This one was such a fun read! Loved the elements the author put into it! Can’t wait to see what she puts out next.

I will not be reviewing this book at this time. I had to DNF unfortunately. I felt that the book was dragging and nothing was really happening 25% of the way in. I will attempt it again at another time.

I was sold on this book just by the pitch of "Pakistani Count of Monte Cristo." This book takes revenge stories and enemies-to-lovers romances to a whole new level. I very much enjoyed this one and all the twists and turns and stakes and adventure along the way. One standout thing, too, was the friendship between the main character Dani and Noor. It was well done and really put the cherry on top of this book. Loved the world, loved the morally gray aspects, loved so much, honestly. Really looking forward to more of Emily Varga in the future.

I absolutely love stories about strong, complex women—and this book delivered that in spades. Dania’s journey, especially her realization that justified anger and hatred are two very different things, was both powerful and deeply satisfying to read. The character growth, the strength, the sheer presence she brought to the page—all of it made her an instant addition to my list of favorite characters.

Every word of this novel was a joy to read, and I truly adored it from start to finish. And as a delightful bonus, chai tea received the recognition it so thoroughly deserves.

I loved this story when it was about a girl getting revenge but I feel like it was cheapened by the fact that the author wanted it to also be a love story. I found the second half of the book predictable and I wasn't overly impressed with the ending.

This became one of my favorite YA fantasy romance reads! Absolutely stunning enemies to lovers, no notes.

Maybe the revenge is the friends we made along the way...

This was a solid stand-alone! I am not really familiar with The Count of Monte Cristo but that didn't affect my experience. You can't help but to cheer Dani on after everything that has happened to her. She has every right to be angry and thirst for revenge. Noor is the softer side, the one that keeps Dani grounded and helps her to remember the line between revenge and justice. She stole my heart the moment she showed up! Also, the way these two met...that will probably always stand out to me!

I often struggle with feeling emotionally connected when it comes to stand-alones but I didn't have that issue with For She is Wrath. This was beautifully written and the setting and descriptions really shine here. I love this little found family and watching them come full circle after they lost so much. The romance is pretty light!

The audiobook narration was fantastic! You do spend a fair amount of time with Dani's inner monologue but the emotion and voice acting was so good!

I am so happy to have my beautiful copy of this from Fairyloot!

Big thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC! For She is Wrath is available!

Really interesting premise with excellent execution for the YA audience. Great cover and something very unique within the genre. Easy writing style and well fleshed out characters.

DNF 41%

The Count of Monte Cristo is a movie I watched umpteen times and enjoyed it so much, so when I saw this was a Pakistani retelling, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I love stories of righteous fury and enacting revenge on those hurt you, but For She is Wrath just was not holding my attention. I don’t know if it’s because it’s such a true-to-the-original retelling or what, but there wasn’t enough new and exciting going on to keep me engaged. I may come back to this at a later time, but for now it just isn’t working for me.

Read 7/11/25-7/16/25, updated review:

This book was a hard one for me to read, not because it was bad or boring but because it so closely followed the beats of The Count of Monte Cristo that it was difficult to enjoy it as a story in its own. The last third or so leaned more heavily into the fantasy elements and that’s when it actually got good and interesting for me, and I did really like the ending, which is really the only reason this didn’t end up as a three-star read for me. It’s a good book with interesting world building and I would kind of like to see more of the world and especially Noor having her own story. At the same time, I don’t know if I’d be compelled to pick up another book by this author unless it’s an original and not a spin on a classic.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc. ♡
3.75
This was marketed as a retelling of Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo" and I would say its LOOSELY based on it and the author was able to make this story her own. One of my favorite parts about this book was the magic system and characters. Our FMC, Dania and Noor's friendship was done exceptionally, Noor on her own also has so much potential. While this book shined in all other aspects I was finding it a bit lacking when it came to the MMC, Mazin. I liked Mazin as a character but when it came to Dania's interactions with him I was expecting more than what we were given. I was waiting specifically for Mazin to mention his past with Dania and allude to what he confesses in the end before we got to that part. Without giving anything away, Mazin's explanation was such a lackluster moment to me and I think had he during the book mentioned literally anything about Dania it would have worked better???

Regardless, I enjoyed reading this book and cannot wait for a sequel, if there is one? (fingers crossed it follows Dania's friend Noor more)

For She is Wrath by Emily Varga
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The Count of Monte Cristo, but gender swapped and make it Pakistani. (SOLD *gimme hands*)
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4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I forgot everything I knew about this book when I started the audio. It took me one chapter to think to myself “this is kind of like The Count of Monterey Cristo”. (Runs to Goodreads, reads synopsis, it IS a retelling of Count, does excited dance, makes popcorn, binges book, falls in love)

This was EVERYTHING I didn’t know I always wanted in a gender swapped retelling of CoMC. It took all my favorite parts of the story and built such an action packed, amazing story filled with drama, suspense, heartbreak, and love.

I listened to the audio which was phenomenal and helped with the pronunciation. I highly recommend. But whether audio or visual, put this book on your TBR. It was soooooooo good!

The Count of Monte Cristo is a personal favourite of the classics. I first read it when I was only 14; and again read it at 17, that time in French. I really should revisit it again now that I’m over 40. Going into any retelling always makes me both nervous and excited. You never can be sure what will happen when you read book inspired by old stories. I’m happy to say I quite enjoyed this one.

There are a couple of major changes to the main story; including a magical element added as the setting naturally brings in djinn magic. Emily Vargas also gives us female leads, instead of men. The ending is different in a way, and I (surprisingly) didn’t have much of an issue with that either. For She is Wrath is a solid use of an old story to tell a new one.

Vargas takes us on a journey that includes the expected elements of friendship, greed and revenge, like the original story, but also adds in compassion, forgiveness, and an endearing romance. While we spend 80% of the novel in the midst of a revenge scheme, we also learn a lot about the cost of revenge, and that many people in life wish for it but forget it comes at a cost. I really connected with this. While today I very happy with my life, love my partner, own a home, adore my puppy, and more; a piece of me still occasionally wishes for revenge on a couple people who terribly wronged me as a teenager. It’s silly, and I know that, as without their actions I wouldn’t be where I am today (and I would NEVER give that up) but I am human, as we all are, and thus lust for revenge as I believe many of us secretly do.

Just as Alexander Dumas did so many years before, Vargas takes the revenge desire and makes it relatable. Ultimately showing that humans may evolve, but we don’t change. Our primary drivers of love, greed, revenge, etc. all remain the same today as they did hundreds of years ago. With or without technology, space travel, and the internet we all still retain the primal instinct to survive, and wish to be in control of our lives. No one wants to be under someone else’s control.

I hope For She is Wrath will bring younger readers to the works of Dumas. It’s a great reflection on who we are, who we want to be, and that while circumstance may shape us they do not have to not define us. With just enough romance to be put in the ‘romantasy’ genre, I found this book to be a solid entry alongside the explosion of retellings and fantasy stories currently trending. It’s suitable for age 13 or 14 and up. There is some sex that happens, but no smut or graphic descriptions. Lots of sword fighting but no gratuitous gore. I’d be comfortable putting this into any avid teenage readers hands or recommending it to any adults that enjoy this genre. I am walking away from For She is Wrath content that Dumas’ original story has not been totally bastardized in its use and that the moral dilemmas still resonant today. I look forward to finding a fancy edition of this one to put on my print bookshelf!

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Rage, Revenge and ruined trust with a side of magic. Dania is done playing nice. She's out for blood and honestly? I was rooting for her the whole time.

I love retellings of classical fiction & while it's been a while since I've read Dumas's original, I thought Varga's intepretation, reinvention & even in many places subversion of the famous classic was spot on. I loved the queer & feminist themes & the MC was easy to root for! Will defintely be seeking out more from this author!

To start off, I think that advertising this as a female retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo was a misstep. One of my main gripes was the fact that the FMC only spent one year in prison before going on her revenge tour. I needed MUCH more pain and suffering to have happened to make her rage and need for revenge truly believable, like Dante’s’ 15 years. I’m not sure if that choice was made in order to keep the her young to appeal to younger readers or what, but it was a miss for me. I wanted much higher stakes.

My other biggest complaint is that the romance seemed to overpower every other theme in the entire book. Maybe because the FMC was young, naive, and boy crazy. And not to mention how Noor was so bland, it felt like she was a scape goat to make things make sense.

Overall, there wasn’t enough struggle, strategy, or, as the title implies, WRATH to compare to the original which made this a disappointment for me.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

The beginning was a little slow and repetitive but once the story picked up I really enjoyed this! As a South Asian woman I loved all the beautiful world building and references to food and clothing. I loved how strong and unapologetically angry Dania was and Noor was a wonderful contrast to her. I also really enjoyed the complicated relationship between Dani and Maz.

Thank you to SMP and Wednesday Books for the review copies.

This is a no for me unfortunately. I did love the beginning, the magical elements and the relationship between the FMC and MMC. But oh boy the story kept getting worse. I forced myself to finish in the end so I could give a proper review 🫣.

The problem is that there’s too many plot twists that sort of felt like they were bunched in just for the sake of it. Plot twists are great but it’s important that they are solid and serves a true purpose to the story. This was the same for side characters that just pops in and out. The main leads also forget their purposes in the end and the whole story fell really flat in the end. If you have watched any Bollywood movies of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the revenge, the blood, and the fire are similar. Apart from the fact that this is like a poorly executed YA version. There’s no true substance in the end. The ending was truly frustrating! 🫣

That’s all I have to say about this one so I won’t recommend this. If you however want to read, I’d recommend the audio which is probably the reason why I even finished this.

Thank you to the publishers for a gifted copy. All thoughts my own.

4.5 Stars

I adored this! I thought it was smart, romantic, immersive, and gorgeously written. I had a great time reading it, and loved every moment of it. I think Emily Varga is a writer to watch, and I definitely hope to read more from her. Her worldbuilding was strong, her story was compelling, and I loved the characters. Perfect for fans of Hafsah Faizal, Xiran Jay Zhao, and Sabaa Tahir.

This book had me hooked from chapter one. A Pakistani fantasy retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo with magic, revenge, and a betrayed heroine with a sword? YES, PLEASE.

Dania is a fierce, vengeful, secret-keeping swordswoman, and her story is packed with everything I love: lovers-to-enemies, female rage, djinn magic, secret identities, and the kind of plotting that keeps you flipping pages late into the night.

Fast-paced, emotionally charged, and full of twists—For She Is Wrath is an absolute must-read for fans of vengeance-fueled fantasy.

This book was hard to put down. It was exquisite. It’s a unique “The Count of Monte Cristo” retelling with beautifully lush details, Djinn magic, action-packed fighting scenes, prison escapes, and a well done revenge plot. The writing was absolutely gorgeous. It’s so hard to put what I felt while reading this into words. I would definitely recommend reading this one.