Captivated by "The Conqueror's Saga"

Time for a Recent Reads post ... Featuring the "As I Darken" trilogy.

When I start a series, I usually just give a quick glance at the blurb and the Good Reads ratings. I don't want spoilers. With that little peek, seeing the name "Dracul" I was thinking this might be a paranormal tale about vampires (I had read and enjoyed this author's Paranormalcy series featuring all sorts of supernatural creatures). It was not. This felt a little like fantasy, but was more along the lines of historical fiction (10 Historical Facts Interwoven Within ...). A sweeping saga set in medieval times in the Ottoman Empire. It is dark and dangerous, with countries and kings, and characters we love, and others we aren't sure about. Should we love them, hate them, cheer them, fear them?

There is a lot of violence. There is some sex. There are gay and lesbian characters.  That is not what the book is about, it's part of the story.  This is a trilogy that I would recommend being ready to read back-to-back. I think you'll want to continue on immediately to the next book (those poor people who started reading it as it was written and had to wait for the next installment to be published. I was SO glad they were all out before I started). I love the continuity of the covers. I listened to the audio editions, and the narrator was wonderful. I definitely would not have pronounced "Wallachia" correctly, nor "Mehmed" ... in fact I almost didn't recognize the names when I saw them in print. I felt listening to the story told, in a slight accent, added to the exotic ambiance of the book. 

• AND I DARKEN: No one expects a princess to be brutal, and Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. Then they meet Mehmed, a true friend but heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.
• NOW I RISE: Lada Dracul has no allies. No crown. 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 cross her. But Lada needs the support of her diplomatic younger brother, Radu. As nations fall around them, the Dracul siblings must decide: what will they sacrifice to fulfill their destinies?
• BRIGHT WE BURN: Lada's rule of absolute justice has created a Wallachia free of crime. But Lada won't rest until everyone knows that her country's borders are inviolable. Only by destroying everything that came before--including her relationships--can Lada truly build the country she wants.

This was a series I felt a bit bereft about when it came to its ultimate conclusion.

Sigh ... never read a series quite like it.