#lada and radu

[lizard-reads-the-world]

Book Review: The Conqueror's Saga by Kiersten White (🇷🇴  Romania)

[image 1: book trilogy covers: And I Darken, Now I Rise, Bright We Burn. On each cover a spear slashes through an object: a flower, a necklace, a pomegranate; image 2: map showing modern Romania; image 3: the view from Poenari castle in Romania - the walls of a stone fortress drop away to a steep mountainous landscape covered in green; source: wikimedia]

And I Darken; Now I Rise; Bright We Burn

Author: Kiersten White

YA World Challenge for 🇷🇴 Romania

I've seen some criticism of this series by Romanian reviewers, one of which is Lada's name (which I agree is odd), and others that are to be expected when you take a national hero (Vlad the Impaler), gender-flip him, and write him in love with the leader of an empire that oppressed your nation for centuries. So it's important to acknowledge this series as pure fiction. It did have me flipping through Wikipedias of the the real historical characters mentioned, many of whom I had never learned about before.

While much of the series (1 and 2 especially) take place in the Ottoman Empire (modern Turkey), the series follows the point of view of two siblings from Wallachia, a historical region of the modern state of Romania.

Review

Lada and her brother Radu are left as hostages of the Ottoman Empire as children to keep their father "loyal" as a vassal. I loved Lada's character from the beginning: strong-willed, possessive, brutal even as a child, and "ugly". The character-building was expert and the way the author weaves relationships and motivations in a complex tapestry, against a backdrop of a rich world.

And I Darken builds the siblings' relationship with the future sultan Mehmed, setting up that messy love triangle, and a scheme to get Mehmed on the throne. While Radu falls for Islam, Lada is never not wholly dedicated to Wallachia.

With Now I Rise, oh lord, the gay angst!... dear Radu. With Lada gone off to find support for her kingdom, Radu is left with his angst. We see the battle of Constantinople, and interconnected politics around Eastern Europe as Lada raises her army and searches for allies.

Bright We Burn, and Lada is ready to go full-on Impaler. The action was great, until... the entire climax and ending. I felt the finale really cheated Lada and did not serve her character. I didn't feel that book 3 lived up to its title. (And god, what a cringe epilogue!)

I have such mixed feelings about this series because it is incredibly well-written and engaging throughout, with an epic world and depth of character. But I dislike the ending the more I think about it. Without spoilers, I can just say that I think the whole feminist theme built up through the book fell apart in the end.

Books 1-2 I would have rated 4.5 stars, but Book 3 ultimately pulled the rating down.

Other reps: #muslim #gay #m/f #lesbian side characters #orthodox christian

Genres: #alternate history #drama #romance #adventure #war

★  ★  ★    3 stars

SPOILER rant under the cut:

In Book 2, the gunpowder lady said something to Radu - that Lada would be the type to go out with fire. With a title called Bright We Burn, I fully expected to see Lada going down as brightly and destructively as a meteorite, taking herself out with everything. What a disappointment.

The ending and Lada's forced 'submission' to Radu, by him taking away every last thing she had, under the guise of *compassion*, quite rankled me. It took away all the independence of her character that the series had built up from the beginning, and replaced it with nothing.

And. The. Kid. That epilogue. No, just no. I hate that such a promising series had to end with the cisheteronormative notion that "you must bear progeny to have a legacy". Fuck that. It completely threw away everything that Lada was just to have this "oh cute she acts like her mother" moment. 🤮 That and Radu vandalizing the church floor with his weak, misogynist scratchings.

It could have been so much better.

[i-am-the-page-turner]

"And I Darken" by Kiersten White

"And I Darken" is a historical fantasy novel written by Kiersten White. It's set in the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. The story follows the fierce and determined Lada Dragwlya, a young woman who is hungry for power and determined to claim her birthright. Lada is not your typical princess - she's tough, ruthless, and unafraid to get her hands dirty. Alongside her brother Radu, they navigate the complex world of politics, power struggles, and personal desires. The book explores themes of love, loyalty, and the lengths people will go to protect what they hold dear. Lada's journey is filled with challenges, betrayals, and unexpected alliances. As the siblings grow up, their paths diverge, leading them down different paths and testing their bond. "And I Darken" is a captivating read that combines historical elements with a touch of fantasy and strong character development. If you enjoy stories with complex characters, political intrigue, and a unique historical setting, this book might be right up your alley!

[dyannawynnedayne]

Looking for quotws from the conquerors saga by kiersten white and like, this one reads so alicent and rhaenyra from rhaenyras perspective to me:

Lada had always known exactly what shape she would take. She had never let it be determined by the people around her. But Radu could not escape the need for love, the need for people in his life to help him see what he should—and could—be. Lada shaped herself in spite of her environment. Radu shaped himself because of it. (Bright We Burn, Kiersten White)

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: The Conqueror’s Saga

Author: Kiersten White

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2016

Genres: fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, romance, retelling, LGBT+

Blurb: 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. 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.

[starxchildx]

Ok, even if black people weren't becoming samurai, the AC universe is pretty obviously a alternate universe that loosely mirrors our own. Hence the ISU and the whole assassin/templar war. So, since this is an alternate universe, is it that hard to suspend your disbelief that a black man was able to become a samurai? After all, this is the same universe where the Greek monsters are real, there's golden balls of mind-control and a Native American assassin allowed George Washington to live. A black man becoming a samurai is less astounding than any of those previous things. Anyway, if you don't want to play a black man, Naoe is right there.

Thank you for your sensible answer, I appreciate the eloquency of it. I see your point and understand it (as a Bridgerton fan where they had Queen Charlotte as a black woman, I don't mind alternate versions where things are different, in fact her and Lady Danbury are my favourites besides Benedict and Eloise so I totally get it.)

My opinion doesn't stem from the lack of being able to enjoy diverse media, it comes from the belief that the Japanese are already rarely represented, even more so represented properly. I know they were all looking forward to playing an ethically Japanese samurai, that is why. True, there is the girl but take the game Origins, for instance. It's actually my husband's favorite and he plays the black man in it, no issue with that since historicaly speaking, Egypt was a pot of diverse races at the time, especially if we just narrow it down to Cleopatra's rule.

You have a lot of things included that respect history, however so I wouldn't say it just loosely mirrors it. They respected things like Caesar's assassination, Blackbeard real life's speech, the whole Medici storyline...

I will give you an example from my own culture that, despite changing some aspects, still stuck to the historical aspects it was set in. To clarify, my husband has the Japanese side, I am Romanian/Polish. Anyway, there was a book published a few years ago by an American author, based off Vlad the Impaler, Radu the Handsome and Mehmet the Conqueror.

Now, since that period was greatly tied to my country's history, but as a fan of Turkey's history I was greatly familiar with it as well... You can imagine my curiosity. The fiction aspect that changed things was the premise: What if Vlad the Impaler had been born as a girl...

I was skeptical, thinking they will take the things that made Vlad, Vlad to write their story but I gave it a try nonetheless and was not disappointed. She was still cunning, still fearsome bordering on cruel, still stubborn about not paying tribute. Non cliche writing, actual character development while still respecting history. Vlad, well Lada in this case, didn't just give up her throne out of love for both her brother, who adapted to Ottoman society or even love for the Sultan (arguably another fictional aspect that the story put though in history it was told that they cared for one another deeply and it hurt them, having to wage war.)

But I digress. That book respected everything it needed to fit both history and fiction. So, it can be done.

[ladislavsad]

Kierstenwhite the author of the And I Darken series put my Lada cosplay on her story and I'm freaking out. I've never tried cosplaying before yesterday and this is just amazing.

[kaysutcliff-michaelis]

Bright We Burn ending rant (SPOILERS)

Under the cut you will find my opinion with lots of spoilers, capitals and cursing about Bright We Burn (and the Conqueror’s saga in general) written by Kiersten White.

Quoting from https://booksandreaderssite.wordpress.com/2018/10/13/bright-we-burn/ “This book was ruined by the author falling in love with her own character: Perfect Beloved Radu“ 

I finished reading the book like an hour ago and I’ve been complaining, crying, and looking for reviews since then. I hate it, hate it so much, as much as I loved the first two books and the beginning of this one.

The impression I get from the ending is not one I expected to get from a book that had a strong female protagonist as its main selling point. Mainly because said protagonist gets the worst possible ending. I didn’t expect a happy go lucky ending, I didn’t even expect her not to die or the author to stray too far from historical facts. Just because of the title I expected her to be like a shooting star, briefly burning bright. But she didn’t burn bright, she just burn. What I didn’t expect was the ending feeling completely alien to the rest of the saga.

Lada is ruthless, strong, smart, a great tactician and has her sights focused on her goal, being the prince of Wallachia. And fuck Mehmed, Radu, her father, and whoever tries to prevent her from ruling her country. She gets the respect of her men and the people of her country, she’s a good and fair ruler even if she got there with rather bloody methods. But haven’t they all? The Ottoman Empire Mehmed and Radu are so fond of is built on the blood of the janissaries they have taken from vassal states and the blood of the Christians from Constantinople. Yet the moment Lada kills the boyars (who have been leeching off Wallachia for decades) and Mehmed’s envoys (who burnt a village first), she must be stopped. How dare a woman make life easier for the people of the country?

And for some reason, the author allows two men to ruin what Lada has built with blood, sweat and tears. And to add insult to injury, the men who should have helped her (Mehmed even claims “he gave her the throne” as the selfish and self-centered asshole he is).

And she loses everything and everyone who is important to her. Petru, Nicolae, Oana, Stefan, Daciana, and Bogdan. Oh, Bogdan. How I wished Radu lost an eye to compensate for his murder.

And in case that was not enough, the dragon that was so strong and fierce suddenly turns into a girl that is lonely and hurt and needs her brother to survive and give her back her country. The country that never recognised Radu as prince. The country that loved Lada.

HE FUCKING HAD TO GIVE HER WHAT WAS ALREADY HERS. A MAN. AGAIN. HE FUCKING TOOK THE THRONE FROM HER AND FUCKING GAVE IT BACK AS IF HE WAS A DAMN SAINT. ALL SHE DID AND IN THE END SHE WAS PRINCE BECAUSE A FUCKING MAN ALLOWED IT. HOW IS THAT FEMINIST???????????  WHAT IS THE USE IN HAVING SUCH A POWERFUL FEMALE CHARACTER IF THE FULFILLMENT OF HER DREAM DEPENDS ON THE WHIM OF A MALE EVEN AT THE VERY END?

AND HE EVEN GETS AN “I TOLD YOU” MOMENT!!! THE AUDACITY!!!

And her death... such a warrior, killed by a nameless assassin with a knife to the back. A nameless grave. So disrespectful to what Lada was. I don’t care if all the things I didn’t like were for historical accuracy’s sake. Lada was her character and deserved way better than that.

Moving on to the treacherous rat that Radu has become, I liked him so much and in this book I could only pray for someone to smack him as hard as possible. He goes from the poor and traumatised soul that is being manipulated by Mehmed and has lost his best friend and potential partner to enabling Mehmed’s actions while being fully conscious of how he’s being used, instantly healing himself from a trauma that is not relevant ever again, not giving a damn about killing people, sending Kumal to his death without sparing it too many thoughts, and having a cute little happy family while wanting to imprison his sister for the rest of her life and thinking he’s doing her a favor. He actually thought it was good and fair to plan a happy life for himself while destroying everything his sister had fought for. The sister he never ever chose.

Am I the only one who loved that the Danesti brothers started being problematic as soon as Radu gave them the throne?? Boyars will be boyars, and I don’t understand how he thought those two would be better rulers than Lada, they wouldn’t enter the castle and still wanted the money, the lands and the fancy stuff.

I honestly cannot believe how much this character has changed (for the worse), and how he acts like he’s so good and only looking for the best for those he loves when he’s a traitor, a liar, a killer and the reason why Constantinople fell. He cannot forgive Lada for protecting Wallachia, but apparently everyone and their mother have forgiven and forgotten all the blood staining his hands. Also I find it unbelievable how he sells the way the Ottoman Empire is run to Cyprian but then when Lada tried to use some of the things she had learnt there to run Wallachia it was suddenly the worse thing ever. Radu is definitely not the good Dracul sibling, he’s the toxic one.

Speaking about Cyprian, I honestly couldn’t feel happy for them. When he came back to Radu I was already too angry and wanting to send him packing back to Edirne. Amazing how Cyprian can give counsel about how to deal with Lada when all he knows about her is second-hand but he can forgive Radu for lying to him, making the siege worse for everyone, being the reason why his uncle is dead and his city was lost (and even if he doesn’t know about it, the reason why Giustiniani may have died).

And Fatima?? How she “took care” of Lada at the end? I can’t tell if she’s too broken or what, but it was creepy how she could take care of Lada when Nazira wouldn’t even stand being in the same room. Even if she was going to give them her baby, it makes me wonder how messed up she can be to be able to behave that way with the person who killed her brother-in-law and they were so adamant to condemn.

I won’t even talk about the baby thing because that was just so unnecessary for the plot and for Lada herself as a character.

Going back to Radu and before talking about Mehmed, I hate how he is 100% sure that Mehmed knows about his feelings and is using him and said feelings and he??? just??? allows??? it???? Still does whatever he wants, still appears at his doorstep no matter his trauma with Constantinople, still makes Nazira and Fatima leave their house though they had just been reunited and Mehmed didn’t care that much about finding Nazira and STILL at the end, 20 years later is in good terms with him. He didn’t confront Mehmed about using him, never called him out. Radu is the friend who will listen to you when you’re explaining how a common friend has abused you and then will keep being friends with the other person and abandoning you :D

I am not Mehmed’s biggest fan, but it’s like he isn’t even a character anymore in this book. Even if we never have his pov it always felt like this story was a triangle, but at the end it was like he wasn’t there anymore, he isn’t even the source of conflict because Radu isn’t in love with him anymore. Even for all their alleged worries about Theodora being Mehmed’s biological daughter, that issue was glossed over in a matter of three lines. I do wish he had stayed more relevant (and that he had never left Constantinople).

Surely I’m forgetting something but I think my point is clear XD Radu is a hypocrite who didn’t deserve his happy ending, Mehmed became so irrelevant that the plot was missing something, and Lada, our dragon, deserved way better. Oh, and don’t write a “feminist” YA book if the female character is the one who’s going to have the worst ending. It just feels like you’re telling women they will end up alone and dead if they are as strong and determined as Lada, and to suck it up because men will always be forgiven for the crimes.

[rosereview]

Top 7 Favourite Fictional Siblings

Out of all the books and series I’ve read, I’ve always loved to read about siblings and their relationships. Being an older sister myself, I always thought it was fun to see the relationships of different characters and how family plays a big role in many books and stories. This post will also probably contain minor (or major) spoilers so be warned. Here is a list of my favourite siblings and their relationships with one another. 

7. Vivienne, Jude, Taryn, and Oak Duarte

From the Cruel Prince, or Folk of Air series, by Holly Black, this is the main character and her siblings, both biological and adopted. Jude is the main character while Taryn is her twin sister, Vivienne is her older half sister, and Oak is their younger step brother (which you later find out is actually adopted and you see why in the books). First off, I love Jude and that’s mainly why she and her siblings are on this list. I also love Jude’s relationship with her foster father, definitely more than with her siblings, but that’s for another list. So at the start and end of the series, Jude is really close with all of her siblings, but during the whole middle when I like Jude the most, her siblings anger and annoy me. As an older sister, Vivienne does not do much to protect her younger siblings especially when they need it most, also mostly looking out for herself and failing to even try and understand the situations they go through to stay alive in Faerie. That always made me resent her a little bit because both Jude and Taryn could have used a lot of advice on how to survive in Faerie from their part Fae sister, but all Vivienne focuses on is getting out of Faerie and leaving them behind. Of course she makes up for it at the end and isn’t as bad as Jude’s next sister, Taryn. Now I’ve read every book Holly Black wrote related to the Cruel Prince, even the short story from Taryn’s point of view, but I still dislike her very much. She backstabs her twin sister with Locke and later, when she sees how much of an asshole Locke is, she runs back to Jude asking for her help because she’s scared of him. And Jude actually helps her! Ugh! Taryn is just so stupid and needy and so unfair to her sister who does everything for her. Even when she redeems herself at the end, I still hate Taryn and the way she treats her sister, so that’s the main reason these siblings are so low on my list. The last one is Oak who is the baby of the family, and sometimes it bugs me that he doesn’t help Jude out as well, but I can also understand his side and he’s just too young to grasp what’s going on. I agree with all the characters that Oak needed to be protected at all costs because he’s precious, but he makes Jude’s life hard at points, which upsets me. 

6. Nesta, Elain, and Feyre Archeron

From the ACOTAR series by Sarah J Maas. I love this series and I love Feyre, so this one might sound very familiar to my feelings on Jude and her siblings too. At first, you hate Feyre’s sisters, and so do most of the other characters too, but they do get a sort of redemption arc which satisfies you at the end. But I gotta say the feelings of dislike were strong at the start of the series. It all starts off with Feyre, her OLDER sisters, and their father being very poor because of some bad deals he made and lost all their money. Because of this, they are struggling to survive, and Feyre (the YOUNGEST SISTER) does all the work to keep them alive. That frickin bugs me how Feyre does everything for her father and sisters when she’s the youngest, the baby, of the family. She has TWO older sisters who just sit on their asses and do absolutely nothing to help their own family (both waiting for their father to take control because he made the mess in the first place but he’s frickin depressed and injured!) Anyways, Feyre’s sister’s do help her out in the end, but I can’t help but still get really mad when thinking back to the very beginning of the story. Nesta was too upset with their father to do anything, and honestly I don’t even know what Elain’s problem was. She was just the good sister, who was too pretty and proper and nice to do any work whatsoever. Again, I now like them as characters, even though Nesta sometimes still makes me mad, but I also can’t wait for her new story to come out next year! (Sarah J Maas did say she was almost done writing it and that it was super personal to her, so for that reason I can’t wait). Also though, I think I am due for a reread of all her books because there are some details that I forget and I would love to be in her world again. Anyways, I can’t wait to read more from the Archeron sisters in future books and negative feelings toward the characters usually disappear when I read the latest books, so that’s good. 

5. Helen, Mark, Julian, Tiberius, Livia, Drusilla, and Octavian Blackthorn

From the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare, this family was my favourite family to read about, although, like the previous two sibling groups, I have a lot of positive and negative feelings about how all the siblings treated each other and so on. Like Jude and Feyre, Julian is my favourite Blackthorn sibling, and my feelings towards the other ones are based on the way they treat Julian. Now I do understand how the whole novels and series show all the hardships that the Blackthorns go through, which is why some characters act the way they do, but it still makes me frustrated. To start off, I do love each sibling individually and I thought Cassandra Clare did a good job in giving each character their own distinct personalities, but in relation to Julian, they made me upset, specifically Ty, Livvy and Dru. Tavvy is honestly too young for me to get mad at and that’s probably the only reason why he doesn’t annoy me too. Firstly, Ty, Livvy and Dru all look up to Julian, which I understand, but they totally depend on Julian, and when something doesn’t go the way they want it to, they honestly kinda blame him. This was evident when Mark first came back to the family (I also love Mark), and he came from years of living with the Fae and doesn’t even remember how to function in regular society. But the kids still expected him to be the new big brother even when he can’t function and literally get mad when Mark doesn’t fill in Julian’s role. During this time, they just dismiss everything Julian has ever done for them and say that Mark can take care of them from now on! Like… WHAT? How could you expect that from Mark and how could you take that away from Julian? Furthermore, when Helen comes back and tries to repair ties with her family and truly take over for Julian because she feels like she should have done that since the beginning, FRICKING DRU IS A BITCH TO HER! Honestly I do not really like Dru. Cassandra Clare got her preteen attitude spot on which especially makes Dru a bitch because she’s young and learning. I remember those years, but that doesn’t make me like Dru. The whole time she’s whining and complaining that no one treats her like an adult but at the same time gets mad when Helen doesn’t make her pancakes for breakfast. IF YOU WANT PANCAKES, MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN PANCAKES! That’s when I started to love Aline though, Helen’s wife, because she stood up for Helen and then Dru started to like her big sister again. Lastly it annoyed me how much the kids depended on him. Like Tavvy I understand because he’s a baby, but the rest of them… UGH! They all demand his attention 24/7 and Julian has his own life to live! Like Julian watches horror movies with Dru, and picks bugs with Ty, and does spy shit with Livvy… like give the man a break. You watch your own horror movies Dru! You don’t need Julian to watch with you and then get mad at him for not fully paying attention! Honestly most of my problems stem from Dru, but the rest of them are just as annoying, including Emma, but we won’t get into that here. Last thing I want to mention (which is a major spoiler!) is that Livvy was the only decent one and then she died. She literally died just after talking to Julian about how much he does for them and how she wanted to help more so he could live his life. I got mad to say the least. 

4. Lada and Radu Dragwlya

From And I Darken series by Kiersten White. These two are definitely different from the other siblings I’ve talked about, and that’s mostly because I don’t dislike them as much. It’s kind of weird, but Lada and Radu had a worse relationship from the beginning but I loved them as siblings more than other siblings. I was actually rooting for them from the beginning, wanting them to finally get close and show their love and understanding, and by the end they were practically there. They honestly always had lives separate from each other, especially in the later books, but the whole time Lada always wanted to care for her brother and have him by her side, even if he didn’t want the exact same thing. Although I do believe that Radu loved his sister, but he had to take his own journey through self-discovery and learn to love who he was and realize he deserved more than Mehmed. Honestly both Lada and Radu deserved better than Mehmed. Anyways, I think that the two of them had a strong bond that couldn’t be broken no matter everything that happened in the books and the way they both started, disliking each other. 

3. Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny Weasley

You can’t have a list of favourite siblings and not include the Weasley siblings. You just can’t. If you don’t know, this family is from the Harry Potter series and they are the best. All of the siblings are super close and love each other and they are a beautiful family to read about. Even Percy, who can be an asshole, is still part of the family and in the end, shows his love for his siblings. Fred and George are my favourite by far, and they are such good older brothers to Ron and Ginny, and when we finally meet Bill and Charlie too, they are such sweethearts. There’s not many specific things I have to say about the Weasley’s, except that I love them.

2. Alec, Isabelle, Jace, and Max Lightwood

From The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, these guys are like the OG Cassandra Clare siblings. They’ve been with us from the start and have gone through so much as a family and characters, that I feel like I really know them and feel for them. Technically Jace is not a Lightwood by birth, but I still consider him a part of the family. I loved watching them all grow together and one of the saddest parts in the whole series was when (SPOILER) Max Lightwood died in the third book. He was just such an innocent boy that tied the family together, and honestly when he died, the family kind of fell apart (mostly the parents). For the name Max to live on with Alec and Magnus’s son is just wonderful and he’s definitely my favourite character. Watching Alec, Jace and Isabelle together as siblings, with their banter and sass, makes me happy and brings me in a good mood. You can just tell how close they are from the way they fight together and laugh together and are in sync with each other. I will forever love the Lightwood family and the ones who I met first. 

1. Jonathan and Clarissa Morgenstern

Also from the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Most people will be surprised that this is my top but I never said that this list was made up of the healthy types of siblings. I honestly love Jonathan and Clary as siblings because they are the whole reason for the series and I think that both characters have so much depth to them because they are siblings. (SPOILER) But one of my favourite scenes from the whole series, and actually of all the Shadowhunter books, is when Clary is in the demon realm and is shown a vision of what she most desires in her life. And it shows Jonathan being a normal older brother that loves her and wants to protect her (which he sort of wants to do anyways) and how life could have been if Valentine hadn’t been a psychopath and infused Jonathan with demon blood. Even at the end when he dies and is laying there with his normal green eyes, Clary and her mom mourns him. They mourn the boy he could have been and I thought that was really powerful. Even with Jonathan as a demon crazy person, he still only wants love in the world and someone who would understand him. He thinks that biologically, Clary has to feel that towards him so he fixates on her, which is bad, but you can see what he wanted. You can kind of see his side, which I always thought made a good bad guy. Although Jonathan was still bad in every way because he was literally a demon inside, but I always loved reading about his character. 

Thanks for reading my rants and until next time!

~Rose Reviews

[ilreleonewikia13]

FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2020:

and i darker - kristen white

"I cannot afford to lose you, too. "

"You cannot lose something you do not own. Take me with you"

[jeremy-knox]

i just want some ya fantasy that i'll love as much as the winner's trilogy or the young elites please 😭

[hsinliuvcga]

radu: hey let me see what u have

little theodora: a knife!

radu: NO-

[alvie-pines]

Hey, Conqueror's Saga fandom!

We have a wiki, but it needs a lot of work! When I found it, there were only four or five pages. I've written pages for Radu, Cyprian, and a stub template, so now we're up to eight, but it's still not a lot.

If you're interested in the series, or knowledgable about it, this is your time to shine! Check out the wiki, improve it, talk to me and give feedback! Anything is appreciated!

[prythianprinceling-blog]

Mehmed: *kisses Lada*

Lada: What was that?

Mehmed: Affection

Lada: Disgusting

Lada: Do it again

[hackedbyawriter]

OKAY BUT WHERE IS THE AND I DARKEN FANDOM AT?

[cizmelimikedi]

i’m really proud of this can you tell

(drawing mehmed was really weird bc we learn about him in the 6th grade and it’s always a bit odd drawing fanart of the man who is in your exams lmao)

[ahb-writes]

Book Review: ‘And I Darken’

Here, a dagger-wielding young woman refuses defeat from all parties and on all grounds. Lada will not be made a pawn. Not anymore, at least.

The insurgence of unlikable female lead characters has led to a noteworthy explosion of available fiction. Here, a dagger-wielding young woman refuses defeat from all parties and on all grounds. Lada will not be made a pawn. Not anymore, at least. And while her aggressiveness pushes away many, it is fantastic to read how many more are pulled into her orbit -- soldiers, slaves, nobility -- on account of Lada's conviction. Indeed, she does not seek recognition as a hero seeks glory; rather, she demands it, much like a flame beckons the unblemished hand of the curious and discomfited. There is plenty of palace intrigue, certainly. Discourse on the rabid anxieties of the nobility of the Ottoman Empire is purposefully layered and requires a bit of patience. This novel is the start of a book series . . . which invariably means that no character shall ever appear once, never to be seen again. There is plenty of shadowy scheming and arrogant backstabbing (literal and figurative), as well as reckless decisions conjured at dusk sure to change the trajectory of one of history's most impressive kingdoms. AND I DARKEN splits its time between Lada's maturity and the see-saw stability of the empire. These two themes intersect, eventually, and it's up to the reader to determine which of these two irrepressible forces will yield first: the brilliant and obdurate arrogance of a woman whom has had to carve a space for herself wherever she goes or the destiny of a domain so vast and powerful, it's bloody success at everything seems frighteningly inevitable. For the first half of its efforts, the novel deposits love and romance into the mix in fits and starts, only to spend its second half devoted more strenuously to the matters of the heart (and how it often screws up more righteous priorities). AND I DARKEN threatens, a little too often, to recede into that damnable catacomb of adventure fiction that forsakes thrilling and purposeful action for the sake of "young love." It's recovery from such impossible odds is admirable: this is not a story about a vicious, untested warrior falling in love; this is a story about a vicious, untested warrior claiming victory, instigating betrayal and suffering defeat despite the supposed atonement young love might offer. The third-person narration serves the title well for the most part; however, the author frequently dips too heavily into splitting chapters between Lada and Radu's voice. This pushes the reader from one frame of mind to another, such that it is difficult to meaningfully connect with either.

This is not a story about a vicious, untested warrior falling in love; this is a story about a vicious, untested warrior claiming victory, instigating betrayal and suffering defeat despite the supposed atonement young love might offer.

Of the many sub-themes prickling this book, the articulation and navigation of queer characters will surely obtain the most public commentary. Characters male and female, who land just about everywhere on the spectrum, occupy nearly every chapter of the novel. Given the setting, the author makes a quality effort, if through self-acknowledged and qualitative cultural liberties.

It requires some mention how neither the book's title nor its cover artwork bear any meaning to its contents . . . however, such is the state of contemporary fiction.