She stands out as one of my favourite characters from all the YA series I've read in recent years, reminding me somewhat of Adelina from The Young Elites, but she's much nastier than that. I love that Lada is allowed to be every bit as mean and bloodthirsty as Vlad, but also, somehow, demand sympathy from the reader.

I love this reimagining of Vlad the Impaler as a woman called Lada. And yet, both And I Darken and Now I Rise are brutal, dark, fictional tales based on historical truth. I guess it's my 'western' ignorance that keeps me thinking of this series as fantasy. And they are fools, because they cannot imagine that a woman alone in the woods would be a threat.' They hate to be insulted, but they love to hear others mocked. They depend upon routine, and anything out of the ordinary will give them pause. If she dies, he could never forgive himself-but if he fails in Constantinople, will Mehmed ever forgive him?Īs nations fall around them, the Dracul siblings must decide: what will they sacrifice to fulfill their destinies? Empires will topple, thrones will be won. Torn between loyalties to faith, to the Ottomans, and to Mehmed, he knows he owes Lada nothing. Radu longs for his sister’s fierce confidence-but for the first time in his life, he rejects her unexpected plea for help. Mehmed wants control of the city, and Radu has earned an unwanted place as a double-crossing spy behind enemy lines. But Mehmed has sent him to Constantinople-and it’s no diplomatic mission. What Lada needs is her younger brother Radu’s subtlety and skill. There’s no time to wonder whether he still thinks about her, even loves her. And thinking of Mehmed brings little comfort to her thorny heart. But brute force isn’t getting Lada what she wants. Filled with a white-hot rage, she storms the countryside with her men, accompanied by her childhood friend Bogdan, terrorizing the land. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada is out to punish anyone who dares to cross her blood-strewn path. All she has is what she’s always had: herself.

|a Turkey |x History |y Mehmed II, 1451-1481 |v Fiction.Lada Dracul has no allies. |a Istanbul (Turkey) |x History |y 15th century |v Fiction. |a Transylvania (Romania) |x History |y 15th century |v Fiction. |a Turkey |x History |y Mehmed II, 1451-1481 |v Juvenile fiction. |a Istanbul (Turkey) |x History |y 15th century |v Juvenile fiction. |a Transylvania (Romania) |x History |y 15th century |v Juvenile fiction. |a Princesses |z Romania |z Transylvania |v Juvenile fiction. |a To build the country she wants, Lada, the brutal ruler of Wallachia, must destroy everything that came before, including her relationships with brother Radu and former love Mehmed, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Bright we burn by kiersten white