tnau7489's review against another edition
3.0
Second re-read, disliked the book more and dropped a star. Lada has a weird mix of femme fatale that doesn’t jive well with modern tastes, always rubbed me the wrong way. And how many times does she scream?
car_theauthor's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
booksreadinbed's review against another edition
4.0
This series was pretty cool, I don’t think it gets a lot of hype but it is definitely interesting as it’s set in the Ottoman Empire and is a fun twist on Dracul. This book is not about vampires though just as a disclosure!
jennac1126's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
caileee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was frustrating. I was immediately interested at the beginning but then the middle dragged on so slow I started wondering why I kept reading. And then it picked up again at the very end and make me want to actually read the sequel. I’m still confused on whether or not I actually liked it.
One thing I did love was Lada. Not so much her romance with Mehmed but everything else about her, yes. Radu on the other hand, not really. I wanted to like him, and thought I would, but he was insufferable to me. Mehmed was just there most of the time. And he was annoying.
Anyway, 3.5 stars just for Lada and I hope the next book is just about her ruling Wallachia.
One thing I did love was Lada. Not so much her romance with Mehmed but everything else about her, yes. Radu on the other hand, not really. I wanted to like him, and thought I would, but he was insufferable to me. Mehmed was just there most of the time. And he was annoying.
Anyway, 3.5 stars just for Lada and I hope the next book is just about her ruling Wallachia.
aishwaryadeengar's review against another edition
3.0
DNF at 69%
It just kept dragging on and I couldnt force myself to wait for the interesting parts.
It just kept dragging on and I couldnt force myself to wait for the interesting parts.
melindagallagher's review against another edition
4.0
Set in Transylvania in the 14th century, the daughter of Vlad Dracula becomes obsessed with ruling her country. Taken to the Ottoman empire, she and her brother meet the prince of the Sultan. Through the years, their friendship, love, jealousy, and the complicated relationship grows. There are many fights, betrayals, espionage, and everything in between. I enjoyed the setting the most. I have always been intrigued with that part of the world, particularly Romania, Byzantium, and Constantinople. The best part of this book is that it is based on real characters from history. And Lada is a very strong female protagonist that you don't know if you love or hate.
llsugarspicell's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
angelreads's review against another edition
4.0
This reivew and more can see seen at Angel Reads
I received an e-arc of And I Darken by Kiersten White from Penguin Random House via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.
When I heard And I Darken I knew that I had to read it. A book set in an ancient country is always a plus for me. Then add a gender switch, so that we have a female Vlad the Impaler; yes please.
And I Darken follows siblings Lada and Radu as they try to survive in a cold and brutal world.
Lada was quite interesting, she is very brutal and has little to no remorse. Sometimes it was hard to connect with her nevertheless, I do understand why she was that way. She does have quite a bit of trust issues, but again the world she lives in; explains it all. Lada also doesn’t form relationships well, even with her own brother however, let’s just say that her father wasn’t the best in the world.
Radu on what a special snowflake. I wanted to cuddle him and make him my best friend. He has this nature about this that he doesn’t want to hurt anyone in a world where anyone wants to hurt everyone. He does become stronger throughout the novel, but at what cost?
Mehmend was very into his religion and that contributed to his character and how he saw the world quite a bit. He also has this nature about him, which was intriguing. He wants to be friends with Lada and Radu. However, there were things later in the novel that he did, that I didn’t like at all. It was heartbreaking.
The romance in And I Darken was problematic and quite a mess. There was a love triangle, of sorts. With other people jumping in between and I am not the biggest fan of them. So that kind of was a downfall for me.
This wasn’t just a romance between 3 people, but two siblings loving the same person – And I don’t know who deserved it more. They all had their issues and betrayed each other in so many different ways. There was no honesty and it did get on my nerves sometimes.
The relationship between Lada and Radu was complicated. They never trusted each other, yet they were always there for each other. They never really loved each other, but they still care. Sometimes I wasn’t a big fan of the way that they treated each other. Though I did like it because I haven’t seen it before. It was tense from the get go and that played out throughout And I Darken.
The world of And I Darken is very interesting. It’s complex, but understandable. It’s kinds of base on the Ottoman Empire, but not. It was captivating and very different. The world building well thought out however, if people are not all that familiar with the history it might have been better to explain how everything ‘look’ landscape and city wise.
I loved that the characters were diverse in many ways from ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation. It was also fascinating to see Islam in a fantasy/retelling/historical fiction.
And I Darken was also pretty gruesome, there are executions that are described and it’s not one – they are done is some horrible ways. There are some torture scenes, though we don’t ‘see’ these, but we hear them. The world is brutal – very much like the ancient countries.
Nevertheless I did have a problem with the pace of And I Darken. I felt that the plot was quite slow and nothing happened at all for a lot of the book - this could be hard for some people; but, I was immersed into the world that it didn’t bother me too much. This isn’t saying that things don’t happen – because there is a lot of shit that goes down. I felt that And I Darken was an introduction into the world and characters.
And I Darken tells a story of the lengths people would go to for love, approval and just the thought of being forgotten. It was captivating and dropped you into a vivid and brutal world that you might not want to get out off.
I received an e-arc of And I Darken by Kiersten White from Penguin Random House via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.
When I heard And I Darken I knew that I had to read it. A book set in an ancient country is always a plus for me. Then add a gender switch, so that we have a female Vlad the Impaler; yes please.
And I Darken follows siblings Lada and Radu as they try to survive in a cold and brutal world.
Lada was quite interesting, she is very brutal and has little to no remorse. Sometimes it was hard to connect with her nevertheless, I do understand why she was that way. She does have quite a bit of trust issues, but again the world she lives in; explains it all. Lada also doesn’t form relationships well, even with her own brother however, let’s just say that her father wasn’t the best in the world.
Radu on what a special snowflake. I wanted to cuddle him and make him my best friend. He has this nature about this that he doesn’t want to hurt anyone in a world where anyone wants to hurt everyone. He does become stronger throughout the novel, but at what cost?
Mehmend was very into his religion and that contributed to his character and how he saw the world quite a bit. He also has this nature about him, which was intriguing. He wants to be friends with Lada and Radu. However, there were things later in the novel that he did, that I didn’t like at all. It was heartbreaking.
The romance in And I Darken was problematic and quite a mess. There was a love triangle, of sorts. With other people jumping in between and I am not the biggest fan of them. So that kind of was a downfall for me.
This wasn’t just a romance between 3 people, but two siblings loving the same person – And I don’t know who deserved it more. They all had their issues and betrayed each other in so many different ways. There was no honesty and it did get on my nerves sometimes.
The relationship between Lada and Radu was complicated. They never trusted each other, yet they were always there for each other. They never really loved each other, but they still care. Sometimes I wasn’t a big fan of the way that they treated each other. Though I did like it because I haven’t seen it before. It was tense from the get go and that played out throughout And I Darken.
The world of And I Darken is very interesting. It’s complex, but understandable. It’s kinds of base on the Ottoman Empire, but not. It was captivating and very different. The world building well thought out however, if people are not all that familiar with the history it might have been better to explain how everything ‘look’ landscape and city wise.
I loved that the characters were diverse in many ways from ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation. It was also fascinating to see Islam in a fantasy/retelling/historical fiction.
And I Darken was also pretty gruesome, there are executions that are described and it’s not one – they are done is some horrible ways. There are some torture scenes, though we don’t ‘see’ these, but we hear them. The world is brutal – very much like the ancient countries.
Nevertheless I did have a problem with the pace of And I Darken. I felt that the plot was quite slow and nothing happened at all for a lot of the book - this could be hard for some people; but, I was immersed into the world that it didn’t bother me too much. This isn’t saying that things don’t happen – because there is a lot of shit that goes down. I felt that And I Darken was an introduction into the world and characters.
And I Darken tells a story of the lengths people would go to for love, approval and just the thought of being forgotten. It was captivating and dropped you into a vivid and brutal world that you might not want to get out off.
katiem0201's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't care for this book. I still don't care about it enough to finish the series which sucks because everyone loves this book. And there are so many other books that I want to read so I don't see a point in continuing the series that I hate. Plus, it's been like two years since I've read this and I like forgot everything that happened sooo...
But I will say the covers for this series are fucking gorgeous, but a pretty cover can't save a terrible book for me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original review from 10/6/16:
"You once told me some lives are worth more than others. How many deaths before the scale tips out of our favor?"
3.75/5
I have mixed feelings for this book. I enjoyed it, but for most of the novel I felt like nothing was really happening. There was also a lot of info dumping and a lot of minor characters who I would forget about. But when things was happening, man, it was good.
I really loved Lada. She was not only an interesting character, but ruthless. She's cold, determined, and resents the Ottomans from taking her away from her home. Radu is the total opposite of his sister Lada. He's gentle and feels at home in the Ottoman Empire. I loved Lada and Radu, but I did not like Mehmed. He got annoying for me during most parts of the book.
While I wasn't totally blown away by this book like others, I still did enjoy it for the most part and am interested enough to see where the series goes.
But I will say the covers for this series are fucking gorgeous, but a pretty cover can't save a terrible book for me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original review from 10/6/16:
"You once told me some lives are worth more than others. How many deaths before the scale tips out of our favor?"
3.75/5
I have mixed feelings for this book. I enjoyed it, but for most of the novel I felt like nothing was really happening. There was also a lot of info dumping and a lot of minor characters who I would forget about. But when things was happening, man, it was good.
I really loved Lada. She was not only an interesting character, but ruthless. She's cold, determined, and resents the Ottomans from taking her away from her home. Radu is the total opposite of his sister Lada. He's gentle and feels at home in the Ottoman Empire. I loved Lada and Radu, but I did not like Mehmed. He got annoying for me during most parts of the book.
While I wasn't totally blown away by this book like others, I still did enjoy it for the most part and am interested enough to see where the series goes.