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.Rating: 4.5/5
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction
First of all, I have to appreciate and gush about the diversity in this novel. While I love fairy tale retelling/inspired stories, I recognize that the most popular ones are from Western Europe, the capital of historical colonization. Their stories are great and all, but that's partly because we're so used to them due to Europe prioritizing their culture over others. There are so many beautiful, creative fairy tales/folk tales around the world, and they deserve just as much attention. So, The Wrath and the Dawn is heavily inspired by One Thousand and One Nights (or what we more commonly know it as: Arabian Nights) in a way that is new-ish to the YA community, and it's amazing.
Going a little deeper, the writing is phenomenal. When you have a storyteller for a narrator, it's pretty obvious that the language needs to be smooth, poetic, but not too over the top. It's a tricky balance, but Shazi's voice was exactly how it should be, with a little more sass added in for character purposes. Actually, when I really think about it, several characters had some sassy element to their personality; the only difference was whether it was based on confidence, cleverness, or arrogance. And you can definitely tell the difference, which showed how strongly developed and unique Ahdieh's characters were. (Also sarcastic, take-no-shit characters are my weakness which made this novel heaven on earth, really.)
Something else I really appreciated in the book was that while there were a couple different points of view, they were always minor but necessary. Shazi still had full reign of the narration, but sometimes there were some outside scenes that needed to be done since there was so much happening both in and outside of the palace. I kind of thought of it like The Hunger Games movies; although the novel was told from Katniss' view, which meant the movie should focus solely on her, I really enjoyed the small, independent scenes they included with President Snow. It gave us a little more perspective into The Capital outside of Katniss' view, which made it personal to the viewer, and it was always to benefit the plot and theme. It all shows how when an author/producer has a complete understanding of the novel, they are always aware of how a scene becomes useful whether it's for plot, character development, or theme.
And while a lot happened plot-wise, there was so much more set up for the next book (which is killing me because I need to know what happens). To be honest, I'm a bit unsure as to how it will all be able to fit into a duology (or a two-book series). There's a lot of layers happening and a lot of people making plans, so I'm very interested in how it will all play out in the sequel. I trust the author, however, so I'll be eagerly awaiting what's next for Shazi and the gang.
Overall, The Wrath and the Dawn was beautifully written, culturally refreshing, and incredibly captivating—there was always some foreshadowing, adventure, suspense, or romance happening, but it was never over-stimulating. If you pick up this book don't expect to put it down for awhile.
