Rutabaga's Reads 2019: Part 10

Since I’ve mostly been preferring three-book posts when it comes to compilations, I decided a trilogy would be perfect for a post. I’ve had these books since their respective publication dates. I’ve simply been very behind in my reading and was so behind on this one that I figured I might as well wait until I had all three to read. The author may disagree (apologies to Kiersten White), but better late than never, right?

And I Darken (June 28, 2016) by Kiersten White.

Ladislav “Lada” Dracul (or Dragwlya) is everything her father wanted … if she’d been born a boy. The ruthless military governor (tyrant) of Transylvania, Vlad Dracul, a prince of Wallachia, has a gargantuan ego and is appalled that his seed could produce a daughter. He expects that she’ll at least be beautiful “so we can get some use out of her,” but she is the very opposite. However, she appears to have all the rage and ferocity befitting a Dracul. She can be as ruthless, too, but still a conscience lies beneath. That’s mostly attributed to her brother, Radu, who has all the beauty that Lada does not and is sensitive to boot, much to the disgust of their father. Lada understands that ruthlessness is necessary for survival, and this is tested when their father takes them to Edirne in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans are their enemies, yet this is where their father fled with them to. It is here that Lada and Radu meet Mehmed, the least-favored son of Murad, sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Lada’s attraction to the charismatic Mehmed is overshadowed by the fact that he’s heir to the enemy empire, one which she’s vowed to fight against, while Radu loves Mehmed so much that he might as well wear his heart on his sleeve. It’s a toxic triangle, and there are traitors in their midst.

            To imagine Vlad the Impaler as female, look no further than Lada. The first in the And I Darken YA trilogy, the course of the story seems to be heading toward grisly times in the next two installments. That isn’t to say that discouraged me away from the story. Quite the opposite. “And I Darken” is a multi-faceted jewel, albeit one where the facets are dark, fierce, cunning and violent. It’s brilliantly twisted and as sharp as a freshly sharpened blade. It’s complex, but also disturbing. From her entrance as an angry, squalling babe in 1435 to a fierce and angry teenager through 1451, Lada has made her mark. And it’s ferocious and razor-sharp.

            Best lines: “On our wedding night, I will cut out your tongue and swallow it. Then both tongues that spoke our marriage vows will belong to me, and I will be wed only to myself. You will mostly likely choke to death on your own blood, which will be unfortunate, but I will be both husband and wife and therefore not a widow to be pitied.” -- Lada, in response to attempting to be married off (p. 101).

            “Wait! Please, she did not mean any harm. She was teasing. In Wallachia, it is customary for … betrothed couples to … threaten each other. As a sign of affection. When our parents were betrothed, our mother told our father she would disembowel him and wear his intestines around her neck as jewelry.” -- Radu, trying to smooth over what Lada recently said (p. 103).

Now I Rise (June 27, 2017) by Kiersten White.

Demand the crown. Lada has declared herself the ruling prince of Wallachia, but she hasn’t actually secured it. She left the Ottoman Empire with her most loyal men, leaving behind Sultan Mehmed. His idea of helping her to her throne as prince is to keep Wallachia under Ottoman control. Lada will have none of that and spreads her fury across the countryside. The smallest slight can set off her wrath like a match near a gas leak. She leaves in her wake violent, bloody destruction. She’d never say it aloud (and if she did, odds are she’d kill the person she inadvertently told out of fury with herself), but she needs her younger brother Radu. He’s subtle yet charismatic. But, for the first time in his life, Radu did not choose her. Lada’s got her best friend Bogdan and faithful men like Nicolae and Stefan. And she begrudgingly forms a precarious alliance with a former enemy, one John Hunyadi, a brilliant military commander for Hungary.

            Radu’s desire to please Mehmed burns bright like a lighthouse beacon, but Mehmed has sent him to Constantinople. He’s “defected” per Mehmed’s advisement to infiltrate enemy territory. His wife, Nazira, goes with him to Constantinople, for appearances sake. They “escape” the Ottoman Empire with Cyprian, an ambassador of the court of Constantinople. Cyprian has a good soul and counts Radu and Nazira as friends, which makes Radu feel all the worse for the lies he’s told him in order to secure safe passage to and within Constantinople. But he does this for his Mehmed and the Ottoman Empire. However, the way Cyprian sometimes looks at him makes him pause.

            The middle installment in the And I Darken trilogy is both disturbing and absolutely riveting. White’s characters are charismatic (Radu), toxic (Lada) and cunning (both). As twisted historical fiction, it is painstakingly-detailed and magnificent in scope. The complexity continues in this story, and it’s good that Radu is away from Mehmed for most of the story. His desperate love for him can be, well, annoyingly desperate. I want him to grow as a character and make it through all the darkness that has been his life thus far.

Bright We Burn (July 10, 2018) by Kiersten White.

Wallachia is her mother, and she has taken back her throne. No boyars (many of whom she’s killed) or false allies (killed) or sultans/cousin-kings/allied-kings (wants to kill) will stand in her way. Lada is a prince of Wallachia. She knows she will spend her life defending her throne and someday she will lose. But for now, it is hers. Her closest friends are her best men (such as Bogdan and Stefan), but she is also losing them. Mostly to death. She refuses to acknowledge Sultan Mehmed, self-declared emperor, Hand of God on Earth and Caesar of Rome. In fact, it’s better if the Ottomans stay away, for they likely won’t return. Their corpses will stand as grotesque, rotting, stinking sentinels in a gory display of putrefaction. Welcome to Tirgoviste, capital of Wallachia.

            Radu wishes for a life of quiet, which means, of course, that he does not get it. He’s a bey of the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed. Where once he’d have rejoiced at any special attention from Mehmed, Radu’s feelings have shifted. Radu is not the same person he was before Constantinople and also prior to knowing Cyprian. They were parted when Radu entrusted his wife (in name only) to his care when he’d also admitted his betrayal. Radu has gone to Tirgoviste to make Wallachia a strong country again. Lada has tried to by killing, destroying crops, killing, taking or destroying towns and killing. Radu is the planner, and he’s got sense and charisma. Lada’s approach is more kill-first-and-don’t-bother-asking-questions-later. She loves her country, but at her rate, she will destroy it before it can be truly strong. Wallachia has a chance if Radu will be hers again, at least for a time.

            This concluding novel in White’s And I Darken  trilogy is as brilliantly violent as millions of fireworks lighting up the night sky. Lada is ruthless and violent. And just because she’s a fiercely independent woman doesn’t mean that I automatically, unequivocally rooted for her. Because sometimes, I didn’t root for her. I like that she didn’t win all the time. I didn’t root for those she lost against, either, though I always rooted for Radu. He’s the calm to Lada’s constant storm, a voice of reason against an onslaught of blood. White’s trilogy has been epic, engrossing, complex and nose-crinkling (all those dead bodies really stink after a time). “Bright We Burn” is a worthy finale to a saga filled with passion, love, hate, faith, revenge, loyalty and friendship.