Scan barcode
narwhal23's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, Murder, and Sexual content
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
I read this as part of my #12Friends12Books 2024 reading challenge, and this book was recommended to me by @booknerderika (instagram). Thank you friend! 🩷
I thought this was such a clever story and I am excited to read the next book! It is a retelling of the One Thousand and One Nights tale, which I actually am very familiar with so it was fun to have that frame of reference. The Caliph of Khorasan marries a new bride each day and by the next dawn, she is killed, on his orders. Shahrzad marries him to get revenge for her best friend Shiva (one of the murdered brides) and plans to kill him with her longtime love Tariq (she has loved him since she was 12).
She gets Khalid (Caliph) to extend her life by telling him a story and promising to continue the story the next night. She hides her time this way, but learns more about Khalid and his childhood. Most notably, she cannot help but wonder why all of those women had to die. Amidst all this, Shahrzhad grapples with feelings of guilt, confusion, and compassion as she gets to know Khalid.
I did feel like their romance escalated a bit *quickly* and was curious about how you could go from hating someone for murdering your bestie to wanting to kiss him in a matter of days, but by the end, I did believe in it! I would have loved to see just a bit more of them getting to know each other and uncovering more layers of the other, but I am still satisfied with how this story unraveled.
I am excited to read the next book & think this would be an interesting one to adapt onscreen, especially since it’s already a folklore retelling.
I read this as part of my #12Friends12Books 2024 reading challenge, and this book was recommended to me by @booknerderika (instagram). Thank you friend! 🩷
I thought this was such a clever story and I am excited to read the next book! It is a retelling of the One Thousand and One Nights tale, which I actually am very familiar with so it was fun to have that frame of reference. The Caliph of Khorasan marries a new bride each day and by the next dawn, she is killed, on his orders. Shahrzad marries him to get revenge for her best friend Shiva (one of the murdered brides) and plans to kill him with her longtime love Tariq (she has loved him since she was 12).
She gets Khalid (Caliph) to extend her life by telling him a story and promising to continue the story the next night. She hides her time this way, but learns more about Khalid and his childhood. Most notably, she cannot help but wonder why all of those women had to die. Amidst all this, Shahrzhad grapples with feelings of guilt, confusion, and compassion as she gets to know Khalid.
I did feel like their romance escalated a bit *quickly* and was curious about how you could go from hating someone for murdering your bestie to wanting to kiss him in a matter of days, but by the end, I did believe in it! I would have loved to see just a bit more of them getting to know each other and uncovering more layers of the other, but I am still satisfied with how this story unraveled.
I am excited to read the next book & think this would be an interesting one to adapt onscreen, especially since it’s already a folklore retelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Trafficking, Murder, Death, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content
picaresquedreamer's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Death, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual content
julierambaeck's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Felt like it moved too fast. So many moving points, but it felt like the plot were moving in circles. I didn't really like the main couple. LOVED the other couple and their story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal death, Toxic relationship, Murder, Miscarriage, Death, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Suicide
sarah_royal04's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Pregnancy and Suicide
Minor: Animal death
kylosten's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Violence, Animal death, and Sexual assault
Minor: Sexual content
geminisoul's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this story. It was so beautifully written and I loved to see the growth in the two main characters. The author did a great job of world building and giving the main characters depth. I can't wait to read the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Violence
Moderate: Suicide, Miscarriage, Grief, Death, and Blood
lydia_books's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny
raven_readss's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“I suspect she will be like air, like knowing how to breath”(224)
Khalid-King-18
Shahrzad Shazi- Queen?-16
Khalid-King-18
Shahrzad Shazi- Queen?-16
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
1quillb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The thing that authors really need to get right when writing enemies-to-lovers is the transition from enemy to lover—it needs to be made clear to the reader why, exactly, they fall in love with each other. But here, the author fails completely. There is no transition, there’s just Shazi hating Khalid to her saying she wants to kiss him and is in love with him (I’m not tagging a spoiler here because it’s the whole premise of the book). There’s literally zero explanation as to why she has suddenly become enamoured with Khalid. I really like the general idea of the book, especially as a 1001 Nights rewrite, but the relationship aspect falls flat without the journey of actually falling in love with someone who is supposedly evil. Had the author included a more transitionary period with their relationship I probably would have rated this much higher, but I couldn’t stand Shazi constantly waxing poetic about a man she hardly knew anything about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Murder, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Minor: Grief, Pregnancy, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Infidelity