Week 23 Review: And I Darken

From Goodreads:
NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. 

And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who's expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he's made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she's finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken.

My Review:
Reading this book was utterly fantastic! I enjoyed it so much, I knew I would, but yeah, nothing could really prepare me for this book! I love Kiersten White's previous books (and there's only two full length published novels that I haven't read yet) and this was just another one to add to that list of (be)loved books by Kiersten White!

Of course, it's very different from her other books-it's the darkest yet, and because of that darkness, it didn't have the same humour, and it's a retelling of Vlad the Impaler, but with Vlad as a girl. Some ways it's the same as her previous books are the deep characters and the beautiful writing!

I enjoyed this story of Lada, Radu and Mehmed. These characters were just complex, Lada with her unladylike brute strength and military-tactic mind, Radu with his cunning mind, and Mehmed, the son of a concubine and the third child of the ruler of the empire and became the heir. Mehmed, who wants to be the one whom their prophet talked about.

Family and relationships were a big thing in this book. The ones that Lada made, the strings connecting her to other people like her father and brother, the ones connecting her to Mehmed, the ones connecting her to her country. The ones that connect Radu to his Lada, his friends and Mehmed. And the ones that Mehmed had, to his father, mother, teacher, and his country. They made these characters into who they were, and they were important to this story!

Another element of this book, was the political scheming. That of their father, and then of the Ottoman Empire. Lada and Radu went from pawns, to pretty important advisors and they came up with some pretty hefty plans! Of course, there were also the plans that Lada made to get back home, even when it tangled with her heart's desires!

This book ended on such a vibrating note-and one that I hope plays out in the beginning of the next book! I don't want to miss a single thing!

Author: Kiersten White
Series: The Conquerors Saga #1
Read: May 28th, 2016
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Love her writing! And it's a Historical Fiction 2016 Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2016 Book, WoW Book and a WTC Book!
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Expected Publication: June 28th 2016

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars