The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Hi there, guys!
I hope you've had a gread week so far!

BASICS

Title: The Wrath and the Dawn
Series: The Wrath and the Dawn, book number one
Author: Renee Ahdieh
Release Date: May 12th 2015
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0399171614
Number of Pages: 388
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Fairytale retelling

SUMMARY

The country Khorasan is ruled by a killer.
His name is Khalid Ibn al-Rashid and he's only 18 years old.
Over the last few weeks he took a new bride every night only to have her executed when morning dawns.
Nobody can believe that the young Shahrazad volunteers to marry that monster. 
She does so with a clever plan on how to stay alive. She wants to take revenge on him for murdering her best friend and the other girls.
But when she gets to know the caliph of Khorasan better, she discovers a broken sould beneath his armor. And then she starts falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

MY OPINION

This novel is primarily a romance inspired by A Thousand and One Nights. I guess we all had good and bad experiences with "romance novels" and we all know how easily writing a romance can go completly wrong.
For one, the asshole. The dark, broody love interest is very common in YA novels.
And it's easy to fall for them. I'm not excluding myself, be assured.
But it's too easy to overdo the 'moody' part of his. Just take Christian Grey as an example. 
He's probably the biggest douche in modern literature but you're supposed to love him anyway. 
And so many do and get a completly wrong idea of how a relationship is supposed to be.
Remember: A lapse of cruelty is not an evidence of kindness.

Then, there is another common problem of romance novels. The female main character.
I've read some books in which the protagonist was terribly frustrating, submissive or immature.
But nobody in the story recognized it. They praised her to the skies and made the reader believe that only if you act like the stereotypical 'little girl' you'd get the boy.

And, lastly, a problem that oh so many books have to deal with: Instalove.
Urrrgh.


Wow, that was hell of an introduction.
Where I wanted to go with all of this:
This book has non of those problems. In that way it's perfect.

There's no Instalove.
Shazi actually hates her husband while he's doing anything in his power to stir up her hatred.
And yeah, he is one of those brooding guys but lemme tell you, he has a heart of gold.
That's something Shahrazad too realizes. And then it get's complicated.
What do you do when you love your best friend's murderer?

Her hate for him doesn't disappear out of the sudden. It's no jump from hate to love within two pages.
It's a development.
And even when she knows she has feelings for him, she doesn't make up excuses for the murders.
She just wants to know why.
This romance was just so well done. So. Well. Done. I loved Shazi and Khalid's interactions. Their dialogue felt so natural and real.
I've never noticed a break in their characters, even if it meant disliking one of our two main characters for a while.
Will you feel conflicted over the fact that Shazi was falling for the murderer of her best friend? YES
Will you believe their feelings? DEFINITELY
Will you root for them? PASSIONATELY

There are wonderful quotes which will make you swoon. (I promise.)

“My soul sees its equal in you.”
“What are you doing to me, you plague of a girl?” he whispered.
“If I’m a plague, then you should keep your distance, unless you plan on being destroyed.” The weapons still in her grasp, she shoved against his chest.
“No.” His hands dropped to her waist. “Destroy me.”

Oh, Khalid. You beautiful man.

Ahdieh's writing is addictive, sexy, magical and just downright lovely!
That woman has a way with words. She manages to attune her writing style to the atmosphere perfectly. Her descriptions are easy to picture, very poetic and lush.

I adored the stories within the story! It made me really interested in the tales of A Thousand and One Nights!  I can't wait to get my hands on book two!

The side characters were so interesting and had a whole story of their own! I can't wait to see where Despina and Jalal's relationship goes from there!

Even though, the book is set in the real world, there are some fantasy elements woven into the story.
Some people, including Shazi and her father, are able to work with a very mysterious kind of magic.
We didn't get much of an explanation but I hope we do in the next book!


One small issue (if you can call it that), I'd like to adress at the end, is that Shazi had definitely more opportunities to kill Khalid. She could have tried harder at the beginning of their marriage. But, oh well. I'm not complaining about an alive and kicking Khalid.
Also kudos to Renee Ahdieh for putting a glossar and the prologue of The Rose and The Dagger at the end!

RATING

5 out of 5 stars