NerdyBirdie

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.   

This book was SO MUCH FUN!

“You are not weak. You are not indecisive. You are strong. Fierce. Capable beyond measure.”   

We have Shahrzad—Shazi—who is an amazing and wonderful main heroine! I expected Sharzad to be a delicate little thing, but she was just much fun to read about!

There was a lot of diversity in the story. But really, I loved the pacing and the love story! It was done pretty well! I didn’t think there were points where I was lost at all. I was pretty invested in the story! I thought all the characters were amazing!

Although we can tell Shazi is extremely smart and cunning, I didn’t think that her story was really so irresistible that I would be ready to put the safety of my kingdom on the line. But, the story is much more than that!

“‘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.’”

The actual mystery of why the Caliph kills his brides in the morning, wasn’t really that much of a mystery, I actually knew why (kind of) in the beginning, but we don’t know the story! I haven’t read the original, so I can’t really say much about that. But, this book has got me interested in the tale!

There were also some nice fantasy elements put into play here. I did want to see more of that though . . . *cough cough* MAGIC CARPET?!?!? *cough cough*

The last  hundred pages had me on edge! I was literally dying to know what happens next and about Shazi! OMG I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW.

“‘Love is—a shade of what I feel.’”   

Overall, The Wrath and the Dawn is an extremely impressive debut, though I have to admit, the ending is what made me push up my rating for this book. It has a strong main character, and believable love story (it’s based off of a tale, guys, don’t be judgy . . . ), and DIVERSITY. :D I would recommend this to anyone! If you haven’t read this book, you need to read this NOW!

Thanks for reading my review guys, and hope you have a great day! Until the next one!