Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns, #1)

by Kendare Blake

Three Dark Crowns is a heart-stopping fantasy from Kendare Blake, acclaimed author of Anna Dressed in Blood.

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomach-ache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of beasts.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn't solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it's not just a game of win or lose . . . it's life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown.

Three Dark Crowns is the first book in the bestselling Three Dark Crowns series. Discover more about the three queens and continue the thrilling quartet with One Dark Throne and Two Dark Reigns.

• ISBN10: 1509804552
• ISBN13: 9781509804559
• Publish Date: 22 September 2016 (first published 20 September 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Imprint: Macmillan Children's Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[maggiefan]

It's so confusing

[cornerfolds]

Review to come!

[Veronica 🦦]

B+ | This is what I can an introductory book. It sets up the stage for the chaos, drama, and madness that is (hopefully) to come. We get to meet the three sister queens, Katherine, Mirabella, and Arsinoe. Long story short, they’re goddess appointed with abilities and need to kill each other for the crown.

Although this book started out really slow, once you get to the middle portion of the book, things pick up and become much more exciting. It’s well worth pushing through the first half of the book to get to the good stuff. I absolutely will be continuing with this series.

[vagasker]

I made it about 60% into this book before I just could not read it anymore. In the beginning I was quite curious where the book would lead because it sounded promosing, but instead it led to a cheesy romance and nothing really happened. I like romance, but I also like it when the plot goes somehwere and for this book it did not feel like anything was happening.

[leahrosereads]

Interesting concept but not extremely inventive. I called pretty much every twist, which is never a big deal, but can, at times, take away from the book a bit.

That being said, these are easy to devour reads, if you like YA fantasy.

[littleread1]

Slow start, to make sure you get to know everyone and never have a clue who you are rooting for.

Middle cranks up the angst and stakes and anxiety levels to can't stop reading levels.

End OMFG WHAT. Put the book down and take a walk. Come back to read for 10 min and get some tea. Come back to read and snuggle you dog. Finish reading by breathing in and out of a paper bag.

[Quirky Cat]

I’ve been meaning to read Three Dark Crowns for longer than I’d like to admit. But I finally made time for it, and I have to say that I wish I had read this novel sooner. On the bright side, there are more novels and novellas in this series already out, so I don’t have to wait for ages for the sequels…
At the time that I read Three Dark Crowns, there were actually three novellas out that precede it, chronologically that is. I opted to read everything in the order it was published though. If anybody has read the full series and would suggest something different, please let me know before I continue on to the second novel.
Three Dark Crowns is an oddly accurate title for this novel. It’s dark and full of foreshadowing. It’s perfect for lovers of darker fantasy. It has a touch of epic quality to it as well.
The novel tells a tale of three queens. Each queen has a different ability; elemental, nature, or poison. Only one of those queens will be allowed to live and rule. That’s how it’s always been. Their mother, the previous queen whom they’ve never met, had been a triplet. And so had her mother. So on and so forth. It’s a barbaric way of deciding who will rule, but it certainly makes for an interesting novel.
The biggest feature the novel has to brag about though, in my opinion, is the human nature it speaks of. All of the characters are humans first, characters and queens second. It’s quite brilliant, actually. It made the situations they were in feel more real.



Warnings: There is a decent amount of animal death and self-injury in this novel. The naturalists love their abilities to hunt, so some of the hunting comes up from time to time. There is also a scene involving a bear, which you can probably guess at. And there are some unfortunate scenes involving pets and their untimely endings. Along with all of that, one character does self-harm. It is for the sake of spellcasting, but it is also fairly detailed. So consider yourself warned.
Three Dark Crowns wasn’t quite what I expected, but I have to say that I loved what was given instead. I was enchanted with this novel, from start to finish. I may have to confess that I was cranky at a few points when I had to put the novel down and act like a human. It was quite frustrating to have to walk away instead of seeing what was next.
The plot for this novel was interesting, though like I said above, pretty brutal. It’s paradoxical to me, that these people would worship their queens so, while also being okay with (if not actively encouraging) two of their queens to die. But I didn’t grow up with that belief, so I suppose that’s just my bias showing.
The struggle of two of the queens was particularly interesting. I had so many theories about what was truly going on there. I won’t list any of those theories, because one of them actually ends up being a spoiler. But I did love that there was so much to think about and debate about with it.
I adored all of the attention put into making the three sister queens unique. All of them felt human, though I’ll confess that I also had my favorites. Ironically my favorite character in this book wasn’t even one of the queens. But I’m okay with that. It just shows how much attention was given to the other characters as well.
I know that there are three move novels, plus three novellas left for me to read. I honestly don’t doubt the ability for this series to be stretched so much. There’s still so much they could do with it, and that’s just considering the characters already introduced. It could go even further if they introduced others (which I imagine the novellas will have to do). I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next though, I have some questions I would very much like answered.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: 4 Stars 😁

[ibeforem]

The premise of this book/series is rather dark. In this world, every Queen gives birth to female triplets. These triplets are sent to separate foster families in different areas of the kingdom to be raised and have their magical talents nurtured, never to see or interact with each other. And then on their 16th birthday, they will come together, meet some suitors, show off their magic, and then spend the next year (the Ascension) trying to kill each other. Last sister standing becomes Queen!

The first sister you meet is Katharine. She is a poisoner, and has spent her life being fed poison, building up her tolerance so that she can sit down to a meal and eat a variety of poisoned food without falling ill or, you know, dying. The family she is with is the most politically slick and sneaky, and evil (think “Borgias”). Arsinoe is supposed to be a naturalist, able to tame and control wild animals, but her gift has yet to show itself. She and her family are the most down-to-earth of the three, and she is the most resistant to participating in this ritual. Mirabella can control the elements, drawing thunder and lightning and wind to herself at her whim. She is the strongest of the three, and is under the thumb of the Temple, who are eager for her to win and return control of the kingdom to them.

Most of the book is spent in the lead-up to Beltane, their 16th birthday and the beginning of their Ascension year. You get to see the story from each sister’s point of view, as well as a few others. I enjoyed that, because it helps you connect to each of the sisters (and choose one to root for) instead of that decision being made for you by the author. There are a lot of political maneuverings and a few romantic plot lines to add to the preparations for the festival. Each sister has her struggles and her triumphs, and it’s obvious that the end of the book is just the beginning.

This is a story I really enjoyed, and I look forward to the other books in the series!

[sarahjay]

This was definitely not perfect, but there are enough badass female characters that I can overlook a lot.