AND I DARKEN is the first book in the Conquerers Saga series. What's unique about this series is that it is set in the Ottoman Empire. I haven't encountered this in fiction in a long time and certainly not in the Young Adult genre but Kiersten White does a fantastic job of creating a world that is rife in history and war while still keeping things relatable to readers in this time period.
There are three main characters in this series. Lada is the main heroine and she is the fiercest of the bunch. Although she is made fun of because of her ugliness, there aren't many soldiers who would stand up to her. Radu is Lada's younger brother and he is the sensitive one. His gentle soul is a great contrast the to brutal backdrop of this series and he's probably one of my favorite characters in this series. But coming at a close second is Mahmed. Mahmed is the sultan's son and when Lada and Radu are betrayed by their father and forced to live with their enemies, Mahmed becomes their new friend. However, the three will undergo plenty of heartbreak when their bond is tested and war tears them apart.
Kiersten White has a potential bestseller on her hands with AND I DARKEN. With epic battles and multidimensional characters, I have no doubt that readers will be dying for the next book in the series.
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. Fans of Victoria Aveyard’s THE RED QUEEN, Kristin Cashore’s GRACELING, and Sabaa Tahir’s AN EMBER IN THE ASHES won’t want to miss this visceral, immersive, and mesmerizing novel, the first in a trilogy.
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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