🌙 Pictured here is a book called And I Darken by Kiersten White.
I read it a while back and really loved it, though I still haven’t finished the series. I’ve noticed I have some very bad habits of starting loads of series, but its a lot harder to finish them for some reason, even when I love them! I think its because I am always lured away by the next new shiny book object that has caught my eye…
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Anyway, this book is basically an alternative history / gender swap retelling of the Vlad III story, who is of course better known as Vlad the Impaler, the man who inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
I’ve listened to quite a few podcasts about Vlad III recently, and he was a pretty scary guy.
In saying that though, he lived in pretty scary times, and as a very young dude he spent a LOT of time under the very real threat of death as a hostage in the Ottoman empire and even, at one point, in a teeny tiny cell for a long time, while his dad was being murdered and his older brother buried alive … so although obviously it is very bad to impale people (especially thousands and thousands of people!) it still sort of makes sense that young Vlad may have turned out this scary and brutal when he grew up!
History is always super scary.
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This book, though, is beautifully written, historically very detailed and thoughtful, and the characters are amazing. I absolutely loved it.
THANK YOU FOR READING
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PJ Nwosu writes dark mystery novels set in epic fantasy worlds.
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A vast, rotting city set aflame by Purge House.
A crowd gathers in the shadow of the Red Palace to watch the pyres burn.
A bitter ex-soldier infiltrates the city’s greatest gold house, determined to locate the slave he seeks.
Diem Lakein might not like what he finds.
Welcome to the Red Kingdom