The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh | A Review

Please welcome my dear friend Aparna, who is here with another new review. This time it is The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh.

Title: The wrath and The Dawn

Author: Renee Ahdiem

Pages:416

Genres: Romance, Y.A, Folktales and folklore, Fantasy

Buy from: Amazon

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, 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 dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

Here is the review.

This book is rather hard for me to rate.It started out so well that I was sure this will end up as one of my favourites.The story,the language,the characters,everything was just so perfect.But somewhere along the way,the characters lost their initial charm.I still loved it,still finished it in one setting ,but at the end,what I felt was that it could have been something more.

The author has done an excellent job in creating a story which is so similar,yet completely different from the 'Arabian Nights'.The focus here is not on the tales,but the budding romance between Shahrzad(Shazi) and Khalid.It is portrayed exceptionally well.Yet,by the middle of it,I felt that there was too much romance and little else.Both Shazi and Khalid seemed to have forgotten everything else but each other.Even though completely justified,the transformation of Shazi from a scheming and vindictive girl to a lovesick one was a little hard for me to stomach.But who can object?Amor vincit omnia!

The characterisation of Khalid,the cursed hero is exemplary.His inner struggles and growth is real and palpable to the reader.

The Wrath and the Dawn is a beautiful,seductive romance with an ending that left me gasping and yearning for more.My only complaint is that it didn't deliver as much as it promised.

Rating 3.5/5

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor| A Review

I have been hearing about this book for a while now, but never had I reached around to reading it. So finally I decided to put all my other books on hold and decided to give it a go ( The fact that my exams were going on and I was in a mood to procrastinate had nothing to do with it). Before plunging into the review, let me give you the basic details about the book.

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Author: Laini Taylor

Genres: Fantasy romance, Fairytales and Folklore

Pages: 448

Buy from: Amazon

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actuallygrows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?


Laini Taylor's writing has ruined me for everyone else. Sigh.

That said this was an almost five star for me. If I had rated the book halfway through
I would have definitely given it five stars. But after the halfway mark the story dragged a little. I understand the need for the detour, but it slowed the book down and made it lose a star.

I should probably skip reviewing her writing, because it was beautiful and perfect. Not so Shakespearean as to make us pull out our hair in frustration, but poetic enough to make one fall in love. Even though I wanted to devour this book, I forced myself to read slowly. Because I wanted to savour each sentence. see this example.

Now onto the characters. In most books I find that the only the lead characters are well fleshed out. That is not so in this case. Everyone from the Brimstone to Zuzana and even Razgut the fallen was well written. It is very easy to distinguish each one from their speech patterns. And I love Zuzana, we both agree that If there is no chocolate, then It is not breakfast.

The main characters are so unique. From Karou's Blue hair to Akiva's tiger eyes, early in the book itself we get a sense of their uniqueness, and a peek into their mind will only enhance this feeling. I will just summarize in two sentences why you should read Karou's and Akiva's story.

My friend who is a very picky reader, crushes on Akiva.
And I find Karou to be a realistic and mature heroine, not at all irritating ( thank god for that).

So read this story,
For its unique storyline,
for its lovable cast of characters 
for the writing and world building and
for the twist at the end.

Rating: 4/5
P.S: I hate the blurb they have given for the book. I almost didn't read because of it. It makes the book sound very weird and alien. It is different concept but when you read it, it wont feel as weird as the blurb is making it sound.

This books has a lot of different covers, depending on the country. I didn't like the one for India, but this one is awesome. anyone knows which country it belongs to?

Super Sunday-Super Covers#10

Super Sunday is back and this time I have another gorgeous cover for you. When I selected this cover, a thought struck my mind. Almost always, I select a book where the heroine is seen in a stunning outfit(ballgown or ninja outfit). What about you? Which are the books covers that attracts you. Leave your thoughts down below.

The book I have chosen this time is Towering by Alex Flinn. It is a modern retelling of Rapunzel and Alex Flinn is the bestselling author of Beastly which had been adapted into a film starring Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer.

Details

Name: Towering

Author: Alex Flinn

Genres: Retelling & Adaptations, Paranormal romance

Pages: 304

Publisher: Harper Teen

Buy From: Amazon.com

                   Amazon.in

What the story is about?

New York Times #1 bestselling author Alex Flinn reimagined the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast inBeastly and gave a twist to the story of Sleeping Beauty in A Kiss in Time. Now with her gothic and darkly romantic YA novel Towering, Alex Flinn retells the tale of Rapunzel.

When Rachel was taken to live in a tower by a woman she calls Mama, she was excited. She felt like a princess in a castle. But many years later, Rachel knows her palace is really a prison, and begins to plan her escape. She is encouraged by the speed with which her golden hair has been growing. It's gotten long enough to reach the ground. And she's begun dreaming of a green-eyed man. Could he be out there in the world? Is he coming to save her? Or will she find a way to save herself?

P.S: To keep getting info about more such beauties, you can sign up or follow me on twitter or fb. 

Thanks in advance.

White Hot Kiss by J.L Armentrout | A Review

First of all, a big sorry for the delay for the review of this wonderful book. I was busy with my exams, but since my exams will be ending in week, I'll be able to allot more time for the blog.

First of all, a warning. I am a huge fan of Jennifer.L.Armentrout, so, I maybe a little biased in my review. Only a little, I promise.

                                                   

                               

Details

Title : White Hot Kiss ( A Dark Elements Novel )                     

Author : J.L.Armentrout

Genres : Urban Fantasy, Y.A romance

Pages : 286                    

Buy From : Amazon.com

                    Amazon.com( this is a affiliate link)

                                  

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout draws readers into the extraordinary, irresistible world of Wardens and demons in the New York Times bestselling first book of The Dark Elements series.

One kiss could be the last 

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses. 

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever. 

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul. 

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

White Hot Kiss is basically a fantasy novel about Layla, who is half warden- half demon. An offspring of two enemy races. The setting is a human world which knows about existence of wardens. Who are basically Gargoyles come to life. But the majority of the human population is unaware of the existence of demons and their home , the Hell.

It is in this world that Layla,17 lives. She is school student by day, but as soon as school time is over she becomes a tagger. Due to her unique genetics, if she touches a demon, they will instantly light up. But it is only visible to the Warden eyes. Her ability makes it easier for the wardens to eliminate demons.

Layla, who for ever had a crush on her childhood best friend cum awesome warden, Zayne, experiences much emotional conflict when the handsome demon Roth enters the picture.
The world is in danger and Layla maybe the only one who can save it from the apocalypse. But she is oppressed from the all the sides, lies told my Abbot, Elijah's hatred  for her, and her own inability to decipher her true feelings.

The primary characters were well developed, especially Zayne. Roth is the fun one while Zayne is the serious one( though not the brooding one). But I liked how the author had emotional depth to Roth's character by giving him his own insecurities which he accidentally reveals to Layla. The secondary characters are very much of Flush and Blood. I liked how the author used the quirks of the secondary characters to help Layla save the world and help her recognize her true feelings.

The book is well researched and the stories are tied together in a manner that keeps at the fast pace without being an info dump. The reason for the Apocalypse surprised me, I did not see that coming.
For trilogies, usually authors drag out the stories, but this is one book that complaint won't touch.

Although, I have to say the reason for keeping the existence of demons didn't quite convince me. I needed a stronger reason. Also, the make out scene between Roth and Layla was, I believe, quite ill-timed ( you have a world to save remember, don't get distracted now) but that scene showed how Roth was actually much more decent than the supposed Guardians of Faith, the Wardens.

Another underlying  theme that runs in the book is that there is no clear distinction between good and bad. Everything is not always black and white. Everyone has grey areas.

All in whole, the book was pretty awesome and it wraps up nicely. Even though it has a cliffhanger, it doesn't give that ' oh, it's not complete ' feeling some other book give. and I would recommend this to readers of urban fantasy as well as paranormal romance.

Rating : 4.5/ 5

P.S : I'll probably read the second book after the third also comes out. I wanna read it together.
Also if you like my reviews please share it with your friends.You can like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter too. Thanks in advance. Bye.

Super Sunday#8

My favourite feature is back. Super Sunday! Where we find out the the super covers of the books that made as go Wow and also made us give the book more than a passing glance. The book featured this time is an  fantasy novel (with a lot of sword fighting probably) by Amanda Hocking. Ever since I saw this cover in her blog I wanted to feature it here. Thinking back , I believe this was my inspiration to start Super Sunday in the first place. But, since this lovely book hadn't been released them, I couldn't feature it here. And when it had finally released I didn't know about it. but past is past. Now. let us welcome this newest member of the Super family.

Title : Frostfire

Author : Amanda Hocking

Genres : Fantasy,Romance

Pages : 336    

Buy from : Amazon.com  

                Amazon.in

(* the one just above is an amazon affiliate link)

I love the colour palette used here. But, enough about the cover. Let's hear about the book now.

Hidden deep in the heart of a snow-covered wilderness lies the secret kingdom of the Kanin—a magical realm as beautiful as it is treacherous…

Bryn Aven has never fit into Kanin society. Her blond hair and blue eyes set her apart as an outsider—a half-blood unable to hold a respectable rank. But she’s determined to prove herself as a loyal protector of the kingdom she loves. Her dream is to become a member of the King’s elite guard, and she’s not going to let anything stand in her way…not even her growing feelings for her boss, Ridley Dresden. A relationship between them is strictly forbidden, but Bryn can’t fight her attraction to him. And she’s beginning to think he feels it too.

Meanwhile, there’s an attack on the kingdom—one that will test Bryn’s strength like never before. Finally, she has the chance to confront Konstantin Black, the traitor who tried to kill her father years ago. It’s up to Bryn to put a stop to him before he strikes again. But is she willing to risk everything to protect a kingdom that doesn’t accept her for who she really is? And when her mission brings her closer to Ridley, will she be able to deny her heart?

And see this beautiful cover of the kindle version.

Buy :  The kindle edition 

Almost similar aren't they. I am gonna read it as soon as the rest of the trilogy is out. Oh, by the way the other two books also have amazing covers. 

I love the interplay of colours used. It's subtle but eye catching, isn't it. I also love the border used, reminds me of the ornate gates of a castle. they seem to perfectly set the tone to the story. Kudos to the designers