2.5 I'm pledging to end this year with less unread books on my tbr, both physical and kindle, than I started it with and so far... it's not going great. So in an effort to tackle this problem I picked out one of my oldest kindle purchases. Bought this for a whooping 0,99€ back in 2016. I feel I would have loved The Wrath and the Dawn way more, had I read it right away back then. I'm not familiar with the fairy tales from 1001 night, so I can only judge this retelling for itself. The characters fell really flat for me and the hate to love aspect was too insta-lovey to be believable. The writing and world building were good, but not enough to weigh out the negatives for me personally.

4.5, AMÉ!!! Me encantó mucho, ellos son muy lindos

<b>The full review can also be found on my blog <a href="http://marawashere.blogspot.com/2016/04/twatd-book-review.html">here</a>.</b> <b>---</b> Oh. My. God. THIS. BOOK. IS. AMAZING. <img src="http://33.media.tumblr.com/127d6a52266260e363b0c2f2cbfb532d/tumblr_mp30d3ZzLp1sxnx7qo1_500.gif" /> If you’re like me before and have been seeing this book <i>everywhere</i> and even has it on your TBR list, but have yet to read it and has been thinking of doing so yet reads thousands of other books instead, then dude, you’re missing out on some REALLY GREAT awesomesauce here. If you haven’t been convinced yet, then <b>here are thirteen other reasons why you should read The Wrath And The Dawn:</b> - It is set in historical Persia. PERSIA. Isn’t that interesting enough? - There is a poisoning attempt. And choking. Cool, right? - Shazi and Despina are amusing together. Really. Just place them in the same room, let them talk, and you’ll laugh. - Shazi is also hilarious at times. For example: <blockquote>“I can’t say I’m surprised. As for me? I believe I’ll leave this set of goods on the rack, as well. I have no interest in... tiny cucumbers.”</blockquote> - Tiny cucumbers. TINY CUCUMBERS. This probably makes more sense when you’ve read it in the book yourself, BUT STILL. I laughed out loud when I read that part. - There is a magical carpet. Well, not like that wasn’t obvious. BUT STILL. FLYING CARPET. YAY. -Shazi is an ace at using the bow and arrow. So if you’re a huge fan of bow-and-arrow-wielding heroines, then you should try this out. - The writing is BEAUTIFUL. It definitely gives you that Persian-ish feel. Wait, I don’t even know how to describe it properly. Just... IT’S JUST GOOD, OKAY. - Shazi and Khalid is my new OTP. I mean, I didn’t really like them at first and I thought everything was too insta-love, but then again, I COULDN’T HELP IT OKAY. It’s the kind of insta-love I couldn’t help but admire. Also, what’s their ship name? Shazid? Kharzad? PLEASE INFORM ME. - Khalid is so nice that my heart melts for him. I WANNA HUG HIM LIKE A TINY TEDDY BEAR SO BAD. - If you adore sacrificial love, then this book is for you. - Shazi tells Khazi bedtime stories. Aw. Well, not really. But sort of. Though Shazi’s stories could be brutal and/or rated PG. - Jalal is also amusing. And I like him. Sort of. That ending though. WHY DID YOU LET THEM, JALAL. WHY. I THOUGHT YOU SHIPPED THEM. - THE ENDING. THE ENDING IS SO *BLEEP*INGLY FRUSTRATING. SERIOUSLY. I was all, “KHALID WHAT THE HELL TAKE THAT PAPER OFF THAT FREAKING FIRE <b>RIGHT. THIS. INSTANT.</b>" Please tell me I wasn’t the only one who felt the same. That being said, I must admit there were times in the book that made me, well, not love it all that much. These “times” actually round up to two things, which isn’t as many as it sounded just now, BUT MOVING ON. <b>The romance</b> Like I said in the list above, this book has insta-love in it. Shazi and Khalid will feel some sort of attraction with each other in less than a few days after their first meeting (possibly even on their first day). There was also one point while reading the story that I was somewhat annoyed that Shazi kept on convincing herself that she won’t fall in love with the Caliph, but ended up falling in love with him anyway. Like, <i>come on, girl</i>. I thought you wouldn’t. Still, I wouldn’t deny the fact that I ended up rooting for them eventually. The times when they were alone together honestly made me squeal and squish their heads together. I’m not a fan of insta-love myself, so I’m surprised I’m even rooting for these two. <img src="http://45.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me6uwzGGGy1rbavngo1_1280.gif" /> If you don’t like insta-love that much either but are still contemplating whether or not you should read <i>TWATD</i>, then I suggest you should. Maybe it’ll appeal to you as well. <b>I also wish I got more backstory between Shazi and Shiva.</b> I know this all started with Shazi’s plan to take revenge on the Caliph for her best friend, Shiva, but I honestly didn’t feel any tight bond between her and Shiva for me to root for Shazi to kill the Caliph. We’re just told that they’re best friends, and that she and Shazi have been through a lot and that Shiva means a lot to Shazi, etc. <i>But I don’t even know Shiva.</i> Do I make any sense here? (I thank that Shiva exists though. Without her I would be rooting for nonexistent fictional characters. Which is even worse than rooting for fictional characters, to be honest.) <b>* * *</b> Overall, I still love <i>The Wrath and the Dawn</i> no matter how much the two things above bothered me. The point is, this book is really good. Yes, there were some things that made me... well... not like it at first, but I was so engrossed in the story and couldn’t put it down AT ALL (sleeping felt like torture to me, honestly). So, 5 stars, no doubt about it. I think the book definitely lived up to its hype.

2.5