I wanted to love this book. I was excited when I received a copy. The premise was so appealing to me, but I feel like the execution just fell flat. I love a revenge plot, and nothing excites me more than reading about a vengeful woman who is going to make everyone who betrayed her pay. Unfortunately, it just didn’t play out like that. The revenge that she did achieve felt too convenient and Dania didn’t live up to the strong, vengeful female that the beginning built her up to be. All of the revenge was anticlimactic as a result, and the end was ridiculous. The reveal at the end didn’t fit at all with the rest of the story and was definitely a weak point for the novel. It was also disappointing that Dania kept questioning her revenge so often and going soft for Maz. I didn’t feel like the book needed a romance and redeeming him in her eyes to try to humanize Dania more through the power of love was disappointing. I wouldn’t call this a romantasy though either because the characters had no chemistry. Dania should have simply embraced being a woman scorned. I also wish we saw more genuine friendship between Dania and Noor rather than her being an object of convenience that existed only whenever a revenge plot needed executing.

3-3.5 STARS. A YA Pakistani-based fantasy inspired by "The Count of Monte Cristo"? Count me in!

PROS: Lovers-to-enemies? Yeah, we like that. Memorizing each other's scars? (😍😍😍)
Always enjoy having a strong, vengeful female main character.

CONS: I think the world-building could have been a little more fleshed out, as well as the romantic relationship. It didn't feel like the story dragged, rather, it felt as though issues were resolved too quickly. Knowing Arabic, it was also jarring to repeatedly read the character surname "Khara" (although upon further investigation I believe it has a different meaning in Urdu...)

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Emily Varga for this eARC!

They had me with “Pakistani romantic fantasy.” Emily Varga’s FOR SHE IS WRATH is stupendously, bewitchingly good. Featuring an unputdownable plot centered on two star-crossed lovers caught in an impossible game of revenge, FOR SHE IS WRATH is the kind of story you had no idea you’d been waiting for. A truly impressive debut by Varga.

This book was SO good!! For She is Wrath is a Pakistani romantic fantasy retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. Now, I have not read the original The Count of Monte Cristo so this was the first time I was reading this story.

This book is about getting revenge. Dania served a year in prison for a crime she didn't commit. She was framed by the person she trusted most, Mazin, the man she once loved. Since the betrayal, she has been obsessed with thoughts of vengeance for the past year. She is adamant about getting justice and has made a list of everyone who has deceived her. She becomes friends witha fellow inmate named Noor while incarcerated, and they soon turn into close allies. They intend to work together to escape from prison, find a hidden cache of pilfered zoraat seeds, and face the perpetrators of the crime.

This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time! The plot was amazing, I loved the magical elements, the characters were so interesting and don't get me started on the twists! I very much enjoy a powerful FMC out for revenge and this book gave me everything I wanted!! Overall, I enjoyed this fantasy read!

Left to rot in a prison, Dani thinks of nothing else but escaping, returning to her baba, and exacting revenge on the person who put her there - the one she thought was the love of her life, a man she thought of as an Uncle, the captain of the royal guard, and the very Emperor who uses Djinn magic to hold power. As she and an unlikely ally escape, their agendas align and together they plot their revenge, not only for themselves but also for the people oppressed by the Emperor's actions.

Overall, the world building was done on the simpler side, just enough to help the reader understand the environment, culture, day to day lives, but there was a layering that was missing. There was not many moments where she took time to really paint the picture, showing us more depth of the world, the colors, the sounds, etc. While Djinn are mentioned all through the book, and the Djinn magic, it’s not until almost the end where we finally see one. I would have loved more folklore sprinkled throughout the book.

It reads very YA, starting off is a bit clunky. The initial background of the Emperor and how he came to power was sporadic and it was rough. There’s a clunky paragraph that tells who Vahid is, that he bargained with a Djinn and now is Emperor, but it was done so quick with it felt like a throw away. But what really grated me was Chapter 3, where we have a flash back, but then we don’t have another one for a long time. This was like whiplash, a better pacing would be to omit all the flashbacks - incorporate the important parts as a paragraph as she remembers something, or add in more flashbacks early on. The early flashbacks didn’t do much for me feeling the tension between Mazin and Dani, but after her escape and she is disguised as another person, I couldn’t stop rooting for redemption of Mazin.

As Dani is working with Noor, the pacing picks a better medium - it’s quick and filled with action, and the conversations help give more backstory, while also making it hard to put down. I would have liked more of Noor and Dani digging, getting to know each other, even if it’s high-level montage, before their escape attempt, that way we feel their companionship more deeply. Their friendship still feels more out of necessity, but for Dani to feel loyal to Noor enough to search her out first instead of going straight to freedom didn’t feel real.

Overall a fun read, I would be excited to see what Varga does next.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Emily Varga for providing me with an ARC and the opportunity to read this story.

From the synopsis, I knew that this story was a Pakistani romantic fantasy about loss and revenge, however I was not ready for the emotional journey this story took me on. From the first few pages, I knew I was hooked and invested. We start the story with a prison break and the fast paced, gut wrenching writing never stops. Our female main character, Dania, is probably one of the most unhinged characters I have come across yet. I have heard the words “female rage” used before to describe books and characters but I hadn’t encountered one until now. Dania IS rage, all encompassed; she is also determination, she is revenge and she is power.

Varga’s writing was so immersive that I felt all the desperation, anger, unforgiveness, uncertainty and inner turmoil as her characters experienced them. Everything felt so raw and exposed. I also think she also did a great job with the characters' development throughout the story. How they each went through their personal journey of understanding and acceptance.

If you want to read a story that will grip your attention from the moment you open it’s pages to the very end, I highly recommend this book. I’ll be on the lookout for other stories published by this author.

This was a great fantasy YA book! I loved that the world was easy to understand and the magic system was simple, but there was still a conclusion to the book that I didn’t guess ahead of time. I loved the friendship that developed between two of the main characters. I was engaged the entire time I was reading and it kept a pretty fast pace.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in return for my honest feedback.

Revenge and vengeance are such interesting concepts and both are fully explored in Emily Varga's novel 'For She is Wrath'. When framed for a crime she didn't commit by the boy she loves, Dania is sent to prison to live out the rest of her days. By a stroke of luck she befriends fellow cellmate Noir and they both escape prison and enter a path of retribution and revenge. Both Dania and Noor assume new identities and begin scheming and exacting their revenge.

Filled with magic, swords, and djinn this novel had it all. Most importantly it also showcases the slippery slope of pursing revenge and how it can consume a person. While this is a revenge tale, there's also a beautiful love story and flashbacks with Dania and Mazin - her childhood love. I appreciated the build up of Dania and Mazin's unexpected reunion and how Noor remained a constant vessel of humanity for Dania.

Filled with rich costumes, palaces, and delicious food Emily Varga has written a wonderful novel. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC in exchange for my thoughts.

When I came across this book on Netgalley, I was intrigued by the storyline. While I've never read The Count of Monte Cristo, I've seen the 2002 movie many times, so I'm familiar with the basic story, and I was interested in seeing how these two versions of the story would compare, or at least see if I could spot any similarities between the two stories. And I ended up really enjoying this book. It felt like it was a face paced read, and I was hooked from the very beginning. There were several scenes in the book that were very similar to the original story, so if you've read the book, or even watched any film adaptation, there will be scenes very similar in this book. So, if you're looking for a new book filled with revenge, action, magic, and jinn, I highly recommend giving this book a try when it comes out this fall.

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0

I received this as an ARC in exchange for a review. But I have also pre-ordered it.

This is a fantastic debut novel. I loved the story, the character journey, and even the surprise twist which actually saved this review from being lower. Was it perfect? No, but the author has a lot of potential and I cannot wait to see what more they have to offer.

It has found family aspects, lovers to enemies, and a lot of new to me mythology I want to look more into.

The only thing that truly hurt this overall enjoyable read was that I wanted more. There were parts that more information would have been helpful. Describing the scene, especially landscapes, instead of just glossing over it, and a little bit more history or backstory. I think a map at the start of the book would do wonders to even solve some of those issues without changing the story or doing significant editing.

Gender bent Count of Monte Cristo. The characters didn’t grab me. DNF at chapter 3 because the story and characters didn’t suck me in and I was bored.

The premise sounded right up my alley, but after five chapters in, I don't think this is for me. The writing did not work for me, and I found it difficult to continue with the story.

“ “I am a tool of vengeance now,” I uttered. “I exist to destroy those who came for me and my family.” I could feel my fingers tingling, a similar feeling to the one I got before lifting my sword for the first time in battle. That’s what this feeling must be—battle lust.”

For She is Wrath follows Dania who has been betrayed and falsely accused of a crime she did not commit. She plots out her revenge against those who have wronged her and won’t let anything get in her way.

I appreciated the Pakistani lovers to enemies romantic fantasy elements of this book. This is a plot-driven book with an almost singular focus on revenge (no surprise, given the title). These are not themes I normally read and I didn’t really find myself getting into the book until the last 20% or so. I thought about not finishing it a few times but was curious to see it to the end. If these are tropes you enjoy or you’re a fan of The Count of Monte Cristo, this could be a good fit for you.

I really enjoyed this book overall! There were several minor typos, primarily (if not solely) the space missing between two words, and I noted them all on my kindle if anyone would like that info (assuming it hasn’t been rectified already, which, I assume it has been lol). Thank you so much for allowing me this arc; I thoroughly loved it. Below is my review I posted to my new bookstagram acct, also linked below with my GR review.

A beautiful, thorough story of retribution and friendship. Gives you the satisfaction of vengeance/karma for those who deserved it. A plot twist I didn’t see coming, at the end of a medium-fast paced book. It’s a lose, fantasy, retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, with Pakistani women!

Pakistani retelling of Dumas’ masterpiece classic “The Count of Monte Cristo” couldn’t have been executed better! I enjoyed every part of it: the action-packed fighting scenes, prison escape sequences, mind-blowing revenge plans, scheming, betrayal, and high-chemistry romance with feminism and girl power vibes blended with Islamic horror, cultural elements, and supernatural phenomena, making the reading experience more enjoyable than most fantasy novels.

Dania is definitely the heroine you love to root for: tough, skilled fighter, survivor, determined, and behind her rough facade, she’s still caring and vulnerable for her loved ones. Being neglected from kind human touch makes her even more resilient.

Betrayed by the boy she loved and trapped in a prison cell for 364 days for a crime she didn’t commit, Dania faces torture by the notorious prison guard Touffsa, a vindictive, greedy, and merciless woman. She harbors revenge against the traitor guard Darbaran and her lover Mazin, who is also the right hand of Emperor Vahid, the first reason for putting blame on her.

When she hears scratching sounds in her cell and discovers a young prisoner girl named Noor attempting to escape, she realizes they can be partners to speed up the process. Noor knows how to raise and blend zoraat, a special vegetation that grants power and wealth to the empire. Together, they plan to use the zoraat’s powers to disguise themselves, create enough funds, and overthrow the emperor.

As unexpected events unfold and Noor is put in the infirmary, giving them a chance to escape and work on their plan, Dania must fight against the darkness slowly consuming her body and find a way to get revenge from Mazin, even as her feelings for him continue to ache her heart.

Can two young women defeat the most powerful emperor and his bloodthirsty guards, burning the empire to the ground while also fighting against more dangerous demons? Can Dania resist the Djinn powers seeking dark revenge?

Overall, it’s a fast-paced, exciting, and well-developed fantasy that I truly enjoyed. The romantic parts are also enjoyable, especially the palpable chemistry between Mazin and Dania. It’s one of the best retellings I highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for sharing this unputdownable YA fantasy novel’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

DNF around 50% and skimmed through the rest - I was extremely disappointed in this one. Noor was used only to help Dania escape in the beginning of the book then she was completely ignored, had no personality, no growth, and absolutely no revenge. Dania was so back and forth with her inner monologue it became frustrating and I couldn’t stand it anymore. For she is wrath? Where was the wrath for most of the book?

“…what was freedom worth if I still felt imprisoned?”

“For She is Wrath,” by Emily Varga

Framed for a crime, Dania is determined to escape prison and get revenge for the one who put her there, the boy she used to love. When another prisoner has knowledge of Djinn treasure, they both exact a plan to get justice for themselves.

I thought I knew what I was going to get into when I started this book, but wow did it impress me. The female rage in the book was absolutely amazing. All the characters were written so well and very dynamic, I got attached really fast. The world that was built was detailed and unique with the Pakistani scenery. It was very adventurous, dark and tense. The pacing was a good medium. The twists and turns were not what I was expecting, and I did not guess the ending at all. I absolutely loved this book and I’m so happy I read it. 5 out of 5 stars.

-Djinn
-Magic
-Drugs
-Revenge
-One Bed Trope
-Enemies To Lovers
-Found Family
-Pakistani
-The Count of Monte Cristo Retelling

Thank you so much for the ARC, Netgalley.

It was alright, It didn’t really achieve anything remarkable and i found myself able to skip over a few pages and still be able to follow the plot easily, it’s very simple writing and simple story good for a younger audience. I think someone 18/19 would relate more to the FMC mindsets than someone in their 20s.

I’ve never read The Count of Monte Cristo, so I kinda jumped into this a bit blindly. The premise is kickass: a young woman framed for a crime she didn’t commit breaking out of prison to get back at those who betrayed her. Dania is a super powerful character, and the shifting attitudes of being too blinded by rage to make smart decisions and working through her grief play really well together. The middle section of this book is absolutely stunning. Dania is struggling with her developing addiction to zoraat, her rage and grief around her family’s deaths, the betrayal of the boy she loved, all of these have created a beautiful character. There’s a huge build up of finally getting payback for what’s been done to her too, and the way it pieces together is so well written. There’s all of these conflicts between her best friend and whether they should seek revenge, she’s battling all of these thoughts around still loving the man who didn’t try to save her, and these moments where the book slows down to consider these ideas that Dania really shines.

My main concern with this book is the pacing. The beginning and end of this book seem very hurried, forcing a few moments between characters that sometimes don’t feel as earned. The sections in this book where Dania is plotting and working through all of her complex emotions shine so brightly. Maz isn’t my favorite character, and Dania’s being able to forgive him so quickly does fall a bit flat for me because her rage is such a huge character motivator that it doesn't seem like it should be dropped so quickly. I love a book where a girl is given the space to be pissed off and do something about it, so the later moments with Maz weren’t my favorite. That being said, the worldbuilding was such a fun backdrop for Dania and Noor’s adventures, and overall I had a good time!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I loved this retelling.