The New York Times Bestseller!
“Absolutely riveting.” —Alexandra Bracken, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Darkest Minds
Imagine HBO’s Game of Thrones, but set in the mesmerizing world of the Ottoman Empire. This book sweeps you into a realm of political intrigue, fierce passion, and a heroine who won't back down. Fans of Victoria Aveyard’s THE RED QUEEN or Sabaa Tahir’s AN EMBER IN THE ASHES, won't want to miss this novel, the first in the And I Darken series.
"Evocative. . . . This book takes no prisoners." --NPR
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, who’s expected to rule a nation, 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.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken.
“A dark and twisty fantasy . . . think Game of Thrones, but with teens.”—Seventeen
“Sinister, suspenseful, and unapologetically feminist.”—Buzzfeed
“Will completely spin you into another time and place.”—Bustle
“Takes no prisoners, offering up brutal, emotional historical fiction.”—NPR.org
An ALA Rainbow List Top Ten Selection