~ 4.75 stars ~ (after re-reading)

went ahead and bottled the whole book into a reading soundtrack, so if you feel like needing one, just tune in: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3xInXVlEbCQ8fwi6B9AGKH?si=76136313ed7b46b9.

imagine loving someone who has brought harm to countless innocent people, all because of a burden they never chose. you love them with everything you are—from the stars to the stars—and even when you understand them, even when you know the truth behind their actions, you still have to hold them accountable for all the pain they caused.

there's something irresistible about this bittersweet moral ambiguity shazi and khalid find themselves facing in the rose and the dagger. in a style mirroring its predecessor, the tale of their boundless devotion to one another unfolds with such thought and immersiveness that it's impossible not to be swept away by it. an emotional rollercoaster in the truest sense—utterly consuming and deeply human.

quite honestly, the wrath and the dawn duology is my bible of a good storytelling: yearning poured into every word, lines so exquisitely painful they make me crave love that feels like a safe haven, too (also one of the very few series that handles a love triangle with intention, rather than reducing the character of the second lead to unnecessary suffering for the sake of drama, so a round of applause is in order).