Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway: Now I Rise (The Conqueror's Saga #2) by Kiersten White

Book info:

Title:  Now I Rise  
Author:  Kiersten White
Series:  The Conqueror's Saga #2  
Genre:  YA Alternative Historical Fiction
Publisher:  Delacorte Press
Release Date:  June 27th, 2017
Formats:  Hardcover, ebook, audiobook
Pages:  496
Find it:  
--> Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, TBD, Audible,  Goodreads
Synopsis:

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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.   

My review:
My rating:  5 stars
Once again I am blown away by the creative take on this historical tale told in an alternating world where Count Dracula is a girl instead of a man.  So much in this story makes you think.  Just how hard it was for a woman back in that time to be taken serious in any way, especially as a leader.  The fact that she soon figures out how the only way she may be able to get any power like what she wants may be to marry?  Wow.  Such a major development for her as she tries so hard to go after what should rightfully be hers as the oldest child in her family.  There is also all the family drama with her brother Radu, and her love for Mehmed, who still only sees her as not truly being able to have the power she strives for, even as he seems to encourage her to try for it.  

The difference in the fighting between the Christians and the Muslims is also such a thought-provoking aspect, and in the times that we live in, still so very relevant.  That both sides call the other sides infidels.  That each feel they are in the right.  To get the opinion of the Muslims, how they feel about their prayers, and how they feel about the other religion, it's just something that I like to see shown in a YA book, especially the way this author does it.  All I can say is that I am glad there is more to this story, and am going to be very impatient as I wait for next year and the final book.  

If you want to read my review of the first book, you can check it out here:  And I Darken.  


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Title: AND I DARKEN

Author: Kiersten White

Pub. Date: June 28, 2016

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, audiobook

Find it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Audible, TBD, Goodreads  


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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.  

About the Author:

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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 www.kierstenwhite.com.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads   










Giveaway:

--> 3 Winners will receive a finished copy of NOW I RISE, US Only      a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

6/19/2017- Bookfever- Excerpt

6/20/2017- Lisa Loves Literature- Review

6/21/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Interview

6/22/2017- Fiktshun- Review

6/23/2017- Carina's Books- Review

Week Two:

6/26/2017- Dazzled by Books- Review

6/27/2017- Books and Things- Review

6/28/2017- Rattle the Stars- Review

6/29/2017- YABC- Review

6/30/2017- Once Upon A Twilight- Review

Week Three:

7/3/2017- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Interview

7/4/2017- Seeing Double In Neverland- Review

7/5/2017- Fiction Fare- Review

7/6/2017- YA and Wine- Review

7/7/2017- Little Red's Reviews- Review  

Waiting on Wednesday: Now I Rise (And I Darken #2) by Kiersten White

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  This week I'm excited about the sequel to a book that I really was kind of blown away by earlier this year, And I Darken. This just seems like such an original retelling of history, and I love that!  And the cover of the first one was great, but this one is awesome as well!  Here's the blurb from 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.

Have you read the first one?  How does this one sound?  What book or books are you eagerly awaiting this week?

Review: After Dark by James Leck

First, thanks to Kids Can Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an egalley of this title.  I definitely enjoyed it.  It is more of a middle school level title, but not in a bad way.  I loved the main character who was just constantly sarcastic.  I mean even in the middle of danger his responses were snarky.  And I probably love it because my brain works that way so that I have to stop myself from saying those things all the time.  But it was fun to read a story where someone did just let it all out that way.  The reactions he got, well, I've gotten those myself before.  I also love how the names of many characters are from the original Dracula story, even though this isn't necessarily a vampire story, although it is kind of.

The main character is Charlie Harker, who moves to a small town where his mom is renovating a family bed and breakfast for them to live and run.  (Jonathan Harker was the guy in Dracula who went to his castle to help him with his affairs).  He's just finished the school year at his private school, where as usual, he was up to a lot of mischief and causing problems.  He arrives in this small town and is not real excited about it.  For one thing, in the past his family has always gone to the beach or other fancy vacation spots.  Now he's going to have to help his mother renovate the inn, and he doesn't want to spend his summer working, he wants to relax as in the past.  His older brother is an actor in a popular supernatural tv show.  His younger sister is kind of a severe girl, vegan, very into yoga and meditation, as well as martial arts.  They have a crazy uncle that lives there, and after a first strange meeting with him, the uncle disappears. This all leads into the conspiracy theory or whatever you'd call it, that the new boy he meets, Miles Van Helsing, is trying to prove.  (Van Helsing was the vampire hunter in Dracula, if you didn't already know that).  Miles is kind of the town crackpot. The sheriff knows all about him, and when he shows up the first night and is supposedly running from something, he makes Charlie and his mom stay in the house and lock the door because he says they are in danger. And then he won't leave.  So Charlie's mom calls the Sheriff who comes and picks Miles up and takes him home. 

But when people do start acting funny, Charlie can't quite explain away all that Miles is saying.  And soon the whole town seems to be taken over, so Charlie and Miles must figure out a way to save their families without getting sucked into the zompire/virus or whatever it is that is going on.

Like I said, it was a fun read.  Loved how the craziness just went from one incident to another, and Charlie just happened to stumble into Miles and helping him out whether he wanted to or not.  The characters were fun to read.  This kind of left it open for a second book.  Not sure if one is planned. But I will have to read if it is, to find out just what will happen to Miles next.