Ottoman Empire
Review: And I Darken by Kiersten White
But there are many ways to be powerful. There is power in stillness. There is power in watching, waiting, saying the right thing at the right time to the right person. There is power in being a woman—oh yes, power in these bodies you gaze upon with derision…. When you have something someone else wants, there is always an element of power.
I have been utterly destroyed by this wonderful book, and you know what? I couldn’t be happier about it. I have no idea what to do with my life while I lie in wait for the sequel for another year, but that is beside the point. I actually called my (now ex) boyfriend after I finished the novel and told him that I didn’t know how to exist in a world where I physically cannot go buy the sequel instantaneously, right now. He didn’t have any suitable advice for me—not from a lack of trying, but because I was inconsolable. For that reason, I’m going to blather on about my feelings for this book here. I hope you enjoy.
And I Darken is a gender-swapped retelling of Vlad the Impaler, who was a notoriously violent prince in 1400s’ Ottoman Empire. In this story, Lada—our Vlad—grows up in Wallachia with her younger brother Radu. She is raised to be cruel as a means of survival in a world that clearly favors men of wealth. Used as pawns in a political game, Lada and Radu have to cleverly outmaneuver all of the foes that move against their very lives. Read the rest of this entry »
It's a Novelty 