The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

     We all know I’m a re-telling fanatic, so when I heard about this Thousand and One Nights re-telling, I knew I had to add it to my TBR pile. I almost read the original one in school (I used Spark Notes *cringes*) so I had kind of an over view of how the story was supposed to go and this was pretty spot on.

“Why did you volunteer, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran?’ She did not answer. He continued, “What compelled you to do something so foolish?” ‘ Excuse me?” Perhaps it was the lure of marrying a king. Or the vain hope you might be the one to stay the course and win the heart of a monster.”
pg. 23 (e-ARC)

     A prince marries every night. And by dawn, that very bride is dead at the hands of the prince. Out of nowhere, comes Shahrzad who volunteers to become the prince’s next wife. Unbeknownst to him, she’s there to take revenge on the countless lives he’s taken. Including that of her best friend. As it just so happens, she breaks the cycle and finds that he’s not as cold-blooded as everyone thought.

“Perhaps you should spend less time despising the game and more time building the patience necessary to win.'”
pg.  31 (e-ARC)

     Everyone has raved on and on about this book and I liked it, I admit, but it just wasn’t “OMG” worthy. Starting with the romance, I wasn’t completely sold on it. In one instant she was scared of him and hated him and in the next she loved him. I get where he fell for her, but when she fell for him, it just felt all of a sudden. It kind of felt weird. But let me tell you this… Once he got swoony, HE WAS SUPER SWOONY.

“For the wonder of a first love can never be matched.'”
pg. 62 (e-ARC)

     Also, I wasn’t sold on the action in this one. For it to be a fantasy, it seemed like for the first half of the book, not much was happening. I was intrigued, but I still felt that there was nothing happened. For instance, where was the sword fighting and the magic and everything? Well I ended up finding it all the way at the end. And when it finally got to it, it got really good. Like so good I didn’t want it to be over.

“Love is a force unto itself, sayyidi, For love, people consider the unthinkable… and often achieve the impossible.'”
pg. 77 (e-ARC)

     On the other hand, I did like the re-telling. It went right along with the original story. It actually made me want to go back and read the other one since I didn’t before. It had so many of the same elements (like the carpet and Jasmine) and I thought it was so cool. It took me back to my old Disney days. This was the best part of the story that kept me intrigued. Add that to the cast of diverse characters, and those are the reasons I fell in love with this story.

“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.”
pg. 137 (e-ARC)

     The main thing that made me grab up this book as soon as it was available, was the diversity in it. I love learning about new people and new cultures and this one is filled with facts and awesome I didn’t know about. The #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign will be thrilled to add this to their list of books. It will definitely be one that I recommend to anyone looking for a diverse book.

“We women are a sad lot aren’t we?” “What do you mean?” “Strong enough to take on the world with out bare hands, yet we permit ridiculous boys to make fools of us.”
pg. 208 (e-ARC)

     I also liked the ending. It was what I wished the entire book had been like. It is super suspenseful and I am pining away like the rest of the world for Book 2. I need to know what happens!!!! Although the first half of the book wasn’t what I expected, the build up to the end was well worth it.

“A shared history does not entitle you to a future, my friend.”
pg. 295 (e-ARC)

     I’m not sure if I’m considered the black sheep in this one since I still liked it, just not as much as everyone else. It was still a great story.