Initial Impressions 4/11/15: Well, since honesty is prized in this book, I will be perfectly honest about what I thought. The ending was simply fantastic. I was totally hooked for the last 100 pages and I fell in love... But I didn't fall in love until the end. I really enjoyed the middle of the book but it took me a long time to trust the book again for how much I disliked the beginning. Honestly, I may have put it down and not picked it back up again had I not been reading it with friends and hadn't heard the great praise for it. 
 Then the praise for it kiiiinda killed my enjoyment throughout the middle. The hype was a bit much for me for the first half of the book BUT it was well-desrved for the ending and I have nothing but great expectations for book two! Now that I know the characters, the situation, and the plot, I think I will have no trouble hopping immediately into the story (and really can't wait for it). 
 I definitely recommend this book -- but maybe know that the beginning might be a bit (or a lot) slow for you. I've heard the same from many others and wish I knew going in! 
 Full review originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 4/29/15: THE WRATH AND THE DAWN was our selection for April to read together for our On the Same Page monthly read along. I have to admit... I was a bit intimidated by this book before I even began. I heard SO many amazing reviews and reactions for this book that I was already afraid the hype would get to me before I even started. And then I started the book. I'm not going to lie to you guys -- the beginning was rough for me. As in, I probably would have DNFed it if I wasn't reading with my best friends. Thankfully the great thing about being a part of this book blogging and reading community is that along with my BFFs, I had great support to encourage me to keep reading. See, when I had heard all of this hype, I hadn't heard anyone who had struggled with the beginning so I was wondering if it was just me. Thankfully, we all read on and with reassurances from Alyssa and Amy (who were ahead of me) and pretty much everyone who saw my reading updates on Goodreads, I continued reading and they were all right. It got MUCH better. 
 I kind of had a hard time shaking off that rough start. I felt a bit dropped in the middle of an unfamiliar setting with a head-strong female lead. Head-strong and willful isn't a bad thing but characters like Shazi do take some time for me to get to know sometimes. Once I know them, I'm usually all about the determination and ferocity, but I usually need to explore the setting and the plot (you know, make sure I should be on board with their cause) before I start to love them so that was something that took me a while to appreciate. Once I did get to know Shazi though (make that all of the characters), I really did love them and I'm so glad I got to know their stories. 
 I had a lot of fun once I really started to get into the thick of things. The world-building was quite fascinating, full of rich descriptions, interesting magical elements, and just had a great overall feel. All of the characters really started to shine and I really loved every single one of them -- well aside from the baddies, of course -- but even the antagonists were incredibly interesting. It took a little time for things to develop but I like how natural it felt to let these things unfold, especially in the case of the romantic elements. Renee Ahdieh's writing was quite beautiful and it was just lovely to let myself really feel out this world and sort of develop around me. 
 THE WRATH AND THE DAWN concludes with punch after punch and it turned out to be just as thrilling as everyone had promised! Lives on the line, relationships in jeopardy, kingdoms at stake, and really everything reaching its pinnacle all at the right moments. It definitely had me wanting more which is both good and bad since I really enjoyed the conclusion but now I have to wait for book two (which is a ways out considering I read this book even before its publication date). All-in-all, I really enjoyed THE WRATH AND THE DAWN and how Renee Ahdieh adapted 1001 Nights into the storyline. It was a great original story with a hint of that something familiar (even reminded me of Aladdin in a specific marketplace scene!) and although I had a bit of a tough time in the beginning, I do think it's quite worth the read and recommendation!