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A review by coco_lolo
Now I Rise by Kiersten White
4.0
When I read And I Darken earlier this year, I was pretty underwhelmed and not very enthusiastic about the rest of the series, even though part of me was curious as to what would happen. My experience with Now I Rise ended up being much different: it was such an engrossing novel and has cemented my decision to finish The Conqueror's Saga once the final book's released.
There were several things White improved upon in this book that I had issues with in the one before, from the writing and pacing to the characterization. Whereas And I Darken spanned the course of several years, Now I Rise covered a much briefer period of time and focused on a few singular events revolving around the Draculesti siblings. I was honestly a bit surprised by how enjoyable this was; the story didn't slog along or feel like a chore to read, but rather I found myself reluctant to put the book down. I still wish the author used exclamation points less, and while her action scenes were better crafted this time around, there remained a slight distance between myself and the battles taking place, particularly the skirmishes leading up to the sacking of Constantinople (which I did find well written).
What made this book so compelling wasn't even the Ottoman siege of the Byzantine Empire's capital or Lada's journey to reclaim Wallachia, but the development of the characters involved in these crusades. Lada struggled throughout the book to be seen as the equal of any man, and her fight for the Wallachian throne forced her to reevaluate her strengths and weaknesses. She became decidedly more ruthless in this book, and what I continue to enjoy about Lada is that even when making these cutthroat decisions, she had the betterment of the future in mind. She also has some of the best lines in the trilogy.
I find it interesting that while And I Darken focused evenly on Lada and Radu, Now I Rise felt more like Radu's story, with his chapters receiving the most attention. I'm not sure what to make of this, but I do wonder if that means the third book will center mostly on Lada's narrative. I found Radu's growth to be extremely well done, with his internal conflict over the Ottomans and Byzantines being one of the novel's propelling forces. He was perpetually torn between doing what was right for his religion verses what was right morally, which changed his perspective of Mehmed and himself drastically.
One of the most intriguing things White has done with this series is create such a tangled, fascinating relationship between Lada and Radu. The siblings were constantly aware of the other's absence in their lives; they never interact in the book but thought of each other often, whether in good or bad ways. They also have very different connections to Mehmed, who can go choke as far as I'm concerned. I hated him before, and I hate him now, and I'm 90% sure I'm going to continue hating him in the third book. It's not his single mindedness or anything like that that I dislike—it's the way he manipulates Lada and Radu, the two people he supposedly loves above all others, and doesn't give a damn about how it's hurting them or what they might want out of life. Maybe if we'd gotten a chapter from Mehmed's point of view I might look at him differently, but I absolutely cannot stand him in any capacity.
I also found the romance between him and Lada to be even weaker in this book, and the more I consider it, the more toxic it seems. Lada talked about how being apart from Mehmed was so difficult and how she missed him even though she tried not to, but what did she miss about him? What does she love about Mehmed other than what he can do for her? There were all these mentions of love but nothing tangible showing either cared for the other beyond their own benefit and satisfaction. I get Radu's devotion to Mehmed, and that's even gotten a good degree of depth, but I don't buy Lada loving Mehmed romantically or him her. Honestly, I would prefer it if Lada's story ended with her not needing validation from him, if she could stand on her own without any man at all.
I can now say that Nazira is an absolute gem: her and Radu share such a sweet, platonic love, and they had some of the best interaction in the book. She's just such a supportive friend, and Radu desperately needed that. I also enjoyed Lada's companionship with the Janissaries, specifically Nicolae and Stefan, and seeing the ways these men changed over the course of the book. Cyprian was decent—there was nothing bad about him, but there also wasn't anything that made him stand out. I'm hoping he'll get more development in the third book,
Those last two chapters were so savage and perfect, and I can't wait to see how the finale unfolds. Now I Rise definitely did not fall into the category of second book slump: it only made me more invested in a series I wasn't initially sure about finishing. I'll definitely be picking up Bright We Burn this summer!
There were several things White improved upon in this book that I had issues with in the one before, from the writing and pacing to the characterization. Whereas And I Darken spanned the course of several years, Now I Rise covered a much briefer period of time and focused on a few singular events revolving around the Draculesti siblings. I was honestly a bit surprised by how enjoyable this was; the story didn't slog along or feel like a chore to read, but rather I found myself reluctant to put the book down. I still wish the author used exclamation points less, and while her action scenes were better crafted this time around, there remained a slight distance between myself and the battles taking place, particularly the skirmishes leading up to the sacking of Constantinople (which I did find well written).
What made this book so compelling wasn't even the Ottoman siege of the Byzantine Empire's capital or Lada's journey to reclaim Wallachia, but the development of the characters involved in these crusades. Lada struggled throughout the book to be seen as the equal of any man, and her fight for the Wallachian throne forced her to reevaluate her strengths and weaknesses. She became decidedly more ruthless in this book, and what I continue to enjoy about Lada is that even when making these cutthroat decisions, she had the betterment of the future in mind. She also has some of the best lines in the trilogy.
"Rumors are everywhere...You are the chosen servant of the devil."
"Why must I always be a man's servant?" Lada demanded. "If anything, I should be partners with the devil, not his servant."
I find it interesting that while And I Darken focused evenly on Lada and Radu, Now I Rise felt more like Radu's story, with his chapters receiving the most attention. I'm not sure what to make of this, but I do wonder if that means the third book will center mostly on Lada's narrative. I found Radu's growth to be extremely well done, with his internal conflict over the Ottomans and Byzantines being one of the novel's propelling forces. He was perpetually torn between doing what was right for his religion verses what was right morally, which changed his perspective of Mehmed and himself drastically.
One of the most intriguing things White has done with this series is create such a tangled, fascinating relationship between Lada and Radu. The siblings were constantly aware of the other's absence in their lives; they never interact in the book but thought of each other often, whether in good or bad ways. They also have very different connections to Mehmed, who can go choke as far as I'm concerned. I hated him before, and I hate him now, and I'm 90% sure I'm going to continue hating him in the third book. It's not his single mindedness or anything like that that I dislike—it's the way he manipulates Lada and Radu, the two people he supposedly loves above all others, and doesn't give a damn about how it's hurting them or what they might want out of life. Maybe if we'd gotten a chapter from Mehmed's point of view I might look at him differently, but I absolutely cannot stand him in any capacity.
I also found the romance between him and Lada to be even weaker in this book, and the more I consider it, the more toxic it seems. Lada talked about how being apart from Mehmed was so difficult and how she missed him even though she tried not to, but what did she miss about him? What does she love about Mehmed other than what he can do for her? There were all these mentions of love but nothing tangible showing either cared for the other beyond their own benefit and satisfaction. I get Radu's devotion to Mehmed, and that's even gotten a good degree of depth, but I don't buy Lada loving Mehmed romantically or him her. Honestly, I would prefer it if Lada's story ended with her not needing validation from him, if she could stand on her own without any man at all.
Spoiler
And I just have to say this: Lada was furious when she learned Mehmed knew of Radu's feelings and was using them to ensure loyalty...but she did the same with Bogdan. She was aware that Bogdan's love for her differed than what she felt for him, but she encouraged it by sleeping with him, knowing it would only make him more devoted. She's constantly compared to Mehmed in how they both do whatever necessary to get what they want, and this really proved it.I can now say that Nazira is an absolute gem: her and Radu share such a sweet, platonic love, and they had some of the best interaction in the book. She's just such a supportive friend, and Radu desperately needed that. I also enjoyed Lada's companionship with the Janissaries, specifically Nicolae and Stefan, and seeing the ways these men changed over the course of the book. Cyprian was decent—there was nothing bad about him, but there also wasn't anything that made him stand out. I'm hoping he'll get more development in the third book,
Spoiler
as will his and Radu's budding relationship; like with Lada and Mehmed, what does Radu like about Cyprian? His kindness for sure, but what else is there to him?Those last two chapters were so savage and perfect, and I can't wait to see how the finale unfolds. Now I Rise definitely did not fall into the category of second book slump: it only made me more invested in a series I wasn't initially sure about finishing. I'll definitely be picking up Bright We Burn this summer!