Kendare Blake

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 control storms or flames with the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, able to ingest the deadliest poisons without harm. And Arsinoe, a naturalist, can control nature. 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 #1

Three Dark Crowns

Sunky

Pretty nice book. The ending for some reason did not sit well with me. However, the writing style was impeccable and gave every feeling it was supposed to. I even caught myself wincing at some grotesque scenes. Anyway, will read the rest of the series. Very nice book.

Kate Gonzales

Great book! I love how they hate and also love one another.

Annalissa Powner 

Oh how badly I wanted to love this book, and sadly it didn’t come close. 
What a great idea, triplets born to kill one another, to become a scary queen. 
You would think there would be blood, Wild amounts of hatred or evil from three girls raised to one day kill their sisters... NOPE. 
You have one who is basically a beautiful face with a temper and love for storms not to mention another woman’s man... who, lets be honest, is a piece of trash and should have died instead of being drawn into that web of mess up madness.. 
One who has a meh personally at best with no talent but is best friends with a girl with nothing but power and horrible communication skills..
And one queen who is a hormone driven vanilla character suffering years of abuse and yet again no talent..
I’m not sure what shocked me more, such dull girls or suck insane adults set to be the people raising such tame characters.
I Weill say the ending was wonderful, it was some lovely twists, some excitement and some bloody madness! 
And for a book about murder and cut throat challenges I sure didn’t see much blood, in fact most action cams from our lovely queens and side characters getting their frisky on with the “men” of this book.

Três Coroas Negras

Ana Luiza

Três estrelas e meia! Quaaaaase 4. Eu demorei muito pra me prender na história e mesmo quando isso aconteceu nao fiquei tão ansiosa pra continuar, só nas ultimas 50-60 páginas. 
Como já vi em outras resenhas, também senti falta do sentimento de irmandade. Poxa, elas viveram juntas por varios anos. Como podem não se lembrar? Fora Mirabella, claro. Enfim, tenho esperanças que isso será construído no próximo livro. O qual, inclusive, estou muito ansiosa pra ler. 
A autora foi muito feliz em terminar o livro da maneira que terminou, acredito que fez todos que leram ficarem com vontade de continuar a história.
O que mais amei no livro, além da criatividade do universo, foi o visível girl power. Mulheres estão em todas as posições de poder. Maravilhoso.

Jaden Nelson

I am very on the fence about what to rate this books as. Just finishing it now, I am so excited about the ending that I can barely put anything but 5 stars on it, but at the same time, 3DC seemed quite monotone and boring for a big chunk, but what I can't decide is if I actually liked that big chunk or not. Long review short, really good book, well written(although I found the multi-third person perspectives a little confusing), has a pretty good plot, and one of those endings that only special books have, the kind of endings that send you scrolling at lighting speed to the bottom of the books goodreads page, searching for the next book. Sadly, I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL SEPTEMBER. Anyways, my star rating may change over the next few days, so regardless of that, I would recommend this book to anyone into fantasy, dystopians, magic, or basically anyone reading YA. So that's all I am going to say.... the end p.s. who actually reads my reviews????

Geoffrey Froggatt

I was a fan of Anna Dressed in Blood, so when I heard Kendare Blake was writing a dark fantasy series, I knew I had to check it out. 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. Content warning for violence and animal death. The writing was excellent for envisioning the world and its characters. I loved all three triplets and the characters and world that surrounded each of them. I loved seeing the different struggle each sister had and the inevitable destiny that hung over them. The world-building was interesting and made me realize that I love dark fantasy stories. I don’t usually like love stories, but the love interests in this book enhanced the dark storylines of the triplets and didn’t chain them down or distract from the most interesting parts of the story. I felt like I was watching a movie when I was reading this book, and for that I reason I think that this series should be adapted to the screen. I highly recommend this book for fans of dark fantasy stories.

or at least, it feels like it's been that long since i added this to my to read shelf, where it was abandoned. This almost reads like a really, really, 

 long prequel, considering there's a very small amount of action for what is seemingly promised in the synopsis. It's a lot of build up for very little payoff. I also wish we got to see more of Katharine, it felt like she barely showed up. The twist at the end was good! I didn't see it coming but now, looking back, I can see the seeds being planted. 

Holly

It's been 84 years...

or at least, it feels like it's been that long since i added this to my to read shelf, where it was abandoned. This almost reads like a really, really, really long prequel, considering there's a very small amount of action for what is seemingly promised in the synopsis. It's a lot of build up for very little payoff. I also wish we got to see more of Katharine, it felt like she barely showed up. The twist at the end was good! I didn't see it coming but now, looking back, I can see the seeds being planted. 

Lacy W

OMG. That ending though? How am I supposed to wait until September for the next one with that information? I mean, that is just cruel! 

I was warned when I started this book that it was going to be slow. I'm one of those weirdos that likes info dumping and build ups but this one was just going sooooo slooooow. I'm glad that somebody warned me because I might have not finished it. There were so many rave reviews, I just knew that I had to give it a chance. And boy, am I glad I did. 

We have Katharine, the poisoner. Poor thing has basically none existent powers. My heart bled for her. She was my favorite, despite her weakness. To me, there was just something that was really likable about her. Her setting and where she lived was super cool as well. The poisoners were just a bunch of creepy folks and I loved everything about it. I love the fact that all their food is tainted with poison. It was just so creepy! I found myself rushing through the other chapters in order to get to Katharines. 

Next is Arsinoe, a naturalist. This means she can make flowers bloom and grow. To be honest, I didn't like her right away. She came of as really snobby and selfish. But, as the chapters progressed, I found myself liking her more and more. She quickly grows up and I realized that she wasn't as selfish as I had thought. I liked her world's concept of families, where they have an animal by their side. 

The last one is Mirabella, the elementalist. This means she can control the weather like Storm can from X-Men. She took a little bit to grow on me as well. I liked that even though she was the gifted one of the three, she was still very sensitive. I started to feel all sorts of feels when I got more into her chapters. I'm not pleased with a certain decision she made with a certain somebody, but I guess we will have to see how that pans out. 

This truly was an amazing book. The world concept was incredible. I never felt confused or overloaded. Everything was explained in a timely manner and relevant to the story. I have read reviews where there was a complaint of lots of side characters that were hard to keep track of. I felt that but I also understood why each of them were there and what their parts where in each of the girls' lives. 

 All I know is that September cannot come soon enough...

I had to think about it but I'm gonna go with 4*'s (it's more like an almost but eh) 

I'd been putting off this book for ages because I wasn't a fan of the writing style but I decided to just try it out today and ended up reading the whole thing! The plot was really interesting and I'm planning on starting book 2 in the next few days. 

I think I'm definitely rooting for Arsinoe but I love the other sisters too so I'm scared how it's gonna go!!

Jamieson

“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” 


haha this book ? I AM ETERNALLY CONFLICTED 


A thorough guide of what I was thinking while reading this book

start: "Oh, actually this is super interesting. love the set up of the world and the queens"

100 pages in: "Okay. This is a bit boring, and there are so many characters I am a little confused. I'll keep reading"

200 pages in: No. This is not good I'm not enjoying it. The plot is too jumpy and inconsistent, and I hate the characters. I will give this 1 freakin star mark my words. I HATE THIS WITH SO MUCH PASSION

300 pages in: actually, I take it back. this isn't so bad. It's getting closer to Beltane now. I still hate some characters, but it's getting much more interesting. 

finishing it: HOLY SHIT. I can't believe Arsinoe !!!! and OMG Peityr DID THAT. That bear !! THAT FREAKIN BEAR. ohmygod Mirabella & Arsinoe !! Katherine !! THIS IS CRAZY 

me later on: But despite the ending, I still hate the characters and lets be real the middle was awful. I still don't know who some characters are. I don't know how to feel about this book

 

Honestly straight up what I think this book has is a marketing issue. When this book was pitched across booktube (and I'm pretty sure those reviews were sponsored) I was hearing about this being a massive, fight to the death battle between three sisters so one could be queen. I was expecting it to be like The Hunger Games: Queen Edition. And I know I was NOT the only one with that assumption. 

This is DEFINITELY not the Hunger Games, there's not even a battle to the death so if you're waiting for that ... don't hold your breath. 

I put this book down for a long, long time Like, a few months. And when I picked it up again with my expectations reset I enjoyed it alot more. If you're going into this you NEED to have your expectations straight. It's a very political book, with the fighting between the sisters done is a much more subtle way. It's not bloody, gory and dramatic like the Hunger Games this is a completely different thing. 


  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE


• THERE IS AN ABSURD AMOUNT OF CHARACTERS. !!!!. And it's so confusing. Who the fuck am I reading about now, I'm sorry ? Who's mother's brother is this ?? Is that his cousin or his sister ?!!. It's just way too much, and they're not explained well at all so I was just incredibly lost and confused except for the main characters

• WRITING STYLE. This is written in present tense, which I wasn't a huge fan of and it jumps around alot. Every chapter is about a different character, but that wasn't too bad for me. What I didn't like is how the plot kinda meandered and randomly changed directions. It wasn't always cohesive and that had me a little ..... what is going on 

• JOSEPH !!!! WHAT A FUCKBOY I HATED HIM SO MUCH.  On a scale of 1 to 10 for despicableness of a character Joseph is a solid fucking 11. He's just a terrible person !! and his actions are inexcusable !! and I literally don't care what u say I hate him for all time 

• and while we're talking about SHIT boy characters Pietyr was also a terrible fucking person and sooo creepy and I highkey hate him

• Lack of representation. I LOVED that it was a matriarchal society, but in terms of rep this fell really short. There was no lgbt rep, and no characters who were poc and everyone was able bodied. So, yeah. LAME. 

• It was boring in parts. While I think it was a political book and so wasn't going to be the fastest, there were parts where characters would just be talking and it was SLOW. Or when an event would be repeated just from a different characters point of view 

• The characters were okay but not the best in terms of depth and complexity. I'm kinda gonna give it a get out of jail free card here because it IS the first book in the series, but STILL I think the characters were not the best. While they each had a unique voice which I liked, they weren't all /that/ complex which was kind of disappointing 



  WHAT I ACTUALLY DID LIKE


• Political intrigue. Yes bitch I'm all ABOUT THAT. I loved the subtlety of this book with it's political themes, and the way the differing political structures are vying for power. I loved that the governing systems were ambiguous in their morality and none of them seemed to be a great options, and I loved there was so much questioning of the traditions and also structures like the temple and the priestesses. 

• AMAZING female friendships ! There were soo many solid friendships between female characters and it was great ! I also liked there was good male/female friendships and that they were incorporated into the story so naturally. 

• The matriarchal society/ worldbuilding in general. In this world, the Queens have three triplets and then they must leave. A council rules for the queens while they grow up, and then the queens fight eachother and whoever wins becomes the queen - becoming Queen also gives their families lots of political influence and power and so it's as much about the Queens friends as it is about them. The worldbuilding was AMAZING, really detailed and a super interesting society. I could not fault this book here it was really well thought out, and connected to the political aspects of the plot so perfectly. I also loved that the society was matriarchal, just because it was interesting af. 

• sympathetic characters. !! I liked that none of the queens were antagonised so you actually were rooting for all of them. It made it much more interesting because you didn't want any of them to kill eachother at all 

• The ending. SupER set up the next book and actually left me on a really excited note. I am not maly brainstorming the next books in the series tbh

(view spoiler)[ listen. Jules is actually the naturalist queen. The priestesses wanted to gain power through Mirabella so they mixed the triplets up. Katherine has no power, she is powerless and was supposed to expose and humiliate the Arron's. Because they have too much power. Arsinoe is the poisoner queen and actually the Arron.  (hide spoiler)] 



  IN CONCLUSION


Not the best book ever but not the worst. I wish I'd gone into this knowing it was a political intrigue book instead of thinking it was gonna be battle royale because I think I would have liked it more. 
I am actually kind of looking forward to the sequel though ! Even if it's not most highly anticipated.

Shawna Delellis

I loved this book! It’s very dark and unique. The ending leaves you dying to read the next one!

i didn't know how to rate this book because everything happened too fast and i didn't like that, i felt like it could have had a better developing... especially with such a good plot and characters (i need to know them better???). BUT the plot is SO good i needed to rate it four stars at least???

Alexander Aguirre

There is absolutely no way for me to pick a side. 
It is literally impossible to chose between the wilderness, braveness and disobedience of Arsinoe, the kindness, strength, fright and warmth of Katherine and the power, elegancy, true heart and loyalty of Mirabella. 
I mean how in the earth would I pick a side? Please kill all the Arrons, the Milones and the fucking Priestesses and get a fucking live you three together. Thanks :)

Rachel Kanyid

Really enjoyed this. Did not expect the ending!!

Kristen Claiborn

This is a very imaginative premise, albeit quite dark. Damn my daughter for giving me a book that is clearly the first in a series...and the next one isn't out. I hate that.

Emily B

3.5 stars. This was not what I expected. I went into this with lower expectations from the reviews I had read. And yes, it was slower than you would expect. But I still liked it. For me, it was a very fast read. The first two thirds spend the time introducing the characters and the relationships. The build up of the different plots for the climax of the books was simmering the whole time. When the climax finally hit, it was pretty faced paced and had one or two twists I did not see coming (granted it's not that hard to pull one over on me haha). The ending left me kind of excited for what was to come for the three queens. I saw one review that said to treat this book kind of like a prologue for the rest of the series, and I'd say that is accurate. Overall, this was a good introduction book that spent time building up for the rest of the plot and the main conflicts of its characters. Good job Ms. Blake!

Kwan Ann Tan

Did I finish an entire book in school? Yes, yes I did. I've been reading the reviews, and this book does get a lot of flak for being too draggy or boring in the beginning, but I didn't feel that way at all! I thought it was wonderfully thought out, although I would have liked for the demonstrations to be slightly more thought out-- and where were Katherine's interactions with Arsinoe & Mirabella? Poisoners ftw though. I'm rooting for Katherine 100%. 

For some reason, this really reminds me of Cathrynne M. Valente's short story, The Lily and the Horn, which I highly recommend to anyone with time on their hands!

Lorelei 

Ummm.... this book is so good. It took me a few chapters to really get into it, but good books always have slow beginnings. The end of this book will make you immediately pick up the sequel.

Raphaëlle

The concept was great, the premises were okay, the characters were bland, the execution was poor.
Most of all, it was incredibly boring - one thing that fantasy y/a should never be.

This book had an interesting idea. The plot however dragged on for me and only a small portion was actually about that. So I'll say if you're someone enjoying the magic system and political system and generally slow paced Fantasy books, this one might be a great book for you!

Elda Mengisto

"If you do not do it, my queen, then we will. And our way will be slower than yours." (56)

Three Dark Crowns has a very interesting premise: three triplet sisters, all with different powers, are to fight each other when they turn sixteen to see who would become the next queen of Fennbirn. This is not unlike many popular YA novels today, such as with Throne of Glass (becoming the King's assassin) or The Crown's Game (becoming the tsar's enchanter), but apparently with higher stakes. This book entails the plans that would climax with Beltane, a festival in which the girls would show off their abilities, and then they would have a year to kill each other to see who would reign.

From the outset, where a number of side characters remark on the strengths and weaknesses of the three girls, it's clear that it would be more of a political intrigue novel, as if it was a game. We see this in the first Gave Noir, where Katherine had a small snake bracelet, "...red and yellow and black. Toxic colors, they say. The perfect accessory for a poisoner queen..." (7), then disappoints everyone when she purges the contents. We see this through Arsinoe's struggles to develop her naturalist gift and her dream of a bear as a familiar, while the priestesses believed Maribella would be the strong queen of a hypothetical "Sacrificial Year". Then, Arsinoe and Katherine would just be killed in an instant.

I think this was a major flaw of the book--it focused more on these internal strife and less on what would be the ramifications of Beltrane on the realm. There are frequent mentions of the Arron family of poisoners who seemingly run Fennbirn, and I thought that aspect was intriguing. While the first book touches it on a little, I wonder what this would mean for the second book. This also made it less enjoyable for me, as I felt like I was in a haze for the first hundred pages or so.

This doesn't mean that Three Dark Crowns didn't have its moments, however. One of my favorite scenes featured Mirabella meeting Elizabeth, a priestess who had her own woodpecker, a familiar. "The little bird pokes his beak out from behind her hood and disappears again just as quickly. Mirabella watches with interest. She has never seen a familiar; in the temple, a priestess gives up her gift, and familiars are forbidden" (88). This ends up striking a friendship between the two, which became something I rooted for.

Interestingly, another Mirabella scene which really got to me was when she ran away from the temple and had to save a ship. "She uses her gift to sift through the water, separating it down deep. She has never done anything like this before. The ocean's layers, its currents, and cold and churning sand move as she commands. It is not easy, but the water obeys" (176). The scene where she "sets the boy on fire" was also intriguing, especially considering that the boy, joseph, would be tied with Arsinoe and Jules.

A lot of people talked about the ending being the highlight, and I thought it did a great job in not only not deciding who would reign, but also with opening new avenues for the sequel. One of my favorite parts featured "Katherine, dirty and cold but alive. Cuts mar every inch of her skin. Her mangled hands hang limp by her sides, tipped in dark red with most of her fingernails torn off" (389). The events which lead to this event also was well-written, and gives a good image of where Katherine would want to go next.

Finishing Three Dark Crowns, I thought it was a decent enough book; however, I wanted some more meat to the story, rather than just with the last hundred pages. I liked the concept of the three sisters fighting for the crown, but some aspects needed to be better executed, like with their relationship and the worldbuilding. The former had some of it with Arsinoe's and Mirabella's tussle, but I hope it could be expanded. Nevertheless, I look forward to the sequel improving things... (6.5/10)

Three Dark Crowns Three Dark Crowns #1

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