Three Dark Crowns by
Kendare Blake
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 stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.
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.
If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest.
The sisters. Oh the sisters. I liked them all, for different reasons. I felt an overwhelming desire to protect Katharine, a need to befriend Mirabella and a need to sit Arisnoe down to explain stuff. The three sisters have been crafted beautifully. I liked how their personality traits have been influenced by each of their communities.
I really liked Jules. Jules and her familiar Camden add so much character to the story and am a sucker for animal companions!
That being said, I wasn't a huge fan of the love interests in the story. I wasn't sure what to make of the romances in the story. For starters, there's insta-love happening a lot in the story which wasn't realistic at all. Then there is this love triangle about which I can't talk without giving away spoilers so let's just say I wasn't a fan of that love triangle.
There are a lot of characters introduced throughout the story which many people found confusing but I just found it interesting. The multitude of characters makes the setting and the world all the more three dimensional.
If you're probably wondering how come I've given five hearts to this book despite my comments above, THIS IS WHY. The plot! The frigging clever plot. Before reading the book, I knew from the blurb about the triplets fighting to be queen; fighting to death. I was expecting the action to start from page one but most of the book goes into laying the groundwork and while I missed the action, I appreciated the careful world and character building the author does. It helps in understanding the story so much better.
The story is in third person PoV that shifts between the sisters and certain other characters. Surprisingly, this did not affect the flow of the story in any way.
The plot, as it unraveled, took my breath away. It is dark and complicated. The twists are unexpected and in a way, creepy.And the ending. The ending left me flabbergasted and I definitely cannot wait to know what happens next till the next book is published! I mean, that's like the biggest cliffhanger that made a 1001 questions pop in my head and no answers!!
Kendare Blake's writing style is absolutely beautiful. The writing is clear and well structured. The writing is fast paced even when the story is not. I've only read one Kendare Blake book before, Anna Dressed in Blood and I think I can safely assume that her writing style in all her other books is beautiful as in these two.
- The plot
- The sisters
- Other characters (especially Jules)
- The writing style
- The romantic elements in the story
Go read the book. NOW! Go read it so I can fangirl about it with you. Go read it and get entranced by the dark world Kendare Blake has created. Once you've read it, pledge your allegiance to Kendare Blake forever. Thank you.
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So glad you loved this! I’m longing to read it, it looks so good : ) Sorry you didn’t like the romance though : (
ReplyDeleteIt is freaking awesome!!!You should definitely read it :) I wasn't shipping any of the ships but the romance did not make the story any less awesome!
DeleteI've been going back and forth on this one. But reading your review puts it back in my "must read" column. It's good to know that the writing is beautiful and the plot does intrigue me, so yeah, I'm curious about. :)
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see the reasons why the book has been getting mixed reviews but for me, the plot was so awesome that the flaws were literally nonexistent. Yay! Will be looking forward to your review :)
DeleteFirst of all I absolutely love your quote graphics. :) Awesome.
ReplyDeleteSecond - I love your review. This one definitely had more pros than cons and a book doesn't have to be perfect to be enjoyed immensely. I also had serious issues with the romantic elements of this one but everything else just pulled it through for me. I loved the interactions though and that plot. THAT PLOT! The ending was something I still think about and HOW LONG UNTIL THE NEXT BOOK????? :)
Again, great review Uma!
Thank you :) I wanted to do something special for this book review!
DeleteExactly! I don't think this book was perfect but I loved it a lot! The plot was just so engrossing that the romance part hardly bothered me!
OMG! I absolutely cannot wait till One Dark Crown releases! It even doesn't have a cover yet :(
Thank you :)
I've heard so many mixed reviews on this one that I wasn't sure whether to read it or not. But it's great to see that you loved this book so much, I might read this book soon now :D And amazing review!!
ReplyDeleteYes I totally understand where readers have had a problem with this book but I was able to overlook all those problems because the story was freaking awesome! I hope you do read it soon! Thank you :)
DeleteI heard a lot of people complaining about the romance in this book. How it's insta-love and unrealistic.
ReplyDeleteSo despite the fact that this book was one of my most anticipated books of the year, I was instantly put off once I heard the words "insta-love". Insta-love is like... my worst enemy.
You did, however, give me some motivation of why I should read this book anyway.
The sample is on my kindle. I might get to it eventually... (:
Thank you very much for recommending this book to me on goodreads.
I'm happy to hear you loved it!
Great review! (:
Yes insta-love is a huge no-no for me too!I've skipped many books because of that but the blurb of 3 dark crowns intrigued me so much and I heard such good things about the book for one of blogger friends and just had to read it :) Am actually glad I did because the plot had me hooked. And the ending is so brilliant!
DeleteYou should definitely give it a try! You're welcome!
Thank you!
I think I have this on my kindle. Really want to read this now. Love the bullet points you've put up.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely give the book a go! Thank you :)
DeleteI've seen so many mixed reviews for this book so I'm glad to see that you loved it! The switching POVs concerns me a bit, but I definitely want to check it out now. Great review! :D
ReplyDeleteTracy @ Cornerfolds
I worried a bit about that too but the changing PoVs didn't confuse me at all! Thank you :)
DeleteI'm so glad you liked the book. I have this one waiting on my nightstand and I can't wait to get to it :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you found my blog, I followed you back on GFC :)
Have a good week
Aneta @ Angelic Book Reviews
Yes I'm really glad I picked up this book! :)
DeleteOh thank you :) You have an awesome week too!
I loved this book, and like you, I saw the issues with it, but it was such a great idea that there was no way not to fall in love with it. Great review!
ReplyDeleteExactly! It had its flaws but you can't deny its awesomeness :) :) Thank you!
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