And I Darken - Kiersten White [Review]

Book: And I Darken

Author: Kiersten White

Published: 28th June 2016

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 496
Source: eARC from the Publisher via NetGalley

Rating: 4/5 stars

There was a fair deal of buzz surrounding this book before I approached it, and I had heard good things, so I was definitely looking forward to getting stuck into the story. 

First of, this was unlike any other book I have read previously; the setting was unique - predominantly situated in Turkey, and Romania. The Eastern European backdrop provided a distinctly novel atmosphere, which was much appreciated. Set among many concurrent wars, there were consistent feelings of tension and struggle throughout the novel. 

In terms of the characters, there are a few main, and a wealth of supporting characters to keep you occupied. The main 'duo' is Lada and Radu, daughter and son of Vlad Dracul, a cruel man who has no love for his children, and barely sees them, let alone tolerates them. He despises weakness in people, and whereas Lada is strong, feral, aggressive, and lacks compassion (despite being a girl), Radu is her polar opposite. He is frail, weak, caring, handsome, and loving. 

The book is fairly character driven, and we follow Lada and Radu from their childhood all the way to their early twenties. The story is told from their third person perspectives, which allows you to feel close to the characters, but still retain a sense of detachment, which is just as well if you end up preferring one character to another. For me, I adored Lada, as she is so unlike any other female lead I have ever come across. She definitely does not try to be the hero, and although slightly entitled, she has great ambition and yearns to break free of the 'feeble woman resigned to marriage' archetype that has been laid out before her. 

I found it a little more difficult to connect with Radu at the beginning as he is so unlike Lada and comes across as a bit pathetic and he cries, like, a lot. However, his character really progresses throughout the story when he is forced to make some tough calls, and his relationship with Lada is complex and not so clean cut, which I enjoyed. 

In terms of Mehmed, who could be counted as the main love interest in this book, I didn't much care for him, if I'm honest. I liked him at the beginning, however he is very self-entitled and absorbed, extremely religious, and keeps a tonne of concubines in his harem. There is a bit of a love triangle between him, Lada, and Radu, but it is made explicitly clear that Mehmed only has feelings for Lada which makes the love element less awkward. However, I finished the book feeling overwhelmingly that Lada was far too food for Mehmed. Sorry, dude. 

Furthermore, in terms of Mehmed's security, it's practically non existent. You think the Sultan would have better access to guards and weapons, and you know, protection. But clearly not. I guess this all lends to the idea that everyone always wants to kill whoever is in charge, and this case, it's Mehmed.

There is a plethora of minor and supporting characters in this novel which can at times get a little confusing, however there are some truly noteworthy additions like Huma, Mara, and Kumal. Every character is so distinct from the other, there's really a bag of personalities, and I'm sure readers will find someone to connect with. 

The plot is reasonably paced, with elements of action, and twists and turns here and there, but  a lot is character based, allowing you to experience a lot of satisfying character development. Some sections are more wordy that others, however the level of dialogue to description throughout the novel was reasonable and made for an engaging read. 

Overall, if you're a fan of more dark, gritty novels, then this is definitely one to check out, especially due to the unique setting, which helps to cement this as an engaging and interesting read.