Download PDF Bright We Burn And I Darken Kiersten White Books
Download As PDF : Bright We Burn And I Darken Kiersten White Books
The tumultuous, edge-of-your-seat conclusion to the New York Times bestselling And I Darken series. Who will live? Who will die? And who will rule triumphant?
SOME LOVES HEAL
Haunted over the unknown fates of Nazira and Cyprian, Radu is called back to the new capital. Mehmed is building an empire, becoming the sultan his people need. But Mehmed has a secret as emperor, he is more powerful than ever . . . and desperately lonely. Does this mean Radu can finally have more with Mehmed . . . and does he even want it?
SOME LOVES DESTROY
Lada's rule of absolute justice has created a Wallachia free of crime. But Lada won't rest until everyone knows that her country's borders are inviolable. Determined to send a message of defiance, she has the bodies of Mehmed's peace envoy delivered to him, leaving Radu and Mehmed with no choice. They must go to war against the girl prince, who has truly become the dragon. If Lada is allowed to continue, only death will prosper.
SOME LOVES NEVER END
Only by destroying everything that came before--including her relationships--can Lada truly build the country she wants. Radu fears that they are underestimating his sister's indomitable will. But Mehmed loves Lada. He knows that he understands her. She must lose to him so he can keep her safe. It is the only way . . . isn't it?
Claim the throne. Demand the crown. Rule the world. And don't miss Kiersten White's new novel, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, on sale now!
"Rich. . . . A worthy end to a powerful saga." --Booklist
"An intense, engrossing read that never loses sight of its passionate characters' humanity, especially when they're at their worst." --Kirkus Reviews
Praise for And I Darken
"Absolutely riveting." --Alexandra Bracken, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Darkest Minds
"Required reading for every feminist fantasy fan." --BuzzFeed
"Evocative. . . . This book takes no prisoners." --NPR
Praise for Now I Rise
"A+, 5 knives." --Amie Kaufman, New York Times bestselling coauthor of the Starbound and Illuminae Files trilogies
"Fierce, epic, and crazy-fun." --Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood
Download PDF Bright We Burn And I Darken Kiersten White Books
"There are not enough positive words that I need to express my love for this trilogy. This is the third novel in this series and I have to say that I was not disappointed at all at how it ended. I'm just disappointed that it ended! There's so much history in this trilogy and it's amazing to finally put that history into a context that's relatable. The characters were amazing and their relationships were written well."
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Bright We Burn And I Darken Kiersten White Books Reviews :
Bright We Burn And I Darken Kiersten White Books Reviews
- When I started this book I felt very clear of one thing There is no way Mehmed, Radu, and Lada would make it all out alive.
It was also obvious that Lada would not take kindly to being told how to rebuild HER Wallachia.
I will say that my initial conviction was, in a way, true. But I won't spoil you (those will be below the jump).
Bright We Burn was everything the ending to a complex, deeply woven fantasy should be. It also saw all the characters finally being true to themselves. Lada was always true to herself, but Radu denied himself certain things because he was blindsided by his love for Mehmed, and Mehmed, even though he awarded Wallachia to Lada, was not happy by the way she was ruling and was ready and willing to go to war, as it seemed the son of Murad was always in the mindset for.
Early in the novel, we learn from some peasants about Prince Lada and how she is perceived -- and everyone in Wallachia, minus the boyars -- are starting to experience prosperity in the way Lada intended.
This was extremely fulfilling, right from the beginning, to see that she was able to do what she set out to do. That her gut instincts were leading her people to a better tomorrow. And she was doing what no prince had done before, yet she was a WOMAN. Once again, the feminist tone could not possibly be ignored.
It also sees Radu finally choose HIMSELF over Mehmed in so many ways, which was so incredibly refreshing. To me, he'd gotten a little annoying, but seeing him finally take a stand or some things was really satisfying.
I gave this final installment 5 HEARTS because I felt it successfully wrapped up the story and each character's story line.
Here's where it gets spoilery ...
From the beginning of the book (and really the end of Now I Rise), Mehmed has requested an audience with Lada, which she denies by killing all the Janissaries Mehmed sent to deliver the message and escort her and sends them back in boxes. Next, when Lada is expecting a visit from Radu, she instead finds herself face to face with Kumal Pasha, who she has long harbored a grudge against, as she sees him as a wedge between her and Radu. So she murders him.
All the while Radu is off in Bursa -- he has finally heard from someone that Nazira is there and that she is safe after only just escaping the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans.
After her actions, Mehmed and Radu have no choice but to fight Lada with the intent of reinstalling one of the Danesti brothers to the throne. While Lada's men and her clever trickery send him through a landscape of pitfalls and problems at every turn, seriously delaying their trip to Tirgoviste, they do eventually arrive to find the palace empty. Lada and her people -- all of them, soldiers, families, peasants, are all at the fortress in the mountain.
But none of this happens before Lada, like a moth to a flame, finds Mehmed again and they sleep together. They negotiate the terms of a treaty, but Lada rethinks it and nearly kill Mehmed in the process -- and Radu nearly kills Lada.
Not long after she and her people make it to the fortress, she is captured by Matthias, King of Hungary, who imprisons her and puts her nurse to work in the kitchen. Luckily, Stefan has been posing as a cleaning worker, and after nearly four months, she escapes, and discovers that she is with Mehmed's child -- though she couldn't been 100% sure until after she was born, since she was sleeping with Bogdan, too.
Together, Radu eventually finds a way to end the war and install first, himself as prince, but then, eventually reinstating Lada. And when she gives birth, she gives the baby to Radu, Nazira, Fatima, and Cyprian, Radu's husband-to-be.
I think the most satisfying part of this book was that Radu finally found love -- true love, not one-sided love.
I do wish we got to see more of Lada's daughter as she was growing up. The prologue was too little, too fast for me.
But despite that, I still give this novel 5 HEARTS! - “Without Radu to gently push her in new directions, she was turning into the most brutal version possible of herself.â€
The quote above is both the culmination and problem with Bright We Burn, Kiersten White’s final book in her trilogy about Vlad the Impaler (if Vlad were a girl named Lada).
Lada has grown truly ruthless now, willing to kill thousands—and earn her nickname by displaying their bodies on stakes—to cement her claim to the throne of Wallachia and free it from vassalage to the Ottoman throne. This is in keeping with her character, but unfortunately so is the personal vendetta Lada wages at the same time against Mehmed, the Ottoman ruler. Their tortured love results in even more bloodshed and makes them both hard to like by the end.
As a counterpoint, White presents Radu, Lada’s brother, as an example of what can happen when a smart, capable person seeks love instead of power. He doesn’t become a legend like Lada or achieve Mehmed’s lasting influence, but he also comes closer to finding peace than his childhood playmates. It’s a nice thought, and Radu is easily my favorite of the three. I wonder if he was White’s as well. At one point, when he finally reconciles being gay with being devout, she has him say this “I believe that God is merciful and great and beyond our comprehension. And Nazira [Radu’s wife for appearance’s sake] always told me she feels closest to God when she feels love. I think she is right. In a way, love is the highest expression of faith—in ourselves, in others, in the world. I can expand my faith to allow myself happiness in this life, and trust in God’s love and mercy after this life.†I liked this thought too.
Yet even though Radu gets nearly as many point-of-view chapters as his sister, the story revolves around her. Lada’s evolution from captive to rebel to ruler remains the draw, and it’s why I picked up the series in the first place—“A female Vlad the Impaler†is a heck of a tagline. So does it work? I thought so through the first two books, but I’m less sold after finishing the third. White tries to make Lada sympathetic by having her upend the Wallachian social structure, empowering peasants on the basis of merit rather than birth. I’m not sure how accurate this is. But if the real Vlad was in fact a populist, and the series was meant in part to suggest how he’s been misunderstood—and why he was willing to be so brutal—casting him as a woman complicates that narrative. Lada is ultimately fighting to take her place in a man’s world; her historical counterpart already had one.
Bright We Burn also suffers from a weak ending, with the last several decades of Lada’s life crammed into a few chapters. But I’m still glad I finished it. White is a talented writer, and Lada a character worth following.
I just wish I’d liked her as much as her brother. - The third book in the And I Darken series, this continues to follow Lada and Radu, two siblings who were raised as captives and also companions of the future sultan in the Ottoman Empire. Spoilers ahead for those who haven't read the first two books - I highly suggest reading them first!
The two choose very different paths after the first book and this book picks up with Lada on the Wallachian throne and Radu at the sultan's side, both dealing with the aftermath of difficult, brutal decisions they had to make in previous books. Both characters will have to ultimately decide who they want to be, whether they can change, and how much their love for each other does or doesn't mean.
The whole series is incredible - one of my favorite historical fiction finds of all time. Highly highly recommended. - This was an EXCELLENT end to an amazing trilogy of books. To be honest, it was also my favorite in the series. Lots of action, some twists and turns, and most importantly, the bittersweet conclusion of Radu's, Lada's and Mehmed's stories. The story closely follows Radu and Lada with Mehmed taking a backseat role, which was very appropriate for the story. Lada especially shines in this book, and she and Radu take center stage as both hero and villain alike. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll just reiterate that this book does the series justice and puts a very satisfying end to everything.
- There are not enough positive words that I need to express my love for this trilogy. This is the third novel in this series and I have to say that I was not disappointed at all at how it ended. I'm just disappointed that it ended! There's so much history in this trilogy and it's amazing to finally put that history into a context that's relatable. The characters were amazing and their relationships were written well.
