Three Dark Crowns

Original Review: literarychaos.com

Rating: 2.5 Stars

I really wanted to love this book, unfortunately, I just didn't care for it. I went in beyond excited to read this, the synopsis sounds amazing and I was buddy-reading it with close friends, but it, unfortunately, was just a let down for me. Initially, I thought that I would be getting a story full of action and suspense instead it was more about world building and setting the stage for action later in the series. This made the pacing of the book feel painfully slow, I don't think that it really picked up till about halfway through the book. Even after picking up, I still don't think that I was ever fully as engrossed as I hoped I would be.

While I will admit my expectations did play a large role in my feelings of this book, it was not my only reason for disliking the book. I really was not a fan of the writing style of this book. The book was constantly switching from one point of view to another, sometimes even switching between people while still in the same chapter. This made the book very confusing at times, and difficult to understand whose point of view I was reading. I was also annoyed that we got a lot of Kathrine and Mirabella's points of view but very little of Arsionoe's. For me at least, this made it very hard to connect with Arsinoe as a character. I feel that I would have liked the book more if she had found a way to tell the story only from the Queen's points of view.

Lastly was the world, while it was beautiful and fantastical, it was just too much and was very confusing at times. The author would often reference historical events of the world and would sometimes explain and sometimes leave the reader hanging. The world is just so intricate it seems like historical preface or appendix to give the reader some context. I was also left confused because the author references the real historical event of Cleopatra VII ( the one we all know as Cleopatra) having her sister Arsinoe murdered, which made me wonder if this world was somehow connected to ours or if this was simply an easter egg.

All in all, the book itself was not horrible, but I probably would not have finished it if it were not for the fact that I was buddy reading. That being said, due to the ending, which was probably the best aspect of the book, and the fact that a friend, whose opinion I trust, has raved about the sequel, I will probably try to continue with the series. With any luck, the rest of the series will make up for the slow start.

LOVE. THIS. BOOK. Looooooooove! I'm not sure I'll make it to September when the second book is released.

I could write more of all the things I loved about it, but really, it was everything.

One of my favorite reads in 2017.

I really enjoyed a lot of this book. But the title is legit, it's dark. Why? Because you have 16 yr old triplets training, since they were 6, to sharpen their special abilities in order to kill their other sisters--so that they can claim the crown.

But most of this book isn't the fight. It's more about getting to know each sister and their lives. Some have said it's boring and lacks action at the beginning, but I enjoyed the slow weaving of information.

This would definitely be compared to an upper PG13 movie, for anyone who wants to be choosy about their reads, especially for younger readers. There are mentions of intimacy even if it's not in detail. There is almost no profanity though.

Three Dark Crowns is one of the most highly anticipated novels of the year and one I was particularly looking forward to reading. With an incredible premise, astounding world-building and twists no one will see coming, how could I not be drawn into such a story?

Every generation a new set of triplets are born, all queens and with an equal claim to the crown – but only one will reign. At the age of six, Mirabella, Arsinoe and Katharine, the current triplets, are separated and sent to live on distant parts of the island of Fennbirn to be raised and trained in their respective gifts. The annual Beltane festival approaches, but on their sixteenth year, the festival marks the beginning of the Ascension Year, where the sisters must covertly kill each other until only one remains to assume the throne.

Going into a novel like this, with three central protagonists, I was worried. I thought I would love one queen more than the others and that I would be crushed if said queen was defeated. The reality was worse than that: I loved all the queens and by the conclusion of the novel, I was a mess of tears and anxiety as I didn’t want any of them to be killed. That is certainly the mark of a great writer when you feel a strong connection with all of the characters and cannot choose a favourite.

Katharine, the youngest, is a poisoner queen. She has the ability to consume great amounts of poison without it killing her, but her gift is weak. The family that is in charge of her training, the Arrons, frequently poison her in order to build up her immunity but all it results in is a frail queen covered in scars and marks from the constant poisons. The Arrons have remained in control of the Black Council, the government body that rules while the queens are children, for the past three generations as the last three successive queens have been poisoners. Katharine tries to live up to the expectations of a legacy and is terrified she will destroy the potential poisoner dynasty.

Arsinoe is a naturalist queen. Like her younger sister, Arsinoe’s gift is weak: she should be able to make flowers bloom and have control over animals, but her power is not strong enough and she is convinced that she will be the first to die. Her best friend and central trainer, Jules, is one of the most powerful naturalists in centuries and even has a mountain cat as a familiar. Arsinoe is incredibly loyal and desires nothing more than to escape her fate. I suspect the inspiration behind Arsinoe’s character comes from Arsinoe IV of Egypt, sister to Cleopatra VII. Arsinoe IV was murdered by her sister, which does not bode well for me for Arsinoe in the novel.

Mirabella is an elemental queen, which means she can wield the elements, such as fire, water, wind and lightning. Mirabella is the strongest queen and the central contender for the crown. Her victory is all but confirmed which is why the Temple of the Goddess openly supports Mirabella, even though they are supposed to remain impartial. The Temple wants to seize control from the Arrons to return the Temple to glory and restore the importance of religion. The only issue? Mirabella herself, who dreams of her sisters and the love she still has for them.

What struck me most about this novel is that it is not just focussed on the three queens. We are introduced to the perspective of several other characters, which I found exceedingly interesting. We are not just witnessing the rise of three queens; we are also shown the realities of politics and power: who has it, who wants it, and what people will do in order to retain it. Alliances are formed and clandestine promises are brokered to support one queen above the others. The royals are not the ones in charge here: they are basically puppets, controlled by scheming adults, who seek to gain and influence power, quietly and in the shadows.

The world-building was clever and fantastic. The world of Fennbirn was fascinating and complex and I especially loved reading about the previous queens. The magical elements were intriguing and I was captivated by its role in the world, both through goddess-blessed gifts and low magic. Blake’s writing was beautiful and poetic, and I easily lost myself in the words of the novel. She effortlessly creates and sustains tension, which was the driving force of the novel. There was not one moment where I felt safe; every scene was infused with emotion and suspense, especially the ending. I think I was an emotional wreck for the last few chapters.

Relationships and friendships are a central part of the novel. Even though befriending a queen is akin to “befriending a cow on its way to slaughter,” the friendships gained are strong and loyal. I was impressed by the strong female friendships developed and how willing the girls are to help out a friend, no matter the consequences. There is, however, a minor love triangle, which I know many readers find tiresome and unoriginal, but trust me when I say it is not one you will see coming or expect. I am curious to see where it will go in the next book.

Three Dark Crowns is a book that will have people invested. It is quite slow at the beginning, especially for a book with such dark themes, but it is well worth the perseverance. There are twists and turns peppered throughout the novel, a dash of romance and plenty of heart-stopping angst. The first novel essentially sets up the world of Fennbirn and the triplet’s lives, while the second book will undoubtedly focus on the battle for the crown. In Three Dark Crowns a dark fantasy world has been created, one that I can’t wait to learn more of in the next novel.

This book ended up being a little different than I was expecting but not in a bad way. It was more of a set-up book for the whole series, lots of introductions, lots of world-building, and less action than I was expecting from the dark sounding premise. We got to see into the heads of many characters and I found myself really enjoying the build up to the day the three sisters would meet again. It set up very well for a series packed with action, twists, and character growth.

I liked the contrast between the three sisters and the people who raised them. Katherine was a poisoner with a weak ability to withstand the poisons given to her daily. She was supposed to be immune but what she had was built up from tolerance, not from any gift. Arsinoe was a naturalist, able to make flowers bloom, able to control animals, but again there had been no sign of any strong gift from her. The only sister to show a strong gift was Mirabella, an elemental who could control all four elements and who would easily dispose of both her sisters and win the throne if Katherine’s and Arsinoe’s families couldn’t find ways to help them.

The plot went between the three sisters and their families as they all prepared for the day the three girls would meet and the battle for the throne would begin. We got to see how sure Mirabella’s family was of her success, how Arsinoe’s and Katherine’s families planned on helping them, the history of other queens and their stories. Everything about it was so creepy and dark. The only way to become the queen on the throne was for your two sisters to die and even being raised apart for most of your life, that’s not an easy way to start a reign.

The first book was very character driven and very set-up focused, as mentioned. It did it’s job in making me very excited for the rest of the series to see how everything will play out. I have so many questions and theories that need to be proven or more clues to form them a little better. There were reasons I wanted each sister to be the one to live and each of them felt like they were on equal footing in that regard. I like that Kendare Blake was able to make me care about each sister so there wasn’t really one I would choose over the other. Just because I had a favourite didn’t mean I wanted the other two sacrificed because I cared about the people who cared about them.

Definitely a book that made me excited for the whole series.