The Wrath & the Dawn, Book 1

Some animal sacrifices for magic, a hanging execution stopped at the last moment, and talk of dozens of girls who were hung after their marriage to the caliph. Fights with swords and arrows that kill and injure with some talk of blood spewed, a man drags his own throat across a blade to avoid being captured alive or made to talk. A fire started by lightning destroys a city. Talk of sadness in characters' pasts: The caliph's mother was killed in front of him when he was 6 after she was accused of adultery, there's a pregnancy loss, a hanging suicide, a man killing himself with a dagger, a mother dying of wasting sickness, and another mother dying of grief after her daughter is taken and killed. Plus talk of some violence in the stories told: a shipwreck, a drowned crew, fights, the death of a mentor, dead wives found in a cellar.

Sex between the Caliph and Shahrzad, very little described besides kisses, taking off robes and shirts, touches, and kisses. Shahrzad's handmaiden is pregnant with some talk of her affair. Talk of infidelity and some bawdy remarks.

"Bastard son of a whore" is as bad as it gets with a few mentions of "bitch," "ass," and "dammit." The word "jankesh" translates to "whoremonger" or "master pimp."

Wine drinking at private dinners and public gatherings. Shahrzad is 16 and the Caliph is about 20.

Parents need to know that The Wrath & the Dawn is the first of a two-book series that combines elements of the "1001 Nights" (or "Arabian Nights") within a fantasy love story. Here the caliph's bride and storyteller is Shahrzad not Scheherazade. She manages to survive when dozens of girls have already been hung at dawn, but is almost hung. There are animal sacrifices for magic and fights with swords and arrows that kill and injure with some talk of blood spewed. A man drags his own throat across a blade to avoid being captured alive or made to talk. Sadness in characters' pasts include the fact that the caliph's mother was killed in front of him when he was 6 after she was accused of adultery, a pregnancy loss, and a hanging suicide. The caliph and Shahrzad have sex with some description of kisses and clothes removed. The worst the language gets is "bastard son of a whore." Readers will like Shahrzad. She's a strong female character who makes a huge transformation from a place of hatred and revenge to empathy and love.