, please let me know!

Dates Read:
October 3-5, 2015

Rating
5 Stars