Check in 3: The Wrath and the Dawn

[Germ]

Hey there, Germ readers!

It’s the third and final check-in for Renée Ahdieh’s The Wrath and the Dawn! We’ll be discussing pages 255 through the end.

Usually, this is where I would post our discussion questions for this section, but that ending was so captivating that I just want to hear your thoughts on it.

Commence!

[Shelby]

First off, we finally got an answer as to why Khalid is having his wives killed each dawn when he explains his first marriage and his subsequent curse. To be honest, I’m still processing what was done by Ava’s father. It is so completely unfathomable to me that the last thing he ever did was to make sure that everyone in the city would suffer. When I think of revenge, the phrase “an eye for an eye” comes to mind, but this guy thought, “I lost an eye, so everyone else should too!” It’s just so crazy to me.

As for the very ending itself, it felt a little abrupt, but in a great way. I think it is a huge testament to the author that she was able to bring an end to this story while still holding a few cliffhangers to make us come back for the sequel. That’s not an easy thing to write, and I know I will certainly be eagerly awaiting the next installment.

I really thought that Shahrzad’s unexplored abilities would have come into play by now, and as they didn’t (and she kept the rug with her), it gives me a lot of hope that it will be a heavy theme in the next book. I, for one, am really excited to see what comes of that. We also see that it was the Sultan of Parthia that hired the assassins who attacked Shahrzad, and that will undoubtedly come back around as well.

I honestly couldn’t believe that Shahrzad ended up leaving Rey. As I was reading, I thought for sure that she was going to sacrifice herself (and that would’ve been a great time for those abilities to kick in), but clearly, none of the men in her life are willing to let her die. Jalal actually tells Tariq to never let her come back.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I have full faith that Shahrzad will never let any man dictate what she does, and when she needs back in the city, that’s exactly where she’ll be.

I became completely enamored with this story, especially as it got closer to the end, and I cannot wait for it to continue.