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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
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