and i darken: book review

 

Title: And I Darken

Author: Kiersten White

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Pages: 486

Publisher: Corgi Books (imprint of Penguin)

Synopsis:
No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwyla likes it that way.

Ever since she and her brother were abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman sultan’s courts, Lada has known that ruthlessness is the key to survival. For the lineage that makes her and her brother special also makes them targets.

Lada hones her skills as a warrior as she nurtures plans to wreak revenge on the empire that holds her captive. Then she and Radu meet the sultan’s son, Mehmed, and everything changes. Now Mehmed unwittingly stands between Lada and Radu as they transform from siblings to rivals, and the ties of love and loyalty that bind them together are stretched to breaking point.

The first of an epic new trilogy starring the ultimate anti-princess who does not have a gentle heart. Lada knows how to wield a sword, and she’ll stop at nothing to keep herself and her brother alive.

 

My Review: 

(Thank you to Penguin Australia for sending this book my way in exchange for my honest review, this in no way affects my thoughts or opinions of this book.)

I had heard mixed reviews about this one, which is probably why it took me so long to get around to reading it. The premise sounded really interesting, however, so I was excited to see how I would like it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the book for me.

It took me forever to get into this story. I found it very slow and honestly rather boring. For most of the book, it felt as though nothing was really happening, and I felt as though it could have started in the middle of the story instead of where it did. To me, it felt like there was way too much back story and not nearly enough action.

Not only that but I really expected more from Lada, the main character. ‘No one expects a princess to be brutal‘. Don’t get me wrong, Lada definitely kicks a hell of a lot of butt and can be pretty brutal, but I expected more. When the blurb said she would be brutal, I expected an evil, crazy, brutal character, kind of like Adelina in The Young Elites by Marie Lu, but more so. I think this expectation really ruined the book for me, as I was really looking forward to being in the head of an anti-hero.

Overall, I felt like the book just wasn’t for me. I found it lacked action and drama, and the main character, unfortunately, didn’t live up to my expectation. I don’t really have that much more to say, it just really fell flat and bored me.

My Rating:
Actual rating: 2.5

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Have you read this book? What were your thoughts?

Until next time,