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Shahrzad has been taken from her husband and reunited with her family in the desert, where a deadly force gathers against Khalid — a force set on destroying his empire and all she holds dear — and is led by the man she used to love. A man who now won’t listen to reason.
All Shazi wants is to be back with Khalid — to live her life without fear of the curse or the coming war — back home in Rey, even if her beloved city lies in ruin from the disastrous storm her father caused. Tariq and his followers scorn her for loving the Caliph, but Khalid isn’t the monster she once thought him to be. He’s just a man suffering from immeasurable pain, grief, and guilt.
Trapped between loyalties, Shazi knows the only thing she can do now is to act. If she ever wants to return to Khalid, she has to find a way to break the curse and end the war herself, but evading enemies and staying alive isn’t so easy when you can’t tell friend from foe.
The Rose and the Dagger plunges readers back into the tempestuous love story of Shazi and Khalid. I loved the ancient Persian setting and was excited to be able to glimpse more of the world, but I was surprised to discover that the plot completely deviated from the first book. Instead of focusing on breaking the curse that was so prominently featured in The Wrath and the Dawn (though it was still a part of the story), it focused more on the coming war (which seemed a little anticlimactic in a way). Even so, I found it to be a satisfying ending in a rich, unforgettable world of sand and magic where love continues to risk anything to bring peace.
Rated: Moderate (though it borders on mild), for a vague sex scene between a husband and wife (there’s more focus on undressing and caressing). There are a couple of intense kisses. At one point, someone threatens to rape the main character. She, in turn, threatens to castrate him. Any violence is mostly lacking in detail, but toward the end of the book, there is a bit more blood. There are also about 13 uses of mild and moderate language.
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