And I Darken
And I Darken is an alternate history novel, told as if Vlad the Impaler was a girl. It follows violent Lada and her sweet brother Radu throughout their lives in the 15th Century Ottoman Empire. They are the children of the ruler of Wallachia, but he surrenders them to the Ottomans in place of his own life and his safety. The story shows us what Lada and Radu have to go through in navigating the Ottoman courts and culture. Goodreads link here.
I gave this book 3/5 stars. I enjoyed this book, but I did have some problems with it. Similar to Stalking Jack the Ripper (review here), it is a historical novel with a female main character. They were both fighting for their rights to be included and treated like equals, but I think Lada was too forceful about it. She frightened people into respecting people, which got old very quickly. Instead of trying to be being treated like a man, she treated people like she was a monster. She complained a lot about not being equals with men, but they did not respect her because she did not respect them. I became very frustrated with this and it almost caused me to stop reading the book.
This story was a retelling of Vlad the Impaler, but I did not understand how she was supposed to be Vlad the Impaler. They share the same family, origin, and love for violence, but past that I do not see how she will go onto being the Vlad the Impaler we all know. I think her not being a man really limits how far the author can take the similarities, especially considering the time period. I am not entirely sure where the next book is going, but I know this book took Vlad the Impaler’s life as inspiration and ran the opposite direction with the story line.
I also found the “love triangle” rather odd, underdeveloped, and unnecessary. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the love triangle does not contain the three characters you would expect. They were all peculiar and I didn’t feel any real love between any of them. It made the plot far more complicated than it needed to be and was so incredibly unnecessary.
Yet, despite all of that, I did enjoy the book. The relationships between the characters were deep and complex, as they wound through many years. I loved watching Lada and Radu grow up. It was interesting to see how they changed as people came and went from their life. There were lots of side characters, which I do not mind. In fact, I think the number of characters added a lot to this book. They made and lost and remade so many friends and enemies, which insured there was always someone there to support them in times of need.
The plot moved at an okay pace, but what really kept me engaged was the political intrigue. The Ottoman Empire in the 15th Century was no easy place and I think the author did a wonderful job illustrating how the country and its courts ran. There was clearly lots of research that went into this book and I appreciated that.
Overall, I didn’t love this book, but it was worth the read. I had a few problems with, and while they were rather major, I was still able to enjoy the book for what it was. I do think I will continue on with the series because I am interested in how everything ties together.
Have you read And I Darken? What were your thoughts? Please comment below! I would love to hear from you!
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