Overall love the idea but am ultimately not impressed with the execution. The problem here is that this is a first book and doesn't have the already weighted fan base or the internal back story to support it. This book seems to be trying to capitalize on the recent trend in things like movies of splitting sequels/final installments into as many money grabbing parts as possible. The book reinterprets the classic collection of Middle Eastern folk tales, Arabian Nights, in the context of a mystical love story set in Khorasan, the site of modern-day northwest Afghanistan. However if it was an intentional parallel than kudos to the author for the meta-nod. The Wrath and the Dawn is a 2015 work of young adult fiction by Renee Ahdieh. I'd love to believe that the unfinished-ness was an intentional play to recreate the nightly story telling and the dawn, but I don't think there was a strong enough nod to the original (She told what 2 stories in this?) to make that work. And don't even get me started on the quality of the dialog. There was quite a bit left hanging or unexplained: the carpet and the teacher, the significance of the falcon, the insignias, the sort of attempt at magical realism but not, the curse. There were parts that were quite promising, and it was an interesting premise, but I rather felt like it was unfinished (and I don't just mean the giant 'where the hell is the rest' cliff hanger). The Wrath and the Dawn is truly an exceptional story, beautifully written.

*minor spoilers* I picked this up because of all the buzz recently, but was really rather disappointed. In her absorbing debut, Rene Ahdieh spins a tale as mesmerizing as that of her heroine Shahrzad, filled with lush details and brimming with tension.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh