Amazing!!! Loved every single word.

I can't wait for the next one.

This trilogy is turning out to be so good. The plot is intricate and detailed. However, there was a point in the book where I felt like both of the POVs (Lada and Radu) weren't doing much of anything. The end made up for it and I can't wait to get to the last book in the series!

After And I Darken, I was hoping the story would pick up some rhythm... It doesn't. I feel nothing happened here (it did, don't get me wrong, but it was sooo slow).
I actually feel sad about this one

4.5

It was ALMOST as good as And I Darken but the siege scenes got extremely repetitive and boring. Also hearing Radu think about why Mehmed didn't love him and pine over him was soooooooo frustrating I can't even. WHY ARE BOTH THESE SIBLINGS SO BENT UPON BEING WIH HUMAN SCUM MEHMED UVHHGW

Find this review and more on my blog.

Now I Rise was, to put it simply, amazing. I completely adored this book!
Lada has returned to Wallachia with a small group of loyal men in hope of retaking her birthright. After several unsuccessful attempts to gain allies among men who see her as merely a girl playing soldier, she reaches out to her brother Radu, still with Mehmed in Edirne, recognizing that it is his skill in diplomacy that she requires.
But Radu has his own woes. Along with secretly advancing Mehmed's plans to take Constantinople and wrestling with his own feelings, Mehmed asks him to act as if he has turned traitor to the Ottomans in order to spy on Constantinople from within their walls. Radu agrees, but meeting the handsome ambassador Cyprian, Emperor Constantine's nephew, makes him begin to question his actions.
Both Lada's and Radu's loyalties are severely tested as they each struggle to decide what is most important to them - and what price they are willing to pay for it.
The characters are really what make this story though the plot and setting are very good. It is still somewhat faithful to historical events, but that is all secondary. The characters are what make this story come alive.
Mehmed comes off as really selfish, to be honest. We find out that he is well aware of Radu's feelings and yet is simply using them. Now I Rise shows a rather different side of Mehmed, one willing to lie and manipulate in order to get what he wants, even if he must betray his friends for it.
Radu on the other hand, might just be my favourite character in this series now (funny, considering how annoying I found him in And I Darken). The inner turmoil he faces at every turn is beautifully portrayed. He is torn between his commitment to his new faith, the Ottomans and most of all, Mehmed, whom he is blindly loyal to. His side of the story, while more engaging than Lada's, is also far more painful. His raw emotion is palpable as the fall of Constantinople is described through Radu's eyes. The way that Radu has grown as a character in this book is definitely praiseworthy.
Lada is more or less the same, bloodthirsty as ever. Frustrated by her lack of success in gathering allies to take the throne, she unleashes her anger on the countryside, leaving a trail of destruction through Transylvania. Her inner circle of ex-Janissaries from Amasya - Stefan, Nicolae, Petru and her childhood friend Bogdan are a strong support system and bring in the rare humourous moment in this narrative just as dark as the last.
As for that ending...well, it was pretty much exactly what I expected of Lada and it was perfection. Now I Rise is much, much, better than And I Darken, and completely worth the read. I'm eager to see where Kiersten White takes her interpretation of this tale, especially considering what happened to these characters in history. It was everything I expected and more!

Lada is the baddest bitch and I love it so much!

"They are soldiers. They depend upon routine, and anything out of the ordinary will give them pause. And they are men. They hate to be insulted, but they love to hear others mocked. And they are fools, because they cannot imagine that a woman alone in the woods would be a threat."

That was AWESOME. I guess it's my "western" ignorance that keeps me thinking of this series as fantasy. It feels, to me at least, like fantasy. And yet, both [b:And I Darken|27190613|And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga, #1)|Kiersten White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449153532s/27190613.jpg|41682914] and [b:Now I Rise|22817331|Now I Rise (The Conqueror's Saga, #2)|Kiersten White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476160834s/22817331.jpg|42367441] are brutal, dark, fictional tales based on historical truth.

I love this reimagining of Vlad the Impaler as a woman called Lada. I love that Lada is allowed to be every bit as mean and bloodthirsty as Vlad, but also, somehow, demand sympathy from the reader. Well, from me anyway. 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 [b:The Young Elites|20821111|The Young Elites (The Young Elites, #1)|Marie Lu|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1407318399s/20821111.jpg|25217978], but she's much nastier than that.

This book is - in short - about the fall of Constantinople and Lada's reclamation of Wallachia (you should read the actual history of this, if you're unfamiliar; it is fascinating). It is split into two stories that rarely meet, but both are extremely exciting and compelling.

Radu is working as an insider within Constantinople and reporting to Mehmed, but the handsome young Cyprian makes him start to wonder where his true loyalties lie. I love the moral conflicts of Radu's character, and the lessons he learns about life and love along the way. Lada, on the other hand, is so fucking badass. She must fight against all the male nobles and soldiers who dismiss her because of her sex, and she is torn between playing by their rules to gain an advantage, and saying "screw it!" and doing her own damn thing. She doesn't disappoint.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the funny banter between Lada and her loyal soldier boys on the road:

"She is so beautiful," Petru whispered, peering through the hedge they hid behind. "You look nothing like her."
Nicolae cringed. "And that, Petru, is why your line will die with you."

And THAT ending. Oh my, it was absolute perfection. I don't know what it says about me that I love reading about Lada and her perspective so much. But as much as she is a tough-as-nails murderess, it's hard not to have a certain admiration for her ingenuity and determination.

Look, I wouldn't come searching for historical accuracy in this series, but if you are looking for some seriously dark, seriously dramatic thrills-- I cannot recommend these books highly enough.

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube