My Thoughts on 'And I Darken': A Series
Review
(Everything above the Discussion Section contains no spoilers.)
The And I Darken series is a historical fantasy that takes us through the journey of 2 siblings as they grow up.
Going into this, I had no idea what to expect, and as I am not much of a historical reader, it was hard to get into. But after reading them all, my ranking stands as:
And I darken: 4/5 stars
Now I Rise: 4/5 stars
Bright We Burn: 5/5 stars
These books were a little bit hard to get into. But not because they had bad or uninteresting writing, but more so because there often wasn’t anything drawing me back in. Once I was reading, I would be hooked for hours, but then I could go days between reading sessions.
This is mostly because the first book especially reads as a collection of short stories about 2 siblings. There wasn't so much plot to sink my teeth into but more characters to follow.
But it is the characters driving this book forward, which is great because I loved the 2 main characters in this book.
We have Lada, a headstrong girl who knows what she wants, will do anything to get it, and is traumatized from childhood.
And Radu: Lada's younger brother, who is charming, softer, and has a lot of trauma from their childhood.
There is conflict: I mean A LOT of conflict. I will say if you don't like gruesome, death, or war-heavy books, the 2nd and 3rd are not for you.
There are lots of little throughlines and some big goals, but no traditional storyline as you might see in other fantasy books.
The characters and relationships in the first book are amazing. The contrast in their personalities, even though they have the same upbringing - and seeing how they react to the same circumstances - was super fun and interesting to read.
The first book really lets you develop a relationship with them. Learning their ins and outs before you reach the other 2 books.
In the second book, I still loved Lada, and I loved her point of view, but I did not enjoy Radu’s that much. His character was a bit annoying at the end of the 1st book for me, and it continued all the way through the second book. Luckily, it ended at the beginning of the 3rd book, which is why I liked the last one so much.
Overall, the story is about the characters as they fight through the trials of life and relationships.
I would say if you are interested in this book from the description and don't have anything else to read, pick it up. It's a good read, with good characters. It can be slow at the beginning, but I at least got sucked in eventually and read the last 2 books in a week and a half. For reference, the first one took me about a month and a half alone.
Discussion Section
And now if you don’t want spoilers, this is where you should stop reading. But if you have read these books or don't care about spoilers, read on, and let's discuss. Because boy, I have a LOT to say.
The main thing I want to discuss in this spoiler segment is Radu and his incessant, and annoying, love for Mehmed.
I thought it was good in the first book; I always love queer characters and enjoyed his perspective on these new feelings he was having. It felt wholesome and gave warmth to his character.
The desperation, want, confusion, and helplessness felt so relatable.
Then he dug his head into a hole and ran himself in circles telling himself it was never going to happen between them… and then forgetting that realization a page later. I think it made sense at the beginning; he was young, he was naive, but a whole book of him like that?
A whole book of him realizing Mehmed will never love him and can't love him like that and he can't keep doing this to himself just to refer to him as ‘his Mehmed’ a chapter later. It got annoying. Fast. I was done with the back and forth fighting with himself in the first book.
I thought it would have been interesting for him to go against Mehmed or just stay neutral because I liked his inner conflict and working for both sides. Those complex emotions reminded me why I liked his character in the first place.
But then, after not seeing Mehmed for so long, after finally starting to develop feelings for someone else, he just goes back and fights for Mehmed?
And I know he doesn't fully go back, and his character in book 3 did make up for it but man I felt he could have been so much cooler in book 2 if he learned his lesson the first 15 times he came to the same realization.
With that being said, I don't have much to say about Lada’s character, there were times she was a bit too hard, or felt a bit one-dimensional but overall I really liked her.
I think it was good having both of their perspectives as well because I don't think I would have been able to read a whole book of just one of them.
The ending is perfect, Lada’s desperation and want to give up on her world and country felt so real, and just the emotional ride she went through the series was so much fun to go on with her. She is such an interesting character, and Radu not killing her and deciding to help her did make me cry.
His happiness felt so perfect too, like I love that for him. They both got what they fought for.
My only complaint is I would have liked Mehmed to die too. But maybe that's just me. I was really hoping Lada would have killed him.
But let me know: have you read the And I Darken series? What did you think of it? What book should I read next?
Let me know in the comments or connect with me on social media!
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