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A review by olivialandryxo
The Rose & the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I finally did it. I finally read this book. It only took me seven years to get to. Not my finest reading moment, but patting myself on the back for it nonetheless.
Where the first book focused on the enemies to lovers romance and the complexities of its characters, this one focused more on world-building, politics and war. The pacing was about the same, the romance still present, but there was something about The Rose and the Dagger that didn’t live up to its predecessor; I just can’t pinpoint it.
Maybe it was that I predicted nearly all of the plot twists, and the ones I didn’t predict were resolved too quickly to have much of an impact. Maybe it was that I found I didn’t care about most of the characters, or the budding romance between two of them. Maybe it was the disproportionate amount of planning vs action, or the abruptness of the ending. Maybe it was all of the above.
The saving grace was the characters I did care about: Shahrzad, Khalid, Despina and Jalal. If I didn’t like them so much, if I wasn’t so thoroughly invested in Shazi and Khalid’s romance, I suspect this review would be very different, my rating lower. But luckily, I have a weak spot for fierce, ambitious girls and the soft, traumatized-and-in-need-of-a-hug boys that adore them. I also have a weak spot for snarky best friends. And it was those weak spots that ensured I did like at least some aspects of this book.
Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a bad book. Despite my criticisms of it and my preference for her later work, Ahdieh is undeniably an excellent storyteller. And although this duology isn’t a favorite of mine, it’s still enjoyable, and I’m glad I finally finished it.
(Also, I want to put this here so I don’t forget: I noticed an interesting amount of similarities between this and the Sands of Arawiya duology by Hafsah Faizal. Both feature fierce girl protagonists, traumatized-and-in-need-of-a-hug love interests, and snarky side characters to round out the found family, whose relationships develop in unexpected ways. The protagonists of both books have shyer younger sisters with a knack for medicine that come into their own over the course of the story. Both stories also feature an enemies to lovers ship you can’t help but go down with, and a magical book you probably shouldn’t trust.) (I’m not saying anyone copied anyone else. I quite like both duologies. These are just my own early-hours-of-the-morning musings.)
Representation
Where the first book focused on the enemies to lovers romance and the complexities of its characters, this one focused more on world-building, politics and war. The pacing was about the same, the romance still present, but there was something about The Rose and the Dagger that didn’t live up to its predecessor; I just can’t pinpoint it.
Maybe it was that I predicted nearly all of the plot twists, and the ones I didn’t predict were resolved too quickly to have much of an impact. Maybe it was that I found I didn’t care about most of the characters, or the budding romance between two of them. Maybe it was the disproportionate amount of planning vs action, or the abruptness of the ending. Maybe it was all of the above.
The saving grace was the characters I did care about: Shahrzad, Khalid, Despina and Jalal. If I didn’t like them so much, if I wasn’t so thoroughly invested in Shazi and Khalid’s romance, I suspect this review would be very different, my rating lower. But luckily, I have a weak spot for fierce, ambitious girls and the soft, traumatized-and-in-need-of-a-hug boys that adore them. I also have a weak spot for snarky best friends. And it was those weak spots that ensured I did like at least some aspects of this book.
Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a bad book. Despite my criticisms of it and my preference for her later work, Ahdieh is undeniably an excellent storyteller. And although this duology isn’t a favorite of mine, it’s still enjoyable, and I’m glad I finally finished it.
(Also, I want to put this here so I don’t forget: I noticed an interesting amount of similarities between this and the Sands of Arawiya duology by Hafsah Faizal. Both feature fierce girl protagonists, traumatized-and-in-need-of-a-hug love interests, and snarky side characters to round out the found family, whose relationships develop in unexpected ways. The protagonists of both books have shyer younger sisters with a knack for medicine that come into their own over the course of the story. Both stories also feature an enemies to lovers ship you can’t help but go down with, and a magical book you probably shouldn’t trust.) (I’m not saying anyone copied anyone else. I quite like both duologies. These are just my own early-hours-of-the-morning musings.)
Representation
- full POC cast
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, and Kidnapping