YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

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?

Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end.

The Wrath & the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh will be our 1st GBR for July 2016.

Please read at your own pace, and hide any spoilers ☺ You are welcome to join at any time during the month ☺

Happy Reading Everybody!

Pre-Reading Questions -

Anybody got any thoughts on this one before we start?

Has anyone read anything similar to this before?

Anybody read anything else by this author previously?

That book was just amazing!!!! Might have to re-read it!

Yeay! I just bought it too.

This is on my TBR for July so I'll definitely be joining in!

Thought about starting this book soon!

This will be my first Group Buddy Read, and I've been waiting to start this book for awhile-so perfect timing! :-)

Just picked this up from the library yesterday! Can't wait for Friday to get here! :)

Pre-Reading Questions -

Anybody got any thoughts on this one before we start?

The description has me slightly concerned. It sounds like a girl is falling for a serial murderer, and that just doesn't sit well with me. I am very curious to find out what possible motivation the Caliph has that could be forgivable. I really hope this isn't another tale aimed at teen girls that glorifies and romanticizes a form of an abusive relationship.

Has anyone read anything similar to this before?

I have not read a retelling of A Thousand and One Nights before, or much of fairy tale retellings at all. I guess this is sort of a new genre for me. :)

Anybody read anything else by this author previously?

Nope. New author too. :)

Kelly wrote: "Anybody got any thoughts on this one before we start?

The description has me slightly concerned. It sounds like a girl is falling for a serial murderer, and that just doesn't sit well with me. I am very curious to find out what possible motivation the Caliph has that could be forgivable. I really hope this isn't another tale aimed at teen girls that glorifies and romanticizes a form of an abusive relationship."

I feel the same way about the synopsis! Which is why I've waited so long to pick it up. I'm really hoping all of the positive reviews for this book are a good indication that it's not glorifying an abusive relationship.

It does sound like she's falling in love with a murderer!

Guys, I'll be re-reading this, and I believe that this blurb is a bit misleading in that regard.

That's good to know!

Tati wrote: "Guys, I'll be re-reading this, and I believe that this blurb is a bit misleading in that regard."

Thank you Tati! :) whew! I feel relieved hearing that. :)

Actually, this was the best book I read last year (not that my opinion counts for anything LOL)

20% (view spoiler)[ well, I haven't found this the easiest story to get into so far. I don't understand why his wives are always killed at dawn! (hide spoiler)]

29% (view spoiler)[ why does she want him to kiss her? they haven't exactly spent much quality time together, and her life is in danger because of him. (hide spoiler)]

45% (view spoiler)[ I'm wondering the same thing she is... how can she desire him when he killed her cousin and loads of other girls? (hide spoiler)]

29%: (view spoiler)[I'm with you, Sarah, I have no idea why she wants him to kiss her... he's still a murderer, as far as she's concerned.

I'm not really sure how this isn't exactly how the cover describes it... unless there's a really, really good reason he's been sacrificing girls... which I'm finding hard to imagine.

I find the relationships in this novel hard to follow. Tariq is the son of an emir. Shiva was his cousin. How is Shazi related? & Rashim? I'm a bit confused on that.

I'm curious as to what the father is up to... it doesn't seem like he's tangling with good magic. (hide spoiler)]

CallMeSensei (Jordan) wrote: "29%: ."

(view spoiler)[ I can't work out why he's sacrificing girls either, and I am so stuck with the names, I keep getting them all messed up in my head, and relationships are even more confusing! (hide spoiler)]

50%: (view spoiler)[ I think we got a hint at why he's sacrificing girls. Seems like he got mixed up in some magical mojo... otherwise, why would he need the fariq to heal him? (hide spoiler)]

75%: (view spoiler)[I need some kind of explanation real soon!

Poor Tariq. I can't imagine how he must feel about Shazi & Khalid. I'm greatly confused but this boy-king killed his cousin and stole his first love. Is he going to do something really stupid before the end of the novel? Probably. (hide spoiler)]

50% (view spoiler)[ She's only known this guy for a week? Two weeks? And she's already falling for him. She has this epic plot to kill him and with one smoulder she decides not to. I'm loving this book but, Shahrzad get your life together, girl. (hide spoiler)]

l o u i s e wrote: "50% [spoilers removed]"

So true!

100%: (view spoiler)[ So, I think, that if I had been able to get beyond the fact that Shazi and Khalid fall in love with each other without knowing anything about each other and without getting answers to either of their questions (the huge one being: why the heck has Khalid been murdering young girls?!), I might have enjoyed this novel.

I liked some of the side characters. I was interested in the magical system that is presented (& really wanted to know more about that). And I found the writing easy enough to get through.

But I couldn't get past the fact that she falls in love with a murderer before even knowing the reason why these girls are getting murdered! Why?! She knows nothing about him except this fact and that he's really talented with his weapon. I don't understand. I just don't. (hide spoiler)]

Page 115 - Chapter Title: A Righteous Blaze and a Restless Spirit (29%)
(view spoiler)[ The names are difficult for me, but I am trying to pronounce each name correctly (a pronunciation guide would be useful) and remember how they are all connected.

I am much more interested in Shazi's story than the other one. I get how they are connected and why they are important, but still, I care more about her present experiences.

I hate that I catch myself rooting for Shazi and the Caliph. He's a murderer...I don't care what the prologue said!

I like Shazi's character. She seems bold, and very much so brave. She seems family oriented, and not in the baby-fever or husband-fever sense, but as in she is loyal to her family and genuinely cares for them. She has many friends who appreciate her and are loyal to her. She is funny, sassy, and appears level-headed, not trusting everyone, but practicing judgement of character.

I feel like this Jalal character is a little shady though. Not so sure about him. And I love Despina. I pretty much like all of these side characters and Shazi's interactions with them.

I do not like that nothing has been done to attempt to stop the Caliph from murdering his brides each dawn and I do not like that there is talk of war to do so. It seems like such overkill. Why isn't there a less violent, legal way to end this? I don't understand this government system. (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[ Omar is officially my favorite, after having met him two pages ago. I hope he doesn't become evil... (hide spoiler)]

In comparison with what other people have experienced so far I really loved this novel. I thought the prose was really rich, occasionally a little too thick but beautiful nonetheless.

The dialogue was occasionally a bit verbose but had moments where it really shone.

I thought the world was very atmospheric- a stunningly rendered world.

The limits of the story mostly related to plot logic and a certain lack of spark between the main characters but I loved it enough that I ignored the flaws.

However, there were a few things that really bugged me:

(view spoiler)[- she's chosen to marry the king out of vengeance. He married and killed her best friend, along with countless other young women, and she's bent on putting an end to his bloody reign by sticking a knife in his chest- except she never really makes the slightest attempt to do this? I don't get it.

-Shahrzad left her sister and father in order to avenge the life of her friend… without a plan except to… tell him bedtime stories until she got the chance to kill him? What?

- I'm not convinced the curse is in anyway logical. (hide spoiler)]

Despite all this I really really loved it and got very caught up in the story. In my opinion it's probably one of those novels that you get very caught up in emotionally but look back on a few years later and think… what was that about? Why did I love that novel so much?

Anyway thats my 2cents.

Page 302 Someone Who Knows

I'm going to try and finish this tonight as I can't handle not knowing the secret behind the murders.

I really like how the author addresses the concerns of the reader (ex: girl falling in love with a murderer... Not cool) through other characters (Tariq) , and even through Shazi's thoughts. I haven't seen many authors do this. Mostly they just kind of try to get you hooked and hope you won't see the horrible-ness of their premise. But I am still withholding judgment until I find out the reason for the deaths. I will be so upset if I have to wait til Book 2!

I finally finished the book. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. It feels rushed, as if she was rushing to think of a cliff hanger instead of just finished the book there. Did it need to be duology?? I'm not sure.

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Date changed. Restarting February 13th 2017. Happy Reading ☺

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1/4 I have never heard of "A Thousand and One Nights" so I'm going into this blind so to speak. (view spoiler)[ This chick is insane who in their right mind would off to marry someone who is going to kill them the next morning. (hide spoiler)]

2/4 (view spoiler)[ The King is easily enchanted if she managed to do it with a not very good story. The boyfriend plans to rescue her but he needs time to set up his plan OMG this story has so many flaws its ridiculous and whats with the father and the book hmmm (hide spoiler)]

3/4 (view spoiler)[ Now they are getting romantically entangled are you serious what is the author basing the attraction on (hide spoiler)]

Finished: (view spoiler)[I didn't think much of this book but in saying that it may have been partly due to the narrator of the audio book. I felt the narrator should have at least used a Middle Eastern accent rather than and american one. The whole story was overly dramatic when very little happened until the end of the book. The romance didn't feel right it was way to easy to fall in love with the king and out of love with her childhood boyfriend. (hide spoiler)]

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Date Changed. Restarting August 13th 2017. Happy Reading ☺

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Well, surprise, surprise, I'm late but finally about to start!

Skye wrote: "Well, surprise, surprise, I'm late but finally about to start!"

Oooo Enjoy!

21% (view spoiler)[ Really like the setting, it's different for YA and very vivid. I'm almost more invested in the story Shahrzad is telling the caliph over her story, the character is an amazing storyteller! I dislike the sex scenes (although they aren't really sex scenes as it's VERY heavily glossed over) but because of them and Shahrzad's clear reluctance, I'm not sure I'll ever be much of a fan of the caliph. (hide spoiler)]

45% (view spoiler)[ So, when did they all of a sudden have feelings for each other? I know she said she hates him but she seems very content to be married to a killer, whose motivations I suspect to be a curse of some sort but nevertheless are unknown to Shazi. The kiss was just out of nowhere /: (hide spoiler)]

71% (view spoiler)[ OOOOOOH DRAMA. Tariq is at the palace! with Shahrzad! and the Caliph! AND KHALID JUST ASKED JALAL TO RESEARCH TARIQ'S ASSOCIATIONS AND HE'S GOING TO FIND OUT OMG. In other news, Despina is pregnant with Jalal's child and I think that's perfect. (hide spoiler)]

85% (view spoiler)[ Tariq's visit was anti-climactic. At least we know why Khalid had to kill his wives now, and it's something similar to my guess, though I never guessed Ava was a thing. I'm thinking that Shazi's father is doing the same magic Ava's father did when he made the curse, so maybe he could reverse it? (hide spoiler)]

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Date changed. Restarting September 10th 2019. Happy Reading ☺

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I will be starting this soon

I’m in for this one but will be doing just a handful of chapters at a time.

About 20% in and loving this story. The writing itself is simple and engrossing, it's hard to put it down! I adore the characters already, although I was a bit confused at the start of this one, they are starting to stand out to me now.
(view spoiler)[ I am curious what Baba is up to and also what exactly Tariq plans to do in his attempt to save Shahrzad. (hide spoiler)]

42 % in after a few sprints tonight.

(view spoiler)[ My only complaints so far are:

the beginning of the novel felt like I was dropped into an already ongoing story. I was lost for a bit on the characters and the setting. But as I've read further in the characters have truly come to life in my mind and I'm really enjoying Shazi and Tariq. I'm curious to continue learning more about Khalid as well. Side character wise, I adore Jalal!

the other issue I have is with the initial couple of implied sex scenes. I know that they both seem to be in it solely as a duty but her lack of want for it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Forcing himself on her, even if she didn't explicitly say no, actually makes me dislike him more and any killing he was involved in.
(hide spoiler)]

Overall, enjoying this one and I do really like Renee Ahdieh's writing style, its very easy to read!

I am in a reading slump right now and I hate it.

To A Silk Cord and a Sunrise

I loved Adieh's Flame in the Mist series. This one is incredibly different but easily as good. My only issue with it so far is that she sort of throws us into the middle of a story that we feel like we ought to know but don't... quite. If one has read 1001 Nights, it may help, as that is where this tale is based, but Adieh is introducing a bunch of names and relationships that are a little hard to follow.

Other than that, I really do like Shahrzad's (view spoiler)[ feistiness. She's quite spunky and I admire her courage. Again... a little confused. Apparently the king's made a bad bargain and so he... or his son... are offering up a hundred lives, one a day, to prevent a thousand from being taken. Obviously the people wouldn't know this so they're losing their daughters at an alarming rate for no apparent reason other than the king is insane. Shahrzad volunteers to be his next victim and manages to intrigue him enough to keep herself alive while she's plotting for a way to kill him. Does that sound about right? (hide spoiler)]

I've never read the whole Tales of 1001 nights, but some of my favorite fairy tales came out of it. Enjoying the revisit.