Marked as DNF 6/21/16: AND I DARKEN seems to be a "love it" or "hate it" book and I just wasn't on the side of loving it. I actually didn't hate it either but I was just. so. bored. I was listening to the audio and made it to 30% and nothing was really happening. Plenty was explained but it felt like one extremely drawn out introduction and lots of plain telling what was going on. 
 With Lada's lack of emotion and Radu's over-emotional state, I found it really hard to connect to a character so they weren't keeping me hooked when the action and plot was slow. I was really interested to see where Lada's story would go but sheesh, it just wasn't moving anywhere except changing physical locations. The first 30% of the book is essentially backstory about the children's childhood, the establishment of their relationship, and their struggle for their father's approval. I would have much rather seen so much of this told in stories along the way instead of starting all the way back at their birth and slowly creeping through the years. I FINALLY made it to the teenage years around 25% which I'm guessing is where the story kicks off but even still, nothing was quite developing. More characters were introduced and as much time as I spent with Lada and Radu, I still didn't feel connected to either one. I wasn't really rooting for Lada's ruthlessness and strength and I wasn't sympathetic to Radu. Their personalities were just a tad too extreme for me to really pick up on either one and enjoy their story. 
 This was the point where I was questioning whether I wanted to go on or not and I could tell it was probably a DNF when I started reading other people's reviews to see if I could be swayed to continue. Even the 4 and 5 star reviews didn't really encourage me to keep reading because they had praise for the writing style and characters, neither of which I was connecting with and usually that means that I just never will. I read that the action does pick up but another reviewer with the same issues as me was halfway through and still feeling like things were quite slow and still tell instead of show. It would have moved much better, I think, with either more action or more dialogue or both. There was just so much set-up that I felt like I never even touched the story itself and I'm not quite sure what the real purpose of the book is. I suppose I could continue to find out but I'm not really curious to find out at this point. Given the fact that I'm struggling so much now and likely won't enjoy the rest of the read AND it's a series that I may not continue, it's just not worth my time and effort right now. I made a pact with myself not to push through books I'm not enjoying and that means a DNF on this one. 
 Furthermore, this is the 4th Kiersten White book I've tried and the third I've DNFed. I really have tried to read her books because the concepts are just fabulous! I guess I really just don't connect with her writing or characters because after not finishing three our of four of her books, it's a strikeout for me and I probably won't try another one unless it's a serious landslide of amazing reviews. I think it's just not a match for the two of us.