No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwyla likes it that way.
Ever since she and her brother were abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman sultan’s courts, Lada has known that ruthlessness is the key to survival. For the lineage that makes her and her brother special also makes them targets.
Lada hones her skills as a warrior as she nurtures plans to wreak revenge on the empire that holds her captive. Then she and Radu meet the sultan’s son, Mehmed, and everything changes. Now Mehmed unwittingly stands between Lada and Radu as they transform from siblings to rivals, and the ties of love and loyalty that bind them together are stretched to breaking point.
The first of an epic new trilogy starring the ultimate anti-princess who does not have a gentle heart. Lada knows how to wield a sword, and she'll stop at nothing to keep herself and her brother alive.
- ISBN10 0552573744
- ISBN13 9780552573740
- Publish Date 7 July 2016 (first published 28 June 2016)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Penguin Random House Children's UK
- Imprint Corgi Childrens
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 496
- Language English
Reviews
liz089
The main characters are amazingly well-build en developed and I loved how this story showed us the earlier years of Lada, Radu and Mehmet and read how they grew up. We got to know them through and through, from their hopes and dreams to their deepest regrets and sorrows.
At the end of the story Lada and Radu really got to me and.. so much emotions !!
Great world building too, with the different countries, religions, traditions, structure and strategies. And not only from one side, but it was all well-rounded and from different perspectives.
I found it very admirable how the author managed to tell us so much about this world without turning it into an info-dump. I never felt overwhelmed with information, but learned so much all the same !!
Damn, I really loved how this was so much in one novel. So much history, but also a lot about friendship, love, companionship and duty/loyalty. Just enough action to keep it exciting, but not to much to make it unrealistic. Just.. LOVED IT.
An amazing start to a new series, I can barely wait for the next one !!
Kait ✨
I feel like I’ve seen this advertised as fantasy but it isn’t—it’s definitely historical fiction. That’s maybe a bit of a stretch considering the gender-swapping, but still. It’s not fantasy, more alternate history.
It’s a quiet novel, and not a lot happens plot-wise. It’s heavier on the political intrigue than anything else, and for that reason I’d comp it to [b:A Game of Thrones|13496|A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)|George R.R. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436732693s/13496.jpg|1466917] or [b:Bitterblue|12680907|Bitterblue (Graceling Realm, #3)|Kristin Cashore|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1331532273s/12680907.jpg|6508730] by Kristin Cashore. There’s a lot of distrust and lying and stabbing and plotting etc. etc. etc. (Totally up my alley.) I think [b:And I Darken|27190613|And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga #1)|Kiersten White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449153532s/27190613.jpg|41682914]’s strength lies in its quietness, particularly in Lada’s struggle to understand her femininity and come to terms with accepting or rejecting it. There is so much to think about here when using a feminist lens. White also explores religion very deftly, particularly the issue of Christianity vs. Islam that was occurring during this time in Eastern Europe.
The characters are really thoughtfully drawn out. I loved that Lada actually is kind of crazy and definitely malicious, and while her brother Radu is “weak” and “sweet” he also has his mean streak. Their bond and the sibling dynamics was fascinating.
There is kind of a love triangle… but it’s really unusual and quite well done, too, and also not really a love triangle in the sense of the typical meaning. There are some very complicated relationships depicted in this book and some very messy, un-understood feelings, and that does come to a head with the trio of Lada, her brother Radu, and their best friend Mehmed. But it’s still not quite a love triangle.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes high fantasy and/or historical fiction: it has vibes of both. It’s so brutal and gritty and intense and at times I was very emotional about it all which came as a bit of a surprise considering how psychotic everyone in this book can be. I mean, honestly, it’s kind of fucked up but I loved every second of it. Also a surprise as I read [b:Paranormalcy|7719245|Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy, #1)|Kiersten White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496938681s/7719245.jpg|6949381] by this author years ago and HATED it. Five gold stars—I can’t wait for the second book, [b:Now I Rise|22817331|Now I Rise (And I Darken Series, #2)|Kiersten White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476160834s/22817331.jpg|42367441].
Apparently this book is 500 pages but I read it in eBook so I had no idea, although I feel better now that it took me so long to read it hahaha. Very excited that book two is also 496 pages!
Nessa Luna
And I Darken tells the story of Ladislav 'Lada' Dracul, a female version of Vlad the Impaler, and her brother Radu. We follow them from the moment they are born all the way through their stay in the Ottoman empire.
I am going to be 100% honest and say I did not love this book. I had expected to love it as much as everyone on Goodreads, but honestly the first couple chapters just didn't manage to convince me at all. In fact, at around page 100 I started to wonder whether it was worth it to continue reading. I did, of course, but it didn't pick up that much at all.
According to Goodreads, this book was a fantasy, but to me it felt more like historical fiction. In my dictionary, fantasy means magic, dragons, an unknown world (okay not necessarily but often enough). This book definitely had none of those elements. Sure, that does not make it a bad book, but I personally don't love historical fiction much (unless it's WWII). There was so much talk about politics and religion throughout this book that I found myself skipping passages every now and then. There was just not enough action going on in my opinion. Sure, there were three assassination attempts and some other small things going on, but other than that it was rather bland.
Character-wise, I thought the book was strong. Both Lada and Radu were good characters, and they both grew to be even greater people later on in the book. I wasn't too much of a fan of seeing them as kids, but when they were in their teens I enjoyed reading about them a bit more. I wasn't sold on the romance, though, I actually didn't enjoy it that much at all. The love-triangle was interesting, though, and I knew that Radu was gay for Mehmed long before he probably knew it himself. So I guess that wasn't really an exciting 'plot-twist' for me.
At some points I found myself annoyed by the writing, and the weird time-jumps. They would be listening in on a conversation in one chapter, and then the next they would be woken up in the middle of the night, apparently a couple of days after that eavesdropping. I don't know, but that just felt annoying at some points, and I really wished that it had been more of a flowing story rather than... well... this. Partly because we follow Lada from the moment she's born until she's sixteen, I think I would have enjoyed the story a bit more had she'd been that age from the beginning (then again, we may have missed some crucial information, so there isn't really a win/win here).
Still, it was an interesting story, though I am not 100% certain I will pick up the second book. I am curious what will happen to Lada next, but I don't think I will be picking up Now I Rise any time soon after it's release.
My opinion in one gif:
Leigha
Two siblings are taken hostage by an empire in this young adult alternative historical novel.
Total honesty - this is nothing like Ms. White's Paranormalcy series. Perhaps nothing like she has ever written before. Told between two points-of-view, Radu and Lada, it dealt with interesting issues such as faith, sex, politics, and homosexuality. Radu was well-written, and his character arch by far the best in the book. I always understood his motivations, and loved a certain “solution” he agrees to in the story to help a friendmarrying his friend’s sister so she could be protected to enjoy her life with her love, Fatima.
I had a hard time connecting to Lada. Lada is vicious in the beginning, rarely showing her affection to anyone. People are “things” to her, and she does not like sharing her things. She became more tolerable as the novel progressed, but my image of her had already tarnished. Considering half the story is written in her POV, I really needed to connect to her earlier in the story.The love story was beyond frustrating. While I understood Radu’s love for Mehmed, I never quite understood Lada’s love. For both Lada and Radu to fall in love with him, I needed him to be irresistible.
tl;dr Interesting tale of politics, faith, and love set during the Ottoman empire.
readingwithwrin
See reviews first on my Blog
Characters:
Ladislav (Lada)- Vlad's daughter
Bogdan- nurses son and Lada's best friends
Radu- Lada's baby brother
Mehmed- Friend of Lada and Radu, Ottoman Empire son
Huma- Mehmed's mother
Nicolae- soldier and Lada's best friend in her teenage years
Kumal- Kind man who helps Radu
From the time she was born Lada was expected to be nothing by her father. Instead what he got was a daughter that was tougher than his sons, and who would end up protecting one of them time and time again. She not only makes her father slightly proud at times but also seems to shame him at times as well when she acts un-lady like in front of others.
Then we have little Radu, the child that Vlad really seemed to not care for at all. He is weak and terrified of everyone in his families eyes. Yet Lada protects him with everything she has, while also picking on him. She does what she has to to make sure they stay alive even when it causes Radu to get hurt.
"People respond to kindness, Lada. They trust a smile more than a promise that you will leave them choking on their own blood."
"Yes, but my promise is more sincere than your smiles."
Lada and Radu are so different, but yet both still want the same things for the most part. The way they go about getting what they want is extremely different with Radu becoming everyone's friend and Lada using terror to get what she wants.
One thing that unites these two siblings the most though is there hatred for Vlad. He left them as bargaining chips in order to keep the small empire that he had.
"I did not love him. I worshiped him. And then he betrayed us by being human - so worthlessly, weakly human. He left us here with nothing and made it impossible for us to return home."
That was also when Lada realized that woman were seen as nothing and were just used as pawns to get what the men wanted for no regards to them or how they will survive. This is something that makes her become even fiercer and even more determined to get home to her country that she was taught to love so much, by the man who would treat her as if she was nothing.
With Radu we see him question not only who he is being in a foreign land with a sibling who he is terrified of, all while falling for someone who he can't have and knowing that he can never go home. We see Radu make friends of his own yet still be completely alone. He is an interesting character in the way that he would do anything for this other person he can never have, all while making sure that he also plays the part of pleasing so many other people. I might actually like his tactics for getting information more if he wasn't so busy trying to hide from Lada instead of just standing up to her.
"His heart sank as he realized that by taunting her that she could not leave, he had virtually guaranteed she would do exactly that."
Overall I really loved this story. Lada is a character that makes you dislike her and love her all at the same time. She does things that make you want to hate her, but then she does and does things like protecting Radu or slowly falling for someone who is keeping her someplace she doesn't want to be.
I also loved how we see things from both Lada and Radu's perspectives. Because of this we not only get to see how terrifying Lada can be, but how loving as well for the people she cares about.
We also get to see Radu and Lada grow up and change over time. They go from being two powerless children to some of the strongest people in the Empire. They find ways to not only get inside the military, but how to become the Emperors right hand man and confidant.
"You have him Lada. You have his heart and his eyes and his soul. I have seen the way you wait for him to look at you, the way you relish his attentions. You pretend you do not love him, but you cannot lie to me.""No one will ever love you as he does-as an equal-and you know it. You will not leave that. You cannot."
As for the love triangle it was interesting and one that I haven't really seen before. I wanted each of the characters to be able to be with one another, because of how it changed them when they with said person, but on the other hand I think they could do so much better than said person as well. Its a tough call, but I am interested in seeing what happens with everything in the next book.
To me this wasn't as dark as I thought it would be. But that could just be because I read several thrillers before I started reading this book.
I can't wait for the second book and to see what happens next!
One of the main characters is gay and one of the new side characters is as well.
Kelly
And I Darken is a brutal alternative history of the Prince of Wallachia, blending historical fiction with a cruel and calculating antihero that pushes gender roles, stereotypes and labels. Lada is without a doubt the most callous character in modern young adult.
'I kill infidels!' the child snarled, brandishing a small kitchen knife.
I loved her. Immensely. Lada isn't a character who allows herself to indulge those around her, especially sensitive and gentle younger brother Radu. Showing affection is a weakness and Lada won't allow Radu to be used against her, a trait inherited from her father who rules with an iron fist. Lada's cold, calculating persona is an asset she's also developed through her environment. Her mother but one of a magnitude of wives taken by her father, eventually leaving her harem, abandoning her children and returning home. Raised by a nurse, Bogdan's mother, Lada's strength is nurtured, celebrated, while the young girl wants nothing more than to make her father proud while she forges her own path. But beyond her brutality, Lada is a character rarely seen within young adult. She unapologetically cruel. She isn't interested in affairs of the heart, nor does she want to be seen as a female used for entertainment or to produce an heir. She wants equality and is determined to be the leader among men that her father and brother cannot be.
Younger brother Radu isn't worthy of the title of heir to the Wallachia throne, he's sensitive and emotional, preferring to befriend others and avoid conflict. He's immediately cast aside by his father in favour of Lada, and struggles with his sexual identity. It isn't until Radu and Lada are both held within the Ottoman Empire, that he begins to realise that he will never truly love any woman, preferring the company of men. Radu also struggles with his Christianity and I loved exploring the teachings of Islam through his young eyes. From the prayer sessions to the Holy Month celebrated nightly by a fest and a sense of community.
The overall storyline is focused on Lada, and Radu as an extension, each being raised as children of the Dragon Prince until kept captive at the mercy of the Sultan. Both find a sense of kinship with Mehmed, the Sultans son. I must admit, I found him nauseating. He was a young man and future leader in a position of power, but often felt incompetent and unable to make decisions. Naturally he begins to fall for Lada, despite her maiming threats but it's Radu who falls in love with the young Sultan, unable to label why he feels an attraction towards men when society dictates he must marry or face ostracisation. Mehmed was frustrating. He felt unwilling to push boundaries and seemed oblivious to Radu's affections even though their relationship felt far more intimate than a heterosexual relationship between friends.
The writing was beautifully vivid, detailed and lovely, which added and eerie calm among the violence. The storyline is reasonably modest and it feels as though the brutality of the era has been toned down to allow for a character driven storyline. I was hoping for intense warfare and unfortunately, it barely delivered on that aspect.
I loved it. Lada is a brilliant, headstrong character that we rarely see in young adult novels. In an empire in which men hold the power, she's not afraid to question loyalties, decisions and sexist stereotypes within the era.
She breathes fire and pisses vinegar.
She's perfection.
tweetybugshouse
cornerfolds
Initial reaction:
And I Darken is a book I had seen around a few times, but didn't know too much about. Then I saw it on Netgalley, read the first few lines, and was immediately sold. I don't know anything about Vlad the Impaler, other than what I saw on Dracula Untold, so I was pretty excited to get into the meat of this story about Lada, the brutal princess.
When I first started this book, I wasn't exactly sure what to think. I immediately loved the way it was written. Somehow it was able to pull me in immediately, despite the fact that it began with Lada being born. Slowly, the plot meanders through Lada's childhood. We see her a bit as a baby, then a young child, and then a preteen. Finally, she turns 13 and this is where we spend the first couple hundred pages of the book. I'll be honest in saying I had started to get a little frustrated with reading about child Lada. I wanted it to hurry up and get to her older teenage years so we could see her get her vengeance. After it all, though, I really do believe that every single page of backstory was necessary because it showed how Lada and her brother came to be the people they were.
And I Darken really is a book all about its characters more so than some others. (I don't even know if that makes sense, but it does in my head, so...) Sure, a lot of books have great characters! But where some of my other favorite books leave me thinking about the story long after it ends, all I can think about after finishing this is the characters. And not just Lada, but all of them! I don't know if I've ever read a book that focused so heavily on multiple characters.
I loved Lada, despite her pretty unlikable attitude, and I also loved Radu! Lada was unapologetically badass. There were moments where I thought she might do what so many other young adult heroines have done and change herself for her man, but I'm happy to report that Lada stays brutal from page one until the very last chapter. I also loved that she was not a special snowflake! Lada wasn't gorgeous (or even pretty), or a genius, and she didn't have any magical powers. She was just a normal girl with a lot of determination. Radu was my other (obvious) favorite, although he starts out as kind of an annoying, whiney kid. Seeing him come into his own was immensely satisfying. I cannot say I loved Mehmed, but I did appreciate that I was able to understand his motivations as he carried out his duties as a sultan. Most of all, I loved watching the relationships between all three of these characters evolve.
The story, like the main character, is brutal at times. I suppose it kind of has to be when you're looking at book based on Vlad the Impaler and I really loved the way it all came together. I will admit that the story went to places I did not anticipate, but I ended up really enjoying it! There were slow bits, of course. I mean, almost the first half of the book is about the characters as children. But there was a lot of action even in the childhood years.
The setting was also fantastic! This is one of the first books I've read with this setting and I loved learning a bit about the Ottoman empire. Kiersten White did a fantastic job of painting her setting and it made me feel like I could truly envision each new location she took me to. I also appreciated the look into Islam from both Lada's (who hated it) and Radu's (who found peace in the religion) points of view.
If I had one complaint about And I Darken it would have been how long it took to get to Lada and Radu as actual young adults. That being said, I ended up enjoying the length of time I had to get to know them, so it really isn't a complain after all. I loved this book so much! When it was over, I was honestly kind of devastated, especially realizing I'd have to wait a year for the next one. I highly recommend this book if you're looking for some YA fantasy or historical fiction that's just a little bit more ruthless than others!