And I Darken

This trilogy is touted as YA's answer to Game of Thrones. Set in the Ottoman Empire, this first book  has all the necessary elements that will keep readers connected. If teen readers like the backstabbing, court intrigue, spying and naked ambition of the Westeros folks, this book has all of that, minus the supernatural threat of the white walkers.

The female protagonist, Lada Dragwyla will remind readers of a mix of Cersei's ambition, Daenerys' leadership and Arya's brutal fighting skills. Although she goes soft for Mehmed and her brother Radu, unlike some of YA's bad ass heroine's like Katniss Everdeen and Beatrice Prior, she is willing to more quickly turn her back on others who do not giver her what she wants, even if it means being alone.

Description:

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.

Last words:

"Not Dragwyla," she said. "Lada Dracul. I am no longer the daughter of the dragon." She lifted her chin, sights set on the horizon. "I am the dragon."