#1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake returns with the highly anticipated third book in the Three Dark Crowns series! And while Arsinoe, Mirabella, and Katharine all have their own scores to settle, there is another queen stirring things up on Fennbirn Island. Queen Katharine has waited her entire life to wear the crown. But now that she finally has it, the murmurs of dissent grow … has it, the murmurs of dissent grow louder by the day. There’s also the alarming issue of whether her sisters are actually dead—or if they’re waiting in the wings to usurp the throne.
Mirabella and Arsinoe are alive, but in hiding on the mainland and dealing with a nightmare of their own: being visited repeatedly by a specter they think might be the fabled Blue Queen. Though she says nothing, her rotting, bony finger pointing out to sea is clear enough: return to Fennbirn.
Jules, too, is in a strange place—in disguise. And her only confidants, a war-gifted girl named Emilia and her oracle friend Mathilde, are urging her to take on a role she can’t imagine filling: a legion-cursed queen who will lead a rebel army to Katharine’s doorstep.
This is an uprising that the mysterious Blue Queen may have more to do with than anyone could have guessed—or expected.
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.
Oh, how many good things can I say about this series? I love it, love the inventiveness, and the direction it’s heading.
Brutally brilliant and exquisitely devastating. Kendare Blake is a master of plot twists and making hearts bleeds. This book destroyed me in the best possible way. Prepare to be ruined.
Here I am, at the end of this book, and I have even more questions than I started with. This author does an incredible job of giving answers and creating situations that warrant more. Characters I couldn’t care less about have now become people I’m rooting for. How the heck does that happen??? And why do I always cheer on the ‘bad guys’??? And will there be a way to defeat the Mist without sacrificing my beloved??? The first half of the story was slow and boring, but it definitely picked up and had me questioning EVERYTHING!!
Mirabella, the elemental
She’s always loved her sisters and had the hardest time coming to grips with the fact that she’d have to kill them in order to claim the throne. With her ship officially over (RIP Joseph), she’s focused on protecting her sister, Arsinoe, while they try to make a life on the mainland. I’ve been Team Mira since book one and this book only made me more of a fan. I know most people love Arsinoe or Katharine more, but I’ve always liked the fact that Mira was always an elemental. She was always powerful and warm and kind and nothing’s changed. She’s awesome! I want to watch her call the lightning and storms and dance with the flames. I was a little irritated with her for not speaking up when it was absolutely necessary, like calling out Jules for EVER thinking she could be a queen. But I’m looking forward to how (if) she’ll be able to fight for the cause, for peace, within the poisoner faction.
Arsinoe, the true poisoner
This chick drove me nuts. I’ve been an Arsinoe supporter from the beginnning. Who wouldn’t love the princess who couldn’t care less about the crown? Who couldn’t care less about decorum or propreity? Who would rather wear trousers and fish and run with bears than wear dresses and drink tea? Of course I loved her. But her idea of loyalty led her down a dumb road and I wanted to knock some sense into her. How dare she back Jules as a queen? She’s no freaking queen. And then to bully Billy and Mira into it was foul. However, with the dreams and the premonition forcing her to choose her fate, I loved how steadfast she was in her love and loyalty for her sister. Find another way, babe!
Katharine, the mad one
Possessed by the dead queens who didn’t get the crown, she now wears it. But her kingdom is suffering. Not only did Katharine NOT earn her crown, but in her pursuit of it, she’s caused unrest. The mist has come to the island, leaving dismembered bodies at her steps. And with a rebellion on the rise, her hold on the crown isn’t guaranteed. With Natalia gone, it’s almost like Katharine has lost some direction. She tries to befriend Mira’s besties, looks to Luca for guidance, and doesn’t stop to just think! I get that the spirits are basically driving the train, but c’mon. I’m loving the whole ‘possessed’ feature of Katharine’s plot, however, I’m wondering if she’d be alive if the queens left. Is she just a husk, broken apart, and only held together by spirits? Poor Pietyr, having to deal with only a piece of the girl he loves. And that ending…
Jules Milone
See, I used to like this chick. Seriously. She defended Arsinoe at every turn and I was impressed with her naturalist skills. But you see, now she thinks she deserves to wear a crown. Being legion cursed, she may be the most powerful person on the island. But she’s no queen. How do you grow up with a queen, love a queen, understand the tradition, and still covet the crown? I get not wanting the poisoners to rule, but there are other ways. I was encouraging her when she kept being skeptical of Emilia’s plan. However, while I continued to be skeptical, she jumped on the crazy train. I’m not down with that so I’m against the rebellion. It’s funny because I’ve been dreaming of a revolt since book one, but not with Jules in the lead. I always envisioned it with Mira and Arsinoe leading the charge and with Katharine eventually seeing the light and joining in. Jules frustrates me and I don’t even want anyone to find a cure for her madness. And am I nuts for thinking that something is building between her and Emilia? I wonder if they’re being shipped by people? Does this idea have stans?
Then there’s Billy… I’ve loved him for quite some time, but there was a point in this story where he had me so aggravated. I thought his love for Arsinoe would get him through anything, but life on the mainland made him soft. I’m just so grateful he found his way back to Fennbirn with the sisters. I think he left his balls there and I’m hoping he can now find them. I also hope he doesn’t die. He’s the last romantic interest left and I’ve shipped him and Arsinoe from the start. Don’t kill the last ship left!!
The character that surprised me the most was Madrigal. When she was locked away in the dungeon, I enjoyed her spunk and her defiance. I also congratulated her on finally finding some love and loyalty for her daughter and coming to terms with her sister, Caragh (who I hope has a larger role in book four). Better late than never, right? I could do without Emilia and Mathilde. I want more of Pietyr (RIP?) and the sisters, and I’m hoping the last book of the series, Five Dark Fates, gives me all the answers I’m looking for.
Book 3 in the Three Dark Crowns series is full of even more twists and turns than the last two. All the rules are tossed and sacrifices must be made for the sake of Fenbirn island.
Oh, how many good things can I say about this series? I love it, love the inventiveness, and the direction it’s heading.
TWO DARK REIGNS (Book 3 in the THREE DARK CROWNS series), by Kendare Blake, takes place after the events in ONE DARK THRONE. Queen Katharine is crowned, but . . . different . . . and another fraction of their world is calling for a change.
“You don’t threaten the life of a queen and live to tell the tale . . . Taking the life of a queen . . . now that is another matter.”
Jules, Queen Arsinoe’s best friend, is taken into the War-gifted’s land and being prepped to challenge the rule of Queen Katharine. Much of the land has tired of the Poisoners’ long rule and yearn for a drastic change.
“. . . Heaping fear upon dislike breeds hatred. And hatred makes the people likely to bite.”
This book really intensifies the personalities of the individual characters. I felt as if I finally knew all the minute differences between the sisters, as well as some of the similarities they shared. We are also focused more so on the rest of the Island, and the various “gifts” that the different people possess.
“I love it when you both talk about me as if I weren’t here . . . ”
We see a lot of the duties that Queen Katharine is now expected to do as the “officially crowned” Queen. Additionally, we finally see the lives of the subjects and how they vary from gift to gift.
Of particular interest to me was a look at the past of the Fennbirn Queens, and how certain customs began or changed over time.
Some people leave too much space behind when they are gone.”
The world-building in this novel was simply phenomenal. I loved getting a more detailed look at the lives those other than the Queens lived. The action was just as intense as in Book 2, but with even more of a mental component added to it to increase the emotional impact. I’m both excited–and yet reluctant–to read the final book in this series. It is certainly one that has left a lasting impression.
Highly recommended.
In this book Mirabella, Arsenoi and Billy are far from Fennbirn and the queens are having a bad time adjusting to their new reality until Arsenoi stars having vivid dreams about the blue queen and her past.
On the other hand Jules is considering staring a revolution with the help of new friends against the cruel crowned queen, Katharine.
This is a must read if you love the saga.
This series just keeps getting better and better.
In this book, you will get a sort of history lesson for the way they do things and what they have come from. With the author giving us more of the history background in this book, I do feel like the story went much slower than the first two books, and the action part wasn’t as strong as the other two books. I will say I started to like Jules a lot better in this book. She didn’t seem as annoying as she usually did for me. I loved Mirabella in this book and Arinsoe and Kathrine were perfect.
I did, however, think that Emilia’s character is just flat out annoying and I’m not a fan of her at all.
Overall, I am hapy with this book and the way it ended to prepare for the final book.
I have really loved the third book in this serie. Can’t wait to read the next one.
Katherine is now the crowned queen of Fennbirn her two sisters are presumed dead but they have manage to escapre the island.
As a revolution is slowly building how long will it take for Fennbirn island to call Mirabella and Arsinoe back?
I think this is exactly what they needed around the campfire:
Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow
Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on
Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you won’t let show
You just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand
We all need somebody to lean on
Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on
You just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand
We all need somebody to lean on
If there is a load you have to bear
That you can’t carry
I’m right up the road
I’ll share your load
If you just call me (call me)
If you need a friend (call me) call me uh huh(call me) if you need a friend (call me)
If you ever need a friend (call me)
Call me (call me) call me (call me) call me
(Call me) call me (call me) if you need a friend
(Call me) call me (call me) call me (call me) call me (call me) call me (call me)
Lean on me by Bill Withers
Ah! Wow, this was such a good book. We’re just going to step away from professionalism in this review only because there were so many gut-wrenching scenes that made the novel so compelling.
The one thing that binds all the characters together is the fact that all the characters all want to do what they believe to be the best for everyone, those they love and the people of Fennbirn, and yet it doesn’t matter what they do everything continues to go wrong. Readers here can’t help but sympathize for Katherine, the poor girl who was thrown into a pit by the boy who thought he was saving her, who has the crown she has always wanted. All she wants is to be a good queen, a good queen for the people and herself. Readers are already familiar with her nature, she’s kind and gentle at heart, but her possession of the Dead Queens at times separates her from herself. All Katherine seeks is peace and prosperity, and yet with the mist surrounding the island attacking her reign, the fragile peace she seeks continues to slip out of her fingers. The Dead Queens within her provide so much tension because they whisper, they are this underlying character that the reader can’t see, but the reader can hear them, they can feel their malevolence reverberate off the pages of the novel, creating a haunting read.
For Arisnoe and Mirabella, their stories are united. They have escaped to the mainland and have their own haunting to content with. The Blue Queen, the queen who created the mist, is haunting the girls, leading back to Fennbirn. As the girls try to conform to the new lifestyle of the mainland that differs so much from the lives they have always known, they face those challenges as well as the haunting of the Blue Queen from eons ago. Their story is less tension driven but still powerful in its own way. These girls must face their own challenges, their peace or their friends?
There’s certainly a great deal of tension going on in the story as it unfolds, the horror and tragedy bleed off the pages luring the reader in. The characters have grown through the events of the previous novels, and the intermingling of narratives beyond their perspectives give more dimension and scope to the plot of the story. There’s more going on behind the scenes, and the reader can see it, they can explore and follow the plot as it unveils itself. Blake’s talent as a writer has only grown with this novel, creating a powerful third part to an already enthralling series.
I can’t get enough of this series. I am so addicted and I’m not afraid to show it. The Three Dark Crowns series just gets better and better. The third installment in this series has blown me away. So many amazing and absolutely crazy things happen that keep my eyes glued to the pages of this book. I never wanted it to end. One reveal after the other had my mind exploding.
Each sister is facing their own struggles. Mirabella and Arsinoe are a united front as they escaped from the now Queen Katharine. But at the same time they each have their own struggles. The devotion to one another is admirable, but it is clear they cannot walk the same path for much longer. I love and hate they both as they make choices I both agree and disagree with. But boy does it make for a excellent story. Queen Katharine’s chapters get more and more disturbing and its like a tragedy you can’t look away from. Yet, it is so wildly entertaining while your afraid to see what will happen next with her.
I am beyond excited to see what else will happen next in this series. Kendare Blake has written her best series yet. Flaw and all I am completely in love with this series.
Full of mystery, intrigue, and deadly girls I wouldn’t dare cross, Fennbirn is a darkly magical world I’m both drawn to and frightened by. In short, this is a book I could linger in for months, with three girls I am rooting for with all my heart.