And I Darken Review

Author: Kiersten White

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Historical 

Rating: 5 stars

If there is one thing I trust, it's my gut. And my gut knew one page in, thatAnd I Darken would become my favourite novel of the year. 

"The price of living seems to always be death.And that is why you become a dealer of death. You feed death as many people as you can to keep it full and content so its eye stays off you.” 

I feel as though 5 stars is an under-statement to the EPICNESS that is this novel. It was pure gold. It was beautiful, complex and encompassing. Most importantly, It was very smart. 

“We are that tree,” he said, then rode ahead. Lada pulled on the reins to make her horse, a docile and dull-brown creature, pause. She studied the tree squeezing life out of stone. It was twisted and small but green, growing sideways in defiance of gravity. It lived where nothing had any business thriving. 

And I Darken is a story about Lada, the daughter of Vladimir Dracul, The Dragon, and the Emporer of Walachia. (This is not a paranormal novel, there are no vampires and Vladimir is not portrayed as such). Lada and her little brother Radu are kept as "prisoners" by the Ottoman Empire to ensure cooperation from Vladimir. At the capital, they both take companionship with the Sultan's third and outcasted son, Mehmed. And I Darken is a story of Lada and Radu's journey in this foreign land. There is a lot to be learnt, a lot of mistakes to be made and a lot of loyalty to gain and maintain. There is a lot of court politics, espionage, alliances, back handed dealings, power and sacrifice. 

A dragon burned everything around herself until it was purified in ash. 

If I would take anything from And I Darken is the power of Sacrifice. 

When they prayed together, Radu felt it more deeply than when he prayed alone, as though Mehmed’s very soul was stronger than everyone’s around him. 

I kept my review short because everyone should experience this novel with a naked un-adulterated eye. Make what you will from it. Some people love it and some people hate it. No one can deny the lasting impression.....

....... And I Darken forces you to listen. 

"It would mean I was set aside and forgotten, and I would rather die than be forgotten.”
"I am no longer the daughter of the dragon.” She lifted her chin, sights set on the horizon. “I am the dragon.”

                                             Find this novel on Amazon and Goodreads.

Goodreads | Tumblr | Instagram | Photoblog

Wolf by Wolf Review

Author: Ryan Graudin

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Rating: 5 stars

Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin is one of the greatest examples of a "what if?" story told well. That is an understatement. It is the best YA alternate reality novel I have read so far. This not because it was overly complex, it is actually the opposite. I fell in love with the simplicity of the world. It also scared me. How easy this world could have been ours. Graudin makes us remember and most importantly, acknowledge our own past history. 

She was going to cross the world and change it. Or die trying. 

In this alternate universe, Germany wins World War Two, the science experiments done on patients have actually succeed, and lebensraum is occurring in full force. A whole world is being oppressed with no one brave enough to try and change it. Yael sets out to change the world, not intentionally at first. Her destiny seems to be already written, her story sung through the howls of her wolves. She is not your typical heroine, who naturally has macho strength and an unwavering confidence in her goal. She is human, she has to work for everything, literally sweating blood and tears. She isn't infallible and her vulnerability adds so many layers to her personality. She is one of the strongest heroines.

The death camp’s song rose from every corner of the night. Not wolves. Just people. Crying and crying and crying. She howled with them. 

Yael's story begins at the concentration camps, where her and her mother are sent when she is young. From the offset, a doctor at the camp sees something unique in her, something Yael can't even see yet. He picks her out of the line immediately and she becomes his experiment. Every few days, drugs are pumped into Yael, changing her from the inside. Yael begins to experience the side effects of these drugs. She slowly loses her innocence and her identity within the concentration camp. It is hard to remember who you are when you existence is compounded down into numbers on your arm. 

She’d already lost her face. She could not let the rest of herself (however dark, however broken) slip away. So she traced and she named. She hurt and she raged. She remembered. 

However, Yael gets the opportunity to escape the camp and she takes it. She joins a rebel force that is planning on bringing an end to the Third Reich. Yael is essentially a lone wolf in the world. Being part of a cause lets her feel needed, wanted and most importantly seen. The only way the Third Reich can end is if Hitler himself dies. Now finding an opportunity to execute (pun intended) the plan presents itself in the Axis Tour, a motorcycle competition around the globe. 

"They need to know they’re not alone.” Not alone. It was a cruel irony that this was the message she had been chosen to deliver. She, the loneliest of all. The girl without a people. Without a face. The girl who was no one. Who could be everyone. 

Yael impersonates last year's victor Adele Wolfe and joins the game. The winner gets one dance with Hitler at the ball, which is the opportunity the resistance needs. She soon realises that this competition is the last of her problems. With Adele's love interest and brother watching her every move, her walls begin to crack. She has to win this competition, keep her secret from Luka and Felix, and ultimately save the world. 

"But there are two truths I’m sure of.”

“What?”

“I care for you.” 

It was the most sincere, unflinching thing Yael had ever heard him say. 

I honestly loved everything about this story down to its core. The themes of finding one's identity, sacrifice for the greater good, and love are poetically and beautifully presented inWolf By Wolf . There isn't much action or plot but a lot of introspection. It is psychologically and emotionally captivating. The side characters were all so unique and enigmatic. I honestly think they can all get their own story. This novel wouldn't have been the same without Felix's unwavering love for Adele and his family, Luka's charismatic personality, which constantly tested and confused Yael, and finally Yael's five wolves. 

“I decided I couldn’t be afraid of my own life. My own reflection. So every morning I make myself look in a mirror for five minutes. Face it all.” 

Wolf By Wolf is an extraordinary story. Ryan Graudin should be so proud. 

There was still beauty in this world. And it was worth fighting for.

Find this novel on Amazon and Goodreads.

Goodreads | Tumblr | Instagram | Photoblog