Character Spotlight: Shahrzad from The Wrath and the Dawn

I loved The Wrath and the Dawn when I read it last year, and then I loved it even more (if that's at all possible) when I read it again about a month ago.  After reading the sequel, The Rose and the Dagger, I keep thinking about this story.  The main character, Shahrzad is such a strong and powerful female character.

If you'd like to check out my reviews of the two books, please click on the books below.  Otherwise, scroll down for Shahrzad's character spotlight.

                            

Shahrzad
The Wrath and the Dawn and The Rose and the Dagger
Renee Ahdieh

Shahrzad has a mission and she will be successful.  After her best friend died at the hand of the Caliph, along with hundreds of other young girls the morning following their wedding. Shahrzad volunteers to be the next wife of Caliph.  She plans on killing Khalid, the Caliph, before he can have her killed.

Shahrzad is a strong woman, who has been taking care of those she loves for awhile now.  Her mother died and her father sank into a deep depression, losing his job and Shahrzad took care of them.  She was unable to take care of her best friend, but she's determined to make it up to her.  Throughout both books, her mind is on her family and how she can make them proud as well as keep them safe.  She's especially concerned about her younger sister, and hovers over her, unable to accept that she is growing up and more capable than Shahrzad would like to admit.

In addition to her love and loyalty to her family, Shahrzad is loyal to her friends.  We see this as she tries to exact revenge on Khalid for the death of her friend.  By volunteering to be his next bride, she knows that she's volunteering to die.  Even if she's able to kill him, she'll be surrounded by his guards in moments, and die not long after.  We also see her loyalty to her friend/boyfriend Tariq when he arrives at the palace.  She is very careful not to give him away to Khalid because she fears for Tariq's safety, but she's also annoyed at him for even being there.

That's another thing I really like about Shahrzad--she gets super annoyed by men in her life trying to protect her when she can do something herself, if given the chance.  There are times when she definitely needs the guards around her, or someone with knowledge of swordplay, but Shahrzad is cunning.  She can find her way out of situations without the help of others, and she's really annoyed by people who assume that she cannot.

Also, she has a mouth on her!  It's not that she curses, but she just doesn't stop to think sometimes and is snarky and witty and can cut someone down with her words.  She's smart.  It's no wonder that Khalid doesn't kill her the morning after they are married.

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