Five Dark Fates

** spoiler alert ** After the grim confrontation with Queen Katharine, the rebellion lies in tatters. Jules's legion curse has been unbound, and it is up to Arsinoe to find a cure, even as the responsibility of stopping the ravaging mist lies heavy on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone. Mirabella has disappeared. Katharine's reign remains intact… for now. When Mirabella arrives, seemingly under a banner of truce, Katharine begins to yearn for the closeness that Mirabella and Arsinoe share. But as the two circle each other, the dead queens hiss caution: Mirabella is not to be trusted. In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn's history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested. But the fate of the island lies in the hands of its queens. It always has. Content warning for gore, self-harm and body horror. This was a stunning conclusion to this series, even if it felt like it was missing something. It is always bitter sweet to finish a book series you enjoyed. Whilst the series had faults from beginning to end, I was always entertained by the drama, tension and plot twists. This last installment had the slowest and most lack-luster pacing and tension in a final book I may have ever read, but my love for this world and these characters kept me going. It was not until the last 100 pages that it read like a finale book. But those last 100 pages were filled with sacrifice, adrenaline and the always present and comforting theme of sisterhood. I enjoyed this series despite its flaws. While I felt like the execution could have been written better, I do feel satisfied with the conclusion, and I’m glad that Kendare Blake didn’t pull any punches or find a way to keep all three triplet queens alive. The deaths of Mirabella and Katharine felt a little anticlimactic but I understand that death doesn’t always happen in grandiose fashion. I just would have preferred if it had been more intense and written in a way that highlighted how game-changing it was to kill those characters. I liked Jules as a character, but felt ambivalent for her ending up as Queen Crowned. I liked Arsinoe and Billy’s relationship, but I felt mixed with the idea of a former queen running off to the mainland with her love interest. Regardless of my ambivalence with the ending, I would love to see this series be given a television adaptation.

How did we end up essentially in the same place we started?

Find this review and others like it at https://aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com 3.5 stars! So I just realized I didn't type out my trigger warnings. Sigh. So just look at the other books for trigger warnings as I'm pretty sure they remain the same. There is a lot more death and gore in this book however. It’s always so sad to see a series you’ve loved from the start, come to end. Even if the ending was a great one, like this one was, I still can’t help but feel a little bit sad that we won’t be getting anymore of these books. I do have one more book to read, a prequel, but other than that, this series is finished for me. I think, down the road, I’ll write a series review of this series. In this review, I’ll briefly touch on the ending of this series but for the most part, this review will be mostly about this book and my thoughts about it. This wouldn’t be a review about the Three Dark Crowns series if I didn’t mention my love for Katharine. She is still my absolute favorite queen. I still think she is the best queen out of all of them. Her growth in this book was amazing and I truly thought she embodied what it meant to be a queen. And I think deep down, she just wanted to be loved. That’s all anybody can ask for me in life, to be honest. The other queens, Mirabella and Arsinoe, were okay. I liked them but they aren’t my favorite. Arinsoe still had a pretty abrasive personality that didn’t get any better throughout the whole book. I don’t much care for abrasive personality types. It gets frustrating to read. Mirabella was okay, as well. She didn't have a lot of page time, which honestly didn’t bother me too much. I wanted more of Katharine. The reason why I rated this book 3.5 stars is because this book was so slow. The series itself is a pretty slow series. There is a lot of political intrigue and planning throughout the whole series but especially in this one. There were a lot of pages of feelings and planning. There weren't a lot of things actually happening. The major events happened far and few in-between. It really made me not want to read this book. Overall, this was a good book. I did enjoy myself, for the most part, while reading this book. I still very much adored my Katharine. I thought she was the best part of this whole book and the series as a whole. The end of this book left a lot of room to have a potentially brand new series, which I hope happens. Overall, I’m glad I finished this book and I’m glad I finished this series.

This was such a mess for the first 300 pages which is really unacceptable. I still think this is a gorgeous series but by the end I think the author found herself with too many characters and too many plot points to wrap up. If we’d taken two or three concepts (dead queens, legion queen, triplet queens, ghost queens and visions from the past, big battle, sisters being sisters….zombies?) instead of the many many different ones we ended up with, I think it would have been for the better. The first book absolutely outsold and I think it deserved a better series than what we got. I also thought the ending —> epilogue was fairly weak.

What a finish to this thrilling series! I loved the characters so much!

I enjoyed this well enough I guess, but I just feel like the first book was the best and the rest were kind of lack luster comparatively. I saw a lot of the twists and turns coming in this book and the last.

A great end to a great series. This book has so many twists, turns, and heartbreaks I couldn’t keep track of most of them. Without spoiling the whole book this has to be one that clears almost everything up and you feel better about the ending.

I found this an unsatisfying finale to this series ... a lot of plot points from previous books that turned out to be irrelevant to the finale. (view spoiler)[also Katherine was my favourite Queen and both her and Mirabella's deaths didn't seemed earned or really made sense?? Left me with a lot of, "what was the point?". (hide spoiler)]

I don’t even know where to start with this one. First of all, I have to make it known that Blake should have kept this at its original duology length. However glad I am to read more about the queens of Fennbirn, it would’ve been a better story had she kept it to a shorter length. I did like this installment and I think it followed at a good pace. The Good • Character growth- I think there was a lot of development from Jules and Mirabella. Jules learning to accept and acknowledge her role and Mirabella in establishing her role as a peacekeeper. • Katherine- I hated Katherine pretty much throughout the whole series, but she really redeemed herself in this one finally fighting against the dead queens • Parallels to original story line- no spoilers! But I do think Blake tied it back nicely to the original way the story should’ve played out The Bad • Arsinoe and Billy have a weird relationship and I’m not here for it. The ending was honestly just a lot and I think it could’ve been handled better • Romance in general- Most of the relationships that Blake was putting them into felt extremely forced and unnatural. Only Katherine and Pieter are meant for each other, and that was the only relationship that took its natural course. Quotes: “How all women must mourn the loss of those little girls, relegated to shadow as they grow.” “And those who are truly strong do not need to demonstrate it every five minutes” Overall, I’m happy with the conclusion of the series. It will be interesting to go back and reread it. I know it was a good book, because I truly got sucked into it and felt the character’s deaths and triumphs. I’m looking forward to seeing what Kendra Blake writes next.

*2.5☆ or w/e

** spoiler alert ** So disappointed in this series. I feel like I'm beating a dead horse but it really should have been compressed into a duology. Stretching the story out over four books was such a bad move and made it drag on. The deaths of Mira + Katharine were....anticlimactic. I was hoping for something more. I have no emotional ties to any of the characters and would have loved to see all three queens parish. If anything I believe Mira, ya know the most powerful elemental ever, should have been the one to survive and live her life on the mainland. She was able to fit in there during book three and I believe she would have been happy. Jules being the Queen and discovering that the very first Queen was actually legion cursed, seemed forced. I was never a fan of Jules and there were never any clues or breadcrumbs that would have lead to the reveal.

2 stars. I can understand why a lot of fans of this series feel this book is contentious. The ending for me (or at least the final 75? pages) was very underwhelming, but perhaps not for the same reason as many other readers. It all boils down to the choices that Blake made with the characters and though I will not say "this is not what I wanted" or "Kendare Blake could've done better," it was a route that I did not find satisfying. This series for me was a pretty tempestuous read overall because I kept feeling like it should get better, but it didn't peak like I hoped it would. Oh well! It has been read, and now it's time to move on.

This book is the conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series. The series started out very strong and interesting, but I was disappointed with this book. I didn’t like the ending. This book, unlike most of the series, was very slow-paced and didn’t really hold my attention. If you’re reading this series I’d honestly say to just skip this last book and make up your own ending. It would save you some heartbreak and from wasting your time on it.

I’m in public so I’m not gonna cry but oh man do I wanna cry! I don’t want to leave fennbirn! I am so sad haha ahhh! Fuck dude.

OOHHH My heart! That ending… I am dead! I have seen some mixed reviews for this epic conclusion, but I freakin’ loved it!! IMO, it was perfect and wrapped up the series really well!! All the favourites are back! This is the fourth and final book in this amazing series. So I am going to try and keep this review brief and without spoilers!! I absolutely adore Kendares writing, her books are easy reads with some amazing world building. I mean, she’s created a whole new island within our world! Anyway, this book is fucking epic!!! So much death, gore and action! Honestly, it’s really hard to dislike any of the characters because they all have some kind of redeeming quality. But, man! some people throughout the story I just wanted to throat punch haha. I still love Mira so much though. Her strength, determination and hope never waver throughout the series! Also, P Overall, this is such a fantastic series with amazing world building. The characters are interesting, deep and just full of surprises!! ⁠ Five Dark Fates brings this series to a bloody finale, where no one is safe! Three Black Witches are born in a glen, sweet little triplets will never be friends. Three Black Witches, all fair to be seen two to devour and one to be queen I would like to thank Pan Australia and the author for providing me with a copy of this book. This has in no way affected my views or opinions of the book or the content of my review

Satisfying conclusion to the main series.

I really wound up liking this concluding book in this series. I thought it was able to wrap up this story so well. It was such a fast pace read. I loved how the dynamics between the characters shifted between the characters throughout this whole novel. I really loved the how the magic system, developed in this world. I really liked how this book tackled both found family and sister dynamics. This book was a super well paced read and enjoyed the fewer locations and how tight this book was in structure. I am excited to re-read this series in the future.

Oh my god... My heart.... I love these characters so much, i kinda wish for a greater ending but i adore this book! Im gonna go cry in the corner now

Disclaimer: I bought this book! Support your authors! All opinions are my own. Book: Five Dark Fates Author: Kendare Blake Book Series: Three Dark Crowns Book 4 Rating: 5/5 Diversity: Some small f/f relationship will she won’t she moments Publication Date: September 3, 2019 Genre: YA Fantasy Recommended Age: 17+ (violence, gore, mentions of cutting, suicide TW, mature scenes, backstabbing, sisterly quarrels, and the chance to change the world as you know it) Publisher: HarperTeen Pages: 452 Amazon Link Synopsis: After the battle with Katharine, the rebellion lies in tatters. Jules’s legion curse has been unbound, leaving her out of her mind and unfit to rule. Arsinoe must find a cure, even as the responsibility of stopping the ravaging mist rests heavy on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone. Mirabella has disappeared. Queen Katharine’s rule over Fennbirn remains intact—for now. But her attack on the rebellion exacted a high price: her beloved Pietyr. Without him, who can she rely upon when Mirabella arrives, seemingly under a banner of truce? As oldest and youngest circle each other, and Katharine begins to yearn for the closeness that Mirabella and Arsinoe share, the dead queens hiss caution—Mirabella is not to be trusted. In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three dark sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn’s history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested, and some broken forever. The fate of the island lies in the hands of its queens. Review: This book was an absolute rollercoaster. I went from loving Katherine to hating her to loving her and back to hating her. Jules remained my favorite, but even her managed to frustrate me at certain times. Arsinoe and Mirabella also made me waiver in my like for them, but this wasn’t because of a negative reaction I had to the book. In fact, the exact opposite. I think the writing in this book is very strong, the author is definitely talented and Kendare is able to make you feel so many things. The development is still so present and powerful in this book, even though this is the fourth in the series. The world building was also very powerful and Kendare was able to effortlessly paint the picture of this story in my head. The only negatives I had about the book is that there are a lot of characters. I am grateful for the character list in the beginning but damn it gets confusing when people start switching sides and people die. Thus is the difficult life of a reader who likes epic fantasy. I also didn’t like how Jules didn’t pull the trigger on a specific person and I think that this would have been great to show in the book, but I did like that she didn’t as well… I’m all for rep but I feel that Jules still has a lot of depression and feelings to work through with the death of her lover. I’m conflicted but I think I am supposed to feel that way. Also, this leaves room for more stories in the future that feature just Jules… right Kendare? ;) Verdict: Overall, a well crafted and satisfying ending to a saga that all of bookstagram was obsessed about for over a year.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars. This was actually a decent ending for such a weird series. I do not mind it much. Spoiler for the entire series ahead! Sort of... I do not *actually* discuss the plot. . . . I absolutely hate what this series did to Katharine, starting from book one. She is the best character and I think that the perfect ending would have been her burning the island down and living a decent life somewhere else without ever meeting her sisters. (view spoiler)[And to be honest, I hated that those who have survived are the most annoying characters in the entire series... My baby Katharine should have been the one! (hide spoiler)]

Holy... The last 70 pages just flew by, some of the most intense scenes in any book I've read. This was the perfect conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series and I'm honestly tearing up writing this. Amazing. Kendare Blake, amazing!

Meh

** spoiler alert ** *4.5 A great ending to the series. It was a quiet type of book, with less action than I’m used to in a fantasy but it was still enjoyable, but I felt anxious throughout the book, not knowing what was going to happen next. The characters are what made this book so good. Mirabella went from being my least favorite character to one of my favorites and Katherine got the redemption she deserved. Arsinoe was my favorite sister from book one and it stayed that way, I could honestly read an entire book with just Billy and Arsinoe. Jules was still my least favorite character, I don’t think she had depth and just followed what other people told her (not counting what she did at the end). Emilia was still not my favorite, but she grew on me and I wish we’d seen more development from her. I found the rest of the side characters really intriguing and overall liked the role everyone played in the story. I was not expecting the deaths of two characters, it almost made the book better. I’m used to YA fantasies always resolving with all of the main characters alive, so this took me by surprise. I think the author took a risk with killing two main characters and it really worked. I am glad Arsinoe survived though! One thing I didn’t like was the way Arsinoe was treated in the rebel group, especially by Emilia. Though I do like how their friendship, if you can call it that, developed throughout the book, culminating with Emilia deciding to save Billy because Arsinoe asked her to. I normally don’t like when books keep getting installments, but in this case I would like to see Arsinoe’s life after she goes to find Billy, and I would like to see Jules’ and Emilia’s relationship develop.