"A heart did not have to be stone to be strong"
― Radu ―

Hello everyone! Welcome back chapter Twelve of The perks of the third book series where i will compare the third book which usually the last book of the series to the other two before it to see whether it's better that the other two, because i like the lucky number three or if it because of the finale of the series, or maybe i don't like it at all. I've review the last two books before so kindly check out the page for that, and without further ado, let's dive in!

A Quick Flashback

 Lada the first child of Vlad Dracul, prince of Wallachia, became the hostage along with her brother to the Ottoman Empire. They have to live far from their homeland and have to study Ottoman's education, religion and live by their tradition. Despite of young age, Lada knows that what happened to her is because her father got no power over the Ottoman Empire, and she wanted to free her motherland Wallachia from the Ottoman Empire, which means she need the power.

Becoming friend to the son of the Sultan, Lada and Radu help Mehmed to save his throne without him being killed. Lada became the leader of the soldier in one of Mehmed troops and become the best team in guarding Mehmed. She was granted to go back to Wallachia despite of Mehmed's offer to be his lover, Lada decided to go after her goal to take back her motherland instead became the women beside Mehmed. Turns out that the Wallachia already has other man sitting on its throne, Lada have to take it by her own power without Mehmed help because he certainly didn't help her. 

Radu in other hand, find solitude in Muslim, praying in Mosque and fall in love with the Ottoman Empire's life rather than go back to Wallachia with Lada. Also his secret feeling to Mehmed also made him decided that he will keep himself by Mehmed's side instead of helping Lada to gain back their homeland. Unlike his sister who grow strong physically, he grow stronger in building link and trust with people in the power in Mehmed's court. In the end Mehmed asked him to go to Constantinople to be a spy among them to send him news. Successfully help Mehmed behind the wall, he became lost of who he is since he also grows affections to people in Constantinople and felt like he betrayed both sides.

Going back to Mehmed's side Radu again facing another problem which is he got to face his own sister because Mehmed also asked him to meet Lada because Lada already conquer Wallachia and didn't want to surrender to Mehmed's power. And now, the siblings have to face each other.

Comparing Each Book In Series

I think the most noticeable in the first book is how fierce Lada is and how soft Radu is which shows us how different the siblings are. Lada knows in her early age that she can't show her weakness, even if Radu got punished because of her, even she loves him but she didn't show it so the Ottoman people didn't use it against her. 

Radu and Lada both facing a hardship that a kid shouldn't meet in the first place, but they turns out grow up into two different point of view of life when they got feed in same situations. Lada became more fiercer, Radu became smarter in gaining power without physically force.

 In the second book we find that they are separated yet still thinking of each other in their adventure. The book split the story between Lada's adventure to take Wallachia back to hers, while Radu goes to Constantinople to Mehmed's ambition to conquer it. While Lada experience her love relationship in the first book, the second book we got more Radu's Love line in return.

In the third book we found that in the end they have to face each other because of this one man that they both love, Mehmed. I can say that this last book is the most brutal of them all, both in love story and the plot.

Plot

In plot wise, it started from Wallachia, how Lada loves her motherland a lot, how she was loved by her father because how fierce she is although she's not pretty. Radu is the opposite one, the weak one but in terms of the age it's kind of acceptable that he always find love in his sitter's arm. 

From Wallachia they go to Edirne in Ottoman's Empire. Forced to witness how brutal the law breaker got punished there in such a young age, Lada almost got married to an old man, but saved by Mehmed who asked Lada and Radu to accompany him in Amasya. Spend a good time there as friends, Mehmed was asked to go back to Edirne to take the throne in such young age since his two brothers died and his father didn't wan the throne anymore. Lada with Mehmed's mother saved Mehmed from the weak throne and go back to Amasya, throwing the throne back to his father and return to claim it when Mehmed is older. 

In Second book we got more adventure in different lands, Lada who work together with the one that she used to scared of : Hunyadi since he was the one who want to take her father's throne, turns out she learned a lot from this man. The political intrigue in this second book is definitely became the spotlight of the plot. 

In the third book we see war, a lot of war. And of course a plot twist. I think i won't tell too much about the plot for this one except the war that going on between Lada and Mehmed with Radu in between just make it more miserable as the siblings

Loveline

Radu have more complicated relationship tho. He got a wife name Nazira who turns out loving her own maid named Fatima. They both agree to be married since Radu didn't like woman, and Nazira didn't like man, but they need their identity to be in secret. Then his adventure to Constantinople with Cyprian made their relationship blooms. So yeah, too much tangled relationship but i think the amount of it still acceptable to me.

In Conclusion

I think i can't say more than YES READ THIS ONE! It's a Woot! Woot! for me (go click the link if you don't know what that mean) and this last book obviously the one that i like the most to me. I think, since i also love the first book also, but this book give the ending that should be the ending like, the writer didn't push it to be a fairy tale ending kind of ending one, and that's a plus one for me.

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