The Wrath & the Dawn Review – Buddy Read with Lost in A Story

About: The Wrath & the Dawn is a fiction novel written by Renee Ahdieh. It was published on 5/12/2015 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 388 pages. The genres are fairy tales and fantasy. The sequel is The Rose & the Dagger, which was published on 4/26/2016. The Wrath & the Dawn is the author’s first novel. (As always, my reviews are spoiler-free)

My Experience: I started reading The Wrath & the Dawn on 11/1/16 and finished it on 11/5/16. I have decided to read this book as a Buddy Read with a lovely fellow Blogger, Lia @ Lost in a Story. She was super great to come up with questions for us to answer and share our opinions of the book. In my review, I have listed 3 questions with both of our answers and if you click on her name above, you will see her reviews with another 3 questions and both of our answers. This Buddy Read system is great and I’m glad to have the opportunity to learn of her opinions on the book first hand.

Buddy Reads Questions & Answers:

Did the book live up to your expectations?

Lia: I always try not to have expectations of books, so I don’t know. It did live up to the hype though. I’ve heard of so many people that read this book and loved it, so I am happy I liked it too.

Jasmine: No. I was expecting an awesome read where my heart would pound and I would laugh from the constant witty chat the characters may have. I am aware of mixed reviews for this book but I inclined to believe the positive reviews and expected it to be a really good read, but it turns out to be an okay read for me.

How addicting was the book?

Lia: Medium addicting? The thing is, once I was caught up in the story I couldn’t stop but once I put the book away and wanted to read on later, I had trouble keeping up with the story.

Jasmine: I was bored the first 100 pages. Often times, my heart want to read another book. It was not addicting for me. The plot & characters are okay. There seems to be only one suspense in this story, but the main character doesn’t even know what it is and she doesn’t break the rules to actively seek it out. She only ask Khalid & Jalal and feel angry when they refuse to tell her.

What is your opinion on the world the book is set in?

Lia: I think it is a wonderfully created world. I love the setting and the Arabian feel to it. The writer Renee Ahdieh uses a lot of foreign words, which add to the atmosphere of the book but also makes it more difficult to read. Especially in the beginning it felt like they were just throwing words at you and you just needed to find out what they meant. There is a glossary in the back of the book though, so you can look up words.

Jasmine: I like the idea of following the Arabian and the classic tale of One Thousand & One Nights. The names and foreign terms were hard to follow. I didn’t realized there’s a glossary at the end! The story took place more in the palace than outside with thieves & treasure hunt for my liking.

My Review:

The Wrath & the Dawn is an interesting title with a pretty cover. I like the jewelries and the dress she has on. I like the general Arabian setting with stories of thieves and the magic lamb. I didn’t understand the Prologue at the beginning of the book even reading it twice. I read it again after finishing the book and understand it better. I read through the first 100 pages of the book and feel so-so. I enjoy the stories Shahrzad told Khalid, but besides that, the main story of this book was not strong. There weren’t much actions and adventures to follow the classic tale of One Thousand and One Nights. There weren’t dead ends and troubles with impossible problem solving. The author introduces the old rug, a gift given to Shahrzad, but no further development in it. She didn’t bother to figure out how to use it. The mention of her dad and that book, but no explanation behind it as well as that guy that seems to cure Khalid. There is humor in this book, but it just didn’t crack me up. I like that there’s a bit of danger to the king and what he possess.

This morning, I was not where I should have been. Last night, I was not where I wanted to be. p112.

Shahrzad: I don’t enjoy reading this girl’s POV much. I find her moods unpredictable and often annoying. She supposed to be angry but she give herself away so willingly. She supposed to come for revenge as the cover says but her actions doesn’t justify. She doesn’t take risks to her cause for revenge. I like that she has a “silver tongue” and at times appear smart and brave. I like that she attempts to bring out the happiness to the king by sneaking out to the market.

Khalid: I like that the author provide an additional chapter at the end to give his POV before it all began. His character is okay, not so strong as Jalal. I like Jalal in this book. He’s a supporting character but somewhat taken on the spotlight over Khalid. I don’t have too much feelings for Khalid. I smile at a few of Jalal’s retorts.

Tariq: There could have been more actions & adventures with him since he travels around. He could have meet dead ends or challenges, but it was a smooth ride. I like his sweet words with the one he loves. I like when he’s jealous. I like his determination. He follows through what he intends to get done.

Summary: A young king has secrets he can’t tell and actions he made that makes citizens angry. A young girl feeling angry and wanting a revenge. A young man love his childhood friend and will do everything, even to cause a war just so he could keep her by his side.

Pro: love triangle, informal regards to kings/queens, humor, different POVs,

Con: lack of outdoor adventures & actions, lack of difficult problems to solve, Shahrzad is too willing & too moody, lack of additional info on the rug and the book,

I rate it 4 stars!

Grab yourself a copy here: Book Depository

***Disclaimer: I received this book via SocialBookCo and my opinions are honest. Many thanks to SocialBookCo for the opportunity to read & review! SocialBookCo is a price comparison site. At the search, I put in this title, and the site list out 10 places where you can order this book. The cheapest place listed among them is amazon prime. They also have a Book Review Program where they send you a book to read and review. If the book generate sales, you will earn a commission. Follow the link above to learn more about SocialBookCo. This is my first experience with them.

xoxo,
Jasmine