A review by maninderkaur
The Rose & the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh

4.0

I actually enjoyed this one a lot more than the first book, it’s making me think I should reread it to see if my opinion will change. The characters and side characters’ subplots were all pretty enjoyable and interesting, and I enjoyed Shazi and Khalid a lot more as main characters. Although the plot to begin with was a little slow paced, the efforts to break the curse were interesting (although destroying the book felt a little too easy) and I liked how the final battle wasn’t a full on war like you’d usually see it to be. Despina and Yasmine had very good roles and I loved the twist regarding Despina, I’d actually really love to see a spin off series centring her and Jalal. In terms of the ending, the fake Khalid death did feel unnecessary because I wasn’t really emotionally attached to him anyway and I do wish the epilogue showed a little more in terms of the condition of Khorasan as well as Parthia, but overall it was definitely an enjoyable book.