Now I Rise Review

Now I Rise (The Conquerors Saga)

Kiersten White

Released: June 25, 2017

Genre: YA

Rating: 4 stars

Spoilers FOR DAYZ

READ MORE REVIEWS

And I Darken REVIEW

Goodreads Summary:

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.

Woohoo! More Ladaaaaaa ❤

First off, can we acknowledge how badass, fierce, overall amazing this cover is? This is how I always imagined Lada to look like: deadly and hypnotic.

I liked the book but I did not fall in love with it like And I Darken. To be brutally honest, this book is unnecessary and could have been summarized in a few pages. I would have rathered skipped this book in its entirety because the next book looks like there will be more action and revelation. But despite that, I still enjoyed reading it and being introduced to the characters who both excite and frustrate me.

SO BASICally…..

Lada–

Lada is still her fierce, wildcat self, which is awesome. I hate when I read a series and the main female character goes from warrior to housewife.

Lada is frustrated because it has been a year since she set off to reclaim her home and the throne in Wallachia. But like every mission for any throne aka GOT, it obviously takes a while, some slitted throats, allies to betray, and emperors to kiss before that happens.

Lada annoyed me in this book. Yes, I understand that she desperately wants the throne and to reclaim what she lost but goddam, she is stubborn. I guess thats what makes her HER because was a bulldog. Mehmed pretty much offers her everything and she is like nah lol.

But I still love Lada fierceness and the loyalty she inspires. I do worry that she has gotten too bloodthirsty in her pursuit to heal her country and something tells me that power will change her for the worst as she embraces being the “dragon” more than the prince of Wallachia.

Radu–

Oh, Raduuuuu how I despise you. He is the most whinny, naive, and annoying character ever, which I guess, is the point. Radu is STILL fawning Mehmed, despite the fact that Mehmed uses him, does not hide his love for Lada, and literally throws him into the heart of the war.

Mehmed is planning to take over Constantinople and sends Radu to be a spy. Radu struggles with his feelings as he feeds information to Mehmed. I did sympathize with him because it must have been difficult to watch the destruction of Constantinople because of his help.

It was pretty interesting watching the war unfold on the people of Constantinople and the inner strife in the once prominent empire.

It did annoy me that he finds a guy who is in love with him, yet Radu still pines over Mehmed. I mean like c’mon!

Mehmed-

Still in the center of this weird cycle, Mehmed is determined to win the war against Constantinople. Determined to prove himself and stray from those who doubt him and still consider him the “little zealot”, Mehmed is similar to Lada in his stubbornness and determination.

Mehmed is apparently heartbroken when Lada leaves to pursue her throne. Like why are you taking it so personally? *rolls eyes* He betrays Lada in his pursuit to help her and offers to make her the empress of Rome. But he obviously does not know how stubborn Lada is because she rejects him. Does he even like Lada or the idea of her? I am still unsure.

It was pretty obvious that Mehmed knew that Radu loved him, well I guess obvious to everyone except Radu. He should have said something but he did use Radu’s feelings for him to his advantage. That was pretty…bitchy of him lol