Scan barcode
picaresquedreamer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, and Death
sarah_royal04's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Murder, War, Violence, Death, and Blood
celery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Medical content, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Mention of: murder, death of loved one[s], pregnancy, classism, sexism, grief
OMG this duology was so good! I will definitely be rereading this story and imagining the lives the characters lead after the story ends 🥰
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Classism, Grief, and Sexism
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Violence, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Minor: Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
imaginationindex's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
- Irsa. I am starting with her as my new favourite character (Shahrzad is still alright, less decisive this round) as the presence and growth was so important. I’m glad we had her POV added.
- Even though Shahrzad and Khalid were apart more in this book, the romance was clear. We get passion, we get action, though it remains that Shazi is not just the damsel in distress while Khalid is not always the knight in shining armour. They get their eventual happy ending.
- Renee Ahdieh knows how to write a scene. I swear at times I could feel the fabrics or taste the herbs that were described. It’s world-building at its finest!
- TW: Attempted rape. A scene addressed the horrendous acts a side character could have taken were acknowledged in this book. It also further showed the fight Shazi had in her!
- While the first book focused so much on the curse, it was brushed under the carpet (ha, flying carpet humour) in a brief plot point.
- Despina. Not her character and the reveal (I actually liked that since I truly didn’t see it coming) but I felt like her role as a spy was not utilized to its full potential. Also her and Jalal, was hoping for more scenes between them.
- The magic system didn’t always make sense to me. Maybe I misunderstood but
Shahrzad’s father has to kill a horse but Shahrzad can just absorb it… like a sponge??
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Bullying, Death, Kidnapping, and Animal death
meghansarmiento97's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Rape, Medical content, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
kassidyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement and Violence
Minor: Rape and Sexual harassment
nicksalex's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Where the first book focused on the enemies to lovers romance and the complexities of its characters, this one focused more on world-building, politics and war. The pacing was about the same, the romance still present, but there was something about The Rose and the Dagger that didn’t live up to its predecessor; I just can’t pinpoint it.
Maybe it was that I predicted nearly all of the plot twists, and the ones I didn’t predict were resolved too quickly to have much of an impact. Maybe it was that I found I didn’t care about most of the characters, or the budding romance between two of them. Maybe it was the disproportionate amount of planning vs action, or the abruptness of the ending. Maybe it was all of the above.
The saving grace was the characters I did care about: Shahrzad, Khalid, Despina and Jalal. If I didn’t like them so much, if I wasn’t so thoroughly invested in Shazi and Khalid’s romance, I suspect this review would be very different, my rating lower. But luckily, I have a weak spot for fierce, ambitious girls and the soft, traumatized-and-in-need-of-a-hug boys that adore them. I also have a weak spot for snarky best friends. And it was those weak spots that ensured I did like at least some aspects of this book.
Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a bad book. Despite my criticisms of it and my preference for her later work, Ahdieh is undeniably an excellent storyteller. And although this duology isn’t a favorite of mine, it’s still enjoyable, and I’m glad I finally finished it.
(Also, I want to put this here so I don’t forget: I noticed an interesting amount of similarities between this and the Sands of Arawiya duology by Hafsah Faizal. Both feature fierce girl protagonists, traumatized-and-in-need-of-a-hug love interests, and snarky side characters to round out the found family, whose relationships develop in unexpected ways. The protagonists of both books have shyer younger sisters with a knack for medicine that come into their own over the course of the story. Both stories also feature an enemies to lovers ship you can’t help but go down with, and a magical book you probably shouldn’t trust.) (I’m not saying anyone copied anyone else. I quite like both duologies. These are just my own early-hours-of-the-morning musings.)
Representation
- full POC cast
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, and Confinement