For She is Wrath took me on an emotional rollercoaster from page one and had me hooked all the way through. A fast paced story, filled with thrilling action scenes, lovers to enemies to lovers, female rage, and an intense revenge plot, it had all the elements I crave in a fantasy read!

Dania is a fierce swordswoman who was betrayed by the person she loved the most, framed for a crime she didn’t commit, and left to rot in prison. Her journey is brutal, emotional, and full of twists. I adored her complex character – tough yet vulnerable, determined yet conflicted. The emotional depth of her character is evident through her struggles to stay true to herself while grappling with rage and a desire for justice.

The friendship bond between her and Noor—SO GOOD, they are always ready to sacrifice everything for each other, true found family vibes.

The chemistry between Dania and Mazin? 🔥🔥🔥 Their complex relationship carry the heart of the story, with intricate layers of lovers-turned-enemies. Their past connection makes the betrayal hit even harder, and the tension between them had me flipping pages like crazy. That push-and-pull, the sword training scenes, the hidden emotions… chef’s kiss!

Also, can we talk about the world-building? The unique djinn magic, the zoraat vegetation, the touches of Pakistani culture - architecture, food and fashion, and the use of Urdu words, added such a unique layer to the story, it makes this book stands out in the fantasy genre.

Overall, For She is Wrath is a well-executed retelling that balances fantasy, romance, and cultural lore. Varga masterfully reinterprets a classic tale, bringing a fresh perspective to themes of vengeance and redemption, making it a must-read for lovers of high-stakes revenge plots, strong female leads, and magical worlds. Dania’s rage and determination are so satisfying to witness, and the ending delivered with a twist that left me SHOOK. 😱

4.5⭐️s. I really had fun with this one. I love the Count of Monte Cristo, and this story has those elements. So very much sold me on reading it. Within the first five chapters, my attention was fully in. Betrayal on so many levels. Found family, romance, and treasure of sorts. Interesting magic system that gives me Lucy vibes if you’ve seen that movie. Only a part of it though. Definitely more to the magic system than that.

Dani has been framed for murder. For a year, she has been in the worst prison around. It’s not until another girl enters her cell via a hole that things take a turn. A turn that just might mean freedom. Noor even knows where to get stolen djinn treasure. This will help Dani seek her revenge on Mazin. It was his hunger for favor with the emperor. Enough to kill and frame Dani for it. With the help of the djinn magic, she will find the answers she seeks and so much more.

Be sure to check out For She is Wrath coming out October 29th! Thanks so much to @netgalley @emilyvargabooks and @stmartinspress for the advanced reader copy.

#netgalley #forsheiswrath #advancedreaderscopy #arcreader #bookstagram #shoplocal #shopsmallbusiness

Okay to be fair, I am not super familiar with "The Count of Monte Cristo", so I cannot speak to the accuracy of the retelling. I was promised an angry fmc, and a revenge plot and I was there for it. I'm thankful for being provided an arc from the publisher for this book, and I really hate giving lower ratings to debut authors, but this book did not work for me.

This is marketed as a Pakistani romantic fantasy, and the story begins with our fmc Dania wrongfully imprisoned because the man she loved betrayed her. She's angry alright, so that part delivered. There are a lot of creative metaphors for revenge throughout the book, which would have felt more powerful for me if they weren't so repetitive. I didn't do an actual count, but the reader is probably reminded that Dania wants to kill everyone that wronged her and take her revenge at least once every two pages. I did think the magic system was pretty interesting, and I liked the concept of having to mix and ingest these seeds that contain trace amounts of Djinn magic. The seeds are controlled by the Emperor, who is bad as Emperors are in fantasy worlds, and the process of mixing them is tedious and can absolutely kill you if it's done wrong. It is very convenient that the prisoner that accidentally tunnels into her cell (Noor) is both is a professional herbalist (seed mixer), and has access to copious amounts of magic seeds and money.

The characters all felt very one-dimensional. Dania = Angry. That is all. Noor = honestly felt like she had some sass in her when they first met in the prison but it quickly leached out of her as soon as they escaped and she became a tag-along sidekick character that serves as Dania's voice of reason. Bad guys = unrealistically bad for no reason, no nuance or depth, no redeeming qualities. The whole plot felt obvious and unrealistic. Dania messes up a lot, which is fine, but no one ever questions it. Dania essentially uses magic to change her appearance and goes undercover to take down all of the people who betrayed her. I won't lie, I was enjoying the scenes between undercover Dania and the guy who betrayed her. I thought that surely there must have been a misunderstanding, a good reason for the betrayal. There was not. The ending, including the insane twist at the end felt so incredibly random. There was no character development at all, it went from "murder murder murder" to a disney channel resolution? Were we trying to make it YA friendly or?? What in the world happened to those last 20 pages? I think that at it's core this story has potential. I love the concept and I feel like the author could have a lot of fun with this world. But as it is now, it fell really flat for me.

“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.”

Short Synopsis:
For She is Wrath is a Pakistani retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo. Dania has been in prison for a year. All she wants is revenge on the boy who is responsible for her prison sentence but also the boy she loved. She befriends a fellow prisoner, Noor, and the two manage to escape together. And her revenge plot takes shape.

My Thoughts:
This was such a fantastic debut. Bravo Emily Vargo. 👏

This is “female rage” in book form, it’s full of revenge, killer swordswoman, and swoony romance. The revenge plot was captivating. The romance has me melting. The friendships were beautiful. Though I found some of the twists predictable, I loved the journey getting there.

What You’ll Find:
🖤Revenge
🔥 Burn it all down
🌆Corrupt city
⚔️Girl with swords
🗡️Arya Stark-like heroine
❤️‍🔥Lovers-to enemies-to lovers
🫠Swoony romance
2️⃣Dual timelines

“For She Is Wrath” is a stunning reimagining of The Count of Monte Cristo as a young woman in a Pakistani-inspired fantasy world, raging and grieving over the loss of her father from her prison cell, bent on escape. Dania and her father were framed for treason against the usurping emperor by her former lover and training partner Mazin, who is now the emperor’s right hand man. A fellow prisoner Noor, also attempting to escape, tunnels straight into Dania’s cell - prompting a partnership for the ages. They work together to escape and then, both motivated by their hatred for the emperor (and in Dania’s case, a lot of other people), embark on a series of magical buddy heists meant to trap, humiliate, and sometimes kill those who have wronged them.
This story is incredible for many reasons, not least the gorgeous writing, the nuance in grappling with the challenging themes of vengeance, justice, and forgiveness, and the spectacular character development. Dania and Noor’s friendship is the beating heart of the story, with each woman coming to appreciate and rely on the other for her skills and qualities - truly one of my favorite instances of found family that I’ve read. Mazin was a fascinating and mysterious figure, with the juxtaposition of Dania’s memories of training with him and his current work on behalf of the corrupt emperor leaving the reader constantly guessing as to his true motivations and loyalties. Running through the story is the undercurrent of djinn magic in the form of seeds, which are the emperor’s weapon of choice as well as one of Dania’s (her true affinity being with swords). The ability of power to corrupt is another fundamental theme. I also loved how we get to see so many people in this story who are trying to wreak vengeance upon others, and we get to compare the effect this has on each character and also where each of them will draw their lines (or in certain cases, not drawing any). An extremely satisfying read, highly recommend!

Oh my gosh. This book was such a ride and I was just hanging on for life. This takes feminine rage, and women scorned to a whole other level. I was grateful that the story just jumps right in. I read the Count of Monte Cristo in high school and absolutely loved it. So when I saw that this was was a romantic fantasy retelling I was excited to dive in. I will say that a lot of time when things are marketed as one thing they end up falling short but I think that this was spot on. Dania was a great character, I found her to be complex and I enjoyed watching her development throughout the book. The supporting cast of this book are all interesting and lend their own pieces to the story. I was glad to see that there weren't really any characters that were just thrown in as a space filler. The action in this book is fast paced and intense. The scheming and back ally politics are well planned out. I really enjoyed the pieces of Pakistani culture and lore that were included in the book and thought that they made this story so unique. This is a book that I don't regret staying up until 2am reading. And one that I cannot wait to add to my physical library.

What an incredible debut! For She Is Wrath was a perfect blend of feminine rage, adventure, intrigue and enemies-to-lovers, and I found myself hooked from the very start. I loved getting insight into Dania's life and the choices/circumstances that got her to where she is today, and I loved getting to witness her relationships with all of the other characters, especially Noor and Mazin. I'll be eagerly anticipating Emily's next release!

Short synopsis: Dania is falsely imprisoned for a crime she didn’t commit. Meeting up with a fellow inmate named Noor, they hatch a plan to escape prison, find the hidden djinn treasure, and enact revenge on those who wronged her.

My thoughts: I love a book with a strong female character and boy did Dani fit that portrayal tenfold. She was strong, smart, cunning, and at moments had to fight for her own humanity.

The romance subplot was also well done, betrayed by her best friend and the boy she loved. I really enjoyed their chemistry throughout and finding the reason behind the betrayal.

The ending came completely out of left field for me! Completely unexpected. Also, I didn’t realize this was a Count of Monte Cristo retelling, I’ve never read it but do remember watching the movie adaptation years ago.

Read if you love:
- Revenge plots
- Strong female protagonist
- Sword wielding
- Romance subplot
- Magic

A book full of feminine rage and the vengeance these women seek, in the end will vengeance be all it was cracked up to be or is love worth more than exacting revenge?

WOW. This was a ride of a book with twists in the end that I didn’t see coming. A true coming of age of how vengeance can take control of our lives if we let it.

This book was fast paced with family, grief and loss, friendship, betrayal, revenge, and above all, love.

Goodness I wish I could re-read this for the first time again. This was non-stop rip your hair out stress in the best way. I knew it was based on another story so I kind of guessed a few of the plot twists but the road there was painstaking. I’ve already preordered my copy! This was beautifully written.

For She is Wrath really swept me in and got me invested early on in the story. I thought the characters were intriguing and I wanted to know them. I do think the story moved a bit fast, moved through feelings to quickly, but overall was a fun read.

This was a really cool fantasy YA retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. I thought that, for the most part, the author kept the core points that made the original so compelling, and gave everything a fresh, magical twist. The writing flowed well with great descriptions, while the plot was fast paced and kept my interest. A great read overall!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this arc.

The count of Monte Cristo is my favorite book ever so I was really excited for this one only to be disappointed. While the book was good on its own, by comparing to it to the former, I think my expectations were different and I did not like that this didn't meet them. Loved the descriptions and character arcs though

3.5 stars!

I’d like to start off this review by saying that I have not read ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’, but upon seeing this book marketed on instagram and then seeing it on NetGalley, I was super intrigued to read it.

Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong- I do not think this is bad AT ALL! I am just someone who really values character depth and world-building and I felt like that was lacking a little for my tastes. I think the empire and the magic could’ve been fleshed out more.

We did get some of the main FMC’s past throughout flashbacks, however, it unfortunately wasn’t enough for me to care enough about the characters as individuals, as most of it was about the couple getting together in the past. This makes sense as the betrayal that we know from the blurb was done from the boy that the main character Dania loved, Mazin, and a lot of the book focuses on their relationship, but I wanted more from the characters separately. Noor, the girl that the main character Dania escapes the prison with, felt very flat to me and their friendship was underdeveloped (in my opinion), especially for having been together for the entire book.

I liked the pacing of the beginning and middle of the book. I felt like the middle slowed down a bit more and allowed for development of Dania’s scheming, which was my favorite part of the book.

I do, though, feel like a lot of resolutions past the halfway point felt pretty rushed and weren’t very satisfying due to the pacing. I also feel like there could’ve been a little more build up to the “plot-twist” from the beginning. There was only one instance that I recall that alluded to that particular plot point. As I previously mentioned, I have never read TCOMC and only know the general premise, so I cannot comment on whether or not the ending was the same as the original, but I was a bit disappointed. I understand the message of not letting vengeance consume you, and I do appreciate it, especially for how the FMC grew throughout the book, but I couldn’t help but want more.

I hope this does not sound too negative, as I genuinely do appreciate this book for what it is. I think that Emily Varga set the book up well and the pacing in the beginning and middle of the book was very entertaining. I loved the Pakistani representation that this book had and think I would’ve loved it even more if the djinn had been explored more throughout the story. I would definitely consider picking something up by this author in the future!

ARC Review: For She is Wrath by Emily Varga
Pub Date: October 29, 2024

Dania has been in prisoner for a year for a crime that she did not commit. Her father is a swordsmith so she knows how to fight and she's cunning. When she meets Noor they plan to escape the prison together and get revenge on those who wronged them. For Dania this means the boy she once loved as well as Emperor Vahid who rules due to his djinn magic.

Pakistani Count of Monte Cristo?? Say less! The Count of Monte Cristo was one of my favorite classics and having this flipped so that the main character is female really worked for me! I love a take no prisoners type of FMC and Dania felt like a well rounded and complex character as the book continued. She definitely makes some morally grey choices at times but they're ones that you can really understand given her need for vengeance for all that has happened to her.

I really loved how far Dania came throughout the book and thought the ending was really satisfying. As much as this is a story of female rage, it never goes too dark and Dania never loses her humanity. There was a twist I fully did not expect, which I love to see!

I liked the romance much more than I thought and there was a *moment* that really made me swoon! I typically don't love flashbacks/dual timelines in books but I did actually really appreciate the ones here because they show the relationship between Dania and Mazin before all of the events of the book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

For She is Wrath

A Pakistani retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo with the power of Jinn and plans built on revenge.

I have such mixed feeling on this one. I’ll start with what I absolutely love.

The Count of Monte Cristo vibes were brilliant. I love how Varga set the framework with the inspiration while wholly making the story her own. The Pakistani elements were amazing. The world was interesting and played well into everything else going on.

Where the story lost me: I didn’t even like we got enough time in the emotion of the characters. There were big themes going on in this story and I wish we had the chance to really settle into them. The romance and built up of it was great until it wasn’t. The resolution within several of the relationships fell flat for me.

So, if you are picking this up for the fantasy aspects with fast action, fun world and typically stab-y YA romance, I think you’ll really love this one. If you are wanting a little more character depth with a strong conclusion, you might end up a little disappointed.

Content: vague bedroom scenes, explicit language, violence, death

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite stories of all time, and I loved this retelling of that classic. I thought the writing was great and one of my favorite parts was the description of all the clothing and weaponry. I felt like I was in this world. The djinn magic was really interesting as well. I would read more by this author if she writes more books!

For She Is Wrath does not shine, instead it blazes. The story blazes with vengeance and anger while the characters dazzle with heroism and empathy. This combination in a Pakistani inspired world with magnificent storytelling makes for a memorable experience. These were my thoughts upon finishing Emily Varga’s debut.

Varga’s story felt utterly original regardless of being a retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo. In fact, I myself am not familiar with the classic but reader, you don’t need to be to enjoy this fantasy novel.

For She is Wrath follows Dania as she escapes prison to take revenge on all those who have mistreated and tortured her, framed her and wrongfully imprisoned her, played with her heart and taken away life as she knew it. For Dania, all that matters is vengeance and when she meets Noor who has also been wronged, they embark on a journey to take back what is rightfully theirs.

Will they succeed or will the state of their home and all that they’ve lost weaken their resolve?

This story is action packed and has scheming, betrayal, jilted lovers, formidable friendships, epic before and present chapters and a lot of knives; scimitars and katars to be exact!

For She is Wrath is one of the best fantasy books I’ve read in the recent past and it is perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir, Chelsea Abdullah and Chloe Gong.

I think I'd need the context of the original book it's retold from to better lay the groundwork that doesn't exist at the start of the book. I think I was looking for EK Arnold or [book:A Drop of Venom|133206531] that came out of the gate with dark, elegant rage with a visual to boot but didn't get that level of intensity and creativity in the writing so I was plodding along with a girl hellbent on revenge and ends up back in the universe of the boy who put her in prison and was a former love interest.

Points for the Pakistani representation with fantasy elements, but it didn't work for me.

First I would like to thank NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I loved this book and found the world building to be so intriguing as well as the magic and romance. the banter was amazing and I loved the realism of the relationship development.