Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - The Rose & the Dagger

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The Rose & the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh

5 reviews

readwithria's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The Rose & the Dagger was a beautiful conclusion to Renée Ahdieh’s debut series. It took the lush world we were introduced to in the first book, and brings it even more to life.

I think this book did a better job of fleshing out the characters. I felt a lot more connected to the cast, and believed their motivations more strongly.

One thing I didn’t fully understand was how magic works, and I don’t understand it because it isn’t explained. This is a historical fantasy romance series, and while I felt the history and romance quite strongly I was missing the fantasy elements.

Even nearly ten years after publication this duology stands up quite well, and it was definitely worth the read. 4 stars.

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense 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

I really enjoyed the first book in this series. The first book in this series was gifted to me by my friends for my birthday and I was really excited to read it. I loved it and I was instantly wanting to read the second book as soon as I could. I liked how it ended even if it scared me for a second.

This book has dual POV. The first is Shahrzad had a plan to take down to Khorasan, but now she has discovered the man she married and the man that everyone believed to be a mass murderous king was plagued by a powerful curse and she is determined to break this curse. Now she has been torn from her husband and taking refuge with her family among his enemies, Shahrzad finds herself a prisoner caught between loyalties to the people she loves. She is determined to find her way back to Khalid before the kingdom is attacked, Shahrzad awakens the powers inside her to attempt to break the curse and unite with her true love once more. The second is Khalid, he is an eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, and he is under a curse and in love with his latest bride Shahrzad. He is split between wanting to hide away and be the bad guy they all expect to him to, trying to be the righteous leader and wanting to be the good guy that he can be for Shahrzad.

I loved the characters in this book and the romance between Khalid and Shazi. I love that we got to see another side of them both that wasn’t them hating each other. I would have loved to see more of Irsa, and I would love to have another book with her finding love because her story was heartbreaking and I just want them to be happy. The storyline was strong and there was so many twists and turns that I was gasping the whole way throughout this book. I loved the character development that Shazi had and how she was so strong and powerful and that she stood up for everyone and her country that she turns to like.

I felt like the pace was a little too fast at times and then at times it was a little too slow. I would have loved a constant pace. I still struggled a little bit, but I think that’s because I spent too long in between books rather than reading them back-to-back. I still didn’t know this was a retelling. But overall, it was such a fun read.

Overall, this series has been powerful and fun. I would love to have another book in ten years to fifteen years on Khalid and Shazi’s kids and them having their own adventures.

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