Sunday, March 29, 2015

The Wrath and the Dawn

Book: The Wrath and the Dawn
Series: The Wrath and the Dawn #1
Author: Renee Ahdieh

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.-Goodreads



Review: This is a fairy tale "re-telling" of A Thousand and One Nights. Shahrzad (Shazi) volunteers to be the bride of Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan. Khalid has a history of murdering his wives the morning after their marriage ceremony and her best friend was a recent victim. Shazi has a plan to avenge her friends death but quickly discovers things aren't what they seem. Meanwhile, Tariq, Shazi's childhood sweetheart, sets out to save her from this suicide mission only to find that she has fallen in love with Khalid. 

This was beautifully written and I loved almost all the characters, especially Shazi. She was strong willed, funny and quick witted. I also loved Despina, her handmaiden. The relationship between Shazi and Khalid was a little quick for me. While the first 2/3 of the book were a little slow, the last third was hard to put down. 

Great start to a series and I look forward to the second book!

*I received this book from the publisher for my honest review*

Grade: 4/5

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