Three Dark Crowns

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: Sep 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781509804566

Kendare Blake

Kendare Blake is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series. She holds an MA in creative writing from Middlesex University in northern London. She is also the author of Anna Dressed in Blood, a Cybils Awards finalist; Girl of Nightmares; Antigoddess; Mortal Gods; and Ungodly. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages, have been featured on multiple best-of-year lists, and have received many regional and librarian awards. Kendare lives and writes in Gig Harbor, Washington. Visit her online at www.kendareblake.com.

Reviews for Three Dark Crowns

[stacyatufi · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Although there were quite a bit of slow points in THREE DARK CROWNS, I enjoyed the overall story line and the characters circumstances were interesting enough to keep me wanting to find out what would become of them.While I didn't find the characters super interesting on their own, the situations and their stories kept me wanting to read THREE DARK CROWNS. Each sister has different powers/talents/lives, but they all share one thing, their all queens fighting for the crown and they will have to kill two of their sisters to get it. There is a lot of learning about the characters and the different magic they have and the communities they belong to in THREE DARK CROWNS. The problem is, I still don't think we learn enough about the world that they live in and why it's the way it is. Of course each 'group' wants power, but I felt like we never got the whole story and I was left with a lot of questions.As I stated above, there are a lot of slow points in THREE DARK CROWNS. Maybe now that we know—sorta—the sisters and their different lives, maybe book two will have a faster pace with less down time. I do have an idea of how this series will end, just because it's clear the current way of doing things doesn't seem to be working for this generation of triplets. I will be interested in seeing if my prediction is correct.I didn't see the twist at the end coming, but it sure does make a few things make more sense and I am actually really interested in reading book two JUST to find out what the fall out from that bomb will be. I think you are either going to love THREE DARK CROWNS or be disappointing with it, I don't think a lot of people will be stuck in the middle like me. If you have the chance to borrow THREE DARK CROWNS from a friend or the library, give it a shot!* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[carynthomas33 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely amazing!

[tabatha014 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This had a bit of a hard start for me. It was slightly confusing and the numerous characters were hard to keep track of. Buuut, I stuck with it and I'm so glad I did. This story has three sisters who are separated at birth and trained to hone a certain gift that each one has been given in order to one day battle each other for the crown and rule their kingdom. Amidst the sisters are family, friends, priestesses, and others that have all had a hand in aiding their Queen's future. I originally had no intention of continuing the series, but the end had me hooked and now I can't wait to see what happens next and which queen will prevail!

[veeshee-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So.... this novel was different for sure. I had expected this novel to be fast-paced and have a lot of dark points to it. However, this story was quite slow-paced and dealt with more emotional aspects. I was looking for a lot of action, but that didn't really happen until close to the end. While I liked reading from the perspectives of each sister, not all of them were the stars of the show. For example, Jules overshadowed Arsinoe, and Katharine almost had no personality. Only Mirabella had something going for her, so she was the easiest one for me to connect with. There was one sister whose love angle I absolutely hated - but I'm not going to say who or why, since I don't want to give anything away! I wish there had been more plotting and darkness in the story, because it all seemed a bit light to me. There were certain elements that could have been explained better, like how this triplet phenomenon came to be and why they have to fight and how each sister gets selected and taken away. The ending definitely caught my eye and while there was a twist thrown in there that I had suspected was the case all along, I know that I will definitely be waiting to read the next book in this series! I hope it will have a faster pace than this one!

[chaoticbooklover · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Took me a bit to really get into it. But once i did i quickly fell in love with all three queens and was rooting for them all.

[faith_murri · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

👑
Three
👑
Dark
👑
Stars

Three dark queens
are born in a glen,
sweet little triplets
will never be friends
~
Three dark sisters
all fair to be seen,
two to devour
and one to be Queen
The Writing and Worldbuilding

I'd be lying if I said I liked the writing. It was very hard to get through. Does Kendare Blake know that she doesn't have to use names so often?? Basically the whole thing read like this (this isn't a direct quote, it's just an exaggeration to get my point across):

Katharine turned to Pietyr. "I think you're wonderful, Pietyr," Katharine said to Pietyr.

"I think the same of you, Katharine," Pietyr replied to Katharine, turning to look at her. He stepped toward Katharine and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Katharine looked at Pietyr. "I'm so glad I met you, Pietyr."
But you get the point. It just read so stop-start-y. It felt very amateurish.

I would have liked more Katharine scenes. The book started with her, and that implies that she's going to be very important, but really, most of the book is in Arsinoe, Mirabella, and Jules' perspectives, and Jules isn't even a queen! (Though I do have my suspicions)

The world was pretty interesting, and was definitely the best part of the book. I found the naturalists the most interesting, but they were also the most fleshed out. The elementals were pretty interesting too, but barely touched on, really. The poisoners were even less discussed, and therefore even more confusing, especially because their power is... snobbery and immunity? That's pretty lame lol

A lot of the book felt very rushed, like in one short scene (a single page at most) huge, important things happened, and then a few pages later, they were resolved. Again, amateurish.

The Characters

Katharine: She was okay, but kind of boring, and it didn't help that she had so little actual time to do anything and develop (and making out with Pietyr doesn't count as character development).

Arsinoe: Honestly, she was more bratty than "strong" and "brave" but I definitely liked her more than Jules.

Jules: A worse version of Arsinoe.

Mirabella: I really liked Mirabella! She was pretty interesting, and that dream and memory element was pretty intriguing.

Billy: Billy's my cinnamon roll and no one can tell me otherwise.

Joseph: He was something, I'll tell you that much. While he's a bit of a douche, I still think he should be with Mirabella, but mostly because I think Jules is a brat lol

Pietyr: He literally only shows up to make out with Katharine every few chapters whenever Kendare Blake remembered that they were even characters.

Natalia: So... prolonged child abuse is supposed to make her secretly motherly?

Conclusion

I enjoyed it, but I put it down after reading the first chapter and didn't pick it up for almost a month and didn't think anything of it. Honestly, if you haven't read it yet, don't bother. It's nothing special. I might read the rest of the series, but I might not. Like I said, nothing special.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the most unique teen fantasy novels I've read in a while. Three triplets with special abilities are born to the queen and on their 16th birthday they must fight to the death to see which will become the future ruler. The three sisters are raised apart from each other by people who share their talents; Mirabella is an elemental and seemingly the strongest of the sisters, Arisnoe is a naturalist and has so far been unable to develop any of her talents, same goes for Katherine, the poisoner, she too is helpless at her craft. Their time is running short, they must soon face each other and see what damage their talents can afflict, wonderfully written with one hell of an ending. I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series!

[vavaviolet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Just finished reading Three Dark Crowns and I absolutely loved it! It will be hard waiting for the next book (yes folks, it's a series) but I know it will be worth the wait. It's about female triplets who each possess a powerful gift: Arsinoe is a naturalist, Mirabella is an elemental and Katharine is a poisoner. The three girls were separated when they were young to hone their gifts and prepare for the day when they should meet again. They will fight each other for the crown, whoever survives gets the crown. I found myself switching sides throughout the story, I like Arsinoe for her fierceness, Mirabella for her compassion and Katharine for her strength. Yet each girl is flawed in her own way which made choosing sides difficult. I still don't know who's side I'm on (although I'm leaning towards Arsinoe) so It would be interesting to see how the story continues in the next book. I have to say that Three Dark Crowns is my new favorite among Kendare Blake's novels.

[cecilywolfe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I might recover from that ending by the time book two is released . . . but maybe not.

[ewyatt_16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When triplets are born to the queen, those are the new queens they are raised to enhance their gifts (poisoner, naturalist, elemental) and kill their sisters to become the new queen. The book rotates to the different camps exploring the girls' lives. Mirabella is the most gifted elemental in ages but she still holds love for her sisters and doesn't want to kill them. Kathrine and Arsinoe are weak in their gifts, the temple of the goddess wants to tke them down and claim power. Lots of intrigue, lots of relationships. A compelling story with a twist ending.

[darkfaerietales_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: Three sisters, three queens and only one can rule.Opening Sentence: A young queen stands barefoot on a wooden block with her arms outstretched.The Review:Three Dark Crowns began as a 3 star read, a fairly bog-standard beginning, nothing to make it stand out as a story to remember. Since the story is told from three points of view, it was actually a little frustrating jumping from one character to the next and unfortunately the story was boring me. Approximately two-thirds of my way in, the plot begins to flesh out, there’s a spark of humour here and there so my rating is creeping up to 3.5-stars. But it was the last couple of chapters that boosted the entire story up to a solid 4-star read; what an ending!As the title suggests, the story is centred around three queens; triplet sisters who are separated at a young age and brought up to eventually kill their sisters in order to be crowned the true queen. Each queen has a gift: elemental, nature or poison but the problem is that of the three, only one sister appears to have a strong gift; Mirabella. Arsinoe and Katharine have trouble with their gifts and are beginning to freak out because they are running out of time. For them, it is either kill or be killed and a weak gift does not increase chances of survival.“It is cruel to make you give him up at all,” says Mirabella. Elizabeth shrugs. “My mother says that once, priestesses did not have to. But now the island is so fractured. Naturalist against poisoner against elemental. Even those few with the war gift, or those fewer with the sight gift, are hostile to one another.”She looks at Pepper and sighs. “Giving them up unites us. And the sacrifice binds us to our faith. But you are right. It’s still cruel.”However, strength isn’t everything. Katharine isn’t the strongest but she is definitely the darkest and most malicious. I found it interesting that out of all the sisters the only one who finds killing their sisters distasteful is the strongest one Mira. Even the priestesses surprised me because I had expected them to be kind and devout but their determination to make Mira queen made them resort to desperate measures. Their hunger for violence was disturbing to say the least.Queens are not supposed to love their sisters. She has always known that, even when they were together at the Black Cottage, where she had loved them, anyway.“They are not those children, anymore,” she whispers into her hands.They are queens. They must die.Katharine loves to make the poisons but she starts off weak and small, not being able to stomach the poisons despite the lengths her aunts went to increase her resistance. Kat started off okay-ish, nothing remarkable to remember her by but when Pietyr enters the scene she becomes bolder and crueller. Of the three sisters, I think Kat would be the least burdened by conscience in killing her siblings.“I will kill my sisters just as easily, Natalia,” Katharine says. “I promise. Though perhaps when I am finished, they will not look like they are sleeping.”Last, but definitely not the least, there is Arsinoe. As a naturalist, she should be able to make flowers bloom and have a ‘familiar’ but her gift is non-existent. Arsinoe is wild, rebellious and the least attractive of the three and her looks aren’t improved when a bear mauls her face! However, I loved her honesty and her devotion to her friends. She might not care much for her sisters but she would do anything for her best friend Jules, and vice versa. Billy was a welcome addition too; his frankness complemented Arsinoe’s personality well and their banter was probably the only source of humour in the entire book! When Joseph returns, the storyline changes and I was surprised at how important his character proved to be. His story intertwines with the other queens and he frankly makes a huge mess, despite good intentions.“I should wring your neck,” says Jules.“Be nice to me. My neck was almost severed, not one hour ago.”As I’ve alluded to earlier, the ending was brilliant. It turned the whole book around and was a huge surprise to me but if I look back I can see it was rather obvious. Sorry for being vague, I don’t want to reveal any spoilers but what I can say is that there are some unexpected twists that will make you think: WTH? So if the story bores you, just try to hang in there. I may need to continue this series because the ending left me with lots of questions.Notable Scene:“It is strange,” Luca says, “that you have turned away from the Goddess. When she is the one who creates the queens. Whose power on this island preserves our way of life. I know,” she says when Natalia rolls her eyes. “You think it is you. The strength of your gift that keeps us safe. But who do you think gave that to you? She is the source of this thing, you revere, yet you do not revere her. In your pride, you forget that she has given and that she is the one who may take it away.”FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Three Dark Crowns. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

[dne2004 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Three sisters destined to fight to be queen, but the twist of events that entail to the end will leave cheering! But who will win? It is a fight to the death for each one. Meet each sister and learn their secrets!

[bardbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Such a gifted writer. While I often read my teenager's YA books so we can chat about them, it's somewhat unusual for me to really dig the stories. Blake's imaginative storytelling and intriguing characters hooked me from the first chapter. I'm officially a fan.

[pascale1812 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Three Dark Crowns artfully weaves together the story of three sisters who would be Queen. I appreciated how we are drawn to sympathize with each of them equally, rather than whole-heartedly supporting one sister.

In the end, however, the whole book comes across as the set-up for the sequel. From the description, I was expecting more plot wise. Additionally, I found some of the characters' relationships emotionally disturbing.

[jethplain · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This review and others can also be found on my blog jethplain.comThree dark queens are born in a glen,sweet little triplets will never be friends.Three dark sisters all fair to be seen,two to devour and one to be Queen.Dark, bloody with Sisters-Queens killing each other for the ultimate crown of ruling the whole island.Three Dark Crowns is a young adult fantasy set on the island called Fennbirn, a mysterious island surrounded by mists and hidden from the mainland or outside world. In Fennbirn, they revere the Goddess with priestesses as head of their religion and society is matriarchal. It’s a magical place with people having special abilities; the Poisoners who can ingest poison without dying, the Elementals who can control elements, the Naturalists who can control nature and animals, the people with the War gift, though they are only a few, and as the name implies to have the affinity to fighting, defending and are very fierce in battle. Lastly, the rarest of all is the Sight gift, people with these abilities are called oracles and oracle queens used to be uncommon until most of them went mad as the ability can turn dark even in strong queens, causing paranoia and unfounded executions. So queens born with these gifts are drowned by the midwives.These abilities grow stronger with the ruling queen and since it has been a while since a Queen with the War gift and Sight gift they have grown weaker.The book is written in the third person in POVs of various characters, from the Queens, Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katharine and also from secondary characters. Each queen upon the age of six years old is taken and fostered by families from regions whose abilities correspond with theirs. Mirabella the elemental, grew up in Rolanth fostered by the Westwoods under the careful eye of the temple. She’s said to be one of the most powerful elementals in the island’s history. Her favorite is thunder and lightning and her least mastered element is water. People believe that she will be the crowned Queen of the island but Mirabella struggles with the rule that she has to kill her sisters to be the Queen of Fennbirn, she loves her sisters and still remembers their time in the Black Cottage and how she lashed out when they were taken away from each other. Next is the free-spirited, boyish Arsinoe, who grew up in Wolfspring with Milones, her naturalist powers are next to nothing as she can’t even make a small rosebud bloom. Clever and resourceful, she uses low magic to get by while waiting for her powers to develop. And lastly, the youngest of the sisters, Katharine, is a poisoner though deemed a week one, as she’s good with mixing and concocting poisons but weakens and gets sick when ingesting them.She feels the pressure to win, as she grew up under the tutelage of the Arrons in Greavesdrake Manor, who have fostered the three previous poisoner queens in the island. There are other interesting characters too! Jules, Arsinoe’s friend who she grew up with, is the strongest naturalist of her time. I don’t spoil anything so if you like magic, girl power with some love triangle and instant attraction you’re going to love this book! If not, and you can look over those, then this story is really interesting. I wasn’t mad crazy about it but I’m going to read the next book. I’m curious as to what will happen next and I’m eager to know more about the previous queens as well.SPOILER ALERT!STOP HERE IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS[I honestly thought it was obvious that Arsinoe’s a prisoner, I mean her name’s already a clue it’s so similar to the word “arsenic” to be just coincidence despite Katharine saying that she was named after a murdered main lander queen.TheoryJules’ fate is tied to the queens. I just a have a feeling they could be related or sisters even. It’s unknown who her father is and at times Arsinoe thinks that Jules should be queen since she’s powerful, but it feels like there is something more to it.

[basilsbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am excited to see where this series takes me there were definitely parts that I didn't really love but then others pulled me completely in.

[plancultivatecreate · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The ending bumped the star rating from a 3.5 to a 5. Great story line, strong secondary characters, and a twist in the plot that has me hunting down the sequel.

[diana_long_thomas · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Read for the Biannualbiblothon. 3.5 starsIt was ok, I liked parts of it better than others. I liked the intrigue and how each princess was brought up. I didn't like most of the romance, it seemed like it was forced and only there because it was expected. I'll give the second book in the series a shot at some point since at the moment I would like to continue the series.

[krau0098 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book in the Three Dark Crowns series. This is another one I am setting aside (I know two this week). I read the first 100 pages and just could not get into this story. I really enjoyed Blake’s “Anna Dress in Blood” series, but did not enjoy her Goddess War series.The book switches between the three heirs to the throne (three sisters) and each chapter for them is very long (about 20-30 pages). By the time you get to the next heir I had started to forget what happened to the previous one. It takes a long time to introduce the sisters and the multitudes of characters surrounding them. Finally around 90 pages in introductions are getting wrapped up….I was also not a fan of the premise of these three sisters fighting to the death...although I could have possibly got into that if anything had happened. In the first 100 pages nothing happens and it's very very boring. This was another book for me where I would pick it up, read a couple pages, and then look for something else...absolutely anything else...to do. Overall this was definitely not the book for me which made me a bit sad. Between this book and “Antigoddess” I think I am done picking up books from Blake. Oh, well on to something else.

[kegoodwin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I could NOT put this book down! The summary description alone had me hooked. I have recommended it to at least 5 people and they have all loved it too! It's amazing how Kendare Blake can get you to root for all of the characters even though they are pitted against each other, and the reader knows from the beginning that loving all of the Queens will mostly likely lead to heartache. If you are a YA fan, don't skip this one!

[foggidawn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Every generation, the reigning queen gives birth to triplet girls, each with her own magical gift. When the girls turn 16, they fight for the crown. Two will die, and the strongest will reign. In this generation, it seems obvious that Mirabella, with her strong elemental magic, will come out on top -- but the other two have their own strengths and their own factions, and nothing is as simple as it seems.Hmm. This book takes a lot of suspension of disbelief (to wit: the description above), but the plot moves along at a good clip, and I found at least two of the sisters sympathetic characters, so I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The dialogue struck me as a little stilted in spots, though. If you like your teen fantasy a little bit dark and a little bit bloody, this is worth a try. Be warned: the ending will leave you with lots of questions, so best have the sequel on hand.

[kateprice88 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Review originally found on Looking Glass Reads.Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake is a book I’ve heard a lot about. Many bloggers and booktubers have already talked about it, usually with glowing reviews. The local library normally has it on proud display when it isn’t checked out by a patron. I picked this book up out of curiosity. I could get behind a dark tale of three sisters vying to be queen, each dead set to murder the other one.Only problem is, that isn’t what I got at all.In Three Dark Crowns the land of Fennbirn is ruled by a queen. Each queen gives birth to triplets, three girls who possess different magical abilities the most common of which are power over the elements, power over nature, and the ability to create and ingest any poison. The night they turn sixteen marks the beginning of the battle to be queen. Only one sister will emerge victorious, and only after the other two are dead.From the synopsis I expected this to be a very dark tale of murder, magic, and intrigue. However, that is definitely not what I received.First, the simple things.The story is told in the third person, switching from one sister to another on a chapter by chapter basis. The prose is quite lovely; I like Blake’s writing style. The use of present tense adds an element of immediacy to the story. The danger to the sisters feels real and palpable.Three Dark Crowns is the first book of a series bearing the same title as the first installment. I was unaware of this upon first picking up this book as there is no indication on the front cover or title page that this is the beginning of a series. This is fine, of course. It is listed on the Goodreads page. I only wish the synopsis on the dust jacket read more as a synopsis of this particular installment rather than an overview of the series at large.The actual fight to be queen doesn’t occur in this book. There is a lot of talk about the upcoming fight the girls will have to endure. We meet the women who have been training them in magic since they were separated from one another at six years old. But we don’t actually see them fight one another. Not really.So what actually happens in the novel if there isn’t any fighting?Well, there is the expected readying for the fighting, of course. The three sisters - Katherine, Arsinoe, and Mirabella - go through an understandable amount of angst at the prospect of fighting their sisters and even more so at the prospect of their possible deaths. Two of them will die, a fact that cannot be ignored. A lot of time was also dedicated to romance. That in and of itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. These are characters with lives and feelings who are vying to be queen. It makes sense that noble families want their sons to formally present themselves and begin courting the girls for a chance to become king.I do have issues with the wholly unnecessary and honestly rather questionable love triangle. I really didn't find myself caring about the love lives of these or other secondary characters, of which there was quite a bit. However, romance and love triangles is not why I picked up the book. Nothing about romance is mentioned in the synopsis at all, something I find questionable when so much of the story is dedicated to this as mentioning so would have attracted more numerous and appropriate readers. I expected a dark world with magical battles between sisters who are trying to be queen, not love triangles.Speaking of a dark world and magical battles, the setting of Three Dark Crowns did had some unique features. I really liked the use of a matriarchy with a ruling queen and the constant birth of daughters who vied for the throne. This is different than what is found in many other fantasy series, young adult or otherwise, and was a refreshing change of page. I also liked the use of magic within the story. Not only are there many different types of magic, but their users belong to separate and opposing factions with their own personal and political goals. Besides that, it was interesting that magic was only prevalent within the ruling family and on the islands where the girls were raised while none, or almost none, was found on the mainland itself.There were some questions I did have concerning this matriarchy, though. For instance, why would the previous queen accept simply stepping down from the thrown once her children were born and leaving the country presumably forevermore? I understand that this is tradition, but people do not easily give up things such and wealth, power, and influence. Moreover, who is running the country between the time of the departure of the last queen and the coronation of the next? I assume this is the council, but I still found myself curious as to the more intricate details of the world which were largely left unstated. The next installment may clear up these and other questions I have, but I did feel that the lack of certain information and the reasoning behind certain decisions only served to confuse the reader and not draw them further into the tale.The biggest problem I had with this book was lack of any sort of connection to the characters. This is probably due in large part to the fact that the three sisters have no personality to speak of. Katherine, the Poisoner, likes her pet snake and wishes she had any talent to speak of. Arsinoe just wants her friends Jules and Joseph to have the happily ever after she believes they deserve and wants to finally gain a familiar as a Naturalist. And Mirabella, the Elementalist, only wants to be friends with her sisters again, not fight this war against them. And that's about the extent of their personalities and desires. Another thing as far as the sisters go - I'm not convinced that they've been taught nearly enough to be any good as a queen. Now, I'm not talking about their magical abilities, raw talent or not aside. There are many other things that go into being a queen, or any leader for that matter. Nowhere is it stated or insinuated that any of these women were taught things like politics, diplomacy, economics, history, war tactics, language, or anything else needed to be even a half effective leader of the people. Arsinoe grew up in a small village. I'm not convinced she even went to a proper school or had access to the sort of tutors Katherine or Mirabella would have access to.This leads to an enormous missed opportunity and some very real problems with female characters. With the plot line and worldbuilding there was a great opportunity for a story filled with powerful women and strong bonds between sisters, mentor and student, friends, etc. However, this wasn't the case. Many of the female characters were weak or treated as weak. Now, I'm talking about Katherine and Arsinoe's magical abilities being so far below Mirabella's. Some of the strongest characters within the story are treated as weak. Take Jules for example. She is mentioned numerous times as being one of the most powerful Naturalists seen in many years, centuries perhaps. So why is Arsinoe so dead set on wanting Joseph to get his act together and take care of her and protect her as he should. A character like that shouldn't need protecting. As strong as Jules is, it is constantly undermined by thoughts and actions such as this. Not only is this disappointing, it is also problematic in many ways.Overall, this novel disappointed me. While it had a good premise, it simply failed to follow through. What could have been a very dark tale had no murder or mayhem or war in it almost at all. On the opposite hand, what could have been a tale about friendship and the bonds (or lack thereof) between sisters was also inexpertly handled. However, the fantasy world within the story had several interesting features and premise which, I hope, with be explored with much more depth with the next novel.If you like young adult novels, particularly those that features a good amount of romance with a dash of fantasy, you may want to pick up Three Dark Crowns. If you like more heavily detailed world building in your fantasy novels then this book might not be for you.

[bdartnall_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"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 stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions. But becoming 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..."(from front flap) The night the sisters turn sixteen they attend the Beltane, a festival celebrating the gods and their island, and the three sisters, kept apart and trained by their own special helpers, come before all the people and perform their "gifts". Well written, with chapters shifting between each of the queenly sisters, Blake weaves in elements of budding romances, impending doom from the High Priestess and her followers, and friends who come to the aid of each of the young queens. Cavalcade of Authors 2020 pick; definitely for those who enjoy paranormal/fantasy, and the dark arts.

[miyurose_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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!

[readingbeader · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I am having a hard time with this one. It's too slow a starter for me. Lots of people and politics to keep track of, three POVs. I think only my dedicated fantasy readers will finish this one.

[brittaniethekid · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

DNF. The writing was okay but, like a lot of previous reviews say, there's just not enough action to keep me interested. The poisoner was interesting but then the elemental dragged so much I just couldn't go on.

[cassiewinters-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Okay that ending was something that I predicted at page 100. I literally went to my partner and said at some point we are going to find out this about two of the queens. When I read the last sentence of this book I said to him that I was right and threw the book into a nearby chair semi-disgusted. What is sad is I really wanted to love this book, especially since it is the first book I ever purchased the day it came out, but for the vast majority of the book you are wondering what the overall point of the story is. It does not feel like the plot has a substantial backbone that makes it a unique and interesting story. It is lacking something substantive in terms of a point. While I did enjoy certain characterizations, which is the strongest point of this book for me, it feels like the likable characters are few and far between. In a story like this that makes it hard to get through.

It feels like Blake was trying to write her own version of "A Song of Fire and Ice" and unfortunately is not as successful as one would hope. The perks are the few likable characters and I found myself interested in the various romantic entanglements shown throughout. If Blake creates a second book in this series I hope she focuses on telling one major story with a singular overall focus. This will greatly help with what was lacking here. Still this was not the most horrific book I ever read and has redeemable moments, so I do recommend the book for others. I recommend it to people who greatly enjoy books like "The Hunger Games" series or the aforementioned "A Song of Fire and Ice" series.

[needmoreshelves · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

HOOOO. MY. GOODNESS.Did this author write this novel specifically for me? It's possible. SOOOO many things I love, all in one book. Dark fantasy - check. Complicated religious structure - check. Twisty turns I don't see coming - check. Kick**s heroine - check TIMES THREE. It's been a while since I've read a good YA fantasy, and I'd forgotten how much fun it is to loose myself so completely in a world. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, yet I didn't want it to end. I am SO all in for this series. Cannot WAIT for volume two!!

[cablesclasses · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting plot, similar to Hunger Games, where one ruler will be alive at the end of the "contest." For Three Dark Crowns, each "queen" is raised by a realm leader who trains her to excel in her special quality: poisons, elements, or nature. Told from alternating queens, background history about the island and the process of the selection as well as updates on what each realm's queen's progress is revealed. Something "different" is is going to happen this selection year, as hinted in the beginning. The finale begs for a sequel. Recommended to: Hunger Games fans; kingdom aficionados; magic and queens; fans of naturalists, poisons, or elementalists; high school teens; and readers interested in foster or adoption stories.

[srsharms · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow, that was FUN! A wicked, sexy tale of twisted political factions and women who cross boundaries of loyalty and tradition. I sometimes felt stretched thin between three protagonists, and I also figured out the plot arc very early. However, the deliciously written scenes and action-packed conclusion made it very worth it.