#62: The Wrath and the Dawn

Ahdieh, Renee: The Wrath and the Dawn. New York: Penguin Group, 2015. Print. 404 pages.

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SETTING: Khorasan, a region that lies in parts of modern day Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan ("Khorasan." Encylopaedia Britannica. Accessed: 18 August 2015. <http://www.britannica.com/place/Khorasan-historical-region-Asia>.).  
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SUMMARY: Every day, Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan, marries a new bride, and every morning at dawn she is executed by hanging.  After her best friend is killed in this way, Shahrzad volunteers to be the Caliph's next wife, in hopes of murdering him as revenge.  Her first goal?  To survive the first night...

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FAVORITE QUOTE: "'A mere trinket?  Love is a force unto itself, sayyidi.  For love, people consider the unthinkable... and often achieve the impossible.  I wound not sneer at its power.'" - page 77.

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I finished my exam and finally went to the library the next morning!  I found three books and I am so excited to read!
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Things I liked about this book:

1. The story line.  It was entertaining, and easy to read and follow along.  After I started reading the book, however, I realized it was aimed at the young adult age group, which is why it was an easy read.  I actually finished the book in a day.
2. Shahrzad's character.  She is so strong!  Her fearlessness and confidence are way beyond her 16 years of age, but not in an arrogant and annoying manner.  Rather, it's in a way that is very admirable.    
3. The descriptions of food.  It made me hungry every time.  Here's an example: "They marched in unison until they arrived before the dais, setting plates of food in front of each guest - aromatic rice with fresh dill and split fava beans, lamb simmered in a sauce of tumeric and caramelized onions, skewers of chicken and roasted tomatoes, fresh vegetables garnished with mint and chopped parsley, olives marinated in fine oil, lavash bread with rounds of goat cheese and seemingly endless sweet preserves..." - pages 251-252.
4. Shahrzad and Khalid's love.  It's so complex but the author describes it beautifully.  The reader is able to follow the way their love grows, and, to use the cliched phrase, it made me fall in love with love.  The story shows how complex love is, and yet, how simple it can be at times.  How love can make you shut out the rest of the world just so you can embrace the feeling.  And what extremes a person will go to for love.  
5. The love triangle.  It's an interesting example of how one can outgrow a childhood love, simply because one grows up.  We all change with age, but it is almost universally accepted that the change that occurs during adolescence and early adulthood is much more drastic.  
6. The magic.  There are small parts of magic in the story, and, although it didn't have much use in the overall plot (yet... see point #1 below), it was fun to read.

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Things I didn't like about this book:

1. It's the first in a series.  I really don't think this story needs to be part of a larger series, and, in all honesty, I think the author is going to ruin the story by making it a series.  The story would have been great as a single, complete novel.
2. The ending.  It's a series so the reader is left with a cliffhanger, and going back to the above point, I don't think it should be a series in the first place so I was not happy with the ending.  Really all I want to know is if Shahrzad ends up happy, and with who she is happy.  I didn't care for any of the side stories or details as much, which is why I have no desire to continue the series.  One day, when the series is complete, I will search for a spoiler that tells me how Shahrzad's story ends, and then I will be satisfied.  Cheating?  Yup, but time is limited and there are loads of other books to read.
3. Sharhzad's father, Jahandar.  He is a coward and he is going to ruin the story.

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I liked this book, but will not read the others in the series whenever they are released.  I think this book should have been a single novel, and prolonging this story will ruin it.  It was a fun first book to read after my exam, and I am glad I found it.
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Recommend?  Yes.