4 stars

Review: The Wrath and the Dawn

20:29

The Wrath and the Dawn
By Renee Ahdieh

 Source: Ebook
Page count: 388
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Retellings, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 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 her throat 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?

 My review:
I knew I was going to like this book, but when I picked it up, I didn’t realise I was going to adore it as much as I did. It had a really intriguing concept, so I knew as soon as I read the synopsis that I just had to read it. The cover is beautiful too (even though I read it as an ebook), so I knew that it had to be mine.

The writing was stunning. The descriptions were rich and vivid, so I could imagine every scene perfectly. It was never got tiresome because of the way everything was so perfectly described. The world building was never boring; instead so magical and interesting.

All of the characters were done perfectly. Although I would have liked to see more depth and development in Khalid, the boy-king, I loved Shahrzad so much. She was funny and compassionate at times, yet could be witty, a badass fighter, and very independent. She made such a good lead so I really cared about her for the whole book.

I actually really enjoyed the romance. My usually-cold heart melted at the enchanting love story, which is definitely a first! Usually - in my opinion - romance and sex is done really badly (especially in YA books), but The Wrath and the Dawn did it so well. It was slow-burning so I had time to want Shahrzad and Khalid to actually be together, yet there was enough romance so I didn’t get bored, or feel it was pointless.

Overall, I really liked this book! I was gripped throughout the whole book because everything was done so well. I loved discovering a whole new world, and I found the court politics especially interesting. I’m now really excited for the next book to be released - The Wrath and the Dawn left us on a real cliffhanger too! I would definitely recommend this book for fans of An Ember in the Ashes.

Rating:

4.5 stars

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

16:00

A Court of Thorns and Roses
By Sarah J. Maas

 Source: Gift, e-book
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Retellings

 Goodreads Synopsis:
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever. 


When I found out that Sarah J. Maas was writing a new book, I knew I had to buy it instantly. This book has only made me even surer that I will read anything she ever writes. She’s so talented - I am always so involved in all her plots, all the characters have so much depth, and are so unique. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses immensely, and am now waiting patiently (ha!) for the next book in the series.


This book had everything I look for and enjoy in a book. There was vivid world building that wasn’t boring at all; a deadly disease; a badass heroine, and some slow burning romance. Although I would have preferred it to be darker and more gritty (like Maas said it would be), I still think that this book barely had anything to improve on.
Feyre was one of my favourite aspects. She was really strong-minded and brave, and didn’t make any stupid decisions. She definitely made the story stand out from all the other fantasy retellings, because without her I wouldn’t have enjoyed the book as much. There were no slow parts like in Throne of Glass, and I was really hooked for the whole book.
The other characters were truly wonderful too because they had such original backstories and depth. There was many elements from Beauty and the Beast so it was a loyal retelling, yet it was completely different at the same time. At points I could see the similarities, yet at others the story had so many twists and I had no idea what was happening next.
Another thing that I liked was the ending. It was a sensible place to stop - most things had been resolved in their own time, so it didn’t feel rushed. It wasn’t a massive cliff-hanger, but I was still left wanting more, so I will definitely be pre-ordering the sequel. There is massive potential for the series to go anywhere, making me wonder even more where it will go.

Overall, this was a really great book. I was expecting it to be darker, and have more high-fantasy elements, but I still really enjoyed it. I recommend this book to any fans of fantasy because it has has everything I like in a fantasy.

Me while reading this book:

My rating: