Bookish Reviews

And I Darken by: Kiersten White

And I Darken by Kiersten White

Published by Delacorte Press

Release Date: June 28 2016

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Pages: 496

Series: The Conqueror's Saga - Book One

Format: eARC

Source: Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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.

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Review:

And I Darken is such an addictive book to read. It's dark, captivating, well-written, compelling, and filled with badasses from beginning to end. It truly sinks its teeth into you and hooks you until you have finished reading the book. Told in third person perspective, this original novel will definitely leave you astound and wanting more.

"I cannot afford to lose you, too"

"You cannot lose something you do not own. Take me with you"

The book opens to Lada's birth. Her father waiting impatiently to find out the sex but when he finds out that his wife had given birth to a girl he is far from pleased. He names the girl after himself and at least hopes that she may be pretty so he can marry her off. A year later, Lada's brother Radu is born. At this point, we see that their mother does not care for Lada nor Radu and has a nurse raising them both. To their fathers disappointment Lada is not considered rather pretty and Radu is far too sensitive compared to Lada's fierce and intimidating personality.