Is everyone as excited for this book as I am?! Huge thank you to Rockstar Book Tours for including me on this EPIC TOUR!!! Be sure to go to their site, link in the photo above or HERE to go check out their site! They have amazing tours happening all the time, so it’s well worth the visit!

Before we dive into this review, and oh, do I have THE FEELS from this book! Remember, this is the third book in the trilogy, so there may be unintentional spoilers in the synopsis and review. Be warned if you haven’t read And I Darken or Now I Rise. Which, if you haven’t, GO READ THEM!!!

“She would fight with tooth and nail, with all the fire and blood that had formed her into who she was. She was a dragon. She was a prince. She was a woman. It was the last that scared them most of all. She smiled.”

Radu has spent his entire life loving Mehmed. He chose him time and time again, even over his own sister. But after a year in Constantinople, having seen the truth of who he is to the sultan, Radu is haunted. Haunted by his missing wife and friend. Haunted by the things he once wanted. Yet, when Mehmed calls, Radu still answers.

Meanwhile, Lada, having attained her throne despite all efforts to block her, works on her own methods of ruling. Vicious and fierce, she has nonetheless made her roads safe and turned the people to love her. But it isn’t enough. She needs to be sure her borders are impenetrable. In a message of defiance to Mehmed and all he represents, she sends the bodies of envoys back.

Having finally pushed Mehmed too far, he moves to wage war against her, forcing Radu to once again choose a side. Lada is willing to lose everything to rebuild Wallachia the way she sees fit. Mehmed still sees nothing but what he wants in her. Radu fears that they will both stop at nothing until they have what they want. Even if it kills them all.

“He had all the power in the world, and he would extend none to help me. He did not want to see me succeed. He only cared about me in relation to himself.”

After the first two books, and the slow burn build to the legacy we know Lada’s character, I devoured this book. DEVOURED! Holy daggers, was this book intense! Bright We Burn has everything I wanted in the conclusion. Heartbreak. Self-discovery. Betrayal. Murder. Lots of murder. And, of course, we get to see the impaling side of things. I was left breathless!

I don’t know what I was expecting either. How can you possible wrap such an epic story up in a single book? Very carefully, is apparently the answer, because White manages to give us a satisfying story arc, along with a satisfying, and extremely unexpected ending. I will not say whether it was good or bad, happy or sad, but after ruminating on it all afternoon, I think it was perfect. It was exactly the ending both the characters and the plot line deserved, and I hope that perhaps it also opens the door for a spin off. One can only hope, anyway.

“It had felt unavoidable at the time, but how many unavoidable choices of his had resulted in unforgivable consequences?”

Once again, both Lada and Radu go not just on a journey through politics and war, but through one of self-discovery. All three books have been immensely satisfying from the human perspective. They have to face the ideas of harsh religion and strict social structures, with who they know themselves and their inner beliefs to be. I have loved, and still love, how entirely human all of these characters feel. They are flawed in such a realistic way, it becomes difficult to remember they’re fiction.

I think this is always more apparent in Radu, but that doesn’t mean Lada doesn’t go through the same process. While Radu seeks love and acceptance, Lada is burdened with the difficulty of trust. But she also struggles with the concept of love. I adore that while both siblings are very different personalities, they go through so much of the same emotional growth and challenges. It surfaces in different ways, but the core of their struggle is incredibly similar.

“The more Radu knew the women around him, the more he wondered if any of them were not secretly terrifying.”

Even though this book is brutal, and Lada brings EVERYTHING to her fight for Wallachia, White does a magnificent job balancing the brutality with humor and emotional discovery. That isn’t to say this book won’t leave you reeling. Because it will. There was so much action and betrayal, it made my head spin! But you have plenty of heartfelt moments that make you smile despite the harsh reality surrounding the characters. Again, this felt real. Life goes on, even during war.

My one complaint, is that parts of this book felt rushed. I don’t know if there were concerns over length, or not wanting to extend past a trilogy, but I do wish that some of the plot twists had been drawn out in the same beautiful fashion as the previous two books. Being submersed in everything Radu and Lada is an experience. One I’ve gotten used to taking time and relishing the details. Bright We Burn still feels the same, for the most part, but there were a few parts that stood out as rushed. Or clipped. I would have loved another book, which I think it could have been easily justified. Or, at the very least, a longer book.

Bottom line is this: If you loved the first two books, go get the conclusion immediately. It is epic and memorable, and an amazing read. And then come back here and let’s talk everything LADA DRACUL!!!

Once again, I am very thankful to Rockstar Book Tours and Delacorte Press for sending me this beautiful finished copy and including me on this tour! Be sure to enter the giveaway below and take the time to visit the rest of the tour stops. You won’t regret it!

 

Title: BRIGHT WE BURN

Author: Kiersten White

Pub. Date: July 10, 2018

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Pages: 416

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Audible, B&N, iBooks, TBD

 

 

Haunted by the sacrifices he made in Constantinople, Radu is called back to the new capital. Mehmed is building an empire, becoming the sultan his people need. But Mehmed has a secret: as emperor, he is more powerful than ever . . . and desperately lonely. Does this mean Radu can finally have more with Mehmed . . . and would he even want it? 

Lada’s rule of absolute justice has created a Wallachia free of crime. But Lada won’t rest until everyone knows that her country’s borders are inviolable. Determined to send a message of defiance, she has the bodies of Mehmed’s peace envoy delivered to him, leaving Radu and Mehmed with no choice. If Lada is allowed to continue, only death will prosper. They must go to war against the girl prince. 

But Mehmed knows that he loves her. He understands her. She must lose to him so he can keep her safe. Radu alone fears that they are underestimating his sister’s indomitable will. Only by destroying everything that came before–including her relationships–can Lada truly build the country she wants. 

Claim the throne. Demand the crown. Rule the world.

 

 

Title: NOW I RISE

Author: Kiersten White

Pub. Date: Jume 27, 2017

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Pages: 496

Find it: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD, Audible,  Goodreads

Lada Dracul has no allies. No throne. All she has is what she’s always had: herself. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada 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. 

 

Title: AND I DARKEN

Author: Kiersten White

Pub. Date: June 28, 2016

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, audiobook

Find it: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Audible, TBD, Goodreads

 

 

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.

 

Kiersten White is the NYT bestselling author of the Paranormalcy trilogy, the Mind Games series, Illusions of Fate, The Chaos of Stars, In the Shadows with artist Jim Di Bartolo, and the upcoming historical reimagining, And I Darken. She has one tall husband and three small children and lives near the ocean, where her life is perfectly normal. Visit her at http://www.kierstenwhite.com.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

 

3 Winners will receive a finished copy of BRIGHT WE BURN, US Only.

Click the photo above, or HERE to enter!

Wait! Before you go, check out the rest of the tour! There are excerpts and interviews and lots of reviews!!!

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

6/25/2018- Here’s to Happy Endings– Review- Books 1 & 2

6/26/2018- Pandora’s Books– Excerpt

6/27/2018- Two Chicks on Books– Interview

6/28/2018- Jena Brown Writes– Review

6/29/2018- The Hermit Librarian– Interview

Week Two:

7/2/2018- The Desert Bibliophile– Review

7/3/2018- PaperTrailYA– Review

7/4/2018- Wonder Struck– Review

7/5/2018- The Pages In-Between– Review

7/6/2018- Beware Of The Reader– Review

Week Three:

7/9/2018- Lisa Loves Literature– Review

7/10/2018- Omg Books and More Books– Review

7/11/2018- Rhythmicbooktrovert– Review

7/12/2018- Wishful Endings– Review

7/13/2018- A Dream Within A Dream– Review

Week Four:

7/16/2018- The Clever Reader– Review

7/17/2018- Under the Book Cover– Review

7/18/2018- mall3tg1rl– Review

7/19/2018- The Book Nut– Review

7/20/2018- lori’s Little House of Reviews– Review