Review by asims723 - For She is Wrath

asims723 's review for:

For She is Wrath by Emily Varga

2.0

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite novels of all time. It is beautiful and brilliant in its exploration of isolation, grief, hatred, and revenge. For She is Wrath is billed as a retelling of that novel, but it is not beyond involving a prison escape and revenge. If you enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo, you will not enjoy this one. It involves torture instead of isolation and quick gratification over carefully well planned vengeance. The magic of the djinns only serves to cheapen the innate strength of the FMC.
Maybe this is unfair if me. Varga does not write like Dumas. Her prose is very YA, and I suspect the reason her FMC only spends a year suffering in jail is so she isn't old when this story takes place.
Pros: Representation (a full star added just for that), concept, there's a clever line about reading a person laced with some serious innuendo
Cons: illogical plot, illogical relationships, uncomfortable contraception conversations with strangers, family members who stab you in the back when you didn't deserve it, people who say they love you but then also leave you in prison bc they think you'll be SAFE there (?!), not even the one bed trope could save this one.
I read both the ebook and audiobook. The narrator, Safiyya Ingar, did a very good job, even when I sped it up to 2.5x to get through the end.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy for review.

Content Warnings