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. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. 'Renée Ahdiehs lush debut novel, The Wrath and the Dawn, is a suspenseful and beautiful reimagining of The Arabian Nights, with an edge. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last.

Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. The Wrath and the Dawn 4.07 (165,947 ratings by Goodreads) Hardback English By (author) Renée Ahdieh List price: US24. It was inspired by the Arabian tale A Thousand and One Nights. The Wrath and the Dawn is the first book in the fantasy duology by Renee Ahdieh. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary Agency.G.P.

With a premise this loaded, though, Ahdieh sets herself a big challenge in the second, concluding volume. Lushly imagined and powerfully characterized, it’s a potent page-turner of intrigue and romance. Day after day together adds nuance their relationship beyond what either could have imagined as they hesitate in their separate resolves, other plots are set in motion. Shazi marries Khalid and entices him with a cliffhanger story, persuading him to allow her to live one more day to finish the tale as she races to devise his assassination. Shahrzad, 16, decides that she is the one who will stop the murderous caliph, Khalid, by destroying him to avenge the death of her best friend. What does one make of a man forced to murder dozens of women in order to save a city from a curse-who then stops killing, dooming the city anyway, because he’s fallen in love? It’s a tricky ethical conundrum to build a love story on, and Ahdieh’s debut, a reimagining of the tale of Scheherazade, dances around it.

The wrath and the dawn by renée ahdieh