The Rose & The Dagger (The Wrath & The Dawn #2)

Rating: 5 Stars
Published: April 2016
Genre: Young Adult // Retelling // Fantasy
Favorite Quote

“It was because they were two parts of a whole.  He did not belong to her.  And she did not belong to him.  It was never about belonging to someone.  It was about belonging together. “

Shazi is now in the desert with her sister, Irsa taking care of their father Jahander after the havoc that was caused when the city burned.  Meanwhile, the Caliph of Korosan, is torn apart with Shazi’s absence while he starts to rebuild Rey. Shazi and Khalid will find their way back to each other, no matter the costs. After all, there’s a curse to break, a kingdom to save, and a war to stop before it begins.  

“Cut the strings, Shazi. Fly.”

I could not wait to get home from work once I got the notification from Amazon that my book had been delivered.  I had to dive into this right away.  I really had no choice, it was calling my name.

The story is beautiful and magical.  I want to live in the world Ahdieh has carefully crafted with her writing. This is a worthy and wonderful conclusion for The Wrath & The Dawn.  This is a heart-stopping book.  I didn’t want to put it down from the minute that I picked it up. Okay, to be honest- it took me a hot minute to get back into this story line. If I had read all the short stories first, I would have been fine but I didn’t. Once I fell back into the story, I was hooked. 

“That is not the way of it. Your future is not set in stone, my dearest star. A coin turns on itself a number of times before it lands.”

I’m so happy that Ahdieh found a way for the characters to tell more stories and I really liked that it wasn’t just Shazi that told them.  The weaving of the folk tales into the plot was a really awesome idea.  They didn’t distract from what was happening at all but added so much richness to the world.

“Enough.” Shahrzad raised a hand to his chest, staying his objections. “Take help when it is offered, Khalid-jan.  True strength isn’t about sovereignty.  It’s about knowing when you need help and having the courage to accept it.”

Artan Temujin was a fun character.  I wished there was more of him though.  I wanted more magical elements with him and Shazi.

There were a lot of characters to keep track of but some of them needed more page time. Tariq started to bother me a little bit.  But I loved reading about Shazi’s sister Irsa & how she was growing up.

“Shahrzad knew it was Khalid.  She sensed rather than saw him.  As always.  As ever.  As a rose to the sun.”

The curse plot line let me down a little. It was wrapped up a little too easily and didn’t feel right to me. But maybe that’s just me. It didn’t bother me, but I thought the emphasis was a little off. 

I loved the ending. I love books that showcase women sticking together because that’s so much more interesting that cattiness.  So, YAY! It’s so much more than just the romance between Shazi & Khalid.  This book looked at friendships, relationships, power, and then, yes, love.

Have you read The Wrath & The Dawn? It was one of my favorite books of 2015 and I was so excited to meet Ahdieh at BookCon last year. I’ve been anticipating The Rose & The Dagger since the time I put down the first book.  It upheld my expectations, this book was positively gripping and the perfect ending to Shazi & Khalid’s love story.