And I Darken by Kiersten White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“One future—bleak and unknowable, filled with violence and pain—unfurled before her. Another, with her brother and the man who knew her and still loved her, shone like a beacon.”
Guess which one this bitch choses !?! (ノಠ益ಠ)ノyeeeeeet
Meet Lada Dragwlya , our brutal fierce princess. Basically… she a lil psycho with bloodthirsty POV. Ya know… people think being called a psycho is such a bad thing but frankly I just think it shows how she’s strong, and confident and absolutely fUcKiNg terrifying.
“He sputtered in outrage. “I am the son of the sultan!”
She pulled the door open, slicing her sword through the air in front of his throat. “No, you are my friend. And I am a terrible friend.”
Lada learns how to change the game and play by her own rules by becoming a cool and calculating badass. She refused to accept the status quo so instead of being the “typical” princess— she trains to be a warrior
She was never expected to survive but she learned how to SHUT everyone out to protect herself and her adorable bro. And so, Lada’s heart grew 3 sizes that day before immediately shrinking and imploding into a black hole known as this dark gritty saga.
“I will see you again!” the boy called. It was not a question, but a command.
“I will burn your city to the ground,” Lada called back over her shoulder.
The boy’s only response was a burst of surprised laughter. Lada was shocked when her lips answered with their first smile in weeks.”
Her brother Radu was also a great character, and I loved watching his growth of character plus we got LGBT+ rep *claps*
I loved how she is the strong one and he is the charming one like different sides of a coin that work together. Also fucking breaking stereotypes right and left with Radu learning how navigate court life while making allies and then …theres …. Lada learning how to fight while making enemies …mah girl (✿ ♥‿♥)
This book was really heavy in the whole -scheming court dynamic -sprinkled with some training scenes and emotional turmoil. it just use to be about the murder ya know?
“A smile twisted Mehmed’s lips as his words came out in the same manner. “A letter. From my father. Apparently, I have been invited to my own wedding.”
RIP me, the politics in this game spun my head and was just wild
And yet I was entertained the entire time because of how BRILLIANT the character dynamics were and how each scene is clearly building to something big!! Honestly its been a while since I’ve read a beginning book for a saga so there was a shittttt ton of world building and complex web
But !!! the ABSOLUTE power of these next sentences is just mind-blowing ridiculous.
“So the question becomes, Daughter of the Dragon, what will you sacrifice? What will you let be taken away so that you, too, can have power?”
….
“She did not have to accept only what was offered to her.
She would take what should be hers.”
You were so close !!!!
You were almost a person ! (ಥ﹏ಥ)
Never settle for less, she was meant to rule and would not accept some lesser position for something as trivial …as … love
Overall, I really enjoyed the getting the different POVS of ruthless Lada and the tricky charm of her brother Radu. This book gives a sparkle of something great that could REALLY shine if the plot continues to develop to match the great dynamic of the characters. I kept waiting for the characters to be really challenged, it just felt like the characters were each amazing in their own right while their circumstances/plot didn’t provide the environment to really build off of that. Again, this just the beginning so the greatness of the characters will (hopefully) continue as the plot develops to catch up.
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