[Book Review] And I Darken by Kiersten White

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, 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.



5 STARS 

TW: attempted rape, gore/violence, Islamophobia, homophobia.

I am so mad at myself for putting this book off for so long because I am absolutely in love with everything to do with this story. Between the reviewers I deeply trust, half of them loved it and half of them either hated or DNFed it, so it made me apprehensive about picking And I Darken up. I don't typically read Historical Fiction stories and I know very little about Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler) other than he was prince of Wallachia and that he was known for being a very violent man (hence the nickname). When I heard it was a Vlad the Impaler retelling with Vlad actually being a woman, I was intrigued but because I wasn't knowledgeable I didn't have much of an opinion about reading it. I want to quickly say this here, because I've seen this come up in other reviews: this book isn't fantasy - it is historical fiction,  and it is not supposed to be incredibly thrilling or scary. I do think that in the next book we are probably going to get more graphic and violent scenes because of the events in this book are leading to, but I have seen some reviews realize they picked this up for a thrilling or fantasy story and be disappointed.

I think the characters are what really steal the show for this story. We have our two main characters who are sister and brother, Lada and Radu. Lada by far was my favorite character of the story. She is so incredibly complex and interesting. Her character growth throughout the story is such a well written one and I think it made the reader empathize with her so much more. She is so incredibly badass through the entire story and of course it was always impressive to see her be this strong woman in a time when women were treated as a means to have children. But besides her strength I was most impress with how she grew as a sympathetic character. She is so harsh and insensitive at first because she's young and craves her fathers approval, but as she sheds these naive fantasies about her father and the world in general she becomes grounded. And I think it makes her even more lethal than she was as this wild and feral beast of a child. Radu is a character I highly sympathized for because honestly a lot of the times he gets the short end of the stick when it comes to his family. His sister constantly teases him and his father treats him terribly because Radu is what the internet would like to call a precious cinnamon roll. He's a bleeding heart, and although he cries less as he grows up I love that his compassion and humility stays with him as he becomes a teenager. However, he drives me incredibly insane sometimes. He was annoying and a bit whiny even as he grows into his teenage years. I love so much about his character. I admire him not only for his charisma but that he uses it to get what he wants. He is so incredibly clever and quick to solve problems to get himself, Lada, or Mehmed out of trouble. I loved that Lada and Radu were two sides of a coin. Lada was fierce and violent. She will destroy everything for Wallachia and the ones she loves. And Radu was cunning and sly, he is quick to think on his feet and prefers to use his intellect than violence to get what he wants. I know not everyone loves Harry Potter and some people hate when people who do tend to sort everyone and everything into their respectful houses. But Lada was such a Gryffindor to me and Radu was a Slytherin. I love their sibling dynamic because although Lada was cruel to Radu when they were children, she had moments where she showed she did love him and Radu latched onto those moments because all he wanted to be was loved. Which was incredibly sad. And as they grow up and conflicts arise I felt incredibly invested in their sibling relationship. I think it's one of the best sibling relationships I've ever read and I cannot wait to read more.

And then we have Mehmed, a character I am actually not sure where I land on just yet. I don't want to say more than that because of spoilers but I am still trying to figure out my feelings when it comes to him. I love his friendship with Lada and Radu but as the trio grows up and become teens I felt like we couldn't trust him. I am hoping I will be able to figure him out more in book two, which I have waiting for me on my kindle.  There are also a couple side characters I really loved, those being  Nicolae, Nazira, and Kamal. I really loved Lada's friendship with Nicolae and I cannot wait to see more of that in the future books. I also found Nazira and Kamal to be so cute and incredibly kind. I know we don't get too much of Nazira in this book but I am excited to see more of her later on. 

The plot can be considered a slower paced one, but I was never bored with the story. Maybe the combination of me loving Lada instantaneously with the beautiful writing had me hooked and it was just the kind of book I needed, but I never felt like the story was too slow even if looking back it does take some time for things to pick up. I was also listening to the audiobook, which I think is perfectly narrated and I am hoping I can figure out how to get a hold of the second book's audiobook. I think listening to audiobooks is the perfect way to read a book you're on the fence about, especially if the narrator is amazing. So much happens in this book and its packed with so many important things, so although it's a slow burn, everything seems so important and vital to the story. We go through years of Lada and Radu's lives. When we meet them they're kids and they're reaching adulthood by the end this book. So I feel like because the story progresses over several years of their lives it validates the slower moments and the almost 500 page count. However, this book is heavy with it comes to politics and as someone who is not an expert at the subject at times it got a little confusing. I got the overall idea of what was happening but I have to admit there were moments where I was a little confused during the politics. And because I was confused I got bored at times.

The writing is gorgeous and elegant but can also be incredibly fierce and harsh. I think White does an amazing job writing scenery. Every single scene Lada described her home, Wallachia, I immediately felt like I was there with her. The descriptions are rich and filled with nature, warmth, and love. I could feel Lada's love for her home in every single one of her breaths. Which I absolutely loved reading. It made me feel closer to Lada because of how much she loves, even if she puts on a mask of someone who is cold. I have not read anything else by Kiersten White in the past but from what I have read from author reviewers who have and felt meh about her previous work, her writing has improved so much. So if you read a book of hers in the past and wasn't a fan I think you should give this book a shot. 

Overall, I recommend this book virtually to everyone. I think that it is such an amazing story but it holds a lot of great themes. This is a story about siblings, honor, love, feminism, faith, and so much more. If one or any of these themes sound interesting to you I recommend picking it up. I plan on picking up the sequel as soon as I possibly can and then the third one, which just  recently came out a day or two ago! I am so happy to have picked up this story and if you've read it I would love to know your thoughts.

Thanks for reading!