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A review by charisanorris
And I Darken by Kiersten White
4.0
I had no idea what to expect from this book, and my feelings about it are very complicated, just like the characters within. I have been waiting eagerly to finish and write this review so I could have a place to spill my thoughts, so here they are, at least what I can remember at this time.
I'm going to divide this into sections: the characters of Mehmed, Lada, and Radu, the religious themes, the plot/storytelling, and the writing quality.
1. Characters: Lada
Based on Kiersten White's author notes, Lada is inspired by Vlad the Impaler, personified as a female. I don't know much about the history of these regions covered in the book, but that name makes me very nervous for what we can expect from Lada moving forward. Lada is a violent, wild girl whose sole purpose was to win her father's respect and love. She despises being a girl and hates the idea of marriage, and we can't really blame her: for a long time, her perception of women is that they are treated as property, and a wife is kicked and crawls in front of her husband (Lada's father does this to her mother when Lada is very young, and we see how that moment has twisted and shaped Lada throughout her girlhood). She seeks to rise above and fight against the protocols of society and culture and be more than "just a girl", and with no real good female figures in her life, Lada often feels lost and confused about herself and her feminity, or lack thereof. There is definitely some pity and sadness in me for Lada and her dark, loveless childhood. I also think she is mentally disturbed in many ways due to overexposure of violence (men being impaled, etc.) at such a young age, and though she rages at how women are treated, she herself despises the ones she meets throughout the book and holds nothing but contempt for most of them. Lada, to me, does not stand as some strong, feminist figure: she is a lost girl, who has grown up in a twisted, cruel world with little options and a knack for violence.
Lada's affections for Mehmed was the only part that felt a little out of character for her, it felt a little too insta-love for me, even though they had grown up together as children. I get the teenage hormones and all, etc., but it seemed to happen too quickly.
2. Characters: Radu
I felt very bad for Radu for most of the book. He is softer and kinder and more loving than his sister, despite having grown up in the same conditions. Where she has chosen to be aggressive and cruel, he chose to be kind...although we do see many times that he makes dangerous and violent decisions that are echoes of his upbringing and the mental trauma he has endured as a child. I do think him being in love with Mehmed felt a bit cliché and I think it would have been far more interesting for him to merely be obsessed with the friendship, rather than a romance. Especially for his character too: a lonely little boy found the one person who was his true friend and treated him with more kindness than even his sister, more than anyone else besides maybe Kumal; it makes sense for him to cling to that person and be terrified that it would be taken away. So the romantic sideplot (and of course Radu is handsome and all the girls like him *eye roll*) felt unnecessary.
3. Characters: Mehmed
I don't have much to say here...Mehmed didn't have me invested and I found myself not caring as much about what happened to him. He seemed to serve as something to drive the plot for Lada and Radu, and while I didn't hate him, I didn't feel much for him either. I have a feeling much more will happen with his obsession to conquer Constantinople, so we shall see.
4. Religious Representation
Both Christianity and Islam faiths are presented in this book, with more focus on Islam as the characters spend most of their time in the Ottoman Empire. Christianity is represented as a twisted version of itself, a reflection of how the church leaders at the time in history would wield the faith against even its own people and use it to control. Unfortunately, neither Radu or Lada have a good opinion of the faith, and it is a shame they are never introduced to what Christianity is really like. I do like how the duplicity of the Islamic religion was also represented in the book, some using it as a weapon and others proclaiming that it is peaceful. This leaves Radu finding some peace and comfort in the religion, and leaves Lada hating it but also not caring more for Christianity either. The historical accuracy and detail put into it is incredible.
5. The Plot
Watching history and these characters grow up throughout the book was amazing and heartbreaking and kept me in suspense for almost all of it. While sometimes it dragged, I felt very invested in where the story was going.
6. The writing was amazing. This is the second book I've read by Kiersten and I cannot praise it enough.
I would recommend this book if you have a taste for history and characters that hurt your heart!
I'm going to divide this into sections: the characters of Mehmed, Lada, and Radu, the religious themes, the plot/storytelling, and the writing quality.
1. Characters: Lada
Based on Kiersten White's author notes, Lada is inspired by Vlad the Impaler, personified as a female. I don't know much about the history of these regions covered in the book, but that name makes me very nervous for what we can expect from Lada moving forward. Lada is a violent, wild girl whose sole purpose was to win her father's respect and love. She despises being a girl and hates the idea of marriage, and we can't really blame her: for a long time, her perception of women is that they are treated as property, and a wife is kicked and crawls in front of her husband (Lada's father does this to her mother when Lada is very young, and we see how that moment has twisted and shaped Lada throughout her girlhood). She seeks to rise above and fight against the protocols of society and culture and be more than "just a girl", and with no real good female figures in her life, Lada often feels lost and confused about herself and her feminity, or lack thereof. There is definitely some pity and sadness in me for Lada and her dark, loveless childhood. I also think she is mentally disturbed in many ways due to overexposure of violence (men being impaled, etc.) at such a young age, and though she rages at how women are treated, she herself despises the ones she meets throughout the book and holds nothing but contempt for most of them. Lada, to me, does not stand as some strong, feminist figure: she is a lost girl, who has grown up in a twisted, cruel world with little options and a knack for violence.
Lada's affections for Mehmed was the only part that felt a little out of character for her, it felt a little too insta-love for me, even though they had grown up together as children. I get the teenage hormones and all, etc., but it seemed to happen too quickly.
2. Characters: Radu
I felt very bad for Radu for most of the book. He is softer and kinder and more loving than his sister, despite having grown up in the same conditions. Where she has chosen to be aggressive and cruel, he chose to be kind...although we do see many times that he makes dangerous and violent decisions that are echoes of his upbringing and the mental trauma he has endured as a child. I do think him being in love with Mehmed felt a bit cliché and I think it would have been far more interesting for him to merely be obsessed with the friendship, rather than a romance. Especially for his character too: a lonely little boy found the one person who was his true friend and treated him with more kindness than even his sister, more than anyone else besides maybe Kumal; it makes sense for him to cling to that person and be terrified that it would be taken away. So the romantic sideplot (and of course Radu is handsome and all the girls like him *eye roll*) felt unnecessary.
3. Characters: Mehmed
I don't have much to say here...Mehmed didn't have me invested and I found myself not caring as much about what happened to him. He seemed to serve as something to drive the plot for Lada and Radu, and while I didn't hate him, I didn't feel much for him either. I have a feeling much more will happen with his obsession to conquer Constantinople, so we shall see.
4. Religious Representation
Both Christianity and Islam faiths are presented in this book, with more focus on Islam as the characters spend most of their time in the Ottoman Empire. Christianity is represented as a twisted version of itself, a reflection of how the church leaders at the time in history would wield the faith against even its own people and use it to control. Unfortunately, neither Radu or Lada have a good opinion of the faith, and it is a shame they are never introduced to what Christianity is really like. I do like how the duplicity of the Islamic religion was also represented in the book, some using it as a weapon and others proclaiming that it is peaceful. This leaves Radu finding some peace and comfort in the religion, and leaves Lada hating it but also not caring more for Christianity either. The historical accuracy and detail put into it is incredible.
5. The Plot
Watching history and these characters grow up throughout the book was amazing and heartbreaking and kept me in suspense for almost all of it. While sometimes it dragged, I felt very invested in where the story was going.
6. The writing was amazing. This is the second book I've read by Kiersten and I cannot praise it enough.
I would recommend this book if you have a taste for history and characters that hurt your heart!