The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
I am Sarah. I am thirteen years old and an avid reader; it is one of my favorite things to do. Inspired by the multitude of author’s creation of magnificent places and surprising havens built by simple letters, I aspire to be an author and, meanwhile, nurture the love to write.
In the kingdom of Khorasan, each night, yet another bride is chosen to marry the tyrant of a boy-king, Khalid, and every dawn a silk cord is wrapped around her neck. And after her best friend Shiva falls prey to his tyranny, sixteen-year-old Sharhzad al-Khayzuran volunteers to be his next bride. Not only is she determined to live beyond the next dawn, but to put an end to the whole ordeal once and for all.
But in the castle, things are not quite as they seem. Beginning a story she can never finish in order to deter Khalid’s decision to end her life, she also befriends the Captain of the Guard and learns that there are secrets to the Caliph and his past, and reasoning behind the irrationality. Worst of all, she finds herself falling for the enemy—the person she came here to kill, and by loving him, she’s betraying the girl whose death she came here to avenge.
As trouble brews from all sides, Sharhzad is caught in the crossfire, loyal to both sides of a budding war and struggling to make the right decision.
Twisting a beautiful story out of the classic tale of Arabian Nights, with complex characters and lavish descriptions, The Wrath and The Dawn will keep you on the edge of your seat right down to the very last line.
