And I Darken - Keirsten White

"No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets."

Well, holy shit. Even with the positive reviews rolling in, that was completely unexpected. How do I begin to explain this vicious little nightmare of a book? All I know is: it's different to anything else I've read.

It is dark, gritty and compelling. It pulled me into its darkness from the very first chapter and I didn't come up for air until I'd finished all 496 pages of it. It's the kind of book that is everything that hooks you, fuelling your rage and your desperate need to turn the page, whilst also being a well-written, highly-original story.

"Fantasy" is a loose term for this book. You won't find any Throne of Glass-esque heroines or magic here. It's more alternate history, set in Transylvania at the height of the Ottoman Empire (based on history, though not historically accurate), and richer, more political than typical YA fantasy, and much nastier. 

Lada is a freaking fantastic, psychotic heroine. She is not one of those faux-antiheroines who proclaim their badassery and never do anything other than defeat the bad guys and fall in love. From the moment she is born, she is fierce, resilient and a little bit, maybe more than a bit, nuts. As she grows, she becomes ever more cold, cruel and calculating. She quickly recognizes what it means to be a woman in this world and she is not playing along. You're never sure whether to hate her, pity her or relate to her.  And I Darken explores Lada's disdain for women and her own confused feelings over whether she should deny or defend her femininity. This is paired with the revelation that there are many kinds of power and women have their own ways of wielding it, biding their time and eventually getting what they want. I will be interested to see how Lada matures in the next books and starts to accept her own femininity as a strength rather than a burden. 

However, though she is fascinating, the book isn't just about Lada. The third person narrative is also about the experiences of her brother - Radu, a beautiful, delicate but highly politically intelligent, boy whose weakness both aggravates Lada and draws her protection. I must admit that the addition of a gay character was completely unexpected but I welcomed him and the theme that came with him with open arms.

The contrast between a girl with traditionally masculine traits and a boy with traditionally feminine traits was a very interesting interplay and raised a lot of intelligent questions. They have a complex sibling relationship, once again quite unlike anything we usually see in YA, and it is filled with frustration, jealousy and misunderstanding. They both want to save and kill each other. 

The setting was beautifully done from both characters POV. Radu sees the Ottomans cities and religion as a place of refuge, beauty and security where Lada sees them as representing everything she hates. The duality of the Ottoman nation is incapsulated in the character of Mehmed, a childhood friend of Lada and Radu who grows up to be the sultan. He is both ruthless and a self proclaimed zealot, wishing to conquer Constantinople for religious reasons even at the expense of his men. He has a haram, which he sees as merely slaves to perform a function. But he also has moments of kindness and real connection with both siblings. 

The romance was not overwhelming, the relationship between Lada and Mehmed was build upon mutual dependency and was so interesting.  A women desperate not to be subjected and a man who has a haram but enjoys her outspokenness. I am not even sure of Lada loves him in a traditional way, she cares for him but not as much as her own sovereignty which I respected and agreed with. I also enjoyed the added layer of complexity that Radu's love for Mehmed added into the story, the inner sibling rivalry, self hatred and the contrast between two remarkably different ways of feeling the emotion of love. 

Age Rating 14+. Some adult themes such as the discovery of sensuality, torture and war.