And I Darken (The Conquerors Saga #1)

Goodreads Blurb:

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.

What I thought:

The story starts at the very beginning with Lada's birth. Then her brother Radu is born a year later. We skip ahead four years. Lada is 5 and Radu is 4. Their father is scheming for political gain, barely noticing them. He's absent most of the time and their mother leaves. Raised by the nursemaid, Lada is allowed to run free and we see the girl she's becoming. We skip ahead another six years. Lada is 11 and Radu is 10.

Following an infant from birth to age 11 should be tedious, but OMG it isn't. The writing here is fabulous, visual and dynamic, with not a word out of place.

Lada is a daughter instead of son in a world where men have all the power and women are items to be traded. Lada knows her place and refuses to accept it. She fights for everything a daughter can't have, and I love her. I am a huge sucker for the anti-hero and Lada has that in spades. She is a fighter. She's dark and surprising and she knows what she wants.

Her brother Radu is everything she isn't: pretty, gentle, soft-spoken, and emotional. But they're both vulnerable, which is why this is such a powerful story. The first half of this book is character-driven and the second half is plot-driven, which I think is absolutely necessary here. First, given Lada's nature, we need to know why she is the way she is in order to feel for her. Second, without seeing the process, the end results would be unbelievable.

And the ending! OMG the ending. I need the next book right now. I loved this book from cover to cover and give it five dark stars.

Find it on Goodreads for more reviews and links to buy. Find me on Twitter @chellypike. I love comments. Are you dying to read AND I DARKEN? What's your most anticipated book of 2016?

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Happy Reading,

Chelly

*I received an eARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.