Books I've Read: Now I Rise

I was so excited to read this book.  I absolutely loved And I Darken and devoured the whole thing in a single day.

I didn't love this so much...

Don't get me wrong.  It's still a compelling read, but because so much of the book is focused on war and intrigue, there isn't a lot of room for the characters to grow and change the way they did in the first book.  And while Radu and Lada are in different places, fighting different wars, the brutality is the same for them both.

Neither spend much time with Mehmed who was the centre of both their worlds in the first book, and the chemistry of those relationships is missing here.  In fact, it's relationships in general that are missing.  Lada is a lone wolf who trusts virtually no one, even her own soldiers.  And Radu goes into Constantinople as a spy, so is therefore forced to keep himself at arms length from anyone other than his fake wife (who remains my favourite character).

So while this is an action-packed read, it isn't nearly as compelling as I had hoped it would be.  Fingers crossed the third part of the trilogy will pick up the relationship action alongside the battles and political intrigue.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

She has no allies. No throne. All she has is what she’s always had: herself.

After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada Dracul is out to punish anyone who dares to cross her blood-strewn path. Filled with a white-hot rage, she storms the countryside with her men, accompanied by her childhood friend Bogdan, terrorizing the land. But brute force isn’t getting Lada what she wants. And thinking of Mehmed brings little comfort to her thorny heart. There’s no time to wonder whether he still thinks about her, even loves her. She left him before he could leave her.

What Lada needs is her younger brother Radu’s subtlety and skill. But Mehmed has sent him to Constantinople—and it’s no diplomatic mission. Mehmed wants control of the city, and Radu has earned an unwanted place as a double-crossing spy behind enemy lines. Radu longs for his sister’s fierce confidence—but for the first time in his life, he rejects her unexpected plea for help. Torn between loyalties to faith, to the Ottomans, and to Mehmed, he knows he owes Lada nothing. If she dies, he could never forgive himself—but if he fails in Constantinople, will Mehmed ever forgive him?

As nations fall around them, the Dracul siblings must decide: what will they sacrifice to fulfill their destinies? Empires will topple, thrones will be won…and souls will be lost.