The second in the duology, the Rose & the Dagger continues the beautifully crafted story from where the Wrath & the Dawn left off. Shahrzad is in the rebel camp with her family, but only feels lonely in this hostile territory. Her father and sister are with her but without her beautiful monster its just not home. Feeling guilty about her role in the impending war and determined to break the curse and reunite with her love Shahrzad has to set off into the night find the answers she needs. Meanwhile Khalid is doing all he can to be a better man and aid those in need after the storm that destroyed his city.
Some of my favorite moments of the book where actually with supporting characters instead of the main characters. Irsa was my favorite by far due to her character growth arc from mean little mouse to confidant lioness. Her interactions with Khalid where amazing and hearth touching, She lost so much throughout the course of the story but gained so much while never losing herself.
There where some great themes throughout the story, my favorite of which being the family you choose is stronger than blood. There is more than one example of this throughout the book. So many characters find themselves betrayed and hurt by those that should love and protect them by virtue of blood only to find that love and protection from those with which they share no blood ties.
Another theme that plays a part in the story is the perils of wanting too much. The best illustration of this comes with Shahrzad’s father and his quest for power. His obsession with power leads him to do terrible things hurting those that he should be putting first. In the end he does redeem himself but in general his greed and selfishness hurt all those around him to the point of actually causing the need for his sacrifice. I can’t say I really feel comfortable with him getting the credit he gets for that.
Khalid’s character growth has everything I wanted for him in it. He finally had to face and work through his feelings of inadequacy to become the man and king he needed to be. The Khalid from the beginning of the first book and the Khalid at the end of this one are completely different.
With relatable themes, great character growth, plot twists that catch you off guard, and the same beautifully crafted world as the first book in the duology, the Rose & the Dagger is and entertaining read that thankfully doesn’t suffer from some of the shortcomings of the first book. The relationships are believable and you feel satisfied with where the story ends up.
