4.5 ⭐️

When a YA fantasy makes me forget or not even realize it’s YA, I pick my jaw up off the floor and give the author all the praise I can put words to. This book delivers a solid female driven fantasy story. We follow Dania/Dani as she comes to terms with the greatest betrayal of her life. With Pakistani lore in djinn as a foundation for this world’s magic system, Dani must battle her drive for revenge with the phantoms of her past. This is a Count of Monte Cristo retelling; I thought it really worked! I intimately know the Count of Monte Cristo and thoroughly enjoyed the parallels between the two stories. Dani is cunning, strong, and capable.

This is a standalone fantasy with a bangin' ending.

Thank you NetGalley, Emily Varga, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s press for ARCs of this story.

3.5 stars

This was an enjoyable listen, but not a perfect book. I actually think you might enjoy it more if you haven’t read the Count of Monte Cristo.

The good:
Love the Pakistani and gender flipped take on the story.
It’s fast paced with some sword fights along the way, and lots of danger.
It’s got a much happier ending than the OG!

The could have been better:
The world building and djinn magic needed more work.
The half-baked plans and lack of consistency from our characters seemed sadly typical of some YA books.
The twist? I didn’t like it and it seemed so out of left field.

Overall, I think this will work for a lot of people, and so I’d recommend if you’re looking for an accessible swashbuckling take on a classic.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the preview. All opinions are my own.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Omg this book was beyond amazing . The set up for starter was perfection for me , loved that is fresh at least in the sea of new books coming out. I like that is lets burn this world down and Diana rage amazing . this was definitely something that keep me hooked thru the whole book and left me wanting more .

Let me start this off by saying I’m a HUGE ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ fan. It was the book that got me into reading growing up. So I have very high standards when you say a retelling.

This book ended up not being a thing for me. The concept was there for me, but the execution fell off.

One of my main issues is where the author decided to start the story. It starts off when our main character is in prison, and then you are fed the backstory through flash backs. I thought the flash backs were not a good way to tell our main characters story because it leaves you in the characters weird headspace to start first. Which for a lot of people you would not like the main character. You want to grow & feel that pain with them.

The opening chapter of this book was very good. I liked the use of violence in a way that drives the story. Also, I did feel like the pacing of this book was very fast in a good way.

My other main issue with the book is the lack of depth. With starting off in the prison, I felt so disconnected from the our main character. I want to feel for her & when she found out about her father, but I wasn’t given the chance. It felt like the author wanted me to apply what I know the plot of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ to Dania. Also, she was only in prison for a YEAR. The whole point of the original story is how much Edmond’s life gets stolen away, including his years as a youth. It just felt not as impactful. The revenge didn’t feel as well deserved either.


There also could have been better world building & set up for the magic system. Overall, I think retelling ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ in 400 pages was not the best decision. In my opinion, it should have been at least 600 so the author could establish the story.

I would be very interested in reading something else the author has written because I did enjoy the writing. I just don’t think this book could work for me because of how beloved the original work is.


Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Press/ Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow this was amazing! At first it took me a little bit to get into the story and it felt a little too similar to the original but then it took off! I love the main character she is so fierce and badass and the story went in such an interesting direction! Will be adding to our library for sure!

A great book! I have to admit, at the beginning when the story very closely followed the story of Count of Monte Cristo, I was very worried that it would just be a repeat story with the gender swap. It ended up being great though! The setting and magic system were great, the characters were well developed, the romance was awesome. Overall a great read!

4.5⭐️ This is the best fantasy I have read in a little bit! I loved Dania and Noor's friendship and their strength. I can't really remember anything about "Count of Montecristo" so I can't really compare. I love a good book about revenge. I hated Mazin until I didn't. There was a moment in the end that I got mad at Dani so I took a half star away for that. That being said it was a very solid read in my opinion and I will definitely be getting a physical copy.

I really loved this story! It was full of betrayal, wrath and revenge but also the power of friendship, and love! I loved these characters, they were well written. This tale was fast paced and full of action, twists and never a dull moment. The world building and little bits of magic were interesting. I would love to see a sequel based off Noor's character in the future!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

5 🌟

This is a Pakistani retelling of the classic Count of Monte Cristo. This book was incredibly well done. I have not read the classic it is based on, I only know the general story. Despite not knowing the source material very well, I enjoyed this book immensely. It is so atmospheric, everything is described incredibly well and in such detail I feel like I am there. I cared deeply about the characters and their motivations were so clear, deep, and complex. I cannot recommend this book enough!

This book is a romantasy that has a lot of heart and I really enjoyed both the romance elements and Dania and Mazin as characters. I think if you go into it mainly caring about the romance, you will have a good time with it. I liked the pacing and found it to be a quick and easy read and overall I still really enjoyed my time reading, despite the issues I had.

The main issue I had with it is that while you can see The Count of Monte Cristo DNA in it, the two girls (Dania and Noor) just feel really stupid, and I was expecting them to be really smart and cunning with well thought out and executed plans since it is a Count of Monte Cristo retelling. I also found all of the characters besides the main couple to be very flat, which feels especially disappointing with Noor, the pov character Dania's best friend and co-conspiriator. I also was expecting more from the magic system and more Djinn than there was.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an early copy to read and review.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to receive an ARC.

As soon as I read Pakistani girl out for revenge, I knew I had to read this. There's something about book plots that have to do with revenge that scratches a spot for me. This was good read over all. I was left with a lot of questions. Some parts irked me, like when the main character was in an isolated cell, there was a bang where another prisoner was trying to escape. Knowing that the main character had just tried to escape herself while killing a guard in the attempt, there were no guards there to watch over her. She has a full blown conversation with the other prisoner like they're sitting in their living room and talking about their time in the prison.
The sparky comments and sarcasm got out of control, to the point where I couldn't stand it. And I can't believe I'm saying this but too many adjectives.

Overall the book was good. The plot, the revenge, the betrayal etc but I couldn't get over some aspects of the book.

3.5/5 ⭐️ I won’t lie, I struggled to get through the first 80 or so pages. But boy, am I glad I stuck around. There were sections where it felt like events happened back to back to back and while that’s great in some settings, it wasn’t for me. I loved Dania’s journey to finding revenge (and herself)

3.75/5
Unique magic systems and interesting characters. I felt the story was a little flat. The main characters weren't a full individual and when interacting it felt boring. The story plot line was exciting like lost revenge plot lines are the characters plan was interesting but the pacing of things happening felt off. The world building was there but it's was kind of minimal it explained how the magic was there but not really much else. The story did have a bunch of surprises which I did enjoy. And the subplot romance was kind of cute but rushed as well. Overall nice story but not really for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read this e-ARC. This is my honest opinion

The Count of Monte Cristo is an all-time favorite of mine, so absolutely had to pick this one up! This was a fun retelling with some magical twists and world building, and the two women at the center of the revenge story were easy to root for.

I will say that I didn’t realize the book was intended as a YA until I had already dove in — did help explain why some of the thematic elements and plot points felt a bit simplistic. Nothing wrong with a YA, I think I just personally would have enjoyed it more if I went in eyes wide open and not expecting some of the more subtle and multi-layered feel of the original — so consider this your heads up 😊

I was excited to read this, the story concept intrigued me as I don’t know much about Pakistani culture. I would’ve loved some explanations for terms and phrases, so I could learn more about the culture. It does feel like the book goes by fast at times, with not much development or explanation along the way. The book picked up in my interest by the end, the ending was a bit unexpected which I liked. There were some grammar and spelling errors that were hopefully fixed in final editing.

For She Is Wrath had me at revenge plot and a female Count of Monte Cristo. I was pulled into the story from the very start and was eager to see how Dani and Noor were going to achieve their goals. I loved Dani’s characterization as a swordswoman, and the djinn magic added an interesting element in terms of power and elevating the stakes as a machinism for revenge.

While I enjoyed the story and characters, there were pieces of the revenge plot and world I found lacking. Noor had the potential to be a great sidekick, but often was more plot device than secondary character. I feel like this book would have done well as a multi POV. Whenever someone says cat and mouse - I immediately think of two perspectives - the hunter and the hunted. While the flashbacks were helpful, I really wish we saw Mazin’s POV as his past, especially his relationship with the emperor, played a role in shaping his actions during the betrayal and after.

Overall, this was an extremely neat concept - the writing was engaging and I enjoyed the feminist and magical twist on the classic tale. Thank you to Netgalley, Wednesday Books, and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

For She is Wrath follows Dania as she seeks revenge after suffering betrayal from her lover. Overall, this book was a fun read, but I found it to be fairly predictable with some pacing issues.

I thought the world and magic system were very interesting, and I liked the general set up for the plot. I found the characters to be well-rounded with solid arcs and motivations that kept me interested in the story. I particularly liked the reading from Dania’s point of view because I liked her scheming tendencies and found it made the scenes a lot more interesting.

While I think this book is a fun read, it does have some very predictable elements that make it come across a little generic. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, but it did mean that I didn’t find this book to be a new favorite or a particular must-read. I also think it suffers from some pacing issues, especially at the beginning, that make getting into the plot slow going.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in reading it, but I don’t think it’s an absolute must read, so if you’re on the fence about it maybe try the digital sample and the library before purchasing a copy.

I love that this book takes inspiration from The Count of Monte Cristo and will (hopefully!) inspire younger generations to pick up the classic work.

I wish there was less flashback scenes and the ending was a bit rushed, but all in all I think there is a lot to enjoy here for a YA audience!

This isn’t a Count of Monte Cristo retelling. While it follows some of the steps — a young girl sent to a prison for a year or so where she tries to constantly escape — that’s about all the two really have in common. What this book is, however, is an adventure story of a young woman trying to reclaim her life after it was taken from her, after her father was killed, her home taken … and all by the boy she thought she loved.

Dania has the requisite fiery temper and easily swayed by Mazin’s beauty. Not his character, not his personality, not even his wealth: She thinks he’s pretty, and she finds that hot. It’s a very shallow romance, especially at the beginning, and while it did gain depth and Mazin had more character growth as the book went along, I didn’t feel any real chemistry between them. Honestly, Dania and Noor — the other prisoner she helps escape — had more spark between them. Theirs was a pairing of equals; they didn’t share the same knowledge base, but they were both skilled in their own area and came together to get things done. Mazin, on the other hand, was just another swordsman next to Dania … a very, very pretty one.

Unlike Mazin, Dania’s personality actually got flatter as the story moved on. She went from being angry, and willing to hurt and use and manipulate people — which she’s not very good at, but the story lets her get away with it — to being … well, generic girl with temper. Her edge is gone so that she can be softer for Mazin. I’m sorry but … if the story was trying to imply he was a good influence, then that should have been shown more. If the story was trying to say that vengeance is exhausting and there’s a power in taking the moral high ground, the book didn’t set that up.

I would have liked more of the world building. The blurb mentions Pakistani elements, but I feel like I was given just a glimpse before the story returned to the characters having yet another fruitless and flavourless conversation. The plot — aside from Dania — with the djinn, with the magic and its consequences, was interesting! I just wish that had been the focus of the book.

Honestly, this isn’t the book for me, and that may be my fault. As a fan of the Count of Monte Cristo, I went into this with certain expectations thanks to the blurb, and those expectations were never met. And while I could see, in a general, broad outline the elements of the Count of Monte Cristo, the story didn’t seem to string them together in any way that worked. Again, that’s on me; but for any others who go into this expecting what the blurb promises, you won’t get it.

The writing is fine, with a simple, clean style. The pace is a bit lopsided; fast during some moments, then lingering on others; some conversations went on too long, others were done before I knew it. And, personally, I think it could have been tighter, taking out some moments that were done to line up with the Count of Monte Cristo, but made no impact on the characters in this book.

Still, for all my problems with the book, the author shows potential and I’ll be keeping an eye out for future books by them. Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC, and thank you to SMP for listening to Readers For Accountability.

Thank you to the folks over at NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

To say I was excited to read this, despite never touching The Count of Monte Cristo every in my entire life, is a testament to it's writing. Emily Varga's prose is crafted so intentionally, that the book flows like thoughts-- everything was said so deliberately and well timed, that I felt I was right there thinking it myself. Its gritty, it's complicated, we doubt ourselves and we fight with ourselves to capture that illusive hope that some day things will be better.

For She is Wrath is something more than what I expected. The friendship is real, built much like someone you commiserate with in school; the situation develops as the characters experience more, and I feel like they really found themselves over the course of the book. They're interesting and flawed, and a true reflection of how I felt as a young adult.

However, I think the real bane of this book is the use of flashbacks. I don't like time skipping in general, but I almost wanted the past to be as illusive as the future-- I wanted to be confused. As far as mystery goes, this book is lacking in intrigue. Character development was there, but at the cost of keeping us in suspense. Everything is explained away at the end, as if to wrap up the idea and dust off our hands, and I almost wanted to whisper to the author: be patient. Let me writhe.