New York Times Bestseller * New York Public Library Best Book of 2016 * Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2016 * Kirkus Best Book of the Year
Fans of acclaimed author Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood will devour Three Dark Crowns, the first book in a dark and inventive fantasy series about three sisters who must fight to the death to become queen.
In every generation on the island of … must fight to the death to become queen.
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 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.
Don’t miss Five Dark Fates, the thrilling conclusion to the series!
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Three Dark Crowns is a brutal and inventive fantasy that is as addictive as it is horrifying. I can’t begin to guess the fates of these three remarkable sister-queens, but I’m salivating like poisoners at a feast to find out what will happen next.
Not many books leave me shocked, and wanting more. This book, Three Dark Crowns…DID!! Three sisters, all raised in different regions of the magical realm called Fennbirn. One sister, raised an elemental. One sister, raised a poisoner. One sister, raised a naturalist. This book is full of Priestesses, magic, and a few areas of, WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!? I loved this book, and I am anxiously awaiting the sequel! The writing is so descriptive, that it really makes your imagination run wild. I hope you pick up a copy of this book, and experience…THREE DARK CROWNS.
If you love Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series, you’ll want to snag yourself a copy of this first entry into a fantastic new series by Kendare Blake. Although I’m not usually a fantasy fan, I loved Three Dark Crowns, the story of three triplet queens destined to fight to the death when they reach their 16th birthday. I was drawn in by the concept of three sisters having to compete and kill for a crown, so decided to give this fantasy a try, and I was hooked from the get go. Blake creates three very unique queens with their own strengths and faults and manages to make each wholly likeable. I couldn’t decide who to root for and found my favorite queen changing depending on what chapter I happened to be reading. The world building in this fantasy was rich without being overdone and the cast of supporting characters—the friends and confidants of each queen—added a true authenticity to the story. The plot takes several unforeseen and fun turns and the ending had me pre-ordering the sequel moments after reading the final page.
Verdict: Perfect for YA and adult fantasy fans alike.
“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”
I haven’t been able to get this story off of my mind. In fact, I’m desperate to start the next one, One Dark Throne. And for that… I have to give this book all of the stars! I’m infatuated with the queens – their daily lives, their anguish, their motives, and their individual paths. I’m also intrigued by a ton of side characters and how they fit alongside the queens.
Maribella ~ Rolanth ~ elementalist
Compassionate. Patient. She came into her power early and is seen as the true future queen. She can manipulate air, fire, and water and is a formidable opponent. She is the most softhearted and hasn’t had her heart broken… yet.
Arsinoe ~ Wolf Spring ~ naturalist
Proud. Down to earth. Perhaps the one who seems the least fit to be Queen. She’s supposed to call to the animals and to the plants, but she’s unable to do so… yet.
Katharine ~ Gravesdrake Manor ~ poisoner
Cold and cunning. Fragile. She holds the most hate in her heart. She has swallowed tons of poison and continues to do so to build up her tolerance. She’s not a true poisoner but she is educated in their ways and hasn’t died… yet.
Can you imagine being born as triplets and being ripped apart from your sisters, to grow up knowing that only one of you can survive? That is the intended fate of these three queens. Only one can rule and the rest must die. Pitted against each other, they are fed bitterness and vile words, filling their bellies and their hearts with hatred. With political machinations from one family and temple purists with their own agenda, who will be crowned in the end?
Okay so on to the side characters I can’t quite figure out:
Juillienne Milone – a powerful naturalist and Arsinoe’s best friend. The Milone’s are the queen’s guardians and Jules is tasked with teaching her the naturalist ways. It’s a frustrating job with no results but Jules loves her foster sister. She is willing to do anything to help in Arsinoe’s success and her loyalty cannot be questioned.
Joseph – childhood friend of both Jules and Arsinoe, he was exiled after attempting to run away with them. He’s back and while everyone wishes things can go back to the way things were, they quickly find out how impossible that is. He ends up playing a major role in this book. I wonder how far his story will go. I can imagine many readers not liking some of the choices he makes, but he was by far one of the most likeable characters in this story.
Pietyr – he’s the nephew of Natalia, the poisoner who acts as guardian to Katharine. He seems to have an agenda with his aunt, but he seems to also have one of his own. I’m not sure what his true motivations are or how authentic his feelings for Kat are. What he did in this book did not win him any favors.
William Chatworth Jr (or Billy) – a friend of Joseph’s and eventually a loyal friend to Arsinoe. His family took Joe in when he was exiled and he is to become a suitor for the queens. It’s pretty obvious that his true heart lies with the naturalist camp. I wonder if he will truly fall for Arsinoe.
I still can’t decide who to root for, however, Mirabella got the most from me. It could be because she’s the one with the most heart for her sisters. Or because she is more firm in understanding who she is. But her sisters intrigue me for the other reasons. Arsinoe is rebellious and carefree, without powers, and nowhere near ready to rule. Katharine is dark and deadly, determined to be the last one standing, even if it means giving her sisters horrific deaths. Honestly, I just want these girls to buck the system and band together to tear everything down. Why can’t they share the rule of the kingdom? Who says that they can’t make a change and that that change won’t be better than what exists? Why should they abandon their familial bond to appease others in power? Long live the revolution!!
This is the story of 3 sisters, triplets. One of them is born to be the Queen of Fennbirn, but which one? That won’t be decided until their 16th birthday, when a fight to the death begins. Only one will survive to be Queen.
Each sister has special powers and was raised by others with the same gifts. Mirabella is an elemental, able to control the elements like fire and wind. Katharine is a poisoner, able to consume all poisons without fear of injury. Arsinoe is a naturalist, with power over animals and plants. This is more of a getting to know you type of book. We are introduced to the three sisters in the months before their 16th birthday, and see the environment in which they were raised, and get some insight into their training. Seriously, the poisoner training sounds horrible. I felt very sorry for Katharine.
I enjoyed this book. At times it was a little slow. Mostly when focused on the girls budding romances. The ending really kicked everything into high gear. We are left with things unresolved, but a second book is coming in 2017. I will definitely pick that one up. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
OMG let me tell you about this book! It left me wanting more and I don’t think I put down my phone until I was finished with the book! It’s about triplet sisters and every one of them had a “power” and they are groomed and raised to KILL each other when they reach the right age….need I say anything more? I can’t wait for the next one!!
I did not care for it that much:( it was not a page turner for me:(
I loved this dark fantasy so much…! It was twisted and captured my attention right away. Each character stands out as their own strong personality and you can’t help but root for them all.
The Blurb alone is what drew me to this book. I love young adult fantasy. So throw in a set of sisters who also happen to be triplets who must battle each other for the right to be named Queen is just right up my alley.
“Life or death” the sisters battle it out to see who comes out the victor. Being raised away from each other since birth, they know nothing about who the other sisters are except for their given power: Mirabella the elemental, who can use the elements of the earth to battle, Arisnoe, the naturalist who can control growth of plants and have a special bond with a familiar, and Katharine, the poisoner, who can consume any poison thing or touch anything poison and be unaffected.
The only problem is, Kathrine is affected by poisons, no matter all the years she has slowly been fed poison, it still makes her sick or gives her skin a reaction. And Arisone still can’t make a simple flower grow and doesn’t have a familiar.
Arsinoe takes to old magic to get a great bear to act as her familiar.
Trying to break each other and kill each other,
The night of their “show of talents”, circumstances take place where one sister falls into a deep whole where no one in the towns dare to go near. All think she is dead and believe there are only two sisters now, but when the sister who fell suddenly returns and returns with a new personality and will power, she is set on becoming Queen even more so now than ever before.
This book was an interesting take on how people ascend to the throne. 3 princesses are born triplets, and one is a poisoner, one is a naturalist, and one is elemental. Once they turn 16, they start demonstrating their powers and eventually 2 will die at the hand of the remaining princess, and she will be queen. I totally recommend this book.
I wanted this to be amazing! The plot sounded so good, but I never really connected with the characters. Never finished the book
I started this book because I heard so many great things about it I wasn’t sure I would really like it. Just because the world seemed so massive, which it is. But after a few chapters I really enjoyed it and started to get the hang of it.
As mentioned the world is huge, we have one big world but also three separate kind of kingdoms all with their own should be queen and her, I guess could be her court and or friends.
We get quite a few POVs in the book, it was a bit confusing in the beginning but once you are familiar with the Queens and her clan it is super easy to follow.
I tried to figure out which one of the three I like most, but really I couldn’t really choose… at least not yet, they all have different things I liked or disliked. The same goes with their powers. It is clear early on that Mirabella is the one everyone favorites and thinks will be their next queen but things of course don’t go that way and we get thrown for a loop a few times. The book is pretty fast paced and we get plenty of action as well. We also get some romance but not overly so which I enjoyed that it didn’t take away from anything, but just enough and some of it was actually pretty important in the overall story arc.
The ending, was wild it was nonstop actions and surprises until it finally leaves us with a cliffhanger you don’t want to miss.
Overall I’m glad I read this book and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would in the beginning and I’m looking very much forward to book two in the series.
I rate it 4
I loved this book. Blake’s Three Dark Crowns is hypnotic, twisting, and beautiful…as satisfying as a drop of poison in an enemy’s cup.
4 instead of 5 stars only because the most obvious question goes unanswered: WHY can’t all 3 queens live, with 2 going into exile? Why can’t they rule as a council, with 3 acting as a natural tiebreaker, and the winner gets to have the next triplets? Maybe it’s because I’m a bit of a history buff, but this was a REAL problem for me. I mean, what’s the plan if one of them dies without progeny if you don’t have a spare queen waiting in the wings? What if the winning queen turns out to be a sociopathic nutter who needs to be put down? I deeply resent the first book in what’s obviously a series finishing up without any answers to the questions that kept me from being fully immersed in the story.
Otherwise this book was very well written. The storyline is clever and unpredictable, and I will look forward to reading the next in this series this Autumn.
started out so ugly that I couldn’t finish it
Immediately sucked into this book, could not put it down! Amazing character development. An addicting story! I cant wait to read the next one!
I’m glad I pick up this book.. It was a fun read! I really enjoyed the characters and the little bit of romance that sparked..The plot twist towards the end with Arsinoe finding her gift was mind blowing and I wonder if her and Katharines gift were mixed up when they were six. I definitely will be reading One Dark Throne!
Really enjoyed reading this book. Want more.
A wonderful, heart-wrenching book and series in general.
This book itself might be more than 3 stars, but over the entire series, I don’t know that it’s worth sticking with it. There are better series about women (teen girls, really) with powers.