The Wrath and The Dawn Duology by Renee Ahdieh

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retelling, Romance

Number of Book: 2 + (3 short novellas)

Characters: (from left to right) Shahrzad al-Khayzuran, Khalid Ibn al-Rashid.
cr. Arz28 | cr. lemoncielart

*kinda spoiler alert*

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1st Book – The Wrath and The Dawn

Goodreads Synopsis: One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

Personal rating: 4½/5

Opinion: i only gave it 4 and a half because Shazi's slightly annoying at first (not because she's a whining brat) because she came off really strong at first impression. But i like her afterwards :D

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2nd Book – The Rose and The Dagger

Goodreads Synopsis: The darker the sky, the brighter the stars.

In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad is forced from the arms of her beloved husband, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once thought Khalid a monster—a merciless killer of wives, responsible for immeasurable heartache and pain—but as she unraveled his secrets, she found instead an extraordinary man and a love she could not deny. Still, a curse threatens to keep Shazi and Khalid apart forever.

Now she’s reunited with her family, who have found refuge in the desert, where a deadly force is gathering against Khalid—a force set on destroying his empire and commanded by Shazi’s spurned childhood sweetheart. Trapped between loyalties to those she loves, the only thing Shazi can do is act. Using the burgeoning magic within her as a guide, she strikes out on her own to end both this terrible curse and the brewing war once and for all. But to do it, she must evade enemies of her own to stay alive.

The saga that began with The Wrath and the Dawn takes its final turn as Shahrzad risks everything to find her way back to her one true love again.

Personal rating: 5/5

Opinion: What i like most is when they finally understands each other and FINALLY comes together!

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Novellas

Synopsis:

The Moth and The Flame: It started as playful, if barbed, banter before rising to a fateful wager with a most notorious rake—the Captain of the Guard, Jalal al-Khoury—who may have finally met his match in a lovely, if haughty, handmaiden, Despina. But she, too, seems to have met her match in the handsome Jalal. What begins as a tempestuous battle of will and wit in short order becomes a passionate affair spurred on by tragedy of the worst kind.

The Crown and The Arrow: Seventy-one days and seventy-one nights had come and gone since Khalid began killing his brides. This dawn, Khalid would mark the loss of the seventy-second girl, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. Khalid didn’t know how many more of these dawns he could take. And there was something about this latest girl that piqued his interest. Not only had she volunteered to marry him, but at their wedding ceremony, she had seemed not the least bit afraid. In fact, what he had seen in her eyes was nothing short of pure hatred. She was about to lose her life. Why wasn’t she afraid? Why did she hate him so? He had never before gone to his wife’s chambers before her death at dawn. Tonight would be different.

The Mirror and The Maze: The city of Rey is burning. With smoke billowing, fires blazing and his people fleeing, Khalid races back to defend his city, and protect his queen. But Khalid is too late to do either. He and his men arrive to find the city in ruins, nothing but a maze of destruction, and Shahrzad is gone. But who could have wrought such devastation? Khalid fears he may already know the answer, the price of choosing love over the people of Rey all too evident.

Personal rating: 4/5

Opinion: The novellas are as good as the two novels. And if you want to understand more as to why Khalid becomes the wife-killer, The Crown and The Arrow has all the answer for you.

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Overall - ★★★★

I have mixed feelings with this duology. (partly my fault because i went and read other people's review on this book) BUT you know what! Imma write about how and what I feel towards the books.

I FREAKIN LOVE IT!

well, at first i was shook because Khalid is a murderer and still Shazi volunteers to marry him. I'm like whet, why'd you marry a murderer? Then later i found out that Khalid had killed her best friend who had married him before Shazi did. So... yeah, okay...

And then in the second installment, near towards the ending, Khalid told Shazi why he had to kill one hundred wives of his because of what his first wife did, and the girl's father put a curse on him because the old didn't believe Khalid and blames the dude. The curse was if he doesn't commit to it, he will get hurt instead and his beloved city will be in ruin.

This is the first poc book i've read, and it's setting are in what i suppose middle east. (And i used to live in a country in that continent) So, i could pick up the imagery right away, and it was refreshing honestly.

And I have a problem with pretty covers >_< I can't resist them!

I have nothing else to tell you guys because i love the series so much. But i don't know about you guys. You guys could give it a try tho ^^

How about you guys read this summary for the first book to decide. The Wrath and The Dawn Summary by bookseriesrecap

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