This book. I have no words for how much I loved it. The story, the characters, everything. Sherzad is one of the best ya female characters ever, I'm not even kidding. She's badass, brave, smart, witty and sarcastic. She's not afraid of doing what she must for the people she loves and for what she believes in, even if it could end up killing her. She has a quick mind and quick tongue, and they are her most powerful weapons - even with her abilities with the bow and arrow. She's not helpless in the least, and even though she can fight her way out of things, she's not a warrior per say and instead uses her words and her mind to get herself out of situations and to win her battles. But she's also compassionate and loyal. UGH, I love her. Khalid, my beautiful, tortured bb boy. Protect him at all costs, he's too precious. Everything that happened to him just makes me want to hug him and hide him from the world. This boy has suffered so much and continues to suffer, and yet he's always thinking about his people, trying to do his best even if they don't know it. He's also compassionate and brave in his guarded way. He seems cold and kind of mean at first, but given what he had to go through ever since he was a child, that's understandable. As we learn about his life, the more we realize how strong and caring he actually is. I even loved all the secondary characters and their stories, but I'm still curious about some of them, like the Rajput. He seems to have a very interesting story. We don't know much about him except that he's the best swordsman in the realm, his name is Vikrham and he respects Khalid a lot, and is starting to grow fond of Shazi as well. That, and he doesn't talk, like at all. I would love to get some background on him, where did he came from, how did he became the Rajput, what's his relationship with Khalid AND WHY HE DOESN'T TALK? Also, some background on Rahim would be nice. DESPINA AND JALAL YOU GUYS. Gimme their prequel story NOW, I'm loving their romance. And I love Despina's and Shazi's friendship during the book. Also, Despina is also sarcastic and unapologetic as Shazi, and she doesn't take anyone's bullshit, not even her Calipha. I kind of pity and understand Shazi's baba, I know he is in pain and he thinks he should have been more for his daughters after his wife's death, and that he should have stopped Sherzad and protected her, but man, you're dealing with dark stuff and you're fucking things up! Stop dealing with things you don't understand! It irritated me sometimes, it was kind of a selfish way to assert himself and feel more powerful. At some point, it even stopped being about save his daughter than feeling better about himself. And Tariq. I like his character. I truly do. And I understand his motivations. I mean, the guy just lost his cousin and friend to a seemingly homicidal maniac and now his best friend, the girl he loved. Of course he would want to storm into the castle and kill Khalid to get Sherzad back. Duh. But the fact that he, despite knowing Shazi his entire life, knowing how smart she is, he still wouldn't trust her, wouldn't get the fact that she was telling him that there was more to the situation than what they first thought. He only saw the girl he loved (or thought he did, because they grew up together, shared a lot, and they - I'm including Shazi here - didn't know anything else) falling for the murderer of his cousin and friend. He didn't try to think why or give her a chance to find out more or explain. His jealousy clounded his judgment, and the fact that he tried to dismiss Sherzad's feelings for Khalid as a result of Stockholm Syndrome was a little too much for me. He was willing to capture her by force to get her away from the palace, disregarding anything she had to say and forcing their previous relationship on her, like she owed him anything because they were childhood sweethearts. Like Omar,the wise sheik (I loved his character, I want to see him interacting with Shazi and maybe helping her in the next book A LOT), said: "A shared history does not entitle you to a future, my friend." So, the love triangle is the only reason the actual rating is 4.5 stars, but I rounded up to 5 because I really loved it. I think this could have worked still with, idk, Tariq being her brother. It would make sense and a lot of what happened would still be explained without the unnecessary love triangle. Still, I'm super anxious for the novellas and the next book. The ending broke my heart into a thousand pieces, I want my babies together ASAP. THIS REVIEW IS A MONSTER,BUT I'M NOT SORRY. Amazing retelling of A Thousand and One Nights and an amazing story on it's own, with captivating characters and plot. "The Rose and the Dagger", where are you?