This was such an interesting one. Count of Monte Cristo retellings are always some of my favorites because I love how complex they get and how much they get into the complexities of revenge and how they change the human psyche. I loved the main character and getting into her head.

I think I am simply burned out on romantic YA fantasy a little because this had all the things I love, yet I couldn't completely fall in love with it. Still a really good book I might revisit sometime soon, though!

For She Is Wrath by Emily Varga is a dark and gripping revenge fantasy that delivers high stakes, fierce heroines, and an electrifying blend of rage and justice. The novel follows a young woman determined to dismantle the corrupt system that stole everything from her, using deadly skills and an unwavering sense of vengeance. Varga’s writing is sharp and immersive, balancing action, intrigue, and deep emotional intensity. With its morally complex characters, fast-paced plot, and themes of power and retribution, For She Is Wrath is a thrilling and empowering read for fans of dark fantasy and fierce female protagonists.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book for an honest review.

I enjoyed For She is Wrath. It hooks you from the beginning and is a wild ride! I loved the friendship that developed between Noor and Dani. Love a good found family trope. It's a fantasy set in Pakistan. This book has revenge, friendship, djinn magic, family, and a bit of romance. It's fast paced and heart breaking with a satisfying ending.

Thanks to Wednesday Books & Netgalley for the arc.

Honestly the main character was a bit insufferable and took away my enjoyment of the book. She was wrath until her ex appeared and then she was fighting her love for him. You knew there was going to be more to his betrayal and there was. It was predictable and rushed.

For She Is Wrath was a great YA fantasy in the style of The Count of Monte Christo with a female lead who is out for revenge. I liked the incorporation of djinn magic in the retelling and the romance and flashbacks to the slow build of their relationship was one of the best parts of the book. Overall, I think this was a great debut for Emily Varga and a well-written example of feminine rage!

I put this book down about 25% in. The main reason for this was the repetition of the main character's feelings and motives as if doing so would convince me that a) this is what the main character feels and b) her reasons make sense. I was unconvinced by both, and the main character did not hold my attention. This repetition in the writing style and the over-the-top dramatic pronouncements without what I felt to be substantiation annoyed me and made the book hard to read.

For She Is Wrath is a Pakistani romance fantasy retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo and this one is a page turner from beginning to end. This book had me captivated from the beginning and the story was so intriguing. The author did a great job writing this and all of the characters in this were so good. I especially liked Dania in this book. It was a fast paced book and one I liked a lot. I would recommend this one to any young adult readers or who love fantasy. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this one in exchange of my honest review of She Is Wrath by Emily Varga.

In this spin on The Count of Monte Cristo, Dania is the daughter of a renowned swordsmith, imprisoned for a crime she didn’t commit because the boy she loved betrayed her. She’s had a year alone in a cell to focus on just one thing: revenge. So, when an unexpected ally appears in her cell with an overlap in enemies and an opportunity for escape, Dania is ready. With the help of her new friend, a hidden treasure, and a bit of Djinn magic, she returns to the city where she was betrayed, spinning the perfect web to take down the ones who sent her to prison. But revenge is a fire that’s difficult to douse or contain- will Dania herself be safe from her own fury?
3.5/5 stars for a story I loved let down by a rushed and thematically muddled ending.
First, what I loved (there’s a lot to love!)-
Dania’s friendship with Noor. So many FMCs like Dania who are tough, self-possessed, and great with a sword look down on other women. I think my number one pet-peeve in a story like this (YA fantasy with a badass fmc) is when the only women besides our heroine in the story are either dead and inspiring or alive and comically “mean girl”. Noor is a sweetie and is allowed to be angry with Dani AND doesn’t need to learn to love sword fighting to be valuable. (Also shoutout to the novella Noor by Nnedi Okorafor, which has nothing to do with this, but I love and Noor’s name kept making me think about)
The setting! My background with costuming meant I flipped most for the beautiful descriptions of clothing and how Varga has Dani use costume design principles to help control her image while in disguise (the social and economic implications of different fabric types! Yes!). The food is just as lushly described. Varga did an amazing job creating a sense of place: the cave with the treasure, Dania’s village, the city- everything felt grounded. And it made me hungry.
Rage! I love women being allowed to be angry. I loved how we see different women hold their anger in different ways (Dani, Noor, Nanu) and even though I didn’t love all these portrayals, I love that we got to explore different sides of an emotion that women are taught to not access. I liked that Varga focused on the contrast between power they can wield when they’re able to channel that anger versus the danger when the anger controls them.
The chemistry! I will admit I have a higher bar to find straight romance a highlight- I need to feel the angst and build up to have fun with it- but Dania and Maz were compelling to me (ending excluded). I loved seeing the build up in the flashbacks and the conflict Dani felt watching Maz fall for her-as-Sonaya was juicy and knotty. Love to see it!
Now, the let down- it’s the ending-
Dani and Maz’s conflict wraps up too fast and too cleanly. Frankly, I thought his excuse sounded a bit suspicious and I feel like the way Dani has been characterized, she would, too. Reflecting, if Maz had revealed he knew who Dani was MUCH earlier, we could still have put them getting back together closer to the end, but there would have been more space for them to fight and communicate with all the cards on the table. I liked them as a couple, but they’ve clearly both changed and I wanted the angst of them grappling with that too!
Nanu? That felt like it went from zero to a hundred so fast! Did I miss something? I think this and some of my issues with Maz’s excuse re: betraying Dani could have been addressed if he was the one who’d killed the tribal leader. Nanu was definitely portrayed as a bit cold and complex, but the full, unredeemable heel-turn was wild.
The way the addiction plot line wrapped up. I actually really liked how the zorat consumption was portrayed as addictive- it added stakes to the magic use and had some interesting historical parallels in how the government could use control over the seeds to control the people. Having a heroine grapple with addiction without that being seen as something demonized was great! But then- she’s just fine? She purges it from her system and is fine? I know it’s YA and we want a neat ending, but I was disappointed because the set-up was compelling.
Despite this disappointment, I loved enough of this book to recommend it (with some caveats) and I’ll definitely keep my eyes peeled for what Varga writes next!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love a good retelling of a classic! Count of Monte Cristo is one that most people know but hasn't been retold a lot. I was also excited about it being a Pakistan inspired retelling. It has a wish list a reader could only dream of! A main character that is strong and independent, check! A retelling of one of my favorite classics, check! A romance that hits every type of relationship including enemies, check!
Dania is a main character that is truly morally grey. Her love for her father leads her down the dark path of revenge that leave you rooting for the "villain." She has a love for knives and being the best swordsman. But her loyalty to the ones she loves is what really makes her character shine! I appreciate that the only thing she refused to change was her hands that she had used to learn her craft and wanted to always remember why she was seeking revenge. My only issue with the main character is towards the end she became very one dimensional. Whether that was a choice to show her uncontrollable need for revenge or maybe trying to stick closely to the classic... I just felt we lost a lot of the depth we had with her and almost went a step back in her development as a character.
The romance at times was very sweet but I felt the chapters going back and forth on time lines sometimes left me feeling whiplash. I wanted to know the whole love story and what happen to her betrayal when I first meet Mazin in the current timeline. I didn't really feel a connection to him till the end and it felt rushed even though we had an entire chapters devoted to explaining the exposition of their love. So with the pacing being off I felt like the beginning was slow to really have any plot but then the last fifty pages was just choppy with major plot development one right after the other.
The last thing I really liked was the plot twist towards the very end. I honestly had no idea the story was headed in that direction and was pleasantly surprised because it did make perfect sense to the story. I do think the author throughly thought out her story and wanted to tell us a complete arc. But this is a point where I could say we might have been able to split the story into a duology. Overall I really enjoyed the story and was happy to have a unique retelling of such an enchanting classic!

This story was an interesting story from an author I don’t know or haven’t read before! Will look at finding other things by this author. I am grateful for the early access, thank you to those that allowed it!

Actual rating 3.5 stars

I was looking forward to this read quite a bit. I haven’t read too many classics but I actually enjoyed the abridged version of the Count of Monte Cristo years. So this being a retelling of that made me very curious. But it just didn’t hit the mark for me at every point. I did enjoy some elements but it just didn’t captivate me the way u had hoped. There were times when I felt like the main character didn’t show enough anger towards the love interest for the betrayal. But I did enjoy the friendship that developed.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

For She Is Wrath is a breathtaking, high-stakes fantasy filled with vengeance, betrayal, and magic woven into every page. From the opening scene to the last, Emily Varga delivers a gripping story that had me completely hooked.

Dania is a fierce and compelling protagonist—her determination, skill with a blade, and unwavering pursuit of justice make her impossible not to root for. The dual timelines masterfully unravel her past and present, deepening the emotional weight of her quest. The magic system, inspired by djinn, adds another layer of intrigue that blends seamlessly with the intense action and political scheming.

The relationships in this book shine, particularly Dania’s dynamic with Noor. Their friendship is just as powerful as the romance, grounding the story in deep bonds of trust and loyalty. And the romance? Absolutely heartbreaking in the best way. Lovers-to-enemies-to-maybe-something-more, filled with longing, tension, and the kind of quotes that make your heart ache. Maz is an unforgettable love interest, and every interaction between him and Dania crackles with emotion.

With stunning worldbuilding, masterful pacing, and an unforgettable protagonist, For She Is Wrath is an absolute must-read for fantasy fans. I couldn’t put it down, and I’ll definitely be getting a physical copy when it releases!

3.5 stars!!!

When I first started this book, I thought it was going to be an easy 5 star book. The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite classics and the opening scenes perfectly capture the vibes of The Count. Then the addition of DJINN had me thinking that the author cyber-stalked me to write the perfect novel just for me. The thing that brought down my enjoyment soooo much was the romance (who's surprised). It felt like it came out of nowhere and that there was no chemistry between the main character and the love interest. I might be a bit rusty on what happens in The Count, but it feels like it strayed so far away from what made that book so magical. I did enjoy the Djinn magic and curses but I felt like we didn't get enough of these specific Djinn and what their role in the world is. I think if the romance was better done (or honestly, in the background of the story) I would've been able to forgive it, but alas, it fell too flat for me. This might be one of those books that I need to reread to better appreciate what the author added to such a wellknown story so I do have hope that one day my rating will go up. In the meantime, it is what it is.

5 ⭐ No notes.

I fell in love with Dania at the start - a badass swordswoman who was ready and waiting for her revenge. I was listening to the audio and felt connected to her and loved her inner thoughts and how she planned and plotted her revenge throughout the course of the book. I haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo in a very long time, so I can't speak to how true a retelling it is, but I love the threads I picked up on. I think the more I learned about Noor, the more I ended up liking her - she had a solid head on her shoulders while Dania was both struggling with her love and revenge.

Mazin was an interesting MMC. He and Dania had wonderful chemistry as they fought between their love and their goals. Everything he did to her helped fuel her rage and I love it.

The Djinn magic was not something I expected in this, but I adored the addition of it to the plot. Dania's struggle to resist the dark powers was a highlight for me in her development. Emily Varga is officially a must-read author for me. Though this was YA fantasy, it felt very mature and well-developed.

"But hope was a dangerous thing, because once taken away, it was impossible to feel more despair."

🗡️ Pakistani The Count of Monte Cristo retelling
🗡️ Enemies to Lovers
🗡️ Revenge & Betrayls
🗡️ Dual Timeline
🗡️ Slow Burn romance
🗡️ Female Rage

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio & Wednesday books for the eARC & ALC of For She is Wrath by Emily Varga for my honest review!

Title: For She is Wrath by Emily Varga
Genre: Fantasy
Pub Date: October 29, 2024
📖 430 pages

Powerful Djinn Magic
FMC Framed for Murder
Lovers to Enemies
Epic Betrayals
Island Prison Break
Dual Timelines
Mission of Vengeance

📖 Dania was framed for murder and following her escape from the high security prison she vows to enact her revenge against those who wronged her. Armed with dark magic and a new identity, she seeks to destroy those who betrayed her, even as her ex-lover complicates her plans.

I loved this one so much. It's hard to find a book that doesn't focus mainly on the romance and enemies to lovers, but if you're looking for feminine rage, you've found it here! For She is Wrath is a must read!

3.5 stars

I originally feared that we would focus too heavily on her being so powerful and "not like other girls" and so on, and there was more of that than I typically prefer but not so much as to put it over the edge. I also worried mightily about the romance aspect of this, but she handled it pretty well and believably, I thought. I loved that we got more emphasis on the friendship between Dani and Noor than the romance with Mazin.

I still feel like the title is just not appropriate for the book, especially since righteous anger does have its place but there were several life lessons learned in the book and to put an emphasis on wrath seems an odd choice.

It isn't hard to guess that this is Varga's debut, but I'll be back for future books by her and look forward to seeing her writing improve.

Emily Varga's FOR SHE IS WRATH might be the best THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO retelling I've ever read--and it's gender-bent! Why people aren't screaming from rooftops how fantastic this novel is is truly beyond me. I love the classic, and Varga really captures the essence of everything that makes the classic compelling. Such great worldbuilding and well-developed magic system. The best part is probably the diverse representation for a classic written by a white passing Black man that is generally retold by white authors and with white characters.

I love angry women!! There is nothing better than witnessing the wrath of Dania. It is the perfect romantasy.

I love the perspective of this book. It was a great read and written well. Thank you to netgalley for this copy.