Author: Renee Ahdieh
Pages: 404
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Goodreads Rating: 4.18 stars
Published: May 12th, 2015
Source: Hardcover//Bought
Description:
One Life to One Dawn.
In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.
Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?
My Thoughts:
I'd seen this book floating around the blogsphere for a while, and then a few people had posted photos of the new covers on their Instagram pages. But the real push to get this book and read it was when I saw my bookish soulmate gave it a 5 star review on Goodreads. I've yet to read a book recommended by her that wasn't at least a 4 star read, and this did not disappoint.
Shahrzad is such a well written character - she has courage and guts; courage to do what she knows she needs to do and guts to actually get it done. Although, she learns after a while that what she thought needed to be done isn't actually the case anymore. She begins to have feelings for Khalid, and, while she doesn't let that blind her {well, not too much}, she does let it make her hesitate just enough {for what you'll have to read and find out!}.
There is so much to Khalid, and I feel like he didn't get much of the story he deserved. Yes, I realize he's a secondary character, but, as Ariel in The Little Mermaid says "I want more!" Maybe I'll get that in the second book; I guess I'll just have to wait and see. His character was well written, and we as readers do get a great insight into him and his struggle with what he's been cursed to do {as well as those around him who know of the curse and are trying to make sure the worse of it does not come to pass}.
The setting of a desert land in need of water to keep the people healthy and thriving is just perfect, and I love diving into a bit of a different culture {even if a good deal of it is fictional}. For her first novel, Renee Ahdieh did a subperb job bringing these characters to life and creating a world so alive you get sucked into it every time you open the pages! I'm excited to read the sequel and see what happens to my beloved Shazi and Khalid!
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