Kendare Blake

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake delivers two Three Dark Crowns prequel novellas fans won’t want to miss! Together in print for the first time in this paperback bind-up, the dazzling prequels to the Three Dark Crowns series are finally available for fans to have and to (literally) hold. Uncover the sisters’ origins, dive deep into the catastrophic reign of the Oracle Queen, and reveal layers of Fennbirn’s past, hidden until now. The Young Queens Get a glimpse of triplet queens Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katharine during a short period of time when they protected and loved one another. From birth until their claiming ceremonies, this is the story of the three sisters’ lives…before they were at stake. The Oracle Queen Everyone knows the legend of Elsabet, the Oracle Queen. The one who went mad. The one who orchestrated a senseless, horrific slaying of three entire houses. But what really happened? Discover the true story behind the queen who could foresee the future…just not her own downfall.

Queens of Fennbirn

Shawna Delellis

It’s nice to have both stories in one book. I loved the Oracle queen!

Elisa Bieg

I have just finished this glorious morsel of darkness, and I’m so many things: horrified, enthralled, enchanted and a little heartbroken. 

These novellas are INCREDIBLE. They may be short, but the way they enrich the story and our connection with the characters is just... so unexpected. 
I don’t know how Kendare Blake manages to evoke such complete, vivid scenes in so few words, how she reveals terrible truths without spelling them out, how she conveys images so clearly without getting over-descriptive; but she does, and it’s some kind of magic. Dark magic, to be sure — because this is a cruel world filled with horrible people and even more horrible traditions, but it’s fascinating and wonderful at the same time, because it comes alive so beautifully, and because from it emerge, unfailingly, such strong, stubborn women. 

That’s another thing I love — how real, how beautifully imperfect and yet inspiring her main characters are, starting with the fact that they survive unfailingly shitty circumstances — this place is really nightmarish, guys. I would be scared shitless to live there. I cannot even imagine being a main character. 

But I digress. 

So let me just say this: I LOVED these two novellas, the way they answered questions I didn’t even know I had, the way they explain things without dumbing them down, they way they throw us right back into this world, on Fennbirn, where the story unfolds.

The second novella started out in a bit of a hurry and there were too many names and characters to keep track of at once, and I was confused there for a while; so I’m taking off half a star. But the rest is pure gold. Or a black diamond, since this isn’t a glittering, sparkly story but a dark one, through and through. 

So I’m giving it 4 1/2 STARS.

Can’t wait for Two Dark Reigns to come out!!

Pamela Fitzhugh 

I normally don’t read novellas, but I couldn’t get enough of this series. I loved reading about the young queens and revisiting them. I would have liked to see maybe more detail about them and their upbringing, but since it has to be short I under that not much detail can be put into it. The Oracle Queen is a great story that can show how you never know who to trust and even then things can be twisted.

Nicole Lambert

I think The Young Queens was a waste. It didn't have any substance that was not previously talked about in the main books, and it lacked one crucial element that every story, no matter how long or short, should have: plot.

With that being said, The Oracle Queen was everything a novella should be, and as such I rated the whole collection in the middle of the ratings I would give the individual novellas.

Syrina Akbari

The Young Queens - What a beautiful read after finishing the Three Dark Queens series. Learning their origin story, seeing characters that died come back to life through the retelling of their childhood, it was the closure I felt was so needed. 

The Oracle Queen - A frustrating but fascinating novella about how history cannot always be trusted. The story that remains is not always reality; be careful who you trust to allow you to learn lessons from the past. Heartbreaking in so few words. 

Jaclyn Graybill

I first found Three Dark Crowns right before the pandemic hit and it was definitely the perfect form of escapism in the beginning. I finally got my hands on this novella and let me tell you it was so worth it. I have always loved the "behind the scenes" moments of any story, even just getting to know the characters and how they came to be and Queens did not disappoint. Blake's writing style is so inviting and I want to live on Fennbirn for as long as possible. Highly recommend this series if you like fantasy, magic, and bad-ass women.

Sheila Goicea

Three Young Queens

This prequel to the Three Dark Crowns series serves mainly as a detail-gap filler. While there are some moments of enlightenment as we peek into the past, there isn't really any big reveal. 

Despite that fact, I simply enjoyed being back on the island of Fennbirn whilst waiting for The Oracle Queen and the third book in the series to come out in 2018. 

I loved how the point-of-view followed the same rhythm of the other books in this series. It switches between multiple (different) characters' perspectives, to give an even further glimpse into the events that took place when the queens were young. I really liked this tactic 

  
    "I am doing it." Camille lay her hand on her Midwife's shoulder. "I know that I took my crown off and threw it at you. But I am still the queen.
  

If there is one thing that would be considered the big reveal, is that we find out how Arsinoe and Katharine are switched. The story opens in Queen Camille's perspective, telling about the birth of the three young queens Maribella, Arsinoe and Katherine, and her leaving them at the black cottage. While it's a sad part of the tale, the reader starts to see some of the injustices of the poisoner group being in power for such a long time. 

  
    Three dark queens are born in a glen. But only one will rule. Jules knows the thyme by heart. But in her young mind it is only a rhyme.
  

Jules is no stranger to the spotlight in this series. You could say it's a must that her story is told as well. The reader meets Jules at a young age and sees how she and Arsinoe become acquainted, as well as when she discovered her familiar Camden.

  
    "Have this, your last day as sweet girls," she whispers. "For when you next meet, you will remember none of it."
  
 
I've always wondered about the woman that raised the three queens until the time they left the black cottage and what she thought about their future doom. Willa's story brings to light that several people recognize the injustice the girls must face. 

There's more, but I don't want to reveal too much. Overall, I enjoyed this short read. It wasn't anything ground-shaking, however, it helped to clear up some details that I had questions about. It's worth taking the time to read if you are a fan of this series!

Vulgarity: None.
Sexual content: A brief and non-descriptive scene between Jules' aunt and her love interest.
Violence: Naturally, this series features some violence between the sisters and different groups - especially when it comes to the prisoners. 

My Rating: ★★★★

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The Oracle Queen 

 “Was it not also me who warned you that a queen is only as good as her advisers?” “Yes.” She crooked her mouth at him. “But you were wrong. That may be true of other queens, but an oracle queen is only as good as her gift.”
I've been anticipating this novella for quite. The Oracle Queen, mentioned several times throughout the Three Dark Crowns series, has remained an aloof point of intrigue. So, I dove into this story, devouring each page, and looking for...something more than I found.

Politics have always played a big role in this series--and the politics are often muddied with deceit and corruption. 500 years earlier...nothing has changed. While there are five abilities represented instead of the three prominent abilities between Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katherine, there is all-the-more treachery at work between the groups. While I expected this aspect to play a role in this story as well, I was also hoping for more of a fantasy element to be at work as well. Honestly, I felt a bit let down with the way everything panned out, and the truth is revealed behind Queen Elsabet's story. 

Despite that fact, the interworkings between the different groups were interesting to see. There was a lot more openness between the groups in terms of friendships and working together. Elsabet, a Sight-gifted queen was close friends with the War-gifted Rosemund. Whereas, 500 years later, friendships between people of different gifts was taboo. 
Handsome, they called her. She was a queen of presence, they said. She hoped it was true. With such a homely face, it was all she could aspire to.
Queen Elsabet wasn't what I was expecting. Although, I'm not really sure what I was expecting. While she was a queen, and a young one at that, she was constantly worried about her vanity--to the point of paranoia. This was her weakest quality that guided her to not always make the best decisions. 

While this was a decent short story, I was just hoping for it to have more to it. The way everything happened was much more predictable than I had expected.

Vulgarity: None.
Sexual content: There are references, but nothing in detail.
Violence: Minimal. 

My Rating: ★★★

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laura

I was super helpful to read this book before I dived back into the main books in this series. I found the first novella about the young queens to be the more engaging story. I really loved the background history that was given and loved seeing the young sister dynamics. I found the second story to be less compelling and less engaging. I felt like the story was because it had a been explained was less compelling and just less interesting. I was happy for that story information but it did not wow me.

libby g

about as shocking as when you put your bread in the toaster and it pops out again.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I bought this book on my own!

Book Series: Three Dark Crowns 0.5

Rating: 4.5/5

Publication Date: April 3, 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 15+ (birth, abuse, baby queens slaying, oracle queen predicting the future, violence)

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 232

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Uncover the sisters’ origins, dive deep into the catastrophic reign of the Oracle Queen, and reveal layers of Fennbirn’s past, hidden until now.

The Young Queens

Get a glimpse of triplet queens Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katharine during a short period of time when they protected and loved one another. From birth until their claiming ceremonies, this is the story of the three sisters’ lives…before they were at stake.

The Oracle Queen

Everyone knows the legend of Elsabet, the Oracle Queen. The one who went mad. The one who orchestrated a senseless, horrific slaying of three entire houses. But what really happened? Discover the true story behind the queen who could foresee the future…just not her own downfall.

Review: I loved this book of short stories. I felt that it answered a lot of questions I had in the series about the oracle queen and I loved reading about the baby queens! I’d love to see if Kendare would write a full prequel about the oracle queen in this book and/or about the baby queens in the full series, as both were very intriguing. This book served its purpose: it gave me voluntary information about the books without being a necessary read for the rest of the series.

However, I think it was too short (I’m nitpicking, I’m loving this series). Please make these full blown prequels!

Verdict: Need these in a full novel.

Elodia

*3.5
The Young Queens- 3
The Oracle Queen- 4

Hannah

Manon van Heumen

The Queens of Fennbirn contains two gripping stories from the New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns universe, written by Kendare Blake.The Young Queens is the story of the three queens when they were born, before they were separated - it gives a short glimpse of the time when they all lived together, loved each other and protected one another. It's also the story of the day they were torn apart and the immediate years that followed before the opening of Three Dark Crowns.The Oracle Queen - historically, baby queens born with the sight gift were drowned. This had been the practice for hundreds of years, so long that few were even born any more, as if the Goddess knew it would be a waste. It is a harsh sentence, but necessary, for it is well-known that in a queen the sight gift will run strong. Strong enough to drive her mad. This is the tale of the last sight-gift queen to be allowed to live. She was overcome by paranoia and false visions, driven past the brink by the phantom thoughts of others in her head, so she set upon the capital with bloody ruin, murdering whole houses, whole family lines, without trial. Or at least, that is how the tale is told. This is her story.

Queens of Fennbirn

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