Renée Ahdieh: The rose and the dagger

Renée Ahdieh jatkaa romaanissa The Wrath & the Dawn käynnistynyttä tarinaa teoksella The rose and the dagger (Penguin Young Readers Group, 2016; ISBN 978-0-698-18590-6).



Parhaimmillaan Ahdieh pyörittää saturomaaniaan mallikkaasti, mutta kovin paljon on myös samojen juonikuvioiden toistoa, eikä tarina kanna yhtä lailla omaperäisenä kuin ensimmäisessa romaanissa. Sen verran päähenkilöiden kohtalo kuitenkin kiinnosti, että romaani tuli luettua loppuun asti, ja tarina sai päätöksensä.

I am surrounded on all sides by a desert. A guest, in a prison of sand and sun. My family is here. And I do not know whom I can trust.

In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad has been torn from the love of her husband Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once believed him a monster, but his secrets revealed a man tormented by guilt and a powerful curse—one that might keep them apart forever. Reunited with her family, who have taken refuge with enemies of Khalid, and Tariq, her childhood sweetheart, she should be happy. But Tariq now commands forces set on destroying Khalid's empire. Shahrzad is almost a prisoner caught between loyalties to people she loves. But she refuses to be a pawn and devises a plan.

While her father, Jahandar, continues to play with magical forces he doesn't yet understand, Shahrzad tries to uncover powers that may lie dormant within her. With the help of a tattered old carpet and a tempestuous but sage young man, Shahrzad will attempt to break the curse and reunite with her one true love.