We're kicking off the Read-Along for And I Darken by Kiersten White! #AndIDarkenRA @denabooks


The "And I Darken Read-Along" has officially launched! Dena over at Batch of Books and I (Tressa at Wishful Endings) are excited to be reading this one and hope you'll join us! 

You can follow along either by just checking out our posts or reading along with us (grab an ARC, a copy from the library, or purchase one). We'll be using the #AndIDarkenRA hashtag and please tag Dena (@denabooks on Twitter and @batchofbooks on Instagram) and I (@tressherm on Twitter, @wishfulendings on Instagram) as well. Let us know if you're going to read with us by leaving a comment below with a link to wherever you'll be leaving your thoughts.

You can check out Dena's kick-off post here.

Now for the exciting part of today (besides starting this highly recommended read, of course ðŸ˜‰), Kiersten is sharing some fun facts about the book!! Definitely check that out and enter the giveaway below...

Top Ten Random Facts Behind AND I DARKEN

1. I owe a debt to students everywhere who publish random master’s theses online, allowing me to benefit from their research into obscure topics like 15th century Ottoman fashion.

2. I didn’t know Transylvania was a real place until I started dating a cute boy who had just come back from living there. We’re married now, AND I’ve been to Transylvania. Wins all around.

3. Many of the characters in And I Darken are based entirely on actual historical figures. But I make readers go on a research binge to find out who is based in history and who is totally made up.

4. I can always tell in an audience which teens will raise their hands when I say, “Who knows who Vlad the Impaler was?”

5. Vlad the Impaler was also known as Vlad Dracul. If that seems familiar, it’s because he’s the alleged inspiration behind Dracula. Yeah, that Dracula. But historical Vlad was way worse and way more interesting.

6. When asked why I chose to gender-swap a notoriously violent 15th century prince of a relatively obscure country, I answer with the obvious: impaling is the next big trend in YA literature, and I wanted to be first.

7. I sometimes lose track of what is actual history versus what I made up. It gets really confusing telling people about the relationships between Vlad, Radu, and Mehmed. “She—I mean he—I mean…”

8. I answered an interview question recently with how much I’d love to visit Constantinople. I do, in fact, know it’s Istanbul. But again: living with too much history in my head.

9. I am now the girl everyone—EVERYONE—sends that link to a news article about how “Dracula’s Real Life Castle Is for Sale.” A) I’ve been there. B) It wasn’t ever his. C) It’s not really for sale. But instead of turning into a WELL, ACTUALLY girl, I…no, I totally well, actually them.

10. I sometimes worry my natural tone in interviews and guest posts is so out of touch with historical fiction that people will be really confused about whether or not they want to read my book. You do. I promise.

And I hope you love it as much as I love Transylvania and the boy who introduced it to me.

XOXO
Kiersten

And I Darken
And I Darken
(The Conquerors Saga #1)
by Kiersten White
YA Fantasy, Historical
Hardcover, Paperback & ebook, 496 Pages
June 28th 2016 by Delacorte Press

Summary

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.

From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken.

   
(Affiliate links included.)

Reading Schedule

July 22: Start Reading (four chapters per day)
July 29: Mid-Point, Chapters 1-28
July 24th: Wrap-Up, Chapters 29-55

About the Author


KIERSTEN WHITE is the New York Times bestselling author of the Paranormalcy trilogy; the dark thrillers Mind Games and Perfect LiesThe Chaos of Stars; and Illusions of Fate. She also coauthored In the Shadows with Jim Di Bartolo. She lives with her family near the ocean in San Diego, which, in spite of its perfection, spurs her to dream of faraway places and even further away times.

Coming June 28th is And I Darken, an epic historical based on a gender-swapped Vlad the Impaler. It's filled with love daggers, which are like love triangles only much sharper and way more likely to kill you.


Giveaway

2 Print ARCs of And I Darken by Kiersten White
Provided by the publisher
Ends August 5th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So, are you joining us? What did you think about Kiersten's facts?

No comments

Post a Comment

I love comments! I try to read and reply to them all. Feel free to agree or disagree and generally share your thoughts with me.