My reaction to this book’s description was “A Pakistani fantasy Count of Monte Cristo retelling? Sign me up!”

In For She Is Wrath by Emily Varga, Dania was raised by her swordsmith father, so she’s no stranger to fighting. But when she’s betrayed by the young man she loves most and thrown into prison, she despairs at first, then turns her thoughts toward revenge. Then she meets Noor, a fellow prisoner with secrets of a djinn treasure, her plans become more solid. So she sets off on a journey for vengeance, disguising herself as a wealthy noble in order to get close to those who stabbed her in the back. But seeing her former love again complicates things inside her, and soon a question arises: what will it cost Dania to exact her revenge?

It’s kind of funny how well I know the story beats of The Count of Monte Cristo despite having never (yet) read it. I just quite like the movie starring Jim Caviezel and Richard Harris, and apparently that was a good foundation to appreciate this retelling. Granted, this is a strong novel on its own, but still.

Firstly, I fully understand Dania’s drive to bring down her betrayers. The backdrop of a ruthless emperor and the political instability of the empire itself makes for a great setting. I also really liked the elements of Pakistani folklore in the form of djinn magic; it’s a fun twist on the original Monte Cristo’s use of wealth as a source of power. Here, magic is the thing that makes one wealthy, and I liked how Dania used it in order to make her scheme work.

Speaking of her scheme, it’s delightful, and I love that she’s helped along the way by her ally and friend Noor. Their bond was formed by trauma, yes, but I love the ways they assist and challenge each other, and the ways they clash are well-written and help both their characters develop.

As for the other most important character, I’m about to say something I rarely say: I wanted more romance in this story. I know, who am I? But really, while I loved the flashbacks to before Dania’s imprisonment, I wanted much more in the current timeline of her bond with Mazim. The flashbacks served to show the beginnings of their friendship and eventual love, but there wasn’t quite enough development in the present. They just needed more time together, on the same page, for me to be fully invested. I was honestly expecting their reckoning to occur a lot earlier, instead of something like 80% of the way through the book. In fact, I wonder if it would have been better to have a few scenes from Mazim’s POV, both past and present? It might have created some nice dramatic irony, with the audience knowing both perspectives on the situation. Oh, well, that isn’t what I got. And the development that is there is decent, I just wanted more.

However, in the end, For She Is Wrath is an impressive debut novel. It works both as a retelling of a classic, as well as its own tale. The characters are well-written and the setting is lush and vivid. I had a great time listening to the audiobook, narrated by Safiyya Ingar, and actually, I read this way faster than I anticipated. It’s a compelling story, clearly. I’ll definitely look for more books by Emily Varga in the future; she’s a strong writer!

For She Is Wrath will be published on October 29th, 2024!