Publication: April 26, 2016, by G.P. Putnam BFYR
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 416
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Rating:
In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad is forced from the arms of her beloved husband, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once thought Khalid a monster—a merciless killer of wives, responsible for immeasurable heartache and pain—but as she unraveled his secrets, she found instead an extraordinary man and a love she could not deny. Still, a curse threatens to keep Shazi and Khalid apart forever.
Now she’s reunited with her family, who have found refuge in the desert, where a deadly force is gathering against Khalid—a force set on destroying his empire and commanded by Shazi’s spurned childhood sweetheart. Trapped between loyalties to those she loves, the only thing Shazi can do is act. Using the burgeoning magic within her as a guide, she strikes out on her own to end both this terrible curse and the brewing war once and for all. But to do it, she must evade enemies of her own to stay alive.
The saga that began with The Wrath and the Dawn takes its final turn as Shahrzad risks everything to find her way back to her one true love again.
My Thoughts:
My fellow Caliphs and Caliphas, the story of Shahrzad and Khalid is actually over. Thinking about the fact that I will never be able to see a new cover being released for this series, or that I will never be able to hold the two books in the duology as if they were new and as if I never heard of them before just cracks my heart in half. All in all, The Rose and the Dagger is beautiful, electrifying and gives me the feels once more. I've been waiting a year (or so) to read this sequel, and I actually just discovered that it's a duology (well, before I read this) so I had so much rage in me. Looking back at the ending and how Ahdieh, as always, unfolded everything and answered all of us readers' questions, I am truly satisfied. This couldn't have ended in a better way.
I loved this; don't get me wrong, but it wasn't as good as the first book. I initially predicted that I would rate this five stars, because the first book changed me in more ways than I would ever expect (especially with how I look at the high fantasy genre), but this book was weaker in a few ways. Listen, I have always loved the characters, romance and ideas/themes that Ahdieh presented. My love for those book characteristics never changed or diminished. Shazi and Khalid are still my favourite couple in the entire universe, their characters/personalities as a whole are so fearless and strong, more strong than most books' characters have, and I have always loved the setting of the desert and Khorasan and basically... everything.
Before I get to the positives, I feel that it is best to speak about the issues. This book didn't feel as put-together or as wholly as the previous novel, or how I would like a book to feel. Yes, our questions were answered and it turned out pretty great, but the book felt so (it's hard to describe honestly) stiff. There were parts where I was bored (especially through the middle) and I constantly felt this tension that a random war would pop up in the midst of the story (which it kind of did/didn't) and I was waiting for that. Also, I would have appreciated more Khalid/Shazi moments, but it is completely understandable how they had to part ways for a huge portion of the story because of the events/curse that got in their way. Also, what happened with that curse?
As you may have known, Khalid's curse is a large theme of book one because this affects his relationship between him and Shazi, and how the world around him looks at him, his reputation. I can't really pinpoint what the goal of this book was. Question-answering, absolutely, romantic development, sure, but the curse was rarely mentioned and there was hardly any fantasy magical things occurring. Listen, I am not your diehard fan of spells and whatnot, but I love the way Renée approaches it, and that barely occurred. Yeah, we see Shazi experimenting with her magic carpet, but that was only a short instant. Those were the issues I spotted.
Now, to the positives, because there were a ton. I loved how Ahdieh reminded readers of who was who, what meant what, and where the characters were in terms of time and setting. I didn't feel like re-reading the first novel because (A) my TBR pile is huge and (B) I had no time to prepare myself for the sequel so I just bought it. Thank you, Renée! I seriously needed that recap. This novel takes place right from where the first left us off. Each character is basically in a different place, and we feel this tension when Shazi and Khalid are trying to find each other.
As always, Ahdieh has handled the perspectives well. I've enjoyed her writing of this series because it's written in third-person perspectives. Therefore, we could easily discover who Ahdieh is writing about because their names are mentioned. (See my review for Rick Yancey's The 5th Wave. That one sucked because of perspectives). I loved every character, their rivals and their relationships.
Shahrzad is as fearless, strong and kick-ass as always. Since the time I read The Wrath and the Dawn, Shazi has resided as my favourite heroine in all of YA and in all of every single book I have ever read. I love her independence, how she doesn't need someone by her side to get the job done. There are many scenes where she goes to find something/someone, and she goes on her own, secretly.
BUT GUYS WE HAVE A NEW STAR CHARACTER. Irsa, Shazi's younger sister! I adore sister relationships because they can only remind me of my relationship with my own sister. Ahdieh introduces Shazi's character in the first chapter, and she remains an important part of this sequel because she is always by her sister and would do anything to save her, even though she is younger. We even see her fall in love, confess her deepest worries to people that we would never expect her to, and most importantly, we see a huge character development. She's amazing.
KHALID AND TARIQ, MY FRIENDS. These are the hottest YA guys in all of the universe. Some people may disagree with me, but I actually liked their feud, because it made sense. They had reasons to hate each other. It's a love triangle, people, what else do you expect?
The Rose and the Dagger was just absolute joy and greatness. I adore Renée Ahdieh's writing so much that she is an instant-buy for me and I would sell all of my books to get a new book by her (okay, that is nuts and I don't think I'd do that haha). This was just a perfect ending to the story and there were so many shocking moments, plot twists and the amount of suspense at the end of every chapter was astonishing. YOU'LL EXPERIENCE EVERY FEELING; I ALMOST FELL APART AT THE END because of something shocking and sad. Goodbye, Shazi and Khalid. I love you! (I'll reread this series eventually because it's too good)
I loved this; don't get me wrong, but it wasn't as good as the first book. I initially predicted that I would rate this five stars, because the first book changed me in more ways than I would ever expect (especially with how I look at the high fantasy genre), but this book was weaker in a few ways. Listen, I have always loved the characters, romance and ideas/themes that Ahdieh presented. My love for those book characteristics never changed or diminished. Shazi and Khalid are still my favourite couple in the entire universe, their characters/personalities as a whole are so fearless and strong, more strong than most books' characters have, and I have always loved the setting of the desert and Khorasan and basically... everything.
Before I get to the positives, I feel that it is best to speak about the issues. This book didn't feel as put-together or as wholly as the previous novel, or how I would like a book to feel. Yes, our questions were answered and it turned out pretty great, but the book felt so (it's hard to describe honestly) stiff. There were parts where I was bored (especially through the middle) and I constantly felt this tension that a random war would pop up in the midst of the story (which it kind of did/didn't) and I was waiting for that. Also, I would have appreciated more Khalid/Shazi moments, but it is completely understandable how they had to part ways for a huge portion of the story because of the events/curse that got in their way. Also, what happened with that curse?
"You continue to wound me, you awful girl. Because I know. Had I spent a single night with you, I would never have wished for us to be parted from that day forward" (66).
As you may have known, Khalid's curse is a large theme of book one because this affects his relationship between him and Shazi, and how the world around him looks at him, his reputation. I can't really pinpoint what the goal of this book was. Question-answering, absolutely, romantic development, sure, but the curse was rarely mentioned and there was hardly any fantasy magical things occurring. Listen, I am not your diehard fan of spells and whatnot, but I love the way Renée approaches it, and that barely occurred. Yeah, we see Shazi experimenting with her magic carpet, but that was only a short instant. Those were the issues I spotted.
Now, to the positives, because there were a ton. I loved how Ahdieh reminded readers of who was who, what meant what, and where the characters were in terms of time and setting. I didn't feel like re-reading the first novel because (A) my TBR pile is huge and (B) I had no time to prepare myself for the sequel so I just bought it. Thank you, Renée! I seriously needed that recap. This novel takes place right from where the first left us off. Each character is basically in a different place, and we feel this tension when Shazi and Khalid are trying to find each other.
As always, Ahdieh has handled the perspectives well. I've enjoyed her writing of this series because it's written in third-person perspectives. Therefore, we could easily discover who Ahdieh is writing about because their names are mentioned. (See my review for Rick Yancey's The 5th Wave. That one sucked because of perspectives). I loved every character, their rivals and their relationships.
Shahrzad is as fearless, strong and kick-ass as always. Since the time I read The Wrath and the Dawn, Shazi has resided as my favourite heroine in all of YA and in all of every single book I have ever read. I love her independence, how she doesn't need someone by her side to get the job done. There are many scenes where she goes to find something/someone, and she goes on her own, secretly.
"When I was in the desert, I woke each day and carried on with my life, but it wasn't living; it was merely existing. I want to live. You are where I live" (173).
BUT GUYS WE HAVE A NEW STAR CHARACTER. Irsa, Shazi's younger sister! I adore sister relationships because they can only remind me of my relationship with my own sister. Ahdieh introduces Shazi's character in the first chapter, and she remains an important part of this sequel because she is always by her sister and would do anything to save her, even though she is younger. We even see her fall in love, confess her deepest worries to people that we would never expect her to, and most importantly, we see a huge character development. She's amazing.
KHALID AND TARIQ, MY FRIENDS. These are the hottest YA guys in all of the universe. Some people may disagree with me, but I actually liked their feud, because it made sense. They had reasons to hate each other. It's a love triangle, people, what else do you expect?
The Rose and the Dagger was just absolute joy and greatness. I adore Renée Ahdieh's writing so much that she is an instant-buy for me and I would sell all of my books to get a new book by her (okay, that is nuts and I don't think I'd do that haha). This was just a perfect ending to the story and there were so many shocking moments, plot twists and the amount of suspense at the end of every chapter was astonishing. YOU'LL EXPERIENCE EVERY FEELING; I ALMOST FELL APART AT THE END because of something shocking and sad. Goodbye, Shazi and Khalid. I love you! (I'll reread this series eventually because it's too good)
What is the best book of any series you have read? Have you read this series? What is your favourite bookish couple?
I completely agree! I didn't think that this book was as good as TWATD, I was kind of bored at most. But I really liked the ending!
ReplyDeleteThe ending was the best! I wouldn't have wanted this beautiful duology to end any other way! :D
Delete