The Wrath and the Dawn Series by Renée Ahdieh

 

Over the weekend, I finished reading The Wrath & the Dawn duology by Renée Ahdieh. This fantasy series, inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, is about Shahrzad al-Khayzuran, a sixteen-year-old girl who volunteers to marry Khalid Ibn al-Rashid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan. In the first book of the series, Khalid takes a new bride each night only to have her executed before sunrise, but Shahrzad has a clever plan to stay alive and get revenge on Khalid for the murder of her best friend, Shiva, and the other girls. Not everything is as it seems, though, and as Shahrzad begins to fall for Khalid, she decides that she must find out the truth of why Khalid's brides are murdered and break the cycle somehow. In the second and final book, The Rose & the Dagger, Shahrzad and Khalid are separated when the threat of war is greater than ever. Although Shahrzad is reunited with her family in the desert, she desperately wants to find a way to return to Khalid. With an army gathering against Khalid and enemies everywhere, Shahrzad's loyalties are tested as she risks everything.

There are also three short stories in this series. The Moth & the Flame is about the romance between Shahrzad's handmaiden Despina and the Captain of the Guard Jalal al-Khoury. Although it simply starts out as a flirtation, Despina and Jalal begin to develop true feelings for one another when suddenly tragedy strikes. The Crown & the Arrow covers Shahrzad and Khalid's wedding ceremony from Khalid's perspective. After seventy-one days and nights of killing his brides, Khalid wonders why Shahrzad, his seventy-second bride, has volunteered and shows no fear of losing her life. The final short story, The Mirror & the Maze, is about Khalid's return to Rey after a trip to the border of Khorasan and Parthia. When he sees that Rey is destroyed and Shahrzad is gone, he believes it is all his fault for choosing love over the people of Rey.

This series was excellent and I enjoyed it from the very first chapter, which was among the most intriguing I've ever read. Despite being a little nervous after the disappointing ending to The Beautiful series by the same author, I was determined to keep the faith that the romance in this duology would have a happy ending and I'm ecstatic to say that it did! Although there were quite a few twists and turns and an event or two towards the end of The Rose & the Dagger that could have broken me, love won and it truly warmed my heart. I absolutely adored the epilogue. I also thought the world-building was fantastic. The setting was both gorgeous and dangerous, which I always think is the best combination, and I was reminded a lot of Aladdin because The Wrath and the Dawn is inspired by the same collection of folk tales. Additionally, the romance between Shahrzad and Khalid was positively flawless. They're amazing characters on their own, but I wanted nothing more for them to defy the odds and find a way to be together, especially because enemies to lovers is my favorite romantic trope. I knew Shahrzad wouldn't be able to assassinate Khalid without knowing his reason for murdering his brides and the reveal was so devastating, like I thought it would be. In my heart, Khalid certainly didn't deserve that fate and I wanted him to find redemption through his love for Shahrzad. Additionally, Shahrzad is a great female protagonist because of her strength and courage—at first to stand up to Khalid and survive, then later to fight for their love. The short stories are wonderful, as well, and I recommend The Wrath & the Dawn duology to anyone who loves fantasy, adventure, and/or romance.

Hands by Torrey Maldonado

 

Earlier this week, I finished reading Hands by Torrey Maldonado. This realistic fiction novel is about Trev, a twelve-year-old boy who would do anything to protect his mom and older sisters from his stepdad. Two years after Trev's stepdad hit his mom and was locked up in jail for violating his parole, Trev is worried about his release. Instead of dwelling on his fear, Trev decides to take up boxing with his friend, P (short for Pete). Not everyone agrees with his plan, though, because Trev used to draw very well when he was younger. Instead of fighting back and possibly ending up in jail like his stepdad, Trev is encouraged to use his artistic talent to build a better future. Unsure if he has the support he needs, Trev feels like this advice is useless right now, especially when his sister Nikki's boyfriend is controlling and doesn't respect boundaries, on top of his other concerns. As his stepdad's release approaches, Trev has to consider his future and if he should really fight back with his hands.

Wow, this was an amazingly profound story. I liked the short chapters because they made the book feel super fast-paced, but most of all, I enjoyed how enlightening the book was about domestic abuse and how it affects young people and their choices. Although Trev is the youngest in his family, he feels like he has to protect his mom and sisters because he's the only boy out of the four of them. His situation made me feel really bad for him because I didn't want him to continue the cycle of violence of which I've become so aware over the years. I also loved getting to know his "uncles" because they had great advice for Trev from their own experiences, even when he was doubtful that they had his back. It warmed my heart that his English teacher, Ms. Clark, was looking out for him, too. Additionally, I thought P was a great friend to Trev. While I wasn't completely supportive of Trev's plan to learn to box to protect his family, I'm glad Trev and P went to the boxing gym together. I can't forget to mention Little Cole either. Little Cole, the eight-year old boy who lives in the apartment across from Trev's, reminded me a lot of a younger version of Trev and it made me so happy that Trev would help him with drawing. Although not everything is resolved at the conclusion of the story, it should leave readers with hope about Trev's situation. Hands is powerful and riveting, and I recommend it to everyone, kids and adults alike.

The Swifts Series

 

On Saturday, I finished reading the first two books of The Swifts series by Beth Lincoln. This mystery series is about Shenanigan Swift, a girl who is always up to some sort of mischief and wonders if she is herself by choice or because of the name she was given. In the first book, A Dictionary of Scoundrels, Shenanigan plans on looking for Grand-Uncle Vile's treasure during a family reunion, but when someone pushes Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude down the stairs, she gets caught up in determining who did it with the help of her older sisters, Phenomena and Felicity, and her cousin, Erf. After Gumshoe shows up dead in the library and Pamplemousse is murdered at the end of a Scrabble duel, Shenanigan must save her family by following and making sense of the clues. In the second book, A Gallery of Rogues, Shenanigan travels to Paris with Uncle Maelstrom and Phenomena after a valuable painting is stolen from Swift House by Ouvolpo, a group of art thieves. In Paris at the Hôtel Martinet, they meet up with her sister Felicity, who is staying with the Martinets, the French branch of their family, Aunt Inheritance, and Erf. As Ouvolpo steal more artworks and bodies are uncovered, Shenanigan and her family have to untangle multiple mysteries, while navigating their conflict with the Martinets.

I absolutely adored the first two books of this series. They have everything: humor and wordplay, drama, suspense, plot twists, excitement, interesting family relationships, and more. Shenanigan was fantastic as the main character. Even though she has a tendency to get into trouble and sometimes doesn't get along with her sisters, I could tell how much she truly cares for her family in both books. I especially enjoyed her relationship with her cousin, Erf, because they met for the very first time at the family reunion and connected right off the bat. I also loved Phenomena because she is clever and into science and Uncle Maelstrom because Shenanigan has a very special relationship with him due to her parents traveling the world without her and her sisters. Daisy and the twins, Flora and Fauna, were interesting characters, as well, and I liked the roles they played in the story.  In the second book, I thought Pomme was awesome and appreciated how helpful Souris was, even when he was keeping secrets. As far as the mysteries go, I actually managed to guess the murderer in A Dictionary of Scoundrels correctly. That doesn't mean I was disappointed, though, quite the contrary. I had just gotten bad vibes from the character that I couldn't get past, even if the evidence wasn't beyond question. I was much more surprised by the reveal in A Gallery of Rogues because it had quite a bit of complexity and I wasn't able to put all of the clues together before Shenanigan or any of her family did. I thought the climax was especially exciting. After reading these two books, I'm especially looking forward to the third book in the series. Anyone who enjoys murder mysteries, family stories, and/or humor should read The Swifts series.