It was clear from the beginning that Khalid was not super happy about having to marry again and it always felt like there was something he knew that Shahrzad did not. I know this is a retelling, but I think despite that the author was able to keep a sense of suspense because we don’t know the exact reason why Khalid is killing all his brides. It was interesting to see how Khalid sort of knew that he was starting to get to know Shahrzad a bit too well and let it continue to happen. The fact that he allowed himself to get to know her so much to the point that he falls in love with her I think is a display of how lonely he is and how spending time with Shahrzad was his way of taking something back from this curse that was put on him. Ava’s father couldn’t have chosen a more vile and unjust punishment for someone like Khalid. He is someone who is compassionate and gentle and obviously wasn’t the direct cause of Ava’s death. I think that’s the most ironic part of the curse. If Khalid were someone who truly didn’t value other’s lives, having to marry and kill a bunch of wives wouldn’t have really been that much of a punishment. He would have just done it without remorse. However, he does care, a bit too much for his own good sometimes. The fact Ava’s father didn’t deduce that about Khalid’s character and decided to punish him is as petty as you can get.

On another note, I usually highly dislike the childhood friends to lovers trope, but I like how it was incorporated here. Tariq truly cares about Shazi and despite not completely understanding everything that is going on behind the scenes, he is willing to accept that Shazi has moved on with Khalid. In addition, despite knowing that she doesn’t correspond his romantic feelings, he is still willing to continue to protect her by the end of book at risk of his own life. Speaking of romantic relationships, I really like Despina and Jalal as a couple. Despina is a stubborn mule and I really want to see the aftermath of Jalal finding out she is pregnant. He is someone who is also proud and really charismatic. He vibrated with charm the minute he appeared in the pages of this book and I love him for it. Jalal also really cares about Khalid’s well being, but at the same time I couldn’t help but laugh every time he gave Khalid romantic advice considering his own reluctance to seriously pursue Despina and confess his feelings to her. I can’t wait to see more of them together because it’s not like she can just ignore that she’s pregnant. Khalid is the one that worries me the most, though. Being unable to sleep is pretty bad, but the fact that the city is being destroyed is the icing on the cake for the problems he has moving forward. Overall, I really loved this book and its characters and I can’t wait until Shazi and Khalid are able to reunite.