#lada the impaler

[eerna]

I don't think my liveblog accurately translated just how unhinged And I Darken is. it's a YA alt history where girl!Vlad the Impaler, Radu the Handsome, and Mehmed the Conqueror enter a psychosexually demolishing love triangle where they are all trying to kill each other but also really really love each other and they ruin several countries over it. it's aimed at teenagers so it needs to overexplain every single horrifying disgusting plot point lest they misunderstand why exactly this bad person is doing what they're doing. some characters age at twice the normal speed while others remain the same age for several years. the final confrontation is a brother killing and destroying everything his sister holds dear and somehow the only reaction you can have to it is "yeah fair she had it coming". one of the leads is in a family where the boys married the girls but actually are in committed gay relationships with each other and they all collectively raise a kid together. the lead girl is named Lada short for Ladislav. I enjoyed it so much

[ya-world-challenge]

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.

[lalitote]

Park Lake Manyara jest jednym z większych i bardziej znanych parków Tanzańskich. Lokalsi mówią że jest przystawką przed Serengeti, będącym tu głównym daniem. Manyara ma dużo bardziej bujną roślinność, ciężko wypatrzyć zwierzęta, jako że doskonale kamuflują się tu w zaroślach. Jest to nie lada wyzwanie (oprócz wszędobylskich małp), ale udaje nam się spotkać słonie z młodymi, żyrafy, bawoła, impale czy wiele innych gatunków ptactwa. Jeśli to jest przystawka, to nie możemy się doczekać głównego dania.

[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.

[alcorian-cycle]

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!

[thislanguageisunderrated]

I did it

I read the book of the Crate...

It was awfullllllll. My god writing a review for this will be a monster. It's bad. Very, very, very bad. I would not recommend this book even to my worst enemy. Jesus Christ.

[bookgeekconfessions]

And I Darken (The Conquerers Saga #1) by Kiersten White 

5 Stars Reviewed by Naomi 

Official Synopsis: 

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, 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. 

At birth, the universe did Lada Dragwyla a great injustice...she was born a girl. In a world where feminity and beauty were the only weapons at a woman's disposal, Lada wants a sword. On her father’s, the prince of Wallachi, land Lada runs wild, throwing convention and rules to the wind. Until, the day that Vlad's power is threatened and he must give tribute to the Ottoman Sultan, the tribute? Lada and her younger brother, Radu. Abandoned in a foreign land where she doesn't speak the language and doesn't worship the same god, Lada forges her body and mind into a warrior that will one day make her a legend.

The synopsis is a bit misleading, it makes the book sound like it's about a love triangle. But, it is not Twilight. There are feelings that go between the three characters and those feelings are complex and heartbreaking and beautiful, raw and real. This book is about so much more than a simple love triangle. It's about discovering who you are, it's about carving a path for yourself through the expectations of others, it's about first love and first heartache and the bonds of family that are often stronger than anything else. It's about life and devotion and what it means to have faith.

And I Darken is the perfect answer to the call for diversity. The author seamlessly wrote characters of color, complex female characters, homosexuality and two different religions without being obvious. And I Darken isn't about diversity, it is about our world and our history and those things have always and will always be diverse.

The protagonist is a girl who is not classically pretty, some would say she was ugly, who is equal parts vulnerable and strong. Lada is fierce without being devoid of feelings, she is powerful and yet still has many of the physical and emotional weaknesses that many girls her age have.

Her brother Radu, is as handsome as he is weak. As intelligent as he is afraid and as cunning as he is quiet. The young sultan, Mehmed is a devout Muslim who manages to be faithful to his god without being portrayed as a fanatic hell-bent on killing infidels.

And I Darken is a unique twist on history. Vlad Tepes is one of the most interesting characters in history. He's Vad the impaler, the Prince of Darkness and of course, Dracula. Turning Vlad into Lada is a unique concept that I cannot wait to continue reading. In the first book, Lada and Radu are kids but you can sense what they are to become. They have so many sibling squabbles but you just know in your heart that if they can just work together the world would fall at their feet. With her ferocity and his intellect, they would be unstoppable. They just have to figure it out.

Recommended for fans of historical YA, historical fiction and anyone who likes a badass heroine. 

For more info: Goodreads Page and Author website.

[arms-for-children]

Sometimes a family is an ottoman bey, his legal wife an absolute angel, her spiritual wife a kind maid, her legal husband a runaway from constantinople, his spiritual husband the ottoman bey, his niece from his sister the lady impaler and their childhood friend the sultan, who is being raised as his and his wife and their whole squad's own.

[rainytuesdayart]

Here’s my version of Lada from The Conqueror’s Saga

Reblog if you like her!

Bonus:

[elixirsoflife]

has anyone read 'and i darken' and 'now i rise' by kiersten white and do you hate mehmed as much as i do

[galvanizedfriend]

Hii Yokannn! Do you have Goodreads or something? Or can you share the books that you've read so far? I've tried reading the Camelot book you're reading and I was hooked. And now I need to read more books but I don't know what book to read. Please please share the good books you've read 😁😁😁

Hi, nonnie!! 👋

I do have a goodreads, but I'm not sure it would help you much cause all my reviews are in Portuguese. 🤣🤣 BUT! If you enjoyed the Camelot book (so glad you did!! I loved that one, but the second book in the trilogy is not as good 🤣🤣 Have to be honest), I can rec you a few things!

The Conqueror's Saga by the same author of the Camelot Rising trilogy, Kiersten White! The first book is called And I Darken, the second is Now We Rise, the third is Bright We Burn. It is one of my all time favorite YA series. So unique! It's got a fantasy aspect to it, but it's actually historical lit. It's a retelling of the real story of Vlad the Impaler, the historical figure that inspired Count Dracula's tale. Except in this version, Vlad is a girl, Lada. The story follows her, her brother, Radu the Handsome (also a real figure) and the future emperor of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed. Lada is nothing like you'd expect a princess to be, and it's absolutely fantastic. I love it with all my heart, seriously.

Another of my all time favorite YA series is Wolf by Wolf (and its sequel, Blood for Blood), by Ryan Graudin. Another historical fiction, except this one is a dystopian historical fiction, set in a 1956 world where the nazis won the war. It's so stunning and heart-breaking as you'd expect a story like that to be, but it's also beautiful. The main character is a Jewish girl who managed to escape a concentration camp where she was subjected to all manner of tests by the nazi scientists. It ended up giving her an ability, which she now uses as a part of the resistance.

Victoria Schwab (or V.E. Schwab) is my favorite contemporary author and I could rec everything she's ever written. Even the stuff I don't necessarily like is still great and gripping, like the Darker Shade of Magic trilogy. But my absolute favorite work by her is Vicious, which is not an YA book and it doesn't really have any romance, but it's so, so good! It's a kind of X-men-ish story, with people who develop super powers. And it's a story that pits two best friends with different world views against each other, and the really incredible part of the story is that there are no heroes here. They're both very much villains, or villanesque. The moral questions of the story are so great. And there is a sequel called Vengeful, also incredible. I also love, love, love Our Dark Duet. It's so unique! Ugh! Her books are great.

A book that seems to be really popular right now and I read a few years ago is The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Nonnie, it is PERFECTION. Seriously. I love it so, so, so much! It's a retelling of the Iliad and Achilles' saga, except it's told through Patroclus' POV. My heart. The writing is stunning and the story is just so, so good. Kinda heartbreaking if you know how it goes, but still amazing. Can't rec it more. And Circe, by the same author, is also fantastic!

I am currently making my way through a book called Blood and Honey, the second book of a series that started with Serpent and Dove. I LOVED the first, am not crazy about the second so far tho. But the first book is really great. There's magic and witches and witch hunters. And the main romance is to diiiie for! Slow burn, enemies to lovers! Ugh. Delicious.

These are some recs, anon! If you do pick any of these up, let me know how you like them! :) I love talking books! If you ever need more recs, let me know. 🤣🤣

[bring-vlad-back]

I am very sorry for the book I’m about to review. Impaling my Heart: Vlads story.

Hello and welcome back to the pits of hell. Please be prepared as this book made me appreciate Biker Vlad and Lada.

No but. I WISH I was reading and I darken. I mean, look at the characters:

Anyway, I’m going to cut here. No need for a written summary, the one on the goodreads screenshot is accurate. From now on, fun is prohibited.

First Vlad PoV, he is Emo and in love.

Lmao CHILL

So in 656 years of existence, the only great sex he had was with a random American girl? Gotcha.

Ok so some clarification is needed here. Lachlan has a son with the American girl (Annalese, Anna for short) named Michael. Lachlan is a Scottish Vampire, also Anna’s partner (mate). They’re talking about being “blocked” because they can communicate by telepathy and, well, Vlad is blocking them.

I hope you enjoy that because we’re going to have a fuck ton of it.

Peak writing

SECOND MATING I-

Sooooo Michael is feeding Vlad pancakes and... Pussycat??????????

Cook👏Vlad

There’s no reaction image for how I felt reading that.

D- Don’t call Vlad that.

Ah yes. Mehmet is here too. I am so sorry for that. Also he’s like, Vlad’s best friend and wants to help him fight higher vampires who are against him??

So he is lending them his study room.

White man smoking and looking tired meme.

ok so Vlad is a lizard ok ok

More plot is needed. Sophia is Vlad’s crazy ex mate and they couldn’t have a child. Changing mates is illegal in Vampireland so that’s why vampires are against him. But he fell in love with Anna and now they know that the baby she’s expecting is Vlad’s. 

The fetus can speak via telepathy ok.

Annalese got poisoned by Sophia.

No.

Vlad is desperate holy shit. Where is his chad energy?

Werewolf time

Just this:

HIS VOIVOIDE SIDE WAS SHOWING

as if imparting wisdom to a child on the verge of su*cide 

?????????? why would you write that ???

WALLACHIA DOES NOT WANT HER.

Werewolf chapter, Zhor and his friend Mak are introduced, later on Mak falls in love with Anna.

ok so. I am sparing you a LOT of things. At this point she had sex with Mehmet Lach and Vlad at the same time. Then she will do so with the wolf. And something I learnt later on, is that Lachlan is VLAD’S SON (from another book in the series). This book is all kinds of fucked up.

Mak is now adopted by the Vlad family

Ok So Lachlan and Mak are Vlad’s sons (only Lach biologically) and they all three had sex with Anna ok.

And it’s the end. Everyone ends up part of the family, Anna has the kid and everyone is happy.

Sooo now it’s time for my thoughts on it and idk how I should say that I lost decades of my life reading this.

Foursome with Vlad, Mehmet and Vlad’s son? Vlad’s son is Scottish and they share the same woman? She sleeps with a wolf? THE FETUS CAN TALK VIA TELEPATHY? My sanity is gone this book should be illegal I refuse to believe in it’s existence god please help I’m having nightmares.

[zareleonis]

finally got the guts to start Bright We Burn and:

look i KNEW from the beginning lada is based on vlad the impaler but im SO STRESSED now that she's actually gotten to the impaling 😭

on a related note my heart is aching how how her more ruthless methods are driving nicolae, stefan, etc away

i NEED nazira to be okay 😭 and cyprian but ESPECIALLY nazira. where are they!!!!

i wish we got to see more of HER WIFE FATIMA!!!!

radu breaking my heart as usual. i just want him to be happy and loved :(((

i never know what to make of mehmed 😬

the story actually driving towards lada and radu actually, properly, FOR REAL enemies is, again, STRESSING ME OUT AND IT HURTS

[alcorian-cycle]

Lada: don’t worry, I’ve got a few knives up my sleeve.

Nicolae: I think you mean cards?

Radu: she did not.

Lada, pulling out knives: I did not.

[thislanguageisunderrated]

So, I have read about half of And I Darken. Here are my impressions so far:

It is much, much worse than I thought it was going to be. Lada is written like a psycopathic person with no emotion or genuine care for others, Radu is described from the moment he was born with language that is very creepy for a child, mehmed's early merits are stolen from him, and the wives he married because he wanted to are either not mentioned at all, or not mentioned by name, and only by calling them "concubine".

The timeline is also very modified, the years do not align at all to certain events or the ages of characters, and Lada and Radu were sexualised while they are still minors. There is a paragraph in the book where the narrator says Radu, about 12-13, feels the "effect the warm water had on his developing manhood", and there is a page later in the book, where Lada's breasts and nipples and described, Lada being 15-16 years old.

When I finish this book, I am making an extensive review, and even that wont cover everything problematic with this book.

[arms-for-children]

I'm like 5% through Now I Rise but I needed to draw them,,, immediately