One Life to One Dawn.
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

Author: Renee Ahdieh

Pages: 388

Publication Date: May 12, 2015

Source: Library

If only this book could have continued the way it started.

I have to give Renee Ahdieh credit for trying to bring together a very complex culture, one not well explored in YA. If my ancestors didn't hail from the ancient Persian country of Khorasan, I doubt I would have known about it so it's great to see it be explored for once. I do have to say that the amount of exploration was quite limited. I don't have any image beyond a grand palace in my head but to be fair most of the book was set in this palace. Still, it leaves more to be desired.

Come to think of it, many aspects of this story leaves more to be desired. For the first time in a long time, a debut novel blared its imperfections and roughness to me. It caught me off guard, especially with the rave reviews everyone's thrown around about this book.

First there was the jumping narratives. I'm a sceptic with narratives that jump between more than 2 people so it's understandable when I wasn't enjoying them. But by the end, I didn't even understand the reason for them. Jahandar and Tariq were these two stubborn, dull and flat characters that embody the YA character version of men who think they know what is best for a woman. Neither had much backstory to even deserve a portion of the narrative and their great quest ended in an anticlimactic 10 page abrupt end. Ugh, that ending.

Unfortunately, Jahandar and Tariq weren't the only pointless and bland side characters. All of the side characters were 8 by 11inch paper flat. Shiva who's death sparks the whole entire plot was a distant ghost of a friend who stood by our protagonist when her mother died. Great. Lets all repay our friends with our lives since we have many of them. To make me even more agitated, Shahrzad's plan of attack was to find a plan of attack... so exciting.

Then comes the bane of my existence characters: Jalal and Shahrzad's handmaiden who's name slips my mind and who's importance ranks below a google search. These two were the most obviously positioned and "tell not show" developed characters I've read in a while. They had convenient positions in both Shahrzad and Khalid's lives to drop unmasked revelations that were used as plot progression tools.

After that little rant it may surprise you if I said that I was actually enjoying this at a 4star level up to around 70% of the way through. Most of this is attributed to Shahrzad and Khalid, who I actually liked. I loved the story telling addition which was done really well and one of my complaints is that it wasn't continued. For a story of 1001 nights, the story telling ended way too early.

Also, something that really stood out for me was the incorporation of marriage and its consummation which I thought Ahdieh did a really good job handling.

Overall, I'm quite broken up about this book. I have so much to complain about because I felt like my enjoyment level was inclining and then suddenly it plummeted. Also, what the heck was that ending? Action action, the end. Meh.

-MARI

It's definitely been a while since I've done one of these and I'm cheating because I'm actually writing this on a Thursday --- # ThursdayReads. Either way, its been a hecka long time since I read a book. Going into summers I'm always so pumped for all the time I will have and all the books I'll read but this summer has hit me in the face with stress, work, and reading slumps. Enough moping.


I'm currently 22% of the way through The Wrath and the Dawn , one of my most anticipated books of the year. Seeing as my ancestors probably lived in Khorasan this book is even more special. I love how YA is branching out to other cultures and settings.

As for the book itself, I had a rough start because of the jumping narratives. The story jumped from Khalid to Shahrzad to Irsa to Tariq all in the span of just a few pages which slowed down the reading process for me. However, now that I'm passed that stage I'm enjoying the book. I like Ahdieh's writing style and am interested in finding out the mystery behind the murdered wives. Also, I'm not usually a fan of reading anecdotal books, but the way Shahrzad spins her tales is captivating and Ahdieh's incorporation of Khalid/Shazi's interruptions really increases the enjoyment level for me. I have high hopes!

It's not like my weekly Waiting on Wednesday's are enough pining, I have to make an annual one as well. Behold, my most anticipated releases of 2015. In no particular order...

Maddy Spier has been in love with the boy next door forever. As his figure skating partner she spends time in his arms every day. But she’s also seen his arms around other girls—lots of other girls. 

Gabe can't imagine skating with anyone but Maddy, and together they have a real chance at winning some serious gold medals. So, he’s determined to keep thinking of her like a sister. After all, he’s never had a romantic relationship that lasted for more than two weeks.

But when their coach assigns a new romantic skating program, everything changes. Will this be the big break that Maddy’s been hoping for or the big breakup that Gabe has always feared? (GR)

January 6, 2015

... I just realized this book has already come out and is game to be devoured. In spirit of my eventual devouring of this book lets talk about it's awesomeness.

Soo cute!

Figure skating!!! I'm just going to imagine Tessa and Scott in the book and adore it through and through. I've never really read anything about skating and as a fan of the sport, I would love this for a cozy and snowy Sunday afternoon read.

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.(GR)

May 12, 2015

Not many people have heard of Khorasan unless they are of Persian origins or really into history, which makes me so excited to see that there is a whole book set in it! I've never read A Thousand and One Night's but the premise of this one gives me a bit of a Bluebeard and Cruel Beauty feel. Sounds amazing!

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend— two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party — three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship. (GR)

May 5, 2015

This one sounds way to fun for me to ignore! I can't wait to see how their relationship develops, light romance is always a nice breather.

The girl known as Gretchen Whitestone has a secret: She used to be part of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle. More than a year after she made an enemy of her old family friend and fled Munich, she lives with a kindly English family, posing as an ordinary German immigrant, and is preparing to graduate from high school. Her love, Daniel Cohen, is a reporter in town. For the first time in her life, Gretchen is content.

But then, Daniel gets a telegram that sends him back to Germany, and Gretchen’s world turns upside-down. And when she receives word that Daniel is wanted for murder, she has to face the danger she thought she’d escaped-and return to her homeland.

Gretchen must do everything she can to avoid capture and recognition, even though saving Daniel will mean consorting with her former friends, the Nazi elite. And as they work to clear Daniel’s name, Gretchen and Daniel discover a deadly conspiracy stretching from the slums of Berlin to the Reichstag itself. Can they dig up the explosive truth and get out in time-or will Hitler discover them first? (GR)

April 21, 2015

I absolutely adores Prisoner of Smoke and Fog. I am very curious to see where this book will take us and how the characters will go about growing their relationship. Also, the beginning of WW2 is the setting so tensions are high especially for our almost political refuge protagonists.

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night? (GR)

May 5, 2015

Cruel Beauty was another favourite form 2014 and I intend to continue the series. I especially appreciate heroines who can fight, Cruel Beauty had that but I think this one will take it to another level; the girl is guarding the Prince!! I love the cover and have high hopes to see more of Hodge's genius world.

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. (GR)
May 5, 2015

It's not like I need the comparison to Kristin Cashore meeting George R.R. Martin to catapult me into reading a Sarah J. Maas book, but that sure as hell sealed the already sealed deal! I need this in my life.

I haven't been able to enjoy many faerie books but Maas's faerie's - if they are anything like the ones in Throne of Glass- are definitely up my alley.

Are any of these on your list?

-MARI