"No. He was not here to wreak revenge. For revenge was trifling and hollow.
No. He was not here to retrieve his wife. For his wife was not a thing to be retrieved.
No. He was not here to negotiate a truce. For a truce suggested he wished to compromise.
He was here to burn something to the ground."
*this review may contain spoilers from The Wrath and the Dawn, but not from The Rose and the Dagger*
The Rose and the Dagger, the highly anticipated sequel to The Wrath and the Dawn and final book in the series, opens with Kohrasan on the brink of war, and Shahrzad separated from Khalid and taken to the desert. Now, Shahrzad must uncover her powers, protect her family, save her country from its imminent war and find her way back to Khalid despite being held amongst people who want him dead - all whilst trying to discover a way to destroy his curse.
The Rose and the Dagger was the most perfect ending to this duology! Although it maybe wasn't as fast paced as The Wrath and the Dawn, Renée Ahdieh wrapped up the story perfectly with this instalment in the series, and it ended on just the right note.
As with the previous book, the writing style was exquisite - the descriptions are beautiful and winding, and I could really picture each scene and setting that was being described.
I think my favourite thing about this book was the development of characters and relationships that is seen throughout it. In The Wrath and the Dawn, we already saw Shazi as an amazingly strong and sassy protagonist, and I'm so glad that her character hadn't changed in this book - if anything, she just gets even better. I also loved the insight into her relationship with her sister, Irsa, and the development of understanding between her and her father (I can almost guarantee that this part will make you cry, just a warning).
Although this story is obviously primarily a love story, The Rose and the Dagger didn't have to rely on forced or cheesy love scenes. Once again, Shazi and Khalid's romance is perfect and natural and I genuinely can't get enough of those two. There is also more magic in this book, which I was hoping we'd see more of!
The last part of the book was just packed full of beautifully heartbreaking plot twists, and at some points I was quite literally on the edge of my seat/in tears/about to scream/cursing Renée Ahdieh for destroying my soul with her literature. I won't say too much about the ending except that it was absolutely perfect.
I have loved this duology so much, it literally doesn't have a weak moment in my opinion and would definitely recommend it to anyone. I can't wait to see what Renée Ahdieh comes out with next!
No comments :
Post a Comment