The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh is a modern retelling of 1001 Arabian Nights. After reading Flame in the Mist and absolutely adoring it, I thought that I should check out her other works. This became available at the library the day before Smoke in the Sun showed up on my doorstep, so I had a little Renée Ahdieh reading marathon going on this week. I enjoyed this book, and plan on reading the follow-up book soon, but I didn’t like it as much as I liked Flame in the Mist.
Like 1001 Arabian Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is set in the Middle East during the time of sultans: if images of Aladdin and flying carpets come to your mind, that is exactly the type of world we are experiencing with this book. The king, Khalid, has been marrying a new girl every day, and in the morning he has been killing her. Shahrzad’s best friend, Shiva, was killed by this king, and Shahrzad volunteers to marry him (knowing the consequences), although her intention is not to die, but to take revenge on Khalid for what he did. Shahrzad tells stories in order to get through the first couple of nights, which keeps her alive.
Shahrzad’s plan for revenge doesn’t quite go the way she intends, because she eventually develops feelings for her husband. She starts to believe that he’s not the monster that everybody says that he is. Threats to the kingdom develop, and we are left with something of a cliffhanger (that’s why it’s a duology).
I enjoyed this story. I haven’t had the chance to read 1001 Arabian Nights yet, but I’m suspecting that there are many differences. I loved how Ahdieh put together this world, which brings us a world with a little bit of magic and characters that you want to read more about. Although the character’s problems don’t magically resolve at the end of this story, it leaves you wanting more, and doesn’t leave you frustrated, sad, or wrathful at the ending. If I had read this book in 2015, I might be upset that I have to wait another whole year to find out what happens, but since the sequel to this book has already been written, I don’t have to wait.
The Wrath and the Dawn is not my favorite book by Renée Ahdieh, but I can say that, so far, I’ve liked everything that I’ve read that she’s written. It’s probably a matter of personal preference, but I didn’t click with these characters quite as much as I did with the characters of Flame in the Mist, but I enjoyed this story all the same.
If you like YA stories with a little bit of magic to them or enjoy Renée Ahdieh’s books in general, you might want to check out this book. Since this book has been out for a while, you can get a pretty good deal on this book in paperback, or your local library probably has a copy that you don’t have to wait very long to read.