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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
this book was amazing!!! I'm really happy with the diversity and uniqueness of the story and characters as I don't think I've ever read any book with Islam in it and I found it so interesting to read about.
a few times throughout the book I found the writing to be a bit confusing or slow but it wasn't that big of an issue for me.
the characters were beautifully written and I'm very much in love with Lada, Radu, Mehmed, and Nicolae. and the relationships are all so complicated and amazing and painful.
AND THAT ENDING!!! THE LAST SENTENCE!!! INCREDIBLE!!!
a few times throughout the book I found the writing to be a bit confusing or slow but it wasn't that big of an issue for me.
the characters were beautifully written and I'm very much in love with Lada, Radu, Mehmed, and Nicolae. and the relationships are all so complicated and amazing and painful.
AND THAT ENDING!!! THE LAST SENTENCE!!! INCREDIBLE!!!
This book started off really well and to be honest it was fairly consistent throughout right up until the last 1/4 which dragged and then there's a bombshell at the end keeping us desperate to read more from the series.
The main character is Lada an unwanted female child whose parents can only use her for a political allience. Then her brother comes and Lada feels she has a new meaning to life, but as he grows older she realises he's not going to be the company she wanted and her attention starts to stray. She learns more about the country which her dad is in charge of and she finds a new love. I'm trying to leave this part of my review sparce as possible to save from spoilers. But I will say that at times Lada will annoy readers because she is so selfish but her true strength comes out in the end.
The most noteworthy secondary character is Lada's brother Radu, he's a fairly weak character always wanting the approval of others but with Lada as his sister you can see why.
The storyline is fantastic, busy and exciting and really really gripping, this is the kind of book I could have read in one sitting if life didn't get in the way of that. The pacing was very good and I especially love the cliff hanger ending leaving readers desperate to read more, but I will wait a while as I have a lot of books on my shelf at the minute.
4.5 stars a fantastic read
The main character is Lada an unwanted female child whose parents can only use her for a political allience. Then her brother comes and Lada feels she has a new meaning to life, but as he grows older she realises he's not going to be the company she wanted and her attention starts to stray. She learns more about the country which her dad is in charge of and she finds a new love. I'm trying to leave this part of my review sparce as possible to save from spoilers. But I will say that at times Lada will annoy readers because she is so selfish but her true strength comes out in the end.
The most noteworthy secondary character is Lada's brother Radu, he's a fairly weak character always wanting the approval of others but with Lada as his sister you can see why.
The storyline is fantastic, busy and exciting and really really gripping, this is the kind of book I could have read in one sitting if life didn't get in the way of that. The pacing was very good and I especially love the cliff hanger ending leaving readers desperate to read more, but I will wait a while as I have a lot of books on my shelf at the minute.
4.5 stars a fantastic read
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD! I overnighted the other two books in the trilogy so that I could have them as soon as I finished this one. That's how much I loved this book.
I love that this is a gender-bent retelling of Vlad the Impaler. I actually made it through the entire book without realizing this fact, but I'm so on board with it. I love Lada and I love Radu. I love that this series is told from both Lada and Radu's point of view. Both perspectives are third person, but I think it really works.
If you're someone who is really into fantasy, this is a series that you should look into. This series is NOT fantasy, but it really feels like one. This series is historical fiction with lots of action, adventure, mystery, romance, and so much more. I can't wait to read the next two books!
I love that this is a gender-bent retelling of Vlad the Impaler. I actually made it through the entire book without realizing this fact, but I'm so on board with it. I love Lada and I love Radu. I love that this series is told from both Lada and Radu's point of view. Both perspectives are third person, but I think it really works.
If you're someone who is really into fantasy, this is a series that you should look into. This series is NOT fantasy, but it really feels like one. This series is historical fiction with lots of action, adventure, mystery, romance, and so much more. I can't wait to read the next two books!
“As the baby latched on with surprising fierceness, the nurse offered her own prayer.
Let her be strong.
Let her be sly.
And let her be ugly.”
Review
So I gave this a 2 star rating for many many reasons but most importantly I was so extremely bored!! As I said above I read the first two chapters in an excerpt and they were great. They followed Lada in the years after she is born, she is fierce and wild and confident as a toddler and I was hoping that should grow up and still be all of these things I was very disappointed! Nothing big happened plot wise and when it did it happened to other people not the main characters. I knew the ending from about page 100 and almost everything in between was useless filler or could have been shortened a lot!
Something that really rubbed me the wrong way was that I had no idea this books had more than one major LGBTQ character and the synopsis and marketing for this book didn't mention that at all and so I was just annoyed. The main Gay character in this novel also falls in love with a straight guy which I feel like is an unnecessary troupe.
The POV was also something that I did not enjoy. This is written in third person limited and I just want to know more about what the main characters are thinking or what motives they have behind their actions.
I did LOVE Lada's brother, Radu, as a character and I was really hoping that his romantic prospects panned out. On the topic of romance the one person I wanted Lada with went out of the picture early in the novel only to come back later in the novel. It should have been this big moment for a reunion and it was just glossed over a huge missed opportunity for a great scene.
The theme of Lada being ugly was a big part of the novel. Lada, knowing she is ugly, strives to be independent so she never has to depend on a man to support her and I think that is a great message for YA readers. Not every YA heroine needs to be beautiful and not every male character needs to fall in love with her!
Final Thoughts
There is about half good half bad in this book. I would say it is a solid 3 stars if it were not for the writing point of view. If you can get over the 3rd person limited style and you are a fan of historical fiction you just might fall in love with Lada and Radu
Let her be strong.
Let her be sly.
And let her be ugly.”
Review
So I gave this a 2 star rating for many many reasons but most importantly I was so extremely bored!! As I said above I read the first two chapters in an excerpt and they were great. They followed Lada in the years after she is born, she is fierce and wild and confident as a toddler and I was hoping that should grow up and still be all of these things I was very disappointed! Nothing big happened plot wise and when it did it happened to other people not the main characters. I knew the ending from about page 100 and almost everything in between was useless filler or could have been shortened a lot!
Something that really rubbed me the wrong way was that I had no idea this books had more than one major LGBTQ character and the synopsis and marketing for this book didn't mention that at all and so I was just annoyed. The main Gay character in this novel also falls in love with a straight guy which I feel like is an unnecessary troupe.
The POV was also something that I did not enjoy. This is written in third person limited and I just want to know more about what the main characters are thinking or what motives they have behind their actions.
I did LOVE Lada's brother, Radu, as a character and I was really hoping that his romantic prospects panned out. On the topic of romance the one person I wanted Lada with went out of the picture early in the novel only to come back later in the novel. It should have been this big moment for a reunion and it was just glossed over a huge missed opportunity for a great scene.
The theme of Lada being ugly was a big part of the novel. Lada, knowing she is ugly, strives to be independent so she never has to depend on a man to support her and I think that is a great message for YA readers. Not every YA heroine needs to be beautiful and not every male character needs to fall in love with her!
Final Thoughts
There is about half good half bad in this book. I would say it is a solid 3 stars if it were not for the writing point of view. If you can get over the 3rd person limited style and you are a fan of historical fiction you just might fall in love with Lada and Radu
4 Stars
Theoretically this should be a 5* book. It's really well plotted, with excellent, well-developed and intriguing characters and enough little bits of humour to keep the darkness from becoming insufferably bleak. Also, it has one of the best endings to a first novel in a series that I've read. (Also one of the best last lines). However, something (who knows what) left me a bit...cold.
Fairly sure this is one of those "it's me not you" situations. It really is a great read, similar in pace and subject matter to The Bear and the Nightingale, though much darker and twistier (and not fantasy). For me, it just needed that extra spark.
(UPDATE: the sequels have the spark!)
A solid 3.5 stars. This book was about a hundred pages longer than it needed to be, but I was entertained most of the time anyway. I love Kiersten White’s writing style, and the character development (especially Radu) was exceptional.
3.5 STARS!
A great start of a series. I did think there were some parts of the book that were a bit slow but overall I enjoyed it and can't wait for more. I think the series will get better with each book.
A great start of a series. I did think there were some parts of the book that were a bit slow but overall I enjoyed it and can't wait for more. I think the series will get better with each book.
*deep sigh*
Listen, I get that this is based on real history ... pardon, 'alternate' history. So I guess the author was going for "historical accuracy" but ... that's really not an excuse for literally having one main female character, and only a couple other minor female characters far and in between.
I mean I just read another historical fiction novel - which managed to include more than a few female characters, even though at that time, women were second-class citizens. So really, I don't buy the whole "but it's historical accuracy" bullshit anymore. Especially when the main character manages to defy the norm in her society anyway. If that's already happening, why not create more female characters who do and also get away with it?
But the thing is, I really liked Lada as a character. I loved how complex she was, how much she grew as a character. I loved how conflicted she was about her identity, how she struggled to figure herself out, to find her self-worth.
I couldn't stand most of the male characters. I just don't care. Her brother was kind of bland love sick puppy, who used to be a cry-baby and finally grew up in a pretty, manipulative man. Oh and begins to hate his sister because the man he loves, loves her instead of him. Oh and before that, he hated her best friend because she preferred to spend time with him instead of her. But apparently, his own sister is not entitled to know that he's getting married. Can we stop writing gay characters as petty jealous people, please?
Mehmet is a fuck boy who wouldn't be there without either of the siblings. Like, seriously dude, get your shit together.
I don't know how historically accurate this is, to the time period or culture. I, however, stopped trusting White on page 2, because she tried to tell me that Ladislav was a feminine version of Vladislav. I was rather confused since that's not how things work in Slavic naming conventions, but just in case I quickly googled it, and what do you know, the first result told me I was right. And if you fuck up your MCs name - which is kind of important - I'm not gonna trust any other research this author has done.
Overall, I really liked the first part of the novel when we were getting to know the world and the characters, but by the halfway point, there was just not enough action and the plot seemed stagnant. There was a lot of political intrigue, but without action to spice it up, even that got dull after awhile.
I might check out the next book, but I will probably not be in a hurry when it comes out, and will probably borrow from the library.
Listen, I get that this is based on real history ... pardon, 'alternate' history. So I guess the author was going for "historical accuracy" but ... that's really not an excuse for literally having one main female character, and only a couple other minor female characters far and in between.
I mean I just read another historical fiction novel - which managed to include more than a few female characters, even though at that time, women were second-class citizens. So really, I don't buy the whole "but it's historical accuracy" bullshit anymore. Especially when the main character manages to defy the norm in her society anyway. If that's already happening, why not create more female characters who do and also get away with it?
But the thing is, I really liked Lada as a character. I loved how complex she was, how much she grew as a character. I loved how conflicted she was about her identity, how she struggled to figure herself out, to find her self-worth.
I couldn't stand most of the male characters. I just don't care. Her brother was kind of bland love sick puppy, who used to be a cry-baby and finally grew up in a pretty, manipulative man. Oh and begins to hate his sister because the man he loves, loves her instead of him. Oh and before that, he hated her best friend because she preferred to spend time with him instead of her. But apparently, his own sister is not entitled to know that he's getting married. Can we stop writing gay characters as petty jealous people, please?
Mehmet is a fuck boy who wouldn't be there without either of the siblings. Like, seriously dude, get your shit together.
I don't know how historically accurate this is, to the time period or culture. I, however, stopped trusting White on page 2, because she tried to tell me that Ladislav was a feminine version of Vladislav. I was rather confused since that's not how things work in Slavic naming conventions, but just in case I quickly googled it, and what do you know, the first result told me I was right. And if you fuck up your MCs name - which is kind of important - I'm not gonna trust any other research this author has done.
Overall, I really liked the first part of the novel when we were getting to know the world and the characters, but by the halfway point, there was just not enough action and the plot seemed stagnant. There was a lot of political intrigue, but without action to spice it up, even that got dull after awhile.
I might check out the next book, but I will probably not be in a hurry when it comes out, and will probably borrow from the library.
My goodness. That’s one way I would sum this book up. The story line, the background that it is based on, the characters; my goodness! Lada was such a beast and I’ve never seen a character so vicious, so cruel. She was furious! Her threats to others made my skin crawl and cringe from the detail of the gruesomeness
Radu, my boy; a beautiful soul who deserves so much happiness.
LET THE BOY HAVE LOVE OKAY!
Bogdan, my favorite who disappeared for 75% percent of the story I love him too. He was, in my opinion, one of the first to show Lada some love. Especially with her being so spiteful... I’ve never really enjoyed historical fiction that much, but this one... Like I said, my g o o d n e s s. 10/10 would read again. On to book two I go!
Radu, my boy; a beautiful soul who deserves so much happiness.
LET THE BOY HAVE LOVE OKAY!
Bogdan, my favorite who disappeared for 75% percent of the story I love him too. He was, in my opinion, one of the first to show Lada some love. Especially with her being so spiteful... I’ve never really enjoyed historical fiction that much, but this one... Like I said, my g o o d n e s s. 10/10 would read again. On to book two I go!