Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Wrath & the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

14 reviews

eelizard's review

dark fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Suicide, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I’ve wanted to read this book in forever. This book was gifted to me by my friends for my birthday and I was excited to read it. It took me a while to get into, but once I got into it, I really enjoyed it.  

This book has multiple POVs from this love triangle. There is Khalid, who is an eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. There is Shahrzad, she is sixteen and she has volunteered to marry Khalid. But she does have a clever plan to stay and exact revenge on Khalid for the murder of her best friend and the countless other girls that Khalid has executed. Shazi’s wit and will does get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her friend. She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems, and neither are the death of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all. The third POV is Shazi’s best friend named Tariq and he has been in love with Shazi since they were children. He has found out what Shazi is doing and is determined to rescue her and take her home and to kill the king once and for all.  

I struggled with this book at first and I think it’s because of the lack of world-building at the beginning or a storyline, it jumped in straight to the action that I sort of had to read ahead to then get what the hell was going on. I didn’t know this was a retelling of Thousand and One Nights and I've never read that book, so I went in completely blind. The world-building did get there eventually but for a fantasy I look for the world-building and how immersed I can get in the world, and it just didn’t happen here.  

The thing that saved this book were the characters and the romance that was budding between Khalid and Shazi. It was 1000% enemies-to-lovers, and I was down for it. The tension, the mystery, the conflicting emotions they were both feeling and how they slowly opened to each other. I liked the mystery aspect of it and how you didn’t know who was trying to poison Shazi. I loved how bad-ass Shazi is, like everyone around her is trying to protect her and then she’s like no I can’t protect my damn self. I loved the side characters such as the guards and the maidens and would have loved to have seen more of them.  

The storyline managed to keep me hooked but overall felt like it was just missing that extra sparkle that would have made it five stars. But I am looking forward to the next book of the duet.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Animal death

Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, and Pregnancy

truegrit's review

Really gross set up - like an enemies to lovers situation but he's a murderer and rapist? Could not abide by the story line or characters, really yucky.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Rape, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

anneliedip'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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Vomit, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Child death

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

This is very fun, and I'm excited to read the second book in the series. Shahrzad is strong and conflicted, and the story does a really interesting process of unfolding. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, Vomit, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, War, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Classism

Minor: Sexual assault

marionrosa's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Grief

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide, and Slavery

bitteralbatross's review

1.0

I actually kind of enjoyed this book, but refuse to give it more stars because they fall in love after he rapes her.

Also withholding affection to maintain the purity of the person you supposedly love is not cute or romantic, it's creepy and controlling - they get to make their own decisions about their bodies and purity.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

veganecurrywurst's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Teilweise muss ich gestehen, dass ich die Prämisse etwas sehr verückt und verstörend. Dennoch waren die Charaktere sehr interessant und ich fand es spannend mehr über sie herausfinden. Im Gegensatz zum Hauptcharakter ist es mir nicht gelungen nur ein wenig über die vielen Frauen hinwegzusehen, die ermordet wurden. Deswegen konnte ich die "Liebesgeschichte" nicht so wirklich genießen. Trotzdem will ich unbedingt wissen wie es weiter geht.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Murder, and Sexism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Rape

f18's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Rape and Sexual content

namenotimportant's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Murder, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Suicide