In this Pakistani retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, is the tale of Dania, who has been imprisoned for a crime she didn't commit. After spending her days planning her escape from the torture she now endures and plotting her revenge against the boy responsible, the boy she once loved, it is time to take action.

Unfortunately I did not finish this. I made it to 25% and felt very reluctant to carry on reading. I don't believe this is a bad book by any means, it just wasn’t for me.

I didn't connect to our main character and felt she was contradictory at times. She has been trained since she was young to fight and can handle any blade she comes across but trips over and falls at the slightest of things. Maybe this was meant to humble her and make her seem human, just a normal girl, but it felt out of character.

The first few chapters intrigued me greatly, I read the first 15% in one sitting without even looking up. Afterwards the story seemed to trail along. A lot was happening but almost too fast so nothing felt fleshed out or to mean anything. Once the real adventure started, everything seemed to happen too quickly and too easily for our characters, the stakes felt low.

I definitely feel this was written for a younger audience and think it is a great book for young adults and teens getting into fantasy.

"What is your revenge costing you?"

For She is Wrath is labelled as a Pakistani retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. I'd say for the first quarter of the book that's very much true, as the beginning definitely takes inspiration from the classic tale. But after a while Varga's tale follows down its own direction, and while I didn't dislike it, there was a point where the story felt as if it lost the identity of what it wanted to be.

I was so excited to start this, and recieving an ARC copy could not have arrived at a better time for me. I've been a bit spoilt with revenge based stories lately, and before picking this up I had just finished watching both the Chinese drama masterpiece 'The Double' - which is a stunning example of a well written revenge story told from a woman's perspective - and had just been lucky enough to watch the 2024 French version of 'Le Comte De Monte Cristo' in the cinema, so I was ready to pick this up and dive into a revenge story with a strong female focus. And the fact it had Pakistani representation was even better, so I was eager to see how this story would be handled and developed.

For the most part I did somewhat enjoy this novel. Early on I could see that this was focused towards a Young Adult audience, yet even though I was wary for the first few chapters I decided to give the story time to develop and grow. And I'm glad I did, as there were parts to it that I felt were good.

I especially loved the twist on how our protagonist went about changing her apperance through what we come to learn as Djinn magic or zoraat seeds; a kind of rare, otherworldy power that can be world changing in its useage but also incredibly dangerous when used incorrectly. I felt this magic system was a great inclusion, and an even better way to somewhat seperate the story away from its original inspiration. I also really enjoyed the inclusion of Djinn themselves, and the haunting, ever looming presence of own that follows our protagonist, Dania, throughout the story. So much so I wish we got more of this illusive character, as they were probably one of the most intriquing and interesting to me. I thought they were such a good way to show the inclusion of Pakistani culture and mythology - we needed so much more of this sort of representation in the story, as it gave the novel such an unique and intriquing view.

I do however wish there was more explanation to the use of the zoraat system, as we are told that there are different kinds of zoraat and that each one has different uses depending on what it is the user intends to use its power for. Yet we only really see two of three of the variations, and there is little growth or expansion on this.

And ... that leads into one of the big problems I had with this novel. For a story that spans 400 pages, I felt that a lot of it was rushed at times, and that it could have benefitted from giving time for the plot to breath and grow. There are a lot of instances where we focus on things like 'what Dania chose to wear for her next meeting with Maz, who totally betrayed her, by the way,', or whole paragraphs where we're reading the same example of 'why Dania is plotting for revenge' - which, we know. I would have rather some of these moments be removed in favour of showing us more of growing plans; the meetings she has with these people that have wronged her in order to build familiarity and closeness with them, or even just moments where her and Noor - her accomplice - get to really plan, rather than argue with each other on 'if they really want to do this'.

But, again. I have to remind myself that this is for a Young Adult audience, and not everyone is as big into the scheming, plotting, politics and eventual vengence-getting as I am.

The latter half of this novel is where the structure sort of crumbles. We lose the aspect of this being a revenge story and, with it, the stories whole identity. I won't say too much in this review as to what actually happens, but I will mention that the story suddenly drops from what it wants to be and becomes ... a romance story? I guess? We have a twist that comes out of nowhere that ... really feels quite random, and could have done with far more construction and foreshadowing. Our protagonist decides to drop the rest of her quest for revenge, so much so that at the very end it seems that even Noor, who wanted her own revenge against a particular character, just gives in and decides that nope, revenge was never worth the hassle anyway. Which is fine ... I guess? There is an - albeit sudden - reason why the revenge idea is suddenly dropped by Dania, and Noor seemed to grow more and more reluctant as the story goes on (and she seems to fall more and more into the background as things progress anyway, sadly. Very much a character that is a victim of 'I am used for a plot point and that's about it'). But for a novel that markets itself on being about female rage and a quest for revenge, I felt disappointed by the way Varga decided to resolve this.

So I come away from this novel feeling rather conflicted. I can honestly see the appeal this will have on a younger audience, and this has the potential to be a story that will be very popular in such circles. But as much as there were parts I did enjoy, they were overshadowed by other frustrating choices and directions. Maybe I've just been spoilt lately from other, much more fulfilling revenge themed stories, but for now, For She is Wrath sits lukewarm for me.

I tried to warm to this. I really tried to like this as I had such high hopes for it - I mean, a Pakistani reimagining of The Count of Monte Cristo. Sign me up - but my goodness, this book suffered from a lot of issues.

The pacing drags (it took our lead character over 12 chapters to escape prison. And these weren’t short chapters either), the main characters were really hard to connect with and root for and most of the story felt (at times) on surface deep and lacking depth. And the issue I had the biggest problem with - the repetition and the “show, don’t tell”. We are told, very early on, that our main character was framed and that she wants revenge (this is fine), but do we need this to be drummed into us EVERY OTHER PARAGRAPH? And every time this happened, I found myself liking the book less and less, and more reluctant to return to this world, even though I found the writing quite enjoyable and quite easy to listen to while at the gym or driving home from work.

This book fell totally flat for me, which is really annoying as I was so excited when I first read the blurb…

The premise…
After a betrayal by her former lover, Dania is wrongfully imprisoned and spends her days plotting her escape and her revenge.
When a fellow prisoner with a tantalising connection to the empire’s closely guarded djinn magic gives Dania a chance at escape, she grabs it, ready to ensure her betrayer pays the ultimate price.
But it’s not so simple when he’s a boy she used to love.

My thoughts...
This book instantly drew me in because it started with immediate high stakes and a friendship meet cute. Dania is rough around the edges in the best way and her character arc was great and a deeply satisfying read!

The world was beautiful and built up very naturally throughout the story to paint a vivid picture. I'm very much hoping we get a second book set in this world to follow some of the breadcrumbs left at the end of the story.

The romance, told through a dual timeline, was interesting and I enjoyed parts of it, but I felt Mazin's character needed a little more fleshing out. However, I didn't mind this because it meant the friendship between Dania and Noor stole the show! Without a question, their friendship was my favourite part of the story - I adored it!

Perfect for fans of...
Female friendships taking centre stage!

I absolutely loved this book. A Pakistani fantasy romance where the strong female lead goes through challenges and quests to get revenge on a past lover. I admired how this book had two best friends as the main characters and the focus was more on them and the fantasy than the romance which is appealing to me. I thoroughly enjoyed this and it was captivating from the beginning to end.

4.5 stars

FOR SHE IS WRATH is a fantasy that asks questions about vengeance, forgiveness, and how love tangles up in these matters.

This is a retelling of the COUNT OF MONTE CHRISTO. I haven't read that book, but I googled it afterwards and really liked seeing what elements had been taken and which altered. It looks like FOR SHE IS WRATH has a far more interesting take on the romance, rather than a woman who was just a pawn in everyone's game being blamed.

Mazin has betrayed Dania, but she still has feelings for him. It's a really fun push and pull between desire and anger, which are very similar emotions in some way. The book plays well on this and has good chemistry, as well as exploring the tangled emotions as Dania tries to seduce him, but struggles against her own feelings.

The book also explores vengeance and what it can do to someone. Dania and Noor both want vengeance for their loved ones, but are invested in different ways. Noor is the one to pull back and see what it's doing, sparking a lot of tension between the girls. I really liked the way the book ended, how it approached the question of whether vengeance was worth it or not.

In all, this is a very strong debut. It's an engaging listen, Safiyya Ingar bringing the pain and rage alive, as well as a world of magic provided by plants - and the tyrants it begets.

Let's start with the most important. This should NOT be promoted as a retell of The Count of Monte Cristo because it's setting this up to be a major failure if we go into it with impossible expectations. Yes, there is betrayal. Yes, there is a crave for revenge. BUT this is by far not developed enough to be labelled as a retell of the classic.

Now that's out of the way, let's talk about the actual book. This was an okay romantasy. I'm not saying it shook my world but it didn't hurt to read it.

Dania was indeed wrath herself and I liked the author had the guts to carry this cold rage through most of the story. However, I don't know if it's just me but I felt like something was missing between our FMC, Dania and our MMC, Maz.

And here we go with Maz, I was painfully aware of the lack of POV for him. Due to not having his thoughts, I kind of feel like a bit as if I didn't really get to know him. Of course, we had his motivation and why he was doing certain things but it wasn't exactly enough. I didn't fall for him and I also didn't fall head over heels for their romance even though the potential was certainly there.

Noor was alright... I think that's my biggest problem with the characters and the story itself that it was all just alright. I didn't mind reading it but the characters fell a bit flat (Noor the reason, Dani the rage, Maz... I don't even know how to label him, his sister was clearly only their as a plot device) and so did the world building/plot.

Anyway, maybe my expectations were a bit too high due to the Monte Cristo line in the blurb. I do think this was a decent debut novel and I'd still read gladly something by the author.

I felt like the book was trying to do too much in a short space of time. For example, the MC forgave the love interest super quick after he revealed why he betrayed her.
I didn't feel strongly about the characters or the revenge the main character seeks.
I was also confused as to why she escaped from prison but it didn't seem like anyone ever came for her (bar one person briefly).

I liked the message that there is still joy in life after traumatic events / loss.
The magic system was interesting and the djinn when they finally showed up was cool.
Plus, I liked that the cat was OK!

A YA Pakistani retelling of "The Count of Monte Cristo", I haven't actually read or watched any movie or theatre adaptation of the classic, but was completely sold by this book about a FMC swordswoman, Dania, seeking revenge on those who betrayed her trust and had her imprisoned for a murder she did not commit, including the boy she used to love, Mazin.

Before even getting into the nitty gritty, I have to take a moment to express the joy it brings me to read books with authentic South-Asian representation. The world-building, particularly after the 25% mark with the vibrancy of the bazaar, pistachi0 and rose teas and the weaving of Urdu phrases was w0nderful. I was transported within the pages (and famished, not one to read at bedtime as you will want to get up and have a midnight feast).

With that came action-packed fighting sequences, a war-cry for female empowerment with a strong female protagonist and her sidekick Noor who has a rare ability to blend zoraat, seeds filled with djinn magic. There was strategy and scheming coupled with softer tones of vulnerability and emotion which suddenly turned to charged tension and chemistry between our FMC/MMC. Once I picked up this book, I could not put it down - It was a rollercoaster ride!

I went in with zero expectations and the book did not disappoint. This read was definitely unpredictable and kept you on your toes. The equations between all the characters and how the story developed was fast-paced and enjoyable. The ultimate message by the author was a humbling one and I feel the target YA audience can take inspiration from the read. I am hoping there will be a sequel with Noor as the protagonist!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Books, First Ink and Emily Varga for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest unedited review.

Thank you Pan MacMillan for allowing me to receive an early readers eCopy of this book in return for an honest review!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this - the opening chapters pulled me in instantly and I found myself utterly hooked on the fast-paced action filled plots, as we are introduced to our main character, Dania.

There is a lot of mystery surrounding the events within the early pages of this book, which left me searching the pages for clues, utterly tantalised. Whilst this was welcome, I do wish we were given just a little bit more information, but everything unfurled gradually throughout the book, with chapters throwing us back into past events leading right the way up to the final climax.

Throughout this book, Dania is set on gaining her revenge on the people who betrayed her, as she escapes from a ruthless prison with her new found friend, Noor (who, by the way, I absolutely LOVE as a character! Out of all the characters in the book I found I connected with her the most - she had the perfect balance of sweetness, sarcasm and steadiness, and I really felt she developed and grew as a character throughout).
We see Dania struggle with addiction to new Djinn power, as she is slowly taken control of, all the while she is set on gaining her vengeance.
We have an enemies to lovers romance, which we love, and although it was predictable and I saw the ending a mile-off, I still found myself smiling as I read it.

My only gripe with this book, is that whilst the plot is amazingly fast paced and action packed, I did feel like a lot of the action was rushed through. It almost all felt TOO easy, and the high-stakes moments were over in a “blink and you miss it” kind of way - I would have loved for the world building to be more richly delved into so the stakes felt more warranted.

As a whole though, this was a really enjoyable read and one I would definitely recommend if you are looking for a fun, fast-paced action fantasy with an enemies to lovers romance, and found-family tropes.

I really liked reading about Dania and Mazin and what they went through for their revenge. I haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo so I don't know how good of a retelling it is.

The pacing was great up to about 90% then it suddenly flew. So much happened within 40 pages and I wish we got more time to work through all the revelations that were thrown at us. (I thought the Nana being the bad guy was out of the blue and I would of preferred it if Mazin stayed at fault, as I thought Dania's understanding of why he did what he did but she couldn't not love him was brilliant. When she fell to her knees in front of him I nearly cried.)

This was a solid 3.5 stars but due to the ending I have chosen to give it 3. I really like the lovers to enemies trope 😊

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked this! The prison scenes are great and I loved the friendship between the two girls, as well as the sizzling hot romance. Will definitely get the next one in the series.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This book has such a fast paced, such fascinating world building, that all of that made up for the slightly flat characters! I think partially because it moved so fast, I didn’t feel like the characters were particularly well developed. They were still fun to read about, and they moved the plot forward smoothly.

This was still really fun, exciting, with a revenge fuelled romance that was honestly the best part of this story! The magic through Orbeez was interesting too. (They’re seeds with Djinn magic, but as soon as the texture was described as ‘fish eggs’, all I could picture was Orbeez.)

If you love fast paced fantasy, and you want something more interesting than your regular wizards-and-dragons, this Pakistani romantic fantasy will hit just right!

A fantastic debut from Emily Varga.
I'm a sucker for enemies to lovers romantasy stories, and I really liked this one.
I enjoyed the writing style and I would definitely read more from this author in the future!

𝓡𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 4.5/5

Oh my gooshhh I absolutely adored the story of this book!!!
This is Emily’s debut novel (I think), which I’m really impressed by and I cannot wait to see what you write in the future. I really recommend this book based the journey that this story will take you on, the romance I felt was a side thing. This is a YA fantasy with romance. Main themes are revenge (which I adore), lovers to enemies to lovers, badass female FMC, second chances, building a strong friendship.



Here are all the things I loved about the book:
🗡️I loved this book for its story. I found it unique and interesting to read. The plot twists and plot had me hooked right from the beginning and I just wanted to read to know the whole story.
🪷 I really enjoyed the progression and development of the story, it flowed really well. I liked the development of the characters.
🗡️The world building is easy to imagine and understand.
🪷I enjoyed the writing, I thought the descriptions and dialogue were really well done and I found myself immersed in the book and the world and imagining it. I felt the emotions of the characters, their rage, grief and forgiveness.
🪷I loved the pace of the book, it’s medium imo. But I love a book that starts straight away with action and this book had that!
🗡️I adored all the characters, the evil & good characters, they all added value to the story. I liked the backstory to the main characters and with this l felt I could really understand their actions. The FMC is an absolute badass who has been through so much, master of swords. My favourite relationship was that of Dania and Noor, I loved the growth that these two had.
🪷 there were some, not a lot, of a past and present situation going on. I liked the past and present aspect where we get to really learn about the relationship of the FMC and MMC.
🗡️I enjoyed the element of magic that was within this book, I thought it was interesting and unique.
🪷LOVED the revenge pieces and the actions done to execute them!

The FMC did hate the MMC for most of the book and I was a little surprised to find how she forgave him so easily (personally I would never but that’s because if someone does me wrong they’re cut out from my life instantly lol I rarely if ever do second chances.).

I wish there was more revenge pieces but the shift changes to forgiveness towards the end and not living with such anger and being happy.

The only thing I thought was a little repetitive were the descriptions of the MMC and how they looked like.

I received this as an ARC, though this review is of my own opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

This book blew me away. From the get go it drew me in, the plot is fast paced, full of action, comedic quips between characters, tragic loss, love and betrayal.

Written from Dania’s POV ‘Before and After’ her 364 days in prison allows the reader to understand the depth of Maz’s betrayal, and the placement of the before chapters was brilliant story telling. Getting to see their relationship grow and then feel the utter heartbreak and all consuming need for revenge from Dania is genius. It is so well written that I felt the raw emotion and pain as if it were my own.

The descriptive language and imagery used throughout the book was beautiful. I found myself highlighting passages of the story in awe of the writing, just so I could go back and read them again and again.

“A hawk took flight in my chest, the power of its wings beating my skin and willing my whole body to soar.”

The balance of romance vs fantasy plot in this was perfection, I cared just as much about the relationship between Dania and Maz as I did Noor and the ultimate fallout of their plot for revenge. Feeling Dania’s conflicting feelings between love, desire and hate and her trying to make sense of them added to the intensity of the quiet moments as well as the action scenes.

“This was a battle of intimacy, of landing the right strike, testing your opponent. If you rushed ahead, if you put the wrong foot forward, you could lose everything”

Ultimately the story is about whether the price of revenge is worth the cost. It is about found family, forgiveness and not allowing the past to swallow up the possibility of a future.

I cannot wait for this book to be out in the world, theres a stunning Waterstones edition available for preorder and its rumoured to be in the Owlcrate November box. I will be collecting them all!

Hoping we get the continuation of Noor’s story in book two.

3.5

Great read. A very good book with a great idea behind it. Whilst I felt in places there was a rushed feeling to carry the story onwards and think it would've been better to have added more meat to the parts, it was still a satisfying read. Just maybe not as amazing as it could have been.
I love books on Djinn, especially when it's an original take on the myth, and this definitely was that.
Loved the book, how it did not hold back on all of the emotions. The only drawback was the story needed more fleshing out. Like how they went from escaping prison to suddenly finding the hidden treasure to all of a sudden working at their vengeance. It was a perfect place to add more emotion, more substance to the story. Otherwise a good decent solid read.

For She is Wrath follows Dania who has been imprisoned for a crime she didn’t commit after she was betrayed by her ex-lover. She gets a chance at escape from a fellow prisoner and assumes a brand new identity after using Jinn magic. Her ex-lover stands in her way when she wants to get revenge but betrayal isn’t as simple as it seems.

This was just okay. It didn’t wow me and it felt pretty derivative of other young adult fantasy books. The romance element wasn’t as developed as it could have been and the world building felt pretty weak to me. It was hard to situate myself in the story.

'For She is Wrath" is a tale about revenge and its cost. It's about how betrayals hurt and the effects not only on those betrayed but those whom care about them. "For She is Wrath" explores the cycles of pain and how revenge can cost more than you'd imagine.

I fell in love with this book, It's characters, its action scenes, the world and its magic. This book had me hooked, even during the moments I wasn't reading, I was thinking about what was going to happen next. I'm still thinking about it.

You can expect revenge driven women, legendary sword skills , prison escapes, djinn magic and epic fight scenes.