By: Jannya Bahra
The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh was certainly an intriguing read. But, I personally wish hadn’t wasted my time and money on. Let’s start with the good things: I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the inspiration it took from Arabian Nights. The setting was described so lavishly, I could almost imagine it. From the sultans, caliphs, the delicate clothing, spiced wine and guards with scimitars, it really embodied Arabian Nights while maintaining a bit of its own charm. That being said, the author’s unecessary metaphors and extensive descriptions of the main characters daily clothing and makeup choices distracted from the actual plot of the novel. I appreciate the extensive research the author may have had to do, but at many points it felt as though Abdieh was trying to show off her knowledge, making the reader feel inferior to her.
The novel itself is about a monstrous young king who marries a new girl every day and murders her at dawn. This monster is hated by the kingdom which rebels against him for his actions. The main character, Shahrzad, is the first girl to ever volunteer to be his bride. She attempts to have her revenge on him for murdering her best friend. With this motive in mind, she survives her first few days with the caliph by telling him stories and keeping him occupied on the night of her murder. She lasts three whole days before she loses sight of her original motive and starts falling for the “monster”. I understand that this is a romance novel and that the author was going to make them fall in love but I did not expect the fiery and sharp-tongued character of Shahrzad to simply “overlook” that the same man murdered her best friend just because he seems “kind” sometimes. I really expected a drawn outenemies to lovers narative, maybe with some realization, some plot twist to change the situation. Instead, she just fell for him right off the bat. This was surprising especially since the main character was described as witty, arrogant and able to verbally match any man of even the utmost importance. Even with all that motivation and ambition, Shahrzad never really had a plan and also starts to suffer from amnesia. There was a point in the book where she even confronts him asking why he murdered all those girls and when he leaves without saying anything, she just sits around all day wondering how she hurt his feelings and apologizes to him. What even is she apologizing for here, wanting honesty in her relationship, wanting to communicate with her husband? Remember to keep in mind, that the sixteen-year-old girl falls for the king before she even knows the true meaning or reason as to why he murders all his wives.
This is a YA novel but what message is it really giving to young girls… that if you stay in an abusive relationship long enough, you can “fix” him or change him? Not only that, but the book also includes a love triangle between the sultan, Shahrzad and her first love, Tariq. I hate to be the one to say this, but it was just a knockoff of Twilight. It was the same old “monster” who the girl shouldn’t fall for versus the normal guy who knew her before and is still in love with her. Khalid (the sultan) is even said to be secretive and have amber eyes just like Edward. This novel is filled with red flags that young girls should not take as an example. I think that this novel and the plot had a lot of potential in theory but it all got lost when it really came down to it.
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