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A review by keysmashhh
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Plot: 4/5
Character: 4/5
Relationships: 3.5/5
World-Building: 3/5
Genre: 4.5/5
things i liked
- just the way the plot worked in terms of the relationship to the original Arabian Nights/Aladdin story. Like the carpet??? was that the magic carpet, or just... a carpet? And the way Shahrzad began telling the story of Alladin but we don't really see it, I liked that and it definitely made me want to read to equal to just see how it all links together. My annoyance comes from the fact I just wanted MORE stories from her and she only really got to do that twice before plot got in the way which was frustrating.
- character-wise there was a lot going on in this book, the split between the palace and the rebels was a bit jarring when I was trying to put together who everyone was but it started to make more sense towards the middle of the book. In terms of favourites, I liked Rahim - he was just vibing for most of the book, doing very little except being a good friend and making lots of snarky comments which is what I love most in a side character. Jalal was alright too. The rest of the main characters infuriated me though, I thought Shahrazad was slightly naive at times and over-confident at others but I did like her handmaiden, she was funny and a really interesting example of blending two mythologies together which I found super unique.
- some of the lines in this book were beautiful!! like, made me want to just put down the book and recite them in my head for hours kind of beautiful, and the author definitely knew how to pair this with romance. (I appreciate this author's commitment to this line: "You are not mine...I am yours" - love watching the supposedly all-mighty and powerful ruler of a nation completely at the mercy of a strong female character, that's always a good time - also comparing her to a magnetic mountain...damn)
- I'm pretty sure this is only a duology so I'm tempted to pick up the 2nd one as that is not too much commitment - that's why this book gets a 4.5/5 on genre because very rarely do I actually feel incentivised enough to pick up a fantasy sequel.
things I was meh on
- talking of romance, let's talk about the romance. so....idk where to begin. A crazy 18-year-old king is marrying and killing a woman every day and our MC vows to avenge her friend by volunteering herself to him in order to kill him... yeah...no...idk. In terms of the actual timeline of their romance, it was somewhat believable and it was clear they cared for each other. In terms of the ethics/dubious morals, I'm not so keen.
- the ending...meh. It definitely ramped up the pace of the book and I flew through the last 30 pages but in terms of the actual plot, I can't really see clearly what exactly happened, where everyone else is now, who are allies and who are enemies??? it all got sort of blurry/fuzzy towards the end.
- Tariq, like I know I hate Khalid, but Tariq is kind of 50/50 - he thinks he's doing the right thing, but I kind of wish his ambition was less about saving Shahzad and more about revenge for Shiva. It kind of felt like he was just petty that she didn't love him anymore so plotted to take down her entire palace because of jealousy rather than his real (and more genuine) motivation of doing what is right.
- world-building just like...didn't happen. And I absolutely hate world-building but in this kind of fantasy book, some sort of world-building HAS to happen otherwise I get so lost. I kind of muddled through with my own interpretation of the customs, lore and magic system (if there was magic? there kind of was but it really wasn't explained) but I felt like I was probably getting it wrong because nothing felt properly explained. Like the ranks in society, and the politics of the kingdom were kind of neglected in the setting up of the world which made it super hard to follow who was more powerful/politically advantageous in interactions which got kind of confusing at points (also I spent a good 70% of the book thinking two characters were the same person oops)
things I didn't like
- the motivations of a lot of the main characters just felt totally wrong to me, like Sharzhad completely neglected her whole revenge mission, the king neglected his mission to care for the kingdom despite his own internal conflict, Tariq seemed to neglect any attempt as sneakiness during the last chapter and just ran into the palace and grabbed Sharzhad.
- Khalid - just no thank you. I am not here for ANOTHER tortured love interest with a traumatic past - I just can't support these types of characters when what they are doing is SO morally bad.
- in hindsight, Stockholm syndrome. That's the explanation for the romance.
Character: 4/5
Relationships: 3.5/5
World-Building: 3/5
Genre: 4.5/5
things i liked
- just the way the plot worked in terms of the relationship to the original Arabian Nights/Aladdin story. Like the carpet??? was that the magic carpet, or just... a carpet? And the way Shahrzad began telling the story of Alladin but we don't really see it, I liked that and it definitely made me want to read to equal to just see how it all links together. My annoyance comes from the fact I just wanted MORE stories from her and she only really got to do that twice before plot got in the way which was frustrating.
- character-wise there was a lot going on in this book, the split between the palace and the rebels was a bit jarring when I was trying to put together who everyone was but it started to make more sense towards the middle of the book. In terms of favourites, I liked Rahim - he was just vibing for most of the book, doing very little except being a good friend and making lots of snarky comments which is what I love most in a side character. Jalal was alright too. The rest of the main characters infuriated me though, I thought Shahrazad was slightly naive at times and over-confident at others but I did like her handmaiden, she was funny and a really interesting example of blending two mythologies together which I found super unique.
- some of the lines in this book were beautiful!! like, made me want to just put down the book and recite them in my head for hours kind of beautiful, and the author definitely knew how to pair this with romance. (I appreciate this author's commitment to this line: "You are not mine...I am yours" - love watching the supposedly all-mighty and powerful ruler of a nation completely at the mercy of a strong female character, that's always a good time - also comparing her to a magnetic mountain...damn)
- I'm pretty sure this is only a duology so I'm tempted to pick up the 2nd one as that is not too much commitment - that's why this book gets a 4.5/5 on genre because very rarely do I actually feel incentivised enough to pick up a fantasy sequel.
things I was meh on
- talking of romance, let's talk about the romance. so....idk where to begin. A crazy 18-year-old king is marrying and killing a woman every day and our MC vows to avenge her friend by volunteering herself to him in order to kill him... yeah...no...idk. In terms of the actual timeline of their romance, it was somewhat believable and it was clear they cared for each other. In terms of the ethics/dubious morals, I'm not so keen.
- the ending...meh. It definitely ramped up the pace of the book and I flew through the last 30 pages but in terms of the actual plot, I can't really see clearly what exactly happened, where everyone else is now, who are allies and who are enemies??? it all got sort of blurry/fuzzy towards the end.
- Tariq, like I know I hate Khalid, but Tariq is kind of 50/50 - he thinks he's doing the right thing, but I kind of wish his ambition was less about saving Shahzad and more about revenge for Shiva. It kind of felt like he was just petty that she didn't love him anymore so plotted to take down her entire palace because of jealousy rather than his real (and more genuine) motivation of doing what is right.
- world-building just like...didn't happen. And I absolutely hate world-building but in this kind of fantasy book, some sort of world-building HAS to happen otherwise I get so lost. I kind of muddled through with my own interpretation of the customs, lore and magic system (if there was magic? there kind of was but it really wasn't explained) but I felt like I was probably getting it wrong because nothing felt properly explained. Like the ranks in society, and the politics of the kingdom were kind of neglected in the setting up of the world which made it super hard to follow who was more powerful/politically advantageous in interactions which got kind of confusing at points (also I spent a good 70% of the book thinking two characters were the same person oops)
things I didn't like
- the motivations of a lot of the main characters just felt totally wrong to me, like Sharzhad completely neglected her whole revenge mission, the king neglected his mission to care for the kingdom despite his own internal conflict, Tariq seemed to neglect any attempt as sneakiness during the last chapter and just ran into the palace and grabbed Sharzhad.
- Khalid - just no thank you. I am not here for ANOTHER tortured love interest with a traumatic past - I just can't support these types of characters when what they are doing is SO morally bad.
- in hindsight, Stockholm syndrome. That's the explanation for the romance.