Here's the thing - I was a little doubtful about how this book would come to life and BOY WAS I PLEASANTLY SURPRISED! I loved seeing Dania throughout this novel and was incredibly invested in her storyline. I kind of liked that the ending leaves you feeling a bit unsettled - it's one that I think of often. Thank you, St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for this ARC.

Give me all of the feminine rage!! I wasn’t sure how well a Count of Monte Cristo retelling was going to work in this setting, but I was proved wrong and I’m so glad I was. I’m happy that all of the focus wasn’t on the romance in this book, and that we got more about her passion and drive. Some of the prose felt a bit underdeveloped, but overall I enjoyed this one!

For She Is Wrath is a fantasy retelling of The Count Of Monte Cristo, reimagined in a Pakistani setting. And it's a good one! In some ways, it's very similar to other popular YA novels. I think fans of Throne of Glass would particularly like it. We have lovers to enemies, prison breaks, a young girl with a lust for revenge going undercover to insinuate her way into the royal court, strong friendships...

And I loved the cultural aspect. Readers should know that food is mentioned just about every other page. It made me hungry.

It took a bit for me to get into this one, but then I was fully invested. I loved this twist on the Count of Monte Cristo. I will definitely keep my eyes open for the author’s next book.

This was so nearly a 5-star read for me! Events were rushed in the last quarter of the story, and the protagonist's sidekick never seemed fully fleshed-out, so there's a slight feeling of dissatisfaction by the end of the book. But what a fantastic twist on The Count of Monte Cristo! The author made so many clever choices and the incorporation of a magical fantasy element to a familiar tale gave it something extra special. There were lots of unexpected plot twists and I reveled in this woman-led story of revenge and forgiveness. I would certainly love to read more from this author.

3.5 stars

I'm here for a Count of Monte Cristo retelling always. I love revenge stories and was excited to watch Dania get back at those who wronged her.

The beginning was great, Dania is awesome with a sword and I liked seeing the plans form to infiltrate the emperor's court. Around halfway, things slowed down some and became more about the romance. I just wanted more vengeance and to see Dania truly bring everyone to their knees, but we didn't quite get that.

This was a good retelling, it just didn't quite hit for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the copy.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher Wednesday Books, and the author for this eARC & ALC in exchange for an honest review!

"You were forged in the fires of hatred too, made new by your revenge"

I knew this book was going to be a win for me as soon as I saw that it was a Count of Monte Cristo retelling with Pakistani mythology. The Count of Monte Cristo is in my top five favorite classics.

The beginning was very familiar to the classic but I loved how the author slowed added more and more worldbuilding that made this book vibrant and engaging. The magical elements were fascinating and I didn't feel like there were pieces missing in the end.

Overall an amazing fantasy book that I highly recommend.

What to expect in For She Is Wrath:
Pakistani mythology
Toxic family members with dysfunctional dynamics
Female rage
Vengeance
Djinn magic
Romance
Banter
Lovers to enemies to lovers

It is probably my fault for waiting so long to read this, but I’ve recently realized that YA just doesn’t hit the same for me. Because of that, this story was hard for me to get through. The characters just felt like cardboard cutouts of people.

<strong>4.0 / 5.0</strong>

This was a beautiful story. I liked the magic, the world, the found family, and the lovers to enemies to lovers. The prose is well done and not too embellished. There is some muddled scenes and some pacing issues, but overall a quick enough read.

Until Next Time,
MC

Thank you to NetGalley for access to this eARC.

This book had me hooked from the first page with its fierce, unapologetic heroine and haunting atmosphere. I loved the powerful themes of vengeance and rebirth—Emily Varga writes with fire and elegance. If you give me morally complex women with power? I’m all in.

The Count of Monte Christo is one of my favorite classics so when I heard about this book, I got so excited, and I was not disappointed.
I loved the worldbuilding and the characters. I thought it was all fleshed out really well and the writing style made me just want to keep reading. I also really liked the revenge plot.
The only thing that I didn't love was the relationship between Dani and Mazin. I really liked it up until the point where the enemies become lovers. To me, it didn't seem like it was true to the characters and I really don't think that Mazin had the redemption arc he needed for the Dani to forgive him.
Overall, though, I enjoyed the book and would read it again.

2.5 stars rounded up. This book was just okay. I attempted to read it in the fall, but I just couldn’t get into it. This time around, I was able to make it through the book. There was a small interesting twist. Unfortunately, I found the writing and majority of the plot to be lacking. I love a good revenge story, but this just seemed dull and repetitive. I also love a good romance. I found that to be lacking too. The characters fell flat for me. The premise of the book is interesting. I was excited for a great Pakistani romantasy revenge story. It just didn’t play out in a way that would keep me engaged. I really wanted more world building and deeper characters. Just because I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I expected, doesn’t mean you won’t love it! I will say that I do appreciate a strong female lead character, which this had. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been on a kick of Monte Cristo style revenge stories recently, and this one definitely meets the criteria. The best parts of this book are the moments of dramatic irony surrounding Dani’s (this book’s woe begotten Edmund Dantes) hidden identity as she magically changes her appearance and faces down the people who wronged her. Her emotions are palpable in every moment and the story is firmly anchored in her rage, sadness, and dogged determination. Similar to how the most memorable moments of Monte Cristo are when the reader sees flashes of Dantes in the count as his emotional turmoil breaks through.

The romance here is actually quite good, I’m a fan of male leads who can be powerful and even domineering without being growly, over protective, alpha male dickheads. Mazin has his own background and agenda, which gives him a personality and goals outside of being possessive over Dani which ultimately brings him into real conflict with her. She maybe forgives him a little quicker and easier than I would have—and I would have liked the tension between them to be drawn out even longer—but his reasons are understandable and even admirable if you like the kind of guy who has morals outside of the usual bland “touch her and you die.”

Honestly, I kept waiting for something to happen between Dani and Noor (a combination of Abbe Faria, Jacopo, Ali, and every other Dantes sidekick you can think of) but, unfortunately, the closer Dani gets to Mazin, the more Noor becomes a plot damsel which is regrettable. The magic system is unique and has my one of my favorite magic tropes: the thing you need to consume to do magic consumes you in turn, but it becomes moot by the end of the book for reasons and I felt like more could have been done with it.

Overall, this is a great debut novel and I’ll happily read more of anything Emily Varga writes!

Thank you, Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for my eARC of For She is Wrath by Emily Varga. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

I loved this book! When I saw it was a Pakistani romantasy reimagining, I had to read it and boy did it not disappoint.

This book had so many elements that I love: strong female lead, the multiple timelines we get (flashbacks and present day), magic system, revenge, and the lovers turned enemies turned lovers. Plus it had a strong friendship that was just as important as the romance in this book.

I can't wait to read more from Varga. Thanks, Wednesday Books!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC copy of this book, apologies for the late review.

For She Is Wrath is commendable because it wants to tell the story of a woman who is so wrapped up in her own revenge story that she doesn't see what else is around her. She is strong, hard-headed and knows how to fend for herself, but her heart carries a deep bitterness that prevents her from moving forward. All in all, Dania is very interesting protagonist. However, whatever interest I had in her as a protagonist dissipated the further I read. The following are my reasons for struggling to enjoy the book the further on I went (being as vague as possible to avoid spoilers!)

* The love story fell a bit flat for me. There wasn't enough time spent deepening the bond between love interests.
* The repetition. So many times the same idea was repeated over and over, sometimes just within paragraphs of each other. It is frustrating to be reading and not really getting further along with either plot or character progression.
* Character development felt like it was lost upon anyone who wasn't the main character.
* The twist at the end felt like it could have been really good, but some of the motivations that caused it to happen felt unclear and confusing.

Alas! I really wanted to like this book - this one might be your cup of tea - but it was not mine.

I honestly don't know how to review this. It felt more like a setup for what could be a great series to come. Like a drawn out first act as opposed to a complete work. I will always support an angry desi woman on a revenge path, so there is that.

This book was just what I needed to get through a time in the world where women’s rights are under siege. The motivations for each character were clear and seeing karma come to those who deserved it was like a balm to my soul.

This one gets the 1-star bump as "For She is Wrath" is Emily Varga's debut novel, a well-written, engaging, and action-packed novel of betrayal, revenge, romance, and magic djinn. It's inspired by "The Count of Monte Cristo," of course, but set in a world that seems to be inspired more by the Indian subcontinent than nineteenth century France. There's magical djinn seeds, scimitars, a best friend named Noor, caravanserai, and of course, the evil djinn himself (or, herself?).

What's probably the best feature of this book, in my opinion, is the strength and determination of young Dania, who begins the story trying to break out of prison. The role-reversal of the character really worked for me, as Dania was outspoken and often did the rescuing, rather than the other way around. I also enjoyed that the story began in media res, and then through a series of flashbacks the readers get to learn of her backstory and the reasons for her overwhelming need for revenge.

I read this as an ARC from Netgalley, the publishers, and author. My thanks for the opportunity of another great read.

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin sPress, and Wednesday Books for this free copy of "For She Is Wrath."

Always be super careful when you're making bargains with a djinn. Especially when what you want is revenge on your enemies.

Dania is a wonderful, strong, resourceful character. She was trained to be an expert sword wielder and fighter by her swordcrafter father. Framed for a crime she didn't commit, she vows vengeance on those responsible which include Mazin, the young man she loved (still loves?)

So you know there's a djinn but there's also hidden treasure, disguises, court intrigue, betrayals, and smooching.

This debut novel by author Varga felt like reading a whirlwind, especially with the surprising ending.

I truly wish I had been reading this book at a time when my life wasn't so hectic so I could have fully immersed myself in the world and enjoyed the journey, but even without full immersion, I had a fantastic time. I'm always going to be a sucker for a gender-swapped version of a classic tale, and changing the setting so it's even more diverse? Sign me up. I truly loved all the characters and will 100%, always, at all times, support women's wrongs. I think the ending was beautiful and wrapped things up in a satisfying way, but I wouldn't be opposed to more books written in this world - a sequel/companion novel about Noor, anyone? Overall, this book kept me engaged and intrigued, even if I didn't have the energy to pick it up and read everyday.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.