ARC Review: The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

The Wrath & The Dawn (#1) by Renee Ahdieh (May 12, 2015)
416 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Retelling
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Source: I snagged a free ARC at ALA Midwinter. This didn't affect my honest review. Thanks Putnam!
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: 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.

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My Review

While reading The Wrath & The Dawn my feels kept growing and growing until they exploded and the book became a five star read for me. I LOVED IT. In this case I support all of the hype surrounding this book. It was that good.

The Wrath & The Dawn is unique and complex. I'm so glad it made its way into my life. Hopefully I can convince you to welcome it into your life as well. Another plus, it is a diverse book, and we all know we need more of those in our lives!

This book has an amazingly rich setting. The world building is nothing short of incredible. The descriptions the writer used to illustrate the food, clothes, and everything in-between dragged me deeper and deeper into its beautiful open arms. I wish I could visit this place and try some of its wine. I could almost taste it through the pages, but not quite. I basically just freaking loved all the details. I could feel the dark lurking behind all of the beauty. 

Secrets are abound and death is never far away for Shazi, Khalid, and pretty much all the characters. I loved these characters. Some of them had their childish moments, but who doesn't? I am grateful for the chance to witness Shazi and Khalid's relationship grow. It was very intense and interesting. There was always a tricky situation one of them had to overcome. I enjoyed reading about their lives and their vastly different circumstances life has dealt them.

The Wrath & The Dawn is a must read! It was never boring thanks to the flourish of activity always coming in steady waves. I am left wanting more. Now I NEED the second book. This is definitely going to make my favorite reads of 2015 list.