Waiting on Wednesday: Now I Rise

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

Lada Dracul has no allies. No throne. All she has is what she’s always had: herself. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada is out to punish anyone who dares to cross her blood-strewn path. Filled with a white-hot rage, she storms the countryside with her men, accompanied by her childhood friend Bogdan, terrorizing the land. But brute force isn’t getting Lada what she wants. And thinking of Mehmed brings little comfort to her thorny heart. There’s no time to wonder whether he still thinks about her, even loves her. She left him before he could leave her.
What Lada needs is her younger brother Radu’s subtlety and skill. But Mehmed has sent him to Constantinople—and it’s no diplomatic mission. Mehmed wants control of the city, and Radu has earned an unwanted place as a double-crossing spy behind enemy lines. Radu longs for his sister’s fierce confidence—but for the first time in his life, he rejects her unexpected plea for help. Torn between loyalties to faith, to the Ottomans, and to Mehmed, he knows he owes Lada nothing. If she dies, he could never forgive himself—but if he fails in Constantinople, will Mehmed ever forgive him?
As nations fall around them, the Dracul siblings must decide: what will they sacrifice to fulfill their destinies? Empires will topple, thrones will be won . . . and souls will be lost.

Why I'm Waiting

I unexpectedly enjoyed And I Darken and absolutely cannot wait for this book to release. Not to mention the cover! I can't decide if I like this one more or the previous.

You can preorder the book here.

5 Star ARC Review: And I Darken (The Conquerors Saga, #1)

Author: Kiersten White

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Edition: ARC courtesy of the publisher

Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Goodreads Link

Rating: 5 Stars

I received this book from the publisher when I went to Chicago's C2E2 event; thank you!

I read the Paranormalcy trilogy by Kiersten White many years ago and wasn't really a fan.  I think I was fading out of that genre and it felt like it was meant for a reader younger than I had been, so things just didn't click.  When I heard about this book I wasn't too eager to pick it up even though it did have a surprising description.  But as time passed (and as an ARC landed in my lap) I kept coming across it and being incredibly interested.  So I picked it up and the was one of the best decisions I've made in a long time.

And I Darken is a historical fantasy where Vlad the Impaler is gender swapped and now named Lada.  Lada is vicious, brutal, honest, brave, brilliant, and so many other things in a world that shuts women in a harem.  Lada and her brother, Radu (the other narrator of the book), are, more or less, sold to the Ottoman Sultan in exchange for the freedom of their country.  While at court they are caught up in the politics in a way they never could have predicted.

This is a long, dense book.  It takes its time telling its story and doesn't shy from any details.  It simmers just under your skin as it tells its story and wriggles its way into the corners of your dreams. This book took me much longer than I anticipated to read- and I was grateful for every second of it.  Sometimes books that take me a while make me sick of them.  But this one made me appreciate it more and more.  The reason?  It felt so realistic!  I felt like I was there!  Everything was vivid, not just thanks to Kiersten's wonderful writing, but also thanks to the aura the book cast over everything.

I don't know much about her historical counterpart, but Lada is amazing.  She was everything I wanted and then some.  Going into it I wasn't sure if I would like her character or if she would live up to her description on the back of the book, but whatever I thought was completely surpassed by the character within the pages.  Besides Lada there is Radu and he was a real treat to read as well.  I didn't know there were going to be two main characters.  And I certainly didn't know that they would pull my heart strings in every direction at once.  Sometimes with multiple narrators it's hard to balance a story, but that balance is perfect between Lada and Radu.

This is one of those books you won't regret reading.  Go pick it up immediately!

Waiting on Wednesday: And I Darken

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.  Click here to join in on the fun.

This week I'm waiting on 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, 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.

Why I'm Waiting

Well, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with this author, and I'm not normally a fan of Historical Fiction, but this sounds as if it leans a little closer to fantasy, if I'm being honest.  Plus, this cover is just so gorgeous.

And I Darken releases on June 28th, 2016.