Hey lovelies!

Today I am going to be sharing with you a duology review for The Wrath And The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh as well as The Rose And The Dagger! This is spoiler free so you do not have to have read the two books to read this review!

I was intrigued by this book because I’ve heard fantastic things, the cover is phenomenal and the blurb sounded very interesting! I have also been trying to read more diverse books – either by diverse authors or featuring diverse main characters or settings – and this book totally fits the theme!

I personally love books that are set in deserts with Arabian influences because I think the culture is so unique and rich and if written correctly, can create the most compelling story and intricate world and I feel this book did that! (But more about that below!)

Also, as mentioned above, how gorgeous are the covers? I personally see the red background in the first book and star shapes as a sort of window that the character seems to be looking through, but I’m not sure how other people interpret the cover. (If you interpret it different, let me know in the comments below because I love seeing how different people view symbolic covers.)

There is also a picture of the main character on the very first page of the book. I know some people hate having that there because it means they don’t get to truly imagine the character for who they are but I personally liked it because Shazi (the main character) is exactly like I imagined her to be!

About the book. 

{ WRITING }

Aha! I thought the writing in Ahdieh’s books is phenomenal! It was so poetic and beautiful and had such a good flow to it. The vivid imagery she used to describe the setting and the attention to detail she had when describing simple things such as clothes the characters were wearing and the food they were eating added SO MUCH to the book.

I looked picture every single detail, I could picture every single sunset and sunrise and dance and room and character and EVERYTHING!  It was such a pleasure to read because of how beautifully expressed every idea was in the book and how easy it was to understand the points she was trying to convey. 

The story is told in third person however, we still get a look inside the characters heads’ and we can really feel them come across the page to us. The book does switch around a little from character to character but I found I didn’t mind because of how it added to the suspense.

I also liked the way she used her writing to develop the characters and create a little bit of mystery. It was quite beautifully and seamlessly done!

{ IDEA }

I think the idea and the writing tie in as my favourite aspects of this book! I, like mentioned above, adore books with Arabian influences because of my personal fascination with the culture! However, this book took that to the next level!

The world-building in this book was so intricate and methodical. Everything was there for a reason, everything happened for a reason and the reason lead to a bigger plot and a bigger picture!

There was everything in this book! Romance, mystery, humour and fantasy. There were so many different elements coming together. This book is based on A Thousand And One Nights which is an Arabian fairytale and I liked how Ahdieh brought together fairy tale aspects of it, along with two very strong characters (especially the female main character) and magic and imagery and this beautifully created world to give this fantastic duology!

{ PLOT }

I feel that this is where the duology let me down slightly and meant I couldn’t give it 5 stars! The plot, while well written and built and suspenseful, was a little slow moving and anti-climatic.

I can’t say too much about the plot without giving it away but I will just say it let me down, especially in The Rose And The Dagger, which is the second and final book. I was being built up for this epic ending and anticipating the conclusion only to find it was too simple and readily available.

The conclusion I felt, especially in Rose And The Dagger, was so convenient that it just made the second book pointless. It really made me feel meh after I finished reading because what was even the point of all of the trouble the characters went to, if the ending was so simple?

There also wasn’t as much mystery as I would have hoped, especially since the author had a lot of scope for mystery in the book. I didn’t expect a few things that did happen to happen but other elements were fairly guessable.

However, please note that most of my plot criticism (and criticism in general) is for the second book rather than the first book.

{ CHARACTERS }

The characters in this book were absolutely awesome! I liked how life like and fun they were and they made the book so enjoyable to read! They were also very un-cliché, which I always love in a story!

Book 1 (The Wrath And The Dawn) doesn’t focus too much on side characters although it does introduce them but book 2 (Rose And The Dagger) has a much greater focus on side characters including their personality and life and really develops them.

The main character, Shahrzad also known as Shazi was so much fun to read from the perspective of! She is a very strong, sharp tongued and loyal character but not to the point where she became overbearing or arrogant (I’m looking at you Celanea!). She wasn’t a very mushy character but I liked the parts where she showed kindness to her fellow characters.

I loved mostly how kick ass and funny she was. She didn’t let anyone walk over her and she really rose in her position as Queen, in my opinion.

I found Khalid to be another fantastic character and can easily rival Shazi in terms of how much I loved them! He was so mysterious but so noble and caring. I liked how subdued he was because he added so much more to the story with his quiet glances and half smiles. I also liked how passionate he was at times.

The very best thing about these characters are is how life like and un-cliché they are!

{ FINALLY }

This was such an enjoyable duology! I really loved the idea and the writing, which really enhanced the setting and the characters were so fun and fantastic! The plot did let me down a little, especially in the second book but I still enjoyed it nonetheless!

I highly, highly recommend you read it because it is beyond fantastic, especially the first book, which was absolutely flawless!

I cannot wait to see what Renee Ahdieh has in store for us with her new books! 

OVERALL RATING: