Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: Available Now
496 Pages
Synopsis: Lada Dracul has no allies. No throne. All she has is what she’s always had: herself. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lads is out to punish anyone who crosses 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 if 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 the 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, 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.
Now I Rise picks up directly where the previous book, And I Darken, left off. Lada (the female version of Vlad the Impaler), is set on fulfilling her destiny to become Prince of Wallachia, leaving her younger brother, Radu, behind with Mehmed. The two siblings are separated during the entire book and this not only effects their relationship, but it further shapes them into the leaders they will become. In the first book, you saw how Lada’s brutal childhood at the hands of her father, made her a fierce, determined and courageous potential leader. In this book, all those traits are still visible, but her ruthlessness ultimately takes an even darker turn, resulting in her committing some truly horrific atrocities. You can see she’s not completely heartless by some of the relationships she has with those who are loyal to her. But by the end, she cares nothing about sacrificing innocents if she believes it’s in the greater good. Even some of those who have remained steadfast in their support, begin to question her. Lada is so fixated on her goal that she doesn’t realize she’s turning into someone far worse than her father. Seeing her transform is cringe-worthy at times, yet utterly mesmerizing. Meanwhile, Radu, who was always the lightness to Lada’s darkness, is facing a crisis of conscience. Still suffering from his unrequited love for Mehmed, he becomes a spy for him to aid in the conquest of Constantinople. The longer he’s there, the more conflicted he becomes over whether he’s doing the right thing. His anguish is heartbreaking, and the things he does changes him in many ways by the conclusion. I didn’t really care for Mehmed in the first book, and nothing in this one has changed my mind. Actually, I dislike him even more. He’s a manipulative, power-hungry ruler who has no problem using or betraying the people who care for him, as both Lada and Radu learn. He may be charming and charismatIc, but he continues to leave me unimpressed. There are quite a few secondary characters that stand out as much as the three main characters, and add interesting layers to the already complex story. Now I Rise is even better than it’s predecessor in terms of world-building, character development, and action. Kiersten White has my deepest admiration for her ability to bring history to life. She may veer away from total accuracy at times, but that doesn’t take anything away from the story. While this is technically a YA trilogy, due to the complexity and brutality of the story, I would suggest this for older teens and adults. You also definitely need to read these books in order because otherwise you’ll find yourself completely lost. The ending of this sequel leaves no doubt that Lada, Radu, and Mehmed are on a collision course, which has me eagerly anticipating the final book, which frustratingly won’t come out until next year. In the meantime, if you’re an adult who usually doesn’t read YA, but you like historical fiction, I cannot recommend these books highly enough!
Love this review, Kim. I totally agree. What I love is that even though Lada is one of the main characters, and White has fully developed her, showing her vulnerabilities and humanizing characteristics as well, she is still 100% the anti-hero that she is supposed to be. I actually enjoy seeing Mehmed becoming more of that as well. It is historically accurate and definitely fulfills the expectations I had going into the series. Really liked this one!
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Thanks Krysti! It left me wondering if Radu had gone to her when she asked, would his presence have made a difference. I can’t wait to see what happens in the last book.
And on a completely separate topic, I wanted you to know that I haven’t been ignoring your reviews. For the past week, I can like them, but if I try to leave a comment it gives me an Error 500 alert. I’ve tried commenting using both my Kindle and my laptop, but to no avail. And it’s only with your blog that this is happening which makes things even stranger.😕
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Me too! I am dying to see what she does with all of that in the third book!
Thanks for letting me know! I just did an upgrade of my plan, and it seems to have complicated some things, so I’ll definitely check into it 🙂
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And I’ll keep trying!
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Thanks! I had WP look into it, and they can’t figure it out. 🤷♀️
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😒😡
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I know! 😦
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4.5? That’s almost 5! Must be a very good one, KIm.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I actually changed it to a 5 Pete! Lada is one of the best anti-heroes, I’ve come across.
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5! WOW, that’s a corker.
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😊
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I should remember this trilogy. It’s definetely something I would enjoy plowing through. This review is amazing!
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Thank you so much Bruce! You just made my day! I hope you do read these books and enjoy them as much as I do.🙋
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Ooh! I’m going to start this next week! I’m super excited about it! I didn’t read all the way through this review because I don’t want any spoilers but I love seeing the 5 star rating!!
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I hope you LOVE it! I tried not to include any spoilers.😊
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I don’t know if there were any but you never know when you read review posts! Once I finish I’ll go back and read it!! 🙂
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That’s okay . I almost always do spoiler-free reviews. On the rare occasion I do include one I warn everyone in advance. Spoilers are the worst!
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That’s good to know! I will definitely keep that in mind when I see your reviews!! I haven’t posted my first review yet but I hope to keep them spoiler-free as well!
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I just tried to follow you, but it says that your blog is no longer available.
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Really ! That is weird!
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It’s loveofya.wordpress.com?
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I wonder why it’s saying that!! (Shocked face)
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😕
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Try this… https://thecleverreader.wordpress.com/
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Yes! And I already following you! How embarrassing😒
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I’m glad it worked! I’m also glad you’re already following me!! 🙂
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😊😊😊
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Historical fiction? Sign me up! 😉 😀
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This is so good Felicia! But I have to warn you, there’s lots of blood and gore.
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I don’t mind the gore of the consequences of battle and conflict. But change it to horror and I’m gone! 😧😧😧
Thanks for the heads up! 👍
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I understand Felicia. This is definitely not horror.😊
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I was disappointed with the first book but I’m glad to hear the second book is better. I might give it another chance. Great Review! 🙂
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Thanks Raven! I liked the first book, but found it a bit slow in parts. This one moves much more quickly.😊
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I didn’t love the first book because of the slow pacing but I’m glad to hear the second book is fast paced. I’ll definitely give it a shot! 🙂
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Yay!😊
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So I cheated lol. I have not read this yet and do not read reviews to sequels of series i have yet to start, but had to verify it passed the test with you 😉 Good to see it rated high!
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This was really, really good Danielle! I can’t wait to see how White wraps everything up in the final book.😊
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*looks at web link to this post* Seems like someone hesitated to give this 5 stars! 😛 I heard this series was based on Vlad the Impaler (or was that some other YA series…). I love the sound of this though. It really sounds super dark and awesome. You definitely made me want to give it a shot, even if YA isn’t something I go after often. Awesome review, Kim! 😀
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Yeah. There were a couple of things mainly concerning Mehmed, but honestly Lashaan, the book as a whole is so good I decided not to be picky.
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A sterling review Kim. This looks like my cup of tea.
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Thanks Vinnie! Both books are really great historical retellings!
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IT seems my comment got through OK. Over the last hour, my comments have been disappearing. Please keep a look out in case you find anything in your spam folder. Onto other news, Pete and I had a funny discussion on his latest music post that you should check out. If you do join it and you don’t find my comments, the issue must still be going on. Hope it sorts itself out soon.
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No problems with your comments so far Vinnie. I’ll keep checking my spam folder though.
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Thanks Kim. And be sure to join that conversation on Pete’s post, it’s fun.
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I read the comments Vinnie. Pretty interesting. You have far more courage than I ever did, even when I was skinny and in my early 20s.
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Thanks Kim. Well it was for charity so it seemed worthwhile. You should continue reading the rest of the conversation it gets more amusing.
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I definitely will.
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Appreciate that Kim, I’m off to bed now. Got to catch up on my sleep.
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😴😴😴😴
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I keep hearing amazing things about this trilogy and this author, I need to add her to my tbr! I’m so happy you liked this book even better than the first, I love when that happens! And good luck waiting for the final book to come out next year!
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I need the third book NOW!😕
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