AND I DARKEN BY KIERSTEN WHITE {review}

Hardcover, 475 pages

Published June 28th 2016 by Delacorte Press
Rating: ★★★★★

Where do I start with this book? I loved it. It was rich, vibrant and beautiful in so many ways.

The story is told in alternating chapters by brother and sister, Radu and Lada. Due to weak rule of their father, Radu and Lada are traded to the Ottoman Empire in exchange the safety of their home country of Wallachia. This worked particularly well as Lada and Radu were both full-bodied characters, their voices crisp and distinct, even as young children.

Radu and Lada accidentally meet the Sultan's third son, a young boy their age, and befriend him. From there the book truly starts. There is so much between the three of them that it's hard to label it a 'love triangle' as the relationships between Radu, Lada and Mehmed change and grow as the novel progresses. It is never boring or tedious because the love shared by the three of them is complex, complicated and sometimes very dark.

Lada is a brilliant protagonist. She's vicious, clever and passionate; her personality is almost too much to be contained. It is made clear to the reader early on that she is not like the 'ordinary' people who wish to live and love - Lada belongs to Wallachia. Her country is her first and only true love. She's fascinating to read. Radu, on the other hand, is sensitive and intelligent. He's a great counterpoint to Lada's calculated brutality and also fascinating to read. His homosexuality, rumoured historically, is explicit in the book. I loved that.

I just absolutely devoured the entire book. The language is rich and beautiful, the characters full and complex, and the story was delicious. It follows history a lot closer than other YA historical fiction but plays around just enough.

THE ABYSS SURROUNDS US BY EMILY SKRUTSKIE {review}

Hardcover, 273 pages

Published February 8th 2016 by Flux
Rating: ★★★★★

So not only have I been captured by pirates - I've had the misfortune of being taken in by theatrical ones

I loved this book. Actually, more than that, I have been WAITING for this book. YA sci-fi/fantasy books are chock full of brave teenage narrators that are engaging and engrossing but almost all of them are achingly, depressingly heterosexual.

Not here. Cassandra Leung, our protagonist, has dated girls in high school and has feelings for a young pirate girl named Swift. That's a major part of the book, not the main plot, but their relationship weaves itself through the narrative.

The Abyss Surrounds Us is a bit like Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon meets Waterworld, except it vastly improves upon both by having the main character be an Asian teenage lesbian rather than the dull, dime-a-dozen straight white man. The plot isn't as complex as Novik's writing, of course, it's relatively simple and straightforward.

I found the conflict between the pirate captain, Santa Elena, and Cassandra to be far more interesting than the portions of the book dedicated to Bao, the titanic creature bred to attack ships. Santa Elena is cruel, ruthless and clever, ensuring the loyalty of the crew and attempting to improve their success rate. I wanted more of her. The lack of emotional connection between Bao and anyone else, including Cassandra, just made it hard to connect or particularly care about his fate. Especially when compared to the machinations of the far more interesting female characters.

Bao sees the hurricane behind Santa Elena, and he respects it. He sees no storm in me. Not yet.

The end definitely left me excited to read the second part; I want to find out what happens between Cassandra, Swift and Santa Elena. Though Santa Elena's presence was felt throughout the novel, always hanging over the burgeoning relationship of Cassandra and Swift, she was not heavily featured and I hope that there is more of her in the future.