by Emily Varga
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Count of Monte Cristo is a personal favourite of the classics. I first read it when I was only 14; and again read it at 17, that time in French. I really should revisit it again now that I’m over 40. Going into any retelling always makes me both nervous and excited. You never can be sure what will happen when you read book inspired by old stories. I’m happy to say I quite enjoyed this one.
There are a couple of major changes to the main story; including a magical element added as the setting naturally brings in djinn magic. Emily Vargas also gives us female leads, instead of men. The ending is different in a way, and I (surprisingly) didn’t have much of an issue with that either. For She is Wrath is a solid use of an old story to tell a new one.
Vargas takes us on a journey that includes the expected elements of friendship, greed and revenge, like the original story, but also adds in compassion, forgiveness, and an endearing romance. While we spend 80% of the novel in the midst of a revenge scheme, we also learn a lot about the cost of revenge, and that many people in life wish for it but forget it comes at a cost. I really connected with this. While today I very happy with my life, love my partner, own a home, adore my puppy, and more; a piece of me still occasionally wishes for revenge on a couple people who terribly wronged me as a teenager. It’s silly, and I know that, as without their actions I wouldn’t be where I am today (and I would NEVER give that up) but I am human, as we all are, and thus lust for revenge as I believe many of us secretly do.
Just as Alexander Dumas did so many years before, Vargas takes the revenge desire and makes it relatable. Ultimately showing that humans may evolve, but we don’t change. Our primary drivers of love, greed, revenge, etc. all remain the same today as they did hundreds of years ago. With or without technology, space travel, and the internet we all still retain the primal instinct to survive, and wish to be in control of our lives. No one wants to be under someone else’s control.
I hope For She is Wrath will bring younger readers to the works of Dumas. It’s a great reflection on who we are, who we want to be, and that while circumstance may shape us they do not have to not define us. With just enough romance to be put in the ‘romantasy’ genre, I found this book to be a solid entry alongside the explosion of retellings and fantasy stories currently trending. It’s suitable for age 13 or 14 and up. There is some sex that happens, but no smut or graphic descriptions. Lots of sword fighting but no gratuitous gore. I’d be comfortable putting this into any avid teenage readers hands or recommending it to any adults that enjoy this genre. I am walking away from For She is Wrath content that Dumas’ original story has not been totally bastardized in its use and that the moral dilemmas still resonant today. I look forward to finding a fancy edition of this one to put on my print bookshelf!
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Count of Monte Cristo is a personal favourite of the classics. I first read it when I was only 14; and again read it at 17, that time in French. I really should revisit it again now that I’m over 40. Going into any retelling always makes me both nervous and excited. You never can be sure what will happen when you read book inspired by old stories. I’m happy to say I quite enjoyed this one.
There are a couple of major changes to the main story; including a magical element added as the setting naturally brings in djinn magic. Emily Vargas also gives us female leads, instead of men. The ending is different in a way, and I (surprisingly) didn’t have much of an issue with that either. For She is Wrath is a solid use of an old story to tell a new one.
Vargas takes us on a journey that includes the expected elements of friendship, greed and revenge, like the original story, but also adds in compassion, forgiveness, and an endearing romance. While we spend 80% of the novel in the midst of a revenge scheme, we also learn a lot about the cost of revenge, and that many people in life wish for it but forget it comes at a cost. I really connected with this. While today I very happy with my life, love my partner, own a home, adore my puppy, and more; a piece of me still occasionally wishes for revenge on a couple people who terribly wronged me as a teenager. It’s silly, and I know that, as without their actions I wouldn’t be where I am today (and I would NEVER give that up) but I am human, as we all are, and thus lust for revenge as I believe many of us secretly do.
Just as Alexander Dumas did so many years before, Vargas takes the revenge desire and makes it relatable. Ultimately showing that humans may evolve, but we don’t change. Our primary drivers of love, greed, revenge, etc. all remain the same today as they did hundreds of years ago. With or without technology, space travel, and the internet we all still retain the primal instinct to survive, and wish to be in control of our lives. No one wants to be under someone else’s control.
I hope For She is Wrath will bring younger readers to the works of Dumas. It’s a great reflection on who we are, who we want to be, and that while circumstance may shape us they do not have to not define us. With just enough romance to be put in the ‘romantasy’ genre, I found this book to be a solid entry alongside the explosion of retellings and fantasy stories currently trending. It’s suitable for age 13 or 14 and up. There is some sex that happens, but no smut or graphic descriptions. Lots of sword fighting but no gratuitous gore. I’d be comfortable putting this into any avid teenage readers hands or recommending it to any adults that enjoy this genre. I am walking away from For She is Wrath content that Dumas’ original story has not been totally bastardized in its use and that the moral dilemmas still resonant today. I look forward to finding a fancy edition of this one to put on my print bookshelf!
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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