Synopsis: The darker the sky, the brighter the stars.
In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad is forced from the arms of her beloved
husband, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once thought Khalid a monster—a merciless
killer of wives, responsible for immeasurable heartache and pain—but as she
unraveled his secrets, she found instead an extraordinary man and a love she
could not deny. Still, a curse threatens to keep Shazi and Khalid apart
forever.
Now she’s reunited with her family, who have found refuge in the desert, where
a deadly force is gathering against Khalid—a force set on destroying his empire
and commanded by Shazi’s spurned childhood sweetheart. Trapped between
loyalties to those she loves, the only thing Shazi can do is act. Using the
burgeoning magic within her as a guide, she strikes out on her own to end both
this terrible curse and the brewing war once and for all. But to do it, she
must evade enemies of her own to stay alive.
The saga that began with The Wrath and the Dawn takes its
final turn as Shahrzad risks everything to find her way back to her one true
love again.
Rating: 4.5/5
Genres: High Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Previous book in
the series:
My thoughts:
“The rose’s rarest essence lives in the thorns.”
The Rose and The Dagger is an
exquisite, superb, satisfying and clever finale. It will render you speechless
with its intensity. Crush your heart a bit every few pages. Transform you into
an addict of its gorgeous prose. But its true beauty lies in the fact that,
somehow, you welcome it all with open arms.
If you don't
get along with romance, shy away. Seriously, shoo. I'm just putting it like it
is -- the romance and love story are what make these books great, the dominant
ethos, the insanely good aspect. Sure, it has elements of magic, politics,
self-discovery, but its core is represented by the power of love. And for a love-hungry sap like me, THAT'S AWESOMENESS INCARNATE.
“It was because they were two parts of a whole.
He did not belong to her. And she did not belong to him. It was never about
belonging to someone. It was about belonging together.”
There were two
equally amazing things I absolutely loved. First, there's the fact that, thanks
to the multiple POVs, it's not just Khalid and Shazi's dreamy love that has
readers all hot and bothered and ethereally happy. Nope. Surprisingly, it's
also Rahim and Irsa. And, of course, Jalal and Despina. All three relationships
wonderfully developed, made with the intention of pulling on your heartstrings.
Secondly,
there's a certain KICKASS aspect. Women.
Empowering,
badass, strong, young women. The truth is that, in this universe, the
women are put on a gold pedestal (rightfully so). They are revered, respected
and treated as queens. There were so many instances were women had a role in
the novels, starting with Khalid's mother's death that changed him forever,
then the cruel curse unraveled because of a woman, 100 women doomed to die and
a freaking war started because of a woman (insert Shazi here), the plot evolved
thanks to these glorious characters and so they became the axis of the world
and girls continued to omen the legacy in TRaTD. Marvelous Shazi, with her
awe-inspiring backbone and infinite determination. Sweet Irsa, with her fair
perspective on life and kind heart (who also reminded me so much of Prim from
HG). Sneaky Despina, with her snark and cunning mind. And even Yasmine, who
completed the set with a surprisingly emphatic behavior.
Coming back to
the essential though -- Khalid and Shazi. These two are like magnets, soul
mates, whatever you want to call them. There was a particular scene that ripped
me to shreds where they were fighting to protect each other in the face of
imminent and immediate danger. I think that visual captured the couple
perfectly -- Khalid is not painted like a knight in shining armor, neither is
Shazi painted like a damsel in distress. Far from it, actually. They are
pictured as they should be -- a king and a queen that would rather die than see
their loved one suffer. They are menacing, commanding and hella sexy, royalty
coursing into every inch of their veins.
"Cut the strings, Shazi. Fly.”
Our spunky
heroine did not change much, besides the short-lived interactions with her magical
tendencies. She's still stubborn, feisty, arrogant and silver-tongued, but
fierce, caring and astoundingly determined as well. What surprised me was her
optimism, I didn't previously perceive her as the one to bring it forward, yet
in comparison with the brooding, sulking caliph she was like a minion from
Despicable Me.
Like the yang
to the yin, Khalid completed Shazi in a regal manner. A strategist, an
intelligent engineer and a terrifying swordsman, but this boy-king is still a
boy and a romantic one at that. Holy intense, a goddamn poet that could turn us
all enraptured girls into husks of die-hard fangirls and a devoted husband
(that's putting it lightly). I've said back in my Wrath review, this man
worships his wife and it was astounding to see how easily she can bring him to
his knees. Yet he transforms. He starts to bear hope for a bright future with
his love, in which they are together, with him healthy and 100% alive. And he
starts fighting for it, making sacrifices and walking over his ego and colossal
pride to ensure such happiness will be attained.
“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.”
On top of
that, he really did mature. For once, you could say he forgives. His
relationship with Tariq (yeah, there is one) had me nearly in tears and their
interactions were so consuming. I loved his sincere attempts of creating bonds
with Irsa and his sadness and helplessness at the situation with Jalal was hard
to see. Also, his turmoil about the fate of Khorasan was awful, with
self-loathing and doubt shadowing his thoughts. But he slowly crumbled his
walls and lets everyone witness the thoughtful and passionate young man lurking
beneath his stoic facade. He became a true leader.
A wish of mine
that turned true this installment was the deeper delving into the magic
business. However, it was not as developed as I expected it to be. Regardless,
I enjoyed the unique light upon Artan's legacy (a new and very interesting
character) that added to the genius of the author's retelling. It was honestly
brilliant.
Other
characters have changed the plotline numerous times. Jahandar, for instance,
was horrendous. I loathed the guy. Greedy and power-hungry and with no sense of
a moral compass, he continued to toy with the lives of others like he did in
the prequel. On the other hand, Tariq, who is usually an amazingly lovable boy,
possessed a recklessness and impulsiveness that had me preparing for every
ill-fated new development with an "Oh
boy".
And so there
were many such instances. I cried a bit at a particular scene in the end that
had me internally screaming "IT'S
NOT FAIR". My heart stopped soon after. And I picked up my jaw off the
ground at some HOLY SHIT
discoveries, the kind of twists that turn you stupid. Nonetheless, I smiled and
laughed a lot.
Vikram needs
to be mentioned: he was awesome. There was not nearly enough Jalal and Despina,
but seeing Jalal so heartbroken and lovesick messed with my brains. And Jalal
and Khalid's friendship had a rough phase which was sad to witness. To
compensate, we got more of Tariq and Rahim's bromance which inserted a
light-tone every here and there, although they are indeed a true force to be
reckoned with if together.
The epilogue
was so fitting and wonderful in all shades known to humankind. I mean -- that
name eeeep!! I was so euphoric and
grateful for this heartwarming closure. One thing's for sure -- this duology
will remain one of my favorite series because it's no easy feat to trigger the
whole emotional palette in me, yet these books succeeded in doing so -- I was
happy, sad, angry, frustrated, bewildered, amused, in love. And thankful for
the thrills, romance and adventures.
"It’s late,” Khalid said. “You should
sleep.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not doing
anything.”
“Stop smiling and go to sleep.”
“How do you know I’m smiling? You’re not even
looking at me.”
“I can feel you smiling, Shazi.”
I wouldn't
necessarily say this is better than Wrath (because honestly, in my view, it
isn't), but I think I missed the mystery surrounding Khalid's killings the
most. Since all was revealed, the slow burning intrigue and countless questions
did not make an appearance in the sequel. However, that is not the reason I
minimized the full rating by half a star -- the sole motive for that was that
sometimes I simply felt my mind wandering off. Might have been my sleep
deprived mind telling me to close the freaking book, might have been not.
Renee Ahdieh
has established herself as a thorough, original and downright amazing author.
There was big pressure on her shoulders due to the overwhelming and well
deserved popularity of the first book, but she did not succumb to the nerves in
order to give readers a meh book. No, she managed to take the world of Khorasan
to greater heights. She managed to captivate her readers with developed characters,
an engaging plot and swoons. Most importantly, she managed to prove that she's
a kickass writer and the first book wasn't a fluke. Her style is different and
compelling and I declare myself a definite fan.
The Rose and The Dagger is an
empowering, achingly beautiful sequel to one of the loveliest books ever.
Soul-wrenching, yet uplifting all the same, this book has it all, from
political vibes, Arabian spins on a famous story, doses of humor, gorgeous love
stories interwoven with thrills of action, magic and a kaleidoscopic turn of
events. It delivers the perfect kind of tale -- one side dished with great
amount of heartbreak. Even so, you want more, and that's what makes it best.
“As always. As ever. As a rose to the sun.”
ENJOY! <3
