The Wrath and the Dawn By Renee Ahdieh

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Rating: 4/5

Let's talk about the gorgeous cover! I mean just take a moment and click on it and zoom in and out a few times. I won't stop you. It's beautiful. Unfortunately most of the books I read are ebooks because they're so much cheaper, but I can totally imagine how beautiful this book is.

Okay the blurb: This YA retelling of A Thousand and One Nights follows Shahrzad, a 16-year-old girl who volunteers to marry Khalid — a prince known to murder each and every one of his wives before morning. Her goal is to seek revenge on him by killing him to avenge the death of her best friend. To put off her own murder by the prince’s hand, she tells him stories each night. But what she doesn’t expect is to slowly, achingly fall in love with him. Ahdieh creates an unputdownable story brimming with romance and retribution.

So I was scrolling through a Buzzfeed post titled '16 of the best YA Books of 2015' and number 4 sounded very intriguing. It was The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. I've only read one other retelling of A Thousand and One Nights and it was The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey (GREAT book by the way) and I loved it. It was an immediate favorite of mine. Since then I have struggled to find another good retelling. But this one honestly was better, it was more thrilling, more ideas, more romance, so it made for much greater book.

I love it when books are promoted like we live in that world and actually get to visit it.

In the beginning: There was a prologue and it was very intriguing, and it's what kept me reading.

Reading different POV: Irritating. Definitely. I got so irritated with Tariq because I just really wanted to know what would happen to Shahrzad and Tariq was just interrupting and not with something really that meaningful so it got irritating.

Favorite Character: I'm going to go cliche and pick Shahrzad because she's the main character. She's strong, powerful, charming and funny.

Least Favorite Character: Tariq, not because he's a bad person, but he just gets in the way.

Cultural Accuracy: This book was very impressive in its cultural accuracy, and for several reasons. The names are very appropriate and Arabic. The way everything is described sounds correct. Also, the titles: Caliph, calipha, effendi, are all accurate and make sense at the relative time of the story. Plus, another good thing about this book is that in the end there's a glossary explaining all the words.

The Romance: This book was the cutest thing ever! In the beginning it was very clear that Shahrzad and Khalid did not get along. But then you have these situations that stun you and bring these feelings that the characters feel to the surface and I just loved that so much.

Quotes: I'll pick my top two:

1)

2)

I loved this book so much and think it's a very worthwhile read. I'm so excited for the second book. The Rose and the dagger comes out May 2016.

"One hundred lives for the one you took. One life to one dawn, Should you fail but a single morn, I shall take from you your dreams. I shall take from you your city. And I shall take from you these lives, a thousandfold."

Review by: Yomna