Reasons You Need to read The Rose and the Dagger:
- Because Shazi is amazing. She is one of my favorite characters of ever. She's just so strong and brave, but also has
- The ship. There are no coherent words to describe my love of Shazi and Khalid. None. The actual only downside of book two is that there is less time for me to swoon. Because there's a lot of stuff happening, and the swooning has to take a backseat. But no worries, there were tons of shippable moments!
- We get to see a lot more of Shahrzad's family! I love seeing family interaction, especially in a world like this where the stakes are so high. Shazi's relationship with her sister is so great to read about as it transforms. Irsa has grown up a lot since Shazi left, and I loved watching them reconnect and grow stronger.
- The plot was incredible and kept me guessing right until the end. This book is quite full of action, and really never a dull moment. I kept wondering which characters I was supposed to trust, much like Shazi and Khalid were! I really had no idea what the end game would be, and I loved that!
- If possible, the writing is even more amazing than in the first book! I like to flag quotes that I like, and this book is full of my tiny flags! Even rereading them to write this review(ish), I had all the feels- they brought me right back into the story. Renee's writing just evokes so much emotion, and brings the world and the characters to life so vividly.
Bottom Line: I am so sad that it is over, and I will miss these characters a lot, but I suppose that is what re-reads are for! If you liked the first book, you should love this one too! And if you haven't started the series, now that you know that the second book is good, you should go start the first one!
**Copy provided by publisher for review