What I've been READING

Like a lot of books I have read recently, this book didn't draw me in at first. I found Han, one of the main male characters, a bore. But I read further and the characters developed and began to like it more. This book doesn't make my favourite books but I did like it, and will probably read the others.
 Raisa was my favourite character.
Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch.
 Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family. The only thing of value he has is something he can't sell—the thick silver cuffs he's worn since birth. They're clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off.
One day, Han and his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them.
Meanwhile, Raisa ana'Marianna, princess heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of freedom in the mountains—riding, hunting, and working the famous Clan markets. Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But her mother has other plans for her...


It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.
This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the colour of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she had the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.
Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City, The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.
If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was.
The mesmerising prequel to Graceling, Fire had me staying up all night finishing. I loved the characters and the beautiful Dells. I wouldn't recommend this to people who haven't read Graceling, but if you have you should go read this, and if you haven't you should go read Graceling and then this. I loved it.

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.


Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.


But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point. 
This book was written well and had an intriguing plot and characters. It was very good but I was expecting AMAZING for some reason as And I Darken is such a cool name for a book. My favourite character was the protagonist, Lada Dracul, Daughter of Wallachia. I plan on reading the second book in this series. 

I'm not going to tell you what this is about because it will spoil the first Wires and Nerve and The Lunar Chronicles!
Anyway, I really enjoyed this graphic novel. Read TLC. Then read Wires and Nerve. Then read this. Then Stars Above and Fairest if you liked what you were reading! LA LA LA LA!!!!! I'm going crazy now so see you in my next blog!