I really enjoyed this YA retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. It has the classic’s revenge plot while bringing a lot of new twists to the table.

The story is set in a beautifully described Pakistani inspired world where Djinn magic is wielded by a tyrannical emperor. In this empire two young women who have been falsely imprisoned escape their jail in order to seek revenge, with the help of a hidden treasure and dangerous magic. I love djinn stories so I was super excited for this!

I adored our main character Dania’s wit, swordsmanship and strong friendship with Noor. I was rooting for her from page one.

Whether you are a fan of the classic or just love a story full of adventure, betrayal and intrigue I definitely recommend this book!

Inspired by the Count of Monte Cristo (especially the movie version), Varga's book tells the story of two girls--Dania and Noor--as they escape from prison and gain revenge against the Emperor and assorted other people who betrayed them using the magic of djinn. I would have liked to understand the djinn a little better, within the world of the novel, especially given the significant role they ended up playing in both the worldbuilding and the plot. But overall, this was a fun, well-plotted novel that moved along at a good pace with lots of twists, turns, and surprises along the way.

This is your classic YA fantasy book, and it’s a standalone, a rarity in the genre. The setting is rich, and I found myself craving the food described in the book’s pages. However, the politics and magic system of the world feel undercooked, probably because this is a standalone and there can only be so many pages devoted to setting the story up. The writing is action-heavy.

Dani is a cool FMC. She’s tough and brash and no extraordinary beauty. Her friendship with Noor is so strong, though it is weird Noor is kept in a servant-like role for a lot of the story, and her existence is mainly to support Dani. The romance… it doesn’t work for me. Maz comes across cold af. You can understand his motivations, but still, there needs to be more groveling. I feel like Dani loved him way more than he loved her, and she always took the initiative with him. There’s this German movie called Phoenix, which has a somewhat similar plot but it’s set during the Holocaust and thereafter, and I kind of wish the book had a similar ending. I wanted a shock to Maz’s system and some retribution.

Omggggg

Omggggg

Omgggggggggg

BIG BIG THANKS to whichever book gods I pleased cause I honestly don’t even remember requesting this one.

THIS WAS GOOD. LIKE SO SO SO GOOD.

Djinn

Count of Monte Cristo retelling with big big vibes.

Rivals to friends to lovers to enemies to lovers

BE STILL MY FUCKING HEART

And MAZ.

FUCKING SWOON

Exhibit A

"Did you think I wouldn't know you? I'd know you with any face. Any skin. Any hair. A thousand djinn could disguise you from me and I'd still be able to find you just by the sound of your breath."

Exhibit B

"Because unless you tell me that, my foolish heart hopes and dreams and imagines. I can't make right what I did, I can't change it. But I can beg. I can promise that in all things, in all ways, I belong to you. And I will never let you feel as though I didn't fight for you again."

Exhibit fucking C

"Either like you want to kiss me or stab me. I can't always tell with you, but for some reason they are both equally as exciting."

I MEAN SERIOUSLY. CAN HE GET ANY BETTER?!?!

I’m so thankful for the eARC and I IMPLORE you to go read this book come its birthday.

WOW! This was an amazing read! The story was fantastic and the flow of it was great. There is no spice in this book but it does not need it. The characters are very relatable and well rounded.

I had high hopes for this. Especially when I saw that it was Pakistani-inspired. I liked how the culture was woven in and I adored Dania and Noor's friendship. I thought it had a great start, I felt Dania's bloodthirst and need for retribution. But that soon lost its steam. The plot became super predictable, I didn't feel the stakes. The romance and love interest fell flat in my opinion.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the arc!

Currently this is sitting at a 3.5/5 for me. It might change the longer I sit on it, but it'll stay here for now.

I really enjoy any stories based on The Count of Monte Cristo, and I feel like this one somewhat hit the mark. The beginning and middle of this book were strong to me, but the ending sort of fell flat and had some plot diversions that kind of came out of nowhere. I feel like with a lot of twists, there tends to be some form of subtle hints toward it, but some of these kinda feel like they came out of left field. A lot of plot points of Dania and Noor's revenge also seemed very convenient for the plot. There is some scheming, but one of the things I enjoy about TCoMC is how long and thoroughly planned out Dantes's revenge is. Although there is some planning to Dania and Noor's revenge, I feel like a lot of it was just convenient and there wasn't a lot to the planning other than "this is what we are going to do". Things just resolved too conveniently and quickly for me. They were only imprisoned for a year and their revenge plans seemed to be wrapped up within the same amount of time as well, so it was all fairly quick. Dania was kinda wishy-washy on some of the plans too, which is understandable as she was derailed from plans because of her obvious love she still has for Maz. They were cute, and I thought it was sweet when it was revealed he could identify her by her hands alone. There was a lot that worked for me in this book, and there was a fair amount that didn't work for me, so I feel like I am fairly neutral on how I feel about this book. Nonetheless, it was still an enjoyable and quick rid that had me gripped until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for sending me an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

A debut romantasy set in a rich Pakistani inspired world with lush writing and beautiful descriptions of food and clothing, this would be perfect for fans of The Wrath and The Dawn.

I found the pacing in this book to be a bit off, the start was slow but then the middle really picked up for the ending to then be quite rushed and meh. I didn’t really understand the point in the ‘twist’ with the FMCs Nanu. Also I found the MMC to be annoying and didn’t like that Dani ended up with him in the end.

Overall I didn’t love or hate this book, I have quite neutral feelings.

<b>”You were forged in the fires of hatred too, made new by your revenge.”</b>

4.5 ⭐️
I want to preface that this book is marketed as a <i>The Count of Monte Cristo</i> retelling. I have not read the original story, only some CliffNotes prior to reading <i>For She Is Wrath</i>, thus I have little base to compare this and the retelling. This story is about love, friendship, deceit, betrayal, revenge and atonement.

This retelling follows a morally grey FMC assassin, Dania, and her new friend, Noor, both falsely imprisoned, anger-filled and trying to escape. Dania and Noor have two things in common—the will to escape and the rage to obtain revenge. Their friendship is a great balance throughout the story, Dania, the braun, a trained fighter, and Noor, the brains, an herbalist.

Dania and her family were betrayed by people they once trusted and loved—including Dania’s first and only love, Mazin. Her once good heart was turned cold and her anger from these betrayals left her nothing but hunger for revenge. Noor, familiar with losses of her own, seeks the same. The two plot their revenge by creating a plan, with the help of the magic of Djinn and their Zoraat seeds, to destroy those who have wronged them.

The relationship between Dania and Mazin was tragic and the author did a great job weaving in relevant flashbacks that detailed the raw emotion that was their friendship, budding romance and ultimate demise. We feel Dania struggle with her mind and her heart wanting two separate things. Mazin’s presence reminds her of a different time, when she felt loved and happy, causing her to grapple between forgiveness and revenge.

This story was fast paced and plot heavy, I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I was enamored by the author’s ability to tell the story while also making the reader’s feel the emotion of what the characters were going through.

The only qualm I had about this book was how quickly paced the resolution was. The majority of the story was spent plotting and what we saw of revenge was somewhat lackluster. Without spoilers, I feel it could’ve been better fleshed out as it made the FMC seem meek.

Overall, I was a huge fan of the story and the characters. I don’t know if it’s in the author, Emily Varga’s, plans, but I would love to see a sequel story that tells Noor’s journey to find out more about her identity, family and history.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for providing this ARC for me to read, enjoy and review.

Thank You Wednesday Books and Net Galley for the advanced reader copy of For She is Wrath in exchange for my honest review!

3.75 Stars

"I choose vengeance, I choose death"

If you love a pissed off morally grey women, this book is for you ☺️


Within the first few pages you jump right into action. Betrayed by her Lover and Best Friend Dania has been in prison 364 days for a crime she did not commit. Through a freak accident she meets another prisoner and they make a plan to escape.


The anxiety this book gave me..
This story is so fast paced and action packed it flew by. Enemies to lovers, to enemies, to lovers. betrayal. Heart break. REVENGE. I was completely sucked into this world.

⬇️Mild Spoiler⬇️
I was hooked until 85% in. We have a fierce badass protagonist hellbent on rage and destruction. The whole book built up to this vengeance. Within a page and a half she forgives Maz after a simple explanation. It made this strong female character feel a bit meek. This would have stood out more if we had an ending where Dania gave into the rage (everything doesn't have to be a happy ending), or even if she didn't it would have been nice having Dania end as the same fierce female character from the beginning.

I would recommend this if your looking for a fast paced fun read. I really love this type of writing style and will pick up the authors next book 🎉

3.5/5
Thank you to NetGalley and the marketing team for this ARC.
Dania is betrayed by the love of her live and falsely accused of a murder that she didn’t commit. While she waits in prison, she only has one thing on her mind: revenge. While the story starts out with a lot of mystery and action, it had some moments that dragged. I loved the friendship between Dania and Noor, their banter was very sister-like. I also enjoyed the magic system and how it was woven into the characters’s day-to-day life. Overall, it was a fun and twisty read!

Imaginative world of djinn, magic, corruption, greed, and revenge. The deepest betrayal comes from those you love - what happens when revenge becomes all that you are? Where does friendship and love hide when you live and breath revenge and will do whatever it takes? Is the price worth it? No spoilers, quite the high adventure and satisfying conclusion ...

I was beyond thrilled when I saw I got this arc. The premise is right up my street. Unfortunately for me it didn’t feel flushed out well enough and I was catching myself not wanting to pick it up as often as I thought I would.

✰ 4 stars! ✰
I was surprised when the publisher sent me a copy of the arc, since I remember loving the summary and cover. I liked how determined Dania was, and how far she would actually go for revenge. I mainly enjoyed this book because it had a lot of things I usually enjoy, such as a magic system I like, lovers to enemies, and a protagonist driven by revenge/rage (I like female rage!).
*I have not read 'The Count of Monte Cristo', so I can't say how similar it is to the original*

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this before publication.

I'm going to be absolutely upfront - if you are a fan of the original novel this was based off of, prepare to be insulted. As most of us know, the original novel had to do with a man getting well-thoroughly fucked over by three men each with different desires of intent. The man, Edmond Dantes is kept for 15 years in a prison with no knowledge of what he has done. He befriends a man, who teaches him and listens to him for years and takes his chance on escaping in the man's stead when he dies. He then has a couple adventures, becomes wealthy, gains prestige under a new name and takes down those who fucked him over.

I was very interested in this book because it was a female retelling. Unfortunately, from chapter one, I realized we were going to have issues. The prose is half-baked and the reason for why she is in there isn't quite gleamed and the author uses flashbacks without really identifying they are flashbacks until you're halfway through the first page of the flashbacks.

The role of the man / priest that our heroine would meet up with is watered down to that of a girl who was digging her way out but found her way into the cell of our main character. It is there the two scheme to get out, and which you find out that the girl has only been in the prison for one year. Not 20 years, not fifteen, but one year... okay. A year is a long time, but girl, Edmond spent 15+ years in his prison being tortured and you complain about a year. Then, there is mention of magic - djinn magic, which comes from (what looks like to me) 90's bath gels that you ingest. Too much of them causes you to go dark and psycho.

This is where I started to get really frustrated. The story of The Count of Monte Cristo is like a chess game, where Edmond has to take down each of the opponents one by one. Though he is hurting over his rejection or betrayal (so he thinks) for Mercades, he cannot stray, he cannot falter, he has to stick to the plan because... he spent 15+ years thinking of nothing but hate. Our female lead? She strays so many fucking times from the agenda, her hate, etc. over this man-boy (of course, she only spent a year in prison thinking she knew what hate was). I expected some kick ass female mentality from her. No. None of that. I can't tell you that when she finally saw her 'man' how many times she had to complement how he looked, how he fit in his clothes, how she fucked him etc. etc. etc.

That djinn bath gel magic? It allows her to change her face. It lasts a month, but in her time as her alt. persona, she really doesn't do anything spectacular. She has these plans or things she does only for them to blow up in her face or in the face of her friend / co-conspirator. Which is another issue. This girl, Noor? Girl is literally an echo chamber written as a person for our main character to bounce her thoughts, ideas, her crush-obsessions off of. She has no personality and is literally used as the 'tool' that makes things work. Girl says she wants to kill the emperor because he killed someone important to her. I made it through 90% of the book and she still never got her chance nor had any time setting the plot up. It was all a really bad focus romantasy on the female lead and the male.

Then there is a plot twist that comes out around the 85% mark that I just had to go 'what? are you serious?' because it was so dumb and pretty much tried to explain away why this girl was whiny and hate driven through he whole novel.

Maybe someone who has never read the original book that this was based off of would enjoy it? But honestly, if I didn't, I think it's a poor novel with half-baked ideas, a whiny protagonist, and a echo chamber friend.

This book is so good, from the first chapter I was hooked. The main character is empowering and lovely.

I was so incredibly excited for this one when I saw it on NetGalley. I mean, a girl dead-set on revenge against her ex-lover and everyone who has ever wronged her??? Sign me up!

But sadly, For She Is Wrath fell short in so many ways. The biggest problem for me was how long it took to get to the revenge bits. We spent so much time plotting, but the actual payoff was disappointing. I kept expecting more, and it just wasn't happening. It was like Varga was scared to fully commit to the revenge plotline. In theory, it seemed nice, but when it came down to the gritty decisions, Dania always fell short. I kept waiting for something explosive to happen, and it never did.

And really, if you strip away the first 3/4 of this and consider only the ending, it reads like every other YA fantasy detailing a hero's journey. For She Is Wrath brought nothing new to the YA sphere. I know part of my disappointment stems from a growing distaste for YA fantasy, but I thought the revenge aspects in this one would redeem it. Sadly, that wasn't the case. I wish all the best for this book and its author, but it wasn't for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
This is a YA retelling of the count of monte cristo that made me want to pick up that dusty classic once more. It was YA, but didn’t suffer from feeling too juvenile. Instead, the author explored complex themes and made the characters and their experiences relatable to someone of any age.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Emily Varga's "For She Is Wrath" is a YA book that travels through the depths of revenge, friendship, and the relentless pursuit of justice. Set against a backdrop of betrayal and imprisonment, the story follows Dania, a young woman wronged by those she once trusted, as she embarks on a quest for retribution. If you’re looking for a YA retelling of “The Count of Monte Cristo,” then you will definitely enjoy this book! I even see this book working as a pair with the classic in the high school English classroom; students might enjoy comparing/contrasting the two novels.

From the outset, “For She is Wrath” grabs you with its fast-paced plot and raw emotional depth. Dania's quest for vengeance is driven by a sense of betrayal and injustice, yet Varga manages to avoid the cliché revenge route that is standard of YA revenge stories. Instead, she infuses the story with nuance and complexity, exploring the psychological toll of seeking retribution while navigating themes of loyalty, friendship, and self-discovery. I really enjoyed the fast pace of the book as I found it difficult to put down because I just wanted to know what would happen next with Davia.

The dynamic between Dania and Mazin, her former love turned betrayer, is another highlight of the novel. Varga does a wonderful job at developing their relationship in a realistic way, infusing it with genuine emotion and tension. The romance never got in the way of the actual plot/revenge, which I appreciated. While Dania mainly grapples with feelings of betrayal and mistrust, her characterization then becomes a compelling exploration of the human heart's capacity for forgiveness and redemption. Equally compelling is the friendship between Dania and Noor, a fellow prisoner and steadfast ally. Their bond adds depth and warmth to the story; I really like how Varga was able to flesh out Noor’s character; side characters are often undeveloped compared to the plot or the MC, but I thoroughly enjoyed that through their shared experiences, Dania and Noor navigate their own feelings of revenge and redemption, ultimately finding solace in each other's company.

Varga's prose is rich and evocative, immersing you in a vividly imagined world teeming with magic and intrigue. The worldbuilding was excellent in this book with the blend of fantasy and adventure. Overall, "For She Is Wrath" is a well-written story of vengeance and redemption. With its well-developed characters, richly textured world-building, and plot twists, this book is one that I recommend for fans of fast-paced fantasies as well as those who enjoy well-written revenge stories.

The story begins with a prison break attempt, then proceeds both backward and forward. The history is woven into the current action. Dania is the perfect underdog because she has a rich history and a plan for her future despite being imprisoned. Those close to her become real as they are seen through Dania's eyes and experiences. She has a mastery in blade use and enough fortitude to keep moving forward after continually being knocked down. The magical threads throughout the story tie all of the battles and hardships and victories together into an exciting adventure. The battles are bloody on both sides, and allegiances are questionable at best and like the tides at worst. This quest for vengeance will grab you quick and hold you until the last battle is won!