REVIEW; The Rose and the Dagger
8:13 pm
“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.”
 The Rose and the Dagger - Renee AhdiehPublish Date: 26th April, 2016 Publisher: Putnam Genres: Young Adult, Retelling, Fantasy, Romance Pages: 416 Format: Paperback Goodreads // BookDepository 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.
WARNING: Spoilers!
A story was only as good as its villain."
After being pleasantly surprised with The Wrath and the Dawn, I had high expectations for The Rose and the Dagger. As a fan of Ahdieh's writing style, setting and characters, I was eager to find out how the story would unfold. Thankfully, this book delivered. Ahdieh's writing is lyrical, detailed and poetic, but I felt at some times it was overdone. The depth of description took emphasis away from elements that needed to be depicted in detail, such as romantic character descriptions or setting overviews, and made them seem bland in contrast to the rest of the writing. Irsa, Shazi's sister, was a surprising addition to the cast, she was seemingly opposite to Shazi and stole the story for me. Yes, I do favour the protagonists but Irsa, who I expected to be the epitome of her annoying goody-two-shoes dubbed character, turned out to be a strong, capable young woman who overcomes her fears throughout the story. She is introduced to us as an underestimated side character, and she made it her mission to show those who brushed her aside that she was not helpless and irrelevant, and I really admired her for it. from; “ Tariq found this strange because Irsa al-Khayzuran was usually quite sensible. Usually not a cause for concern. She never had been. Was not the type ever to be. She was predictable. Pleasant. Agreeable. ” to; “ So in the end, it wasn’t the pleading whispers of her sister. It wasn’t the fear that coursed through Irsa’s blood. No it was never the fear. It was so much more than that. It was older than the desert, this feeling. And it forever but an end to the mouse’s reign. Once and for all. "Khalid Ibn al-Rashid" Irsa roared. ” The introduction of Artan Temujin was where the story really began to pick up. He, as a character, is very intriguing, I enjoyed that he constantly crossed the 'line' as if he didn't know it existed, and I was disappointed that we didn't get to see more of him. “ "I'd sooner kiss a snake." "Smart girl!" He laughed, "but you've kissed a murdering madman... is that not the same thing?" ” Khalid had significant character development in this book and it started from page one, where he was helping citizens restore the city after the storm, to the end, where he considers the consequences of his actions before making them *cough* take note Tariq *cough*. "Khalid would make the Sultan of Parthia pay for what he had done... But not now. Not in this moment... Khalid knew what would transpire..."I adore him as a character, that he feels as though he deserves punishment for what he has done, that he is undeserving of Shazi and her love, but I especially love his morality: "Khalid is not a forgiving man. To him, violence begets violence. And likely always will." Khalid and Shazi's relationship is my favourite, there is so much passion and love between the two of them it makes my heart melt. I'm going to miss reading about them. "I do love you, Tariq. But... he's where I live." Shahrzad continues to remain one of my favourite female protagonists, I’m not sure what it is about her that is so appealing as a character, perhaps it is the intelligence and snark, but in comparison to other stereotypical “witty, feminist, take-no-shit” protags in YA literature, she stands out and delivers something unique and more. Her dialogue never seems forced or out of character and her actions are never idiotic nor contrasting her intelligence for plot’s sake. This book concentrated more on characters finding who they are, Shazi in particular. She discovers her magical ability and how to control it, she becomes more certain of herself, her feelings and the type of person she wants to become, and she realises the impact her actions have on others, most notably her sister. She has her flaws and they prove to be both her strength and downfall, such as her stubborn-ness and short temper "Without hesitation, Shahrzad splashed the remainder of her wine in Despina's face." I was confused regarding Despina and her role in this book. Shazi's old handmaiden was revealed to be the Sultan of Parthia's daughter, and an enemy to Shazi. She was also 'married' to the Rajput, even though pregnant with Jalal's child. Then she helped Shazi escape her cell in the dungeons (even though the Rajput was the one using magic to unlock her chains?) and was revealed to be on the 'good' side all along. It was rushed and not properly explained, even thinking about it now makes me confused and still suspicious of her, even though the duology has ended. I enjoyed the origin of the title "the rose and the dagger" once it was finally unveiled (literally right at the end) and the ending of the story unfolded nicely and was well paced. There was an unnecessary death (why do authors feel as though death is the only way to end a book? Betrayal and negative character development is always more interesting!!) and some lovely character development for Tariq - whom I also loved as a character. Going into this book, I knew it would not have the same feel as Wrath did, and with that in mind, I still felt the essence of the first book was significantly missing. It was just good. It was what I expected. Don't get me wrong, I loved the way things unfolded, it was a great ending for the characters, but I didn't want a great ending, I wanted plot twists and treachery and a grand build up to an even grander, unpredictable ending. It was what I expected it to be, should I be bitter about that...? I'm not sure. However, I would highly recommend this series to anyone and everyone, and I am very glad I read it. ★★★★☆ - 4 stars
Love, Natalia
xx
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