I love a good retelling of a classic! Count of Monte Cristo is one that most people know but hasn't been retold a lot. I was also excited about it being a Pakistan inspired retelling. It has a wish list a reader could only dream of! A main character that is strong and independent, check! A retelling of one of my favorite classics, check! A romance that hits every type of relationship including enemies, check!
Dania is a main character that is truly morally grey. Her love for her father leads her down the dark path of revenge that leave you rooting for the "villain." She has a love for knives and being the best swordsman. But her loyalty to the ones she loves is what really makes her character shine! I appreciate that the only thing she refused to change was her hands that she had used to learn her craft and wanted to always remember why she was seeking revenge. My only issue with the main character is towards the end she became very one dimensional. Whether that was a choice to show her uncontrollable need for revenge or maybe trying to stick closely to the classic... I just felt we lost a lot of the depth we had with her and almost went a step back in her development as a character.
The romance at times was very sweet but I felt the chapters going back and forth on time lines sometimes left me feeling whiplash. I wanted to know the whole love story and what happen to her betrayal when I first meet Mazin in the current timeline. I didn't really feel a connection to him till the end and it felt rushed even though we had an entire chapters devoted to explaining the exposition of their love. So with the pacing being off I felt like the beginning was slow to really have any plot but then the last fifty pages was just choppy with major plot development one right after the other.
The last thing I really liked was the plot twist towards the very end. I honestly had no idea the story was headed in that direction and was pleasantly surprised because it did make perfect sense to the story. I do think the author throughly thought out her story and wanted to tell us a complete arc. But this is a point where I could say we might have been able to split the story into a duology. Overall I really enjoyed the story and was happy to have a unique retelling of such an enchanting classic!

This story was an interesting story from an author I don’t know or haven’t read before! Will look at finding other things by this author. I am grateful for the early access, thank you to those that allowed it!

Actual rating 3.5 stars

I was looking forward to this read quite a bit. I haven’t read too many classics but I actually enjoyed the abridged version of the Count of Monte Cristo years. So this being a retelling of that made me very curious. But it just didn’t hit the mark for me at every point. I did enjoy some elements but it just didn’t captivate me the way u had hoped. There were times when I felt like the main character didn’t show enough anger towards the love interest for the betrayal. But I did enjoy the friendship that developed.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

For She Is Wrath is a breathtaking, high-stakes fantasy filled with vengeance, betrayal, and magic woven into every page. From the opening scene to the last, Emily Varga delivers a gripping story that had me completely hooked.

Dania is a fierce and compelling protagonist—her determination, skill with a blade, and unwavering pursuit of justice make her impossible not to root for. The dual timelines masterfully unravel her past and present, deepening the emotional weight of her quest. The magic system, inspired by djinn, adds another layer of intrigue that blends seamlessly with the intense action and political scheming.

The relationships in this book shine, particularly Dania’s dynamic with Noor. Their friendship is just as powerful as the romance, grounding the story in deep bonds of trust and loyalty. And the romance? Absolutely heartbreaking in the best way. Lovers-to-enemies-to-maybe-something-more, filled with longing, tension, and the kind of quotes that make your heart ache. Maz is an unforgettable love interest, and every interaction between him and Dania crackles with emotion.

With stunning worldbuilding, masterful pacing, and an unforgettable protagonist, For She Is Wrath is an absolute must-read for fantasy fans. I couldn’t put it down, and I’ll definitely be getting a physical copy when it releases!

3.5 stars!!!

When I first started this book, I thought it was going to be an easy 5 star book. The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite classics and the opening scenes perfectly capture the vibes of The Count. Then the addition of DJINN had me thinking that the author cyber-stalked me to write the perfect novel just for me. The thing that brought down my enjoyment soooo much was the romance (who's surprised). It felt like it came out of nowhere and that there was no chemistry between the main character and the love interest. I might be a bit rusty on what happens in The Count, but it feels like it strayed so far away from what made that book so magical. I did enjoy the Djinn magic and curses but I felt like we didn't get enough of these specific Djinn and what their role in the world is. I think if the romance was better done (or honestly, in the background of the story) I would've been able to forgive it, but alas, it fell too flat for me. This might be one of those books that I need to reread to better appreciate what the author added to such a wellknown story so I do have hope that one day my rating will go up. In the meantime, it is what it is.

5 ⭐ No notes.

I fell in love with Dania at the start - a badass swordswoman who was ready and waiting for her revenge. I was listening to the audio and felt connected to her and loved her inner thoughts and how she planned and plotted her revenge throughout the course of the book. I haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo in a very long time, so I can't speak to how true a retelling it is, but I love the threads I picked up on. I think the more I learned about Noor, the more I ended up liking her - she had a solid head on her shoulders while Dania was both struggling with her love and revenge.

Mazin was an interesting MMC. He and Dania had wonderful chemistry as they fought between their love and their goals. Everything he did to her helped fuel her rage and I love it.

The Djinn magic was not something I expected in this, but I adored the addition of it to the plot. Dania's struggle to resist the dark powers was a highlight for me in her development. Emily Varga is officially a must-read author for me. Though this was YA fantasy, it felt very mature and well-developed.

"But hope was a dangerous thing, because once taken away, it was impossible to feel more despair."

🗡️ Pakistani The Count of Monte Cristo retelling
🗡️ Enemies to Lovers
🗡️ Revenge & Betrayls
🗡️ Dual Timeline
🗡️ Slow Burn romance
🗡️ Female Rage

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio & Wednesday books for the eARC & ALC of For She is Wrath by Emily Varga for my honest review!

Title: For She is Wrath by Emily Varga
Genre: Fantasy
Pub Date: October 29, 2024
📖 430 pages

Powerful Djinn Magic
FMC Framed for Murder
Lovers to Enemies
Epic Betrayals
Island Prison Break
Dual Timelines
Mission of Vengeance

📖 Dania was framed for murder and following her escape from the high security prison she vows to enact her revenge against those who wronged her. Armed with dark magic and a new identity, she seeks to destroy those who betrayed her, even as her ex-lover complicates her plans.

I loved this one so much. It's hard to find a book that doesn't focus mainly on the romance and enemies to lovers, but if you're looking for feminine rage, you've found it here! For She is Wrath is a must read!

3.5 stars

I originally feared that we would focus too heavily on her being so powerful and "not like other girls" and so on, and there was more of that than I typically prefer but not so much as to put it over the edge. I also worried mightily about the romance aspect of this, but she handled it pretty well and believably, I thought. I loved that we got more emphasis on the friendship between Dani and Noor than the romance with Mazin.

I still feel like the title is just not appropriate for the book, especially since righteous anger does have its place but there were several life lessons learned in the book and to put an emphasis on wrath seems an odd choice.

It isn't hard to guess that this is Varga's debut, but I'll be back for future books by her and look forward to seeing her writing improve.

Emily Varga's FOR SHE IS WRATH might be the best THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO retelling I've ever read--and it's gender-bent! Why people aren't screaming from rooftops how fantastic this novel is is truly beyond me. I love the classic, and Varga really captures the essence of everything that makes the classic compelling. Such great worldbuilding and well-developed magic system. The best part is probably the diverse representation for a classic written by a white passing Black man that is generally retold by white authors and with white characters.

I love angry women!! There is nothing better than witnessing the wrath of Dania. It is the perfect romantasy.

I love the perspective of this book. It was a great read and written well. Thank you to netgalley for this copy.

In full disclosure, this review is based on around 50% of the book, as I did not end up finishing due to the reasons discussed below.

I loved the premise, setting and magic system (what little we got to see if it,) but this was unfortunately just not the book for me. The pacing was the biggest struggle. This started off incredibly fast paced, but then slowed down and unfortunately I just lost patience/interest with it and I did not feel myself pulled to pick it up.

I didn’t particularly care for the main character and while there is a lot of talk about her bringing wrath and revenge upon her enemies, it took much too long for this to be a reality and I didn’t see these claims being backed up anywhere. I also felt like I needed more in terms of the character development early on so I could understand the main character’s choices and motives better.

This is also marketed as a romantic fantasy, and at almost 50% there was hardly any romance or flash backs to what would have been the main romance between characters. I needed more form this aspect to really keep my interest.

All in all I wanted to love this, but it fell flat for me.

Netgalley gave me the opportunity to read this months ago and I dropped the ball on that really badly so I’m sorry for that! I really enjoyed this

The characters are complex and interesting and the plot was well paced! It never felt slow and each thing that happened felt important. Definitely a good read!

Now let tell you all why you should read this book:

* The language is so carefully crafted and the story has a nice read-ability.
* Dani is a kick Ass main character and should not be messed with.
* It follows a great adventure arc and keeps you wanting to find out what happends

For She Is Wrath is dubbed a gender-bent Count of Monte Cristo retelling, which is very long, repetitive, and slow action book. The storyline sinks you in but doesn't keep the reader invested for the long haul. I will say the setting is very nice and fantasy lovers will like it a lot. Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin's, and Emily Varga for this book!

I loved the setting of this book and the setup like the Count of Monte Cristo. I would say this was loosely inspired by the book, not a retelling though. Personally, I thought there was more chemistry between the two girls and would have loved a sapphic romance between them. I never really believed her relationship with Maz. Unfortunately, while initially I was drawn into the book, ultimately, I was disappointed. But lots of creative world building.

Dani has been betrayed by the person she trust the most and found herself in prison. Noor is trying to escape the same prison. The 2 girls meet out of luck and set off on an epic adventure to get revenge for what happened to them and the ones they love.

There is a lot of Character growth for both girls, along with twist and a love story for the ages. The friendship bound they 2 girls form over the course of the book is so sweat, you can tell that they see each other as family in the end.

This was The Count of Monte Cristo retelling, which I have never read, so I have nothing to compare it to. So, as a stand along book with no prior opinion - I absolutely loved it! I couldn’t get enough of the FMC and her strength, resilience, and empowerment. It was action packed and kept me on the edge of my seat. I also enjoyed that it wasn’t romance heavy, it was a nice break to focus on plot and characters.

I know this is written as a YA book, but to me the writing made it feel like a children’s chapter book, or at least a lower ya book for ages 12-14. I would not recommend this to an upper ya reader that is say 16-18. I really wanted to enjoy this, and while the story itself is fine the writing was not for me.

**Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!**

4/5 stars

This was an excellent debut from Emily Varga. I was instantly intrigued when I learned it was a Pakistani retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. The book offers everything you’d want: enemies to lovers, strong female characters, revenge, and friendship. Varga excels in world-building and introduces the magic system seamlessly. The characters are all well-developed and compelling from the very beginning. I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a fast-paced YA fantasy filled with revenge, romance, and friendship.