The Rose and the Dagger

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: This was a gorgeous finish to an amazing series! I savored every moment of this beautiful story and highly recommend it to everyone!

Opening Sentence: The girl was eleven and three-quarters.

The Review:

Sixteen-year-old Shahzrad married the Caliph of Khorasan to get revenge for the death of her best friend, but instead she ended up falling in love. She never imagined that there could possibly be a reasonable explanation for why the mysterious young Caliph was murdering his brides the morning after their wedding, but it turns out he has been the victim of an extremely powerful curse, a curse that could doom their love forever. Shazi will do anything to break the curse but unfortunately she show more is currently a guest in a camp full of men wanting to destroy her husband.

With war coming and her father dabbling with dark magic, Shazi is going to have to learn to control her recently discovered powers if she has any hope of ever being reunited with the love of her life.

I couldn’t possibly adore Shazi more. She is a head strong girl and she refuses to take crap from anyone. There are times when she acts very reckless which tends to bother me with other characters, but with Shazi it worked. She has the type of personality that can pull it off without making her feel stupid or annoying. I love that she can take care of herself but she is humble enough to know that there are times to accept help from others. There is so much I loved about Shazi and she has easily become one of my favorite characters!

Khalid really captured my heart in this book. I really liked him in book one but I’m not going to lie, I kind of preferred Tariq. But the more I discovered about Khalid the more I respected him. He has been put in such an impossible situation and he has dealt with it the best way he knows how. He is such a kind hearted man and it broke my heart to watch him struggle so much. But even though he has been given many challenges he doesn’t give up and he is willing to do whatever it takes to protect the people he loves. His relationship with Shazi is epic. They have a love story you hope to have one day and they will forever be one of my all time favorite couples. It is pretty much impossible to not fall head over heels in love with Khalid.

I loved the moments when I got to be inside of Tariq’s head. As I already stated, I really loved him in the first book and even though I didn’t think he was good for Shazi, I still adored him. His world has been turned upside down recently and he has to make some difficult decisions. He doesn’t always make the best choices but he does take responsibility for his mistakes, which I really admired. In many ways I felt like out of all the characters he grew the most and I loved reading about his journey.

The Rose and the Dagger is a lush, gorgeous story that captivated me. I really enjoyed The Wrath and the Dawn so I had very high expectations for this one and it managed to go above and beyond what I was hoping for. The setting was epic, the romance was perfection, the plot was intriguing, and the pacing was spot on. I have nothing negative to say about this book. Adhieh answered all my questions and she created such an amazing story full of adventure and magic! Because I have such a busy life I tend to fly through books, but with this one I made sure to take my time. I savored every moment of it and I’m actually sad that the series is finished. But I am very excited to see what Adhieh comes out with next. Her writing style is beautiful and she really knows how to weave a fantastic tale. It doesn’t matter who you are, if you like YA books you should definitely pick this one up!

Notable Scene:

Along with an unexpected smile.

The carpet swooped in a lazy arc, rising even higher. To the height of the highest parapet of Rey. As soon as it turned, it took off into a light-studded sky. The world below her disappeared in a rush of flickering fire.

Fear lost its battle.

Exhilaration won.

FTC Advisory: Razorbill/Penguin Teen provided me with a copy of The Rose & the Dagger. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. show less

Spoilers possible and I'm going negative here.
Audiobook- not recommended
Narration 2.5 stars
Book 3.5
-the elders & men's voices were so terrible. I wanted to laugh, it took me out of the story. I didn't enjoy this second book nearly as much as the first. I think the narration destroyed the serious edge of the seat moments when the villain would squeak out a poor example crinkled Disney cartoon type voice. Dang it, I really wanted to listen to this authors words brought to life on audio, such a shame.
That was my only issue with this story. Tariq, WTH ? He did some crappy things, head banging creepy guy things. He turned into this ultra control freak, that Shahrzad should have never gone along with, where did the real Shahrzah I loved in show more Book 1 go ? This chick is a wobbler. This problem went on for too long and the time between Shahrad and Khalid was too brief.
I loved her discoveries, her realizations during the last 1/2 of the book. Everything and everyone moved into their roles, justice was coming and finally we got out the weirdness that was in the first half. Oh I love the stories, I'd wished there had have been more.
Sadly I don't think I'll reread it in print, I didn't love it enough. If it ever makes it to the screen I'll be there. show less

“For it was easy to be good and kind in times of plenty. The trying times were the moments that defined a man.”

This is a fitting conclusion to the amazing duology. It is every bit as beautifully written and captivating as the first one. There is definitely less romance and flirtation in this one, because the time for those has passed. It’s all about working together to break the curse, protect the loved ones and rebuild the city. There is a lot of growth in the characters of Khalid and Shazi. Shazi truly embodies the calipha of Khorasan even when she is not among her people or allies. Khalid becomes more trusting of his love. The conflict between Khalid and Tariq is thrilling and I was praying that one wouldn’t hurt the other. show more Shazi’s sister Irsa is introduced who is initially quite fearful but comes into her own at a very crucial moment. There is betrayal, heartbreak and conspiracy here, along with flying carpets, magical serpents and murderous books. The author shocks us with plenty of jaw dropping moments right till the end and I devoured all of them. And the ending is amazing – all characters showing what they are truly made of. Thank you my favorite booktuber @ Thoughts on Tomes for finally making me read this series which was lying on my TBR pile forever. Can’t believe I missed it till now. Better late than never!!!!

“True strength isn’t about sovereignty. It’s about knowing when you need help and having the courage to accept it.” show less

I liked the first book, but I am not a fan of unnecessary series(es). This could have made one really excellent book, but instead it's two good books. Money grabs, you know?

Khalid and Shahrzad are the reason I kept reading.

Oh Heck Yes! It's not often I find a sequel that lives up to book one, but this one exceeded all wants, needs, & must haves. I couldn't put it down. I was instantly pulled into Shazi's world from page one and didn't want to let go after the final page. It's safe to say that this one goes on my top reads of 2016 list! If you love mystery, magic, beautiful romance, and royalty in your reads then you MUST pick this one up.

The Rose and the Dagger started with Khalid and Shazi apart. He was trying to mend his kingdom and she was trying to survive being trapped with strangers she didn't trust. Both missed one another, but knew they had to do their part in order for them to reunite. Shazi began to explore her magic carpet more and realized show more that she must follow her heart in order to get her happily ever after. With the help of a friend she is able to grasp her magic from within and find a solution to Khalid's curse. It is then that he gets pulled into her magical world and together they seek to destroy a book that controls everything. There is war, lies, and tragedy, but what love story doesn't have turmoil before beauty? It was all consuming, frustrating at times, and just flat out amazing.

As I sit here thinking about it I am baffled by the intricate plot turns and flawless writing style. To find a book that captures the reader is one thing, but this book held my attention through every word on every page. There was a magic feeling that seeped from the pages and it was quite contagious. I wanted to wrap my arms around the book and never let go. My heart was consumed with love for each character and my mind was entranced by the pivotal moments of the story. I was eager to figure out what happened, but also a tad timid when approaching the final page. I didn't want it to end and even after the final word I still craved more. It was a beautiful story with so many high points. I applaud the Author and guarantee that this series will get the attention it deserves. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do. It will make you love reading and it will pull you out of any book rut you are in. show less

Actual Rating: 4.5

THIS WAS BEAUTIFUL. AND HEARTBREAKING.
HELP.

Whew, okay. Anyways.

The Rose and the Dagger continues where The Wrath & the Dawn left off and follows Shahrzad as she is forced away from Rey and away from the man she loves. And the curse is a menace that continues to loom over them, threatening to pull Shazi and Khalid apart forever.

But now Shazi is back with her family, and back with Tariq, her childhood sweetheart - who is also dead set on destroying Khalid and his empire. And Shazi has no choice but to act.

What a fantastic ending to the series. I'd just like to say that I'm very glad Ahdieh decided to make this a duology - although I'm kind of sad that the series has already ended, the fact that this was a two-book series show more and not a trilogy (or more) allowed the pacing to be controlled very well.

As usual, the writing was magnificent and there were some scenes that really tore my heart out.

Speaking in terms of plot, this book was definitely more confusing than its prequel (just like most sequels that take place out of their original setting). There were so many subplots that tied into one another - but Ahdieh's writing style did make it easier to follow.

Honestly though, I feel like I liked the plot of The Wrath and the Dawn better simply because it was easier to see what the main plotline was and there was less blurring.

Now for some of the characters:
Tariq: I've never liked Tariq to be honest with you. and throughout the books he's always been painted as someone who was jealous and stuck in the past, but in The Rose and the Dagger I feel like we really get a much better idea of who he is. First of all, there are some scenes that are written in his perspective, which really made him seem more three-dimensional and human, rather than just a side-antagonist who was only there for the purpose of enmity.

Irsa: I love Irsa - but she's always been spoken of as the sister who was left behind while Shazi did her thing. However, I love her because it is this book that really reveals her true potential.

Despina and Jalal: Okay, so I know that I really shouldn't group these two characters together, but here I feel like I must. I absolutely adored these two in The Wrath and the Dawn and I was really anxious to see how their relationship would play out. Unfortunately, we didn't see much of either character and it felt a little like there was so much significance put into these two in the first book, but they were just thrusted aside in the second. Still, I did love the scenes that they were included in.

Artan: Something similar could be said for Artan - true, he didn't appear in the first book, but in The Rose and the Dagger I wished he played a larger role, rather than just the mentor. It felt like he had such great potential, and I just didn't see enough of him.

Khalid: Speaking in terms of character development, Khalid was definitely one of the characters that showed the most throughout the entire series - his transition from a seemingly cold and harsh caliph to a man that was willing to do anything for Shazi was such a beautiful journey.

And finally, our heroine.
Shazi: she is absolutely amazing - throughout these two books, we as readers definitely see her transition from a small girl looking for revenge to one who understands her own power, understands the power of love, and understand what the world needs.

What an amazing journey - I really can't believe it's over. show less

This is a very satisfying conclusion to this duology. The pace is breakneck as Khalid and Shahrzad try to save their people from the forces determined to destroy them, sometimes a little too fast with everything that happens. Still, I love Khalid and Shahrzad as a couple, both his quiet strength and her stubbornness and determination to save the people she loves.
At times heartbreaking and at times fantastical, I loved every minute of the story. Every character is finely drawn, and the setting is perfect. This is a story I'll think about for a long time.