“Her spine was steel. Her heart was armor. Her eyes are fire.”
Lada Dragwlya makes these books shine. She is a strong, feisty heroine who never lets any man tell her who she is or what she wants. She is a force to be reckoned with and she proves it time and again. She is ruthless. She is intelligent. Everything is done for a reason. Her ability to think on her feet while remaining her calm and cunning self is astounding!
“Lada spoke with a quiet, clear voice, and the room hushed in surprise. No one expected a girl to speak. She was probably not allowed to. Radu knew Lada would not care either way. ‘On our wedding night,’ she said. ‘I will cut out your tongue and swallow it. Then both tongues will belong to me, and I will be wed only to myself. You will most likely choke to death on your own blood, which will be unfortunate, but I will be both husband and wife and therefore not a widow to be pittied.’”
She doesn’t agree with how they treat women and she isn’t afraid to say it! It’s refreshing!
“I have no desire to be a man,” Lada snapped.
“And yet you wear trousers and train with the Janissaries.”
“Yes, when otherwise I could be sitting in this room with you, invisible, sewing and growing old. How strange I should choose something else.”
Lada is a girl who will not let her gender define her life. She was built to command armies.
Radu or “Radu the handsome” is everything that Lada isn’t. He’s shy and polite and maneuvers politics with strategy. He is smart and silent. He bides his time before he strikes and that’s why he seems less threatening than his sister. But his mind and social ability make him a threat and I can’t wait to see him in the next book and I wonder how his marriage will influence his feelings for Mehmed.
The moment he saved Lada from Ilyas, their friendship started to rebuild itself and that was really great to see. A good addition to wrap up the first book in a series.
“You saved me,” she said.
“Of course I did.”
She shook her head. “Not when I was falling. When Ilyas had us both on the floor. You chose me over Mehmed.”
“You are my family,” he whispered.
Radu and Lada haven’t had the best relationship throughout their childhood. They were never really on the same page and this scene just warmed my heart. It was adorable.
Sparks flew between her and Mehmed and it was great because it was unlikely. Lada was often described as ugly because her features were sharp and different and many times her demeanor was unfeminine. A romance didn’t seem like something she would pursue and she didn’t, it just sort of happened. He never wanted her to be anything but herself and that was beautiful.
“You look ridiculous. Armor suits you far more than silk.”
The love story between these two helped build the story up rather than tear it down. This made it hurt so much more when he asked Lada to marry him and she refused. Not because she didn’t love him (we all know that she does) but because she wants to claim her birthright! She’s a girl who wants to go home. A proud Wallachian. I’m still routing for these two, don’t get me wrong I want to see Lada thrive and she can’t do that with him by her side.
With all the tension in this book I was really glad to see Kiersten White add humour to liven it up. There are several times where Lada says something or does something, unladylike (shocker haha) and that’s where White took advantage and slipped in some humour. A common thread was seen through her friendship with fellow Wallachian and Janissary, Nicolae who wouldn’t let her gender stop her from training and learning from him.
“I think of you like a sister,” he said. “Like a brilliant, violent, occasionally terrifying sister that I would follow to the ends of the earth, in part because I respected her so much and in part because I feared what she would do to me if I refused.”
She nodded. “I would do awful things.”
Nicolae laughed. “The most awful.”
“And then I would steal your horse lover, to spite you.”
“Your cruelty knows no bounds.”
Every scene with these two was great and allowed a brief pause in the otherwise very tense atmosphere.
When Lada and her Janissaries tried to infiltrate the Sultan’s chambers via the Harem it was also hilarious! The bonds she shares with these men are the kind that her and Radu misplaced during their childhood. I was really happy that she had them to fall back on, plus she also had her brother who despite having every reason to hate her, when it really mattered he was there for her and not what drove them apart (Mehmed).
Radu rubbed his chin, then smiled. “I am well known to be a favourite of Murad’s. Follow me. And try to look like women.”
“How do I do that?” Petru grumbled.
“Watch Lada?” Matei suggested.
“Short steps,” Lada said. “Make your body curve wherever you can. Shoulders rounded, hips swaying. Walk as though you have nothing between your legs, which should not be a problem for Nicolae or Petru.”
I’m so excited to see what happens next in this series! I’m intrigued to see what role Nazira will play and I also want to see Wallachia.
Has it fallen to ruin?
And if her father is dead, who is on the throne?