Review: Bright We Burn (Kiersten White)

In the ultimate book in this series, we follow a very broken Radu along with Mehmed, who both continue to underestimate Lada's ruthlessness, to their demise. Poor Radu, who is working through so much emotional strife, is continuously lead on by Mehmed (who, as it turns out, was using his pull on Radu for his own gain, WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT??). Radu finally has come to his senses after developing feelings for someone else, but dang dude.

Lada meanwhile continues to be absolutely out of this world insane (I read Vlad the Impaler's Wikipedia page and turns out, real life can indeed be stranger than fiction). But she edges towards compromise as all of her friends and loves drop out of the picture. Her loneliness really got to me, and even got to her by the end of the story.

I'm trying to figure out why I have so many Feelings about this series (I would have read 6 books of this with absolutely NO qualms). Is it the historical fiction? Is it that it deals with contemporary issues through the lens of a very heteronormative/patriarchal period of world history? Is it that Lada's single-minded goal setting is SUCH a great plot driver? Is it the sexual tryst that happens every time Lada goes to assassinate Mehmed? It's probably the last one. That is my favorite little detail of the spin that Kiersten White has put on this generally unbelievable tale. Please write an R-rated version of this book (granted, it is definitely PG-13 already).

Yeah, I read this one in a day too. This is an objectively perfect series. Great wrap-up. 5 stars. This is my new "you have to read this book" book.