The Rose and the Dagger (The Wrath and the Dawn #2)
Summary:
The darker the sky, the brighter the stars.
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 has 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. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
In this sequel to “The Wrath and the Dawn” we follow Shahrzad in the fall out of the dramatic actions by her father than resulted in utter devastation of her beloved Khorasan. The book picks up right away and quickly moves into non-stop action as Shahrzad tries to utilize all resources available to her to break a the curse and also prevent pending war.
While I enjoyed this book much more than the first in the series, I didn’t like that the first book had such a slow build and this one was almost overwhelming in the nonstop action. I loved seeing Irsa come into her own character, however, and she complimented Shazi’s capabilities as a younger sister. As in the first book, the story is beautifully written with some strong female characters who kicked butt and took names. Overall, I really enjoyed this series and think it is worth taking the team to give it a read.
I also have to say, it was refreshing that the series wasn’t extended into a third book as many publishers push for that these days!
Warning: Contains repeated violence and sexual content.
Rating: 4 stars!
Who should read it? Fans of fairy tale retellings and who have read the first in the series.
Want to read the whole series?