Some things exist in our lives for but a brief moment. And we must let them go on to light another sky.

I read mixed reviews about this book, so I wasn't sure going into it what to expect. It was a good read. More romance than anything else, but it was the good kind of romance. The kind you root for even if it is cliche and predictable.

The story is about Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan, who marries a new woman each night and has her murdered at sunrise. When Shahrzad's best friend in the world dies at the hand of the Caliph, she offers herself as the next bride, determined to avenge her friends death. Just like in the original One Thousand and One Nights, she tells Khalid a riveting story with a cliffhanger, promising to continue the story the next night, in return for another day of living.

As Shazi gets to know the Caliph, she realizes that everything is more complicated than she had thought, and that despite the pain he has caused, Khalid is a good man with good intentions. As Khalid falls for his queen, Shazi reluctantly falls in love with him as well, forcing herself to deal with the guilt of falling in love with the man who caused the death of her dearest friend.

The Wrath and Dawn was fun to read, I only wish the secondary characters had been more developed, especially Jalal and Despina. I'm hoping that will come in the next book. I really did not care for Tariq, and could have done without the whole love triangle, honestly I don't think it was necessary to the plot in any way. Tariq could just have easily been her brother or her father. I also would have liked more of a back story at the beginning, I felt like I started the book a quarter of the way in, like I had missed something.

This was a retelling in the true sense of the word. It didn't differ much from the essence of the original story, but it worked. It read like a fairy tale, like a real story rather than just a novel, which is something I always enjoy. I noticed some similarities between this book and [b:Cruel Beauty|15839984|Cruel Beauty (Cruel Beauty Universe #1)|Rosamund Hodge|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371652590s/15839984.jpg|21580669](which I loved).

The ending frustrated me, a lot, but because it's the first book in a duology, I can forgive a bad ending. I'm definitely excited to read the next book.

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