“Absolutely riveting.” —Alexandra Bracken, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Darkest Minds
This vividly rendered novel reads like HBO’s Game of Thrones . . . if it were set in the Ottoman Empire. Ambitious in scope and intimate in execution, the story’s atmospheric setting is rife with political intrigue, with a deftly plotted narrative driven by fiercely passionate characters and a fearsome heroine. Fans of Victoria Aveyard’s THE RED QUEEN and Sabaa Tahir’s AN EMBER IN THE ASHES won’t want to miss this visceral, immersive, and mesmerizing novel, the first in the And I Darken series.
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.
“A dark and twisty fantasy . . . think Game of Thrones, but with teens.”—Seventeen
“Sinister, suspenseful, and unapologetically feminist.”—Buzzfeed
“Will completely spin you into another time and place.”—Bustle
“Takes no prisoners, offering up brutal, emotional historical fiction.”—NPR.org
I think this is one of my new favourites ^^ Wooow.. I really loved this book and enjoyed reading it very much.
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 !!
