Author: Kiersten White
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Historical
Rating: 5 stars
If there is one thing I trust, it's my gut. And my gut knew one page in, thatAnd I Darken would become my favourite novel of the year. "The price of living seems to always be death.And that is why you become a dealer of death. You feed death as many people as you can to keep it full and content so its eye stays off you.”
I feel as though 5 stars is an under-statement to the EPICNESS that is this novel. It was pure gold. It was beautiful, complex and encompassing. Most importantly, It was very smart.
“We are that tree,” he said, then rode ahead. Lada pulled on the reins to make her horse, a docile and dull-brown creature, pause. She studied the tree squeezing life out of stone. It was twisted and small but green, growing sideways in defiance of gravity. It lived where nothing had any business thriving.
And I Darken is a story about Lada, the daughter of Vladimir Dracul, The Dragon, and the Emporer of Walachia. (This is not a paranormal novel, there are no vampires and Vladimir is not portrayed as such). Lada and her little brother Radu are kept as "prisoners" by the Ottoman Empire to ensure cooperation from Vladimir. At the capital, they both take companionship with the Sultan's third and outcasted son, Mehmed. And I Darken is a story of Lada and Radu's journey in this foreign land. There is a lot to be learnt, a lot of mistakes to be made and a lot of loyalty to gain and maintain. There is a lot of court politics, espionage, alliances, back handed dealings, power and sacrifice.
A dragon burned everything around herself until it was purified in ash.
If I would take anything from And I Darken is the power of Sacrifice.
When they prayed together, Radu felt it more deeply than when he prayed alone, as though Mehmed’s very soul was stronger than everyone’s around him.
I kept my review short because everyone should experience this novel with a naked un-adulterated eye. Make what you will from it. Some people love it and some people hate it. No one can deny the lasting impression.....
....... And I Darken forces you to listen.
"It would mean I was set aside and forgotten, and I would rather die than be forgotten.”
"I am no longer the daughter of the dragon.” She lifted her chin, sights set on the horizon. “I am the dragon.”
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