Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns, 1) Hardcover – Deckle Edge, September 20, 2016

Oh My. I read this book in 2 days and am contemplating devouring it again as soon as I finish this review. It's dark fairytale fantasy. There are three sisters destined to fight to the death. There can only be one queen. Each sister has a gift. Only the strongest will prevail. Enough synopsis. The poisoner storyline was amazing. These were characters so dark and yet so alluring it was reminiscent of Anne Rices vampires!!! I couldn't get enough!! The descriptions of the poisoned food made me indeed ravenous while at the same time my stomach was twisting in knots. The poisoner queen is my pick to win the dark throne but either the elemental or the naturalist queen could easily win also. The author managed to create three strong queens that inspire devotion, love and sacrifice from their followers despite the fact that two of the three appear to HAVE NO GIFT. So this really isn't even a contest. Or is it? *****Spoiler Alert******* I was idly pondering the mystery of the giftless queens from the second they were introduced and my very first instinct was that they were switched. Despite a small pang of disappointment that I had guessed half of the big reveal early on in the novel the ending STILL left me on tenterhooks. Sure I guessed the twist......but how will that change things? Which animal did the poisoner queen (Katherine) call to save her from the pit? I'm dying to know what her familar is!! How does Arsinoe (naturalist queen) even stay in the GAME? She's a poisoner who knows nothing of POISONS. Strong personality but she's holding a very weak hand at this point. Mirabella (Elemental queen) is sort of the boring big sister/mother hen type but she can literally rain down hell on you. Strong gift. Boring girl. But her bond with her sisters and also now with Joseph is intriguing. Does her empathy and magnetism lose her a crown or does she change the entire GAME??? And speaking of changing the game this author just obliterated Anne Bishop's Dark Jewels trilogy with a single novel!!!! (Please don't cut off my hands) Blasphemous I know. Unbelievable really. But also true. Stay with us Ms. Blake. Please. This is your niche. And there are so few novels of this quality in this subset of the dark fantasy genre. Back to the book review. The only weakness of the novel was the men. Largely forgettable and interchangeable.....even Joseph was a let down! The book sets you up for this fire brand alpha male who defies all in order to save Arsinoe. Mmmmmm not so much. Jules herself could take him down in her sleep. And seriously???? Two nights with Arabella completely unmanned you??? Boooo! Dude turns out to be a total cream puff. They all are really. I get the whole matriarchal society thing but the male characters need more personality and to grow a spine in order to be interesting and suitable mates for any of the women. That's it folks. Fantastic novel. Immersive and fascinating world. Intriguing culture and lore. Three kick butt triplet queens. And a heck of a contest for the dark throne hunger games style but without the moralistic undertones.Random Fangirl Sidenote:Gooooooo team Katherine!!! A skilled poisoner nee' strong naturalist should be a force of nature right????And she's freaking pissed! Love IT!

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake🌟🌟🌟🌟👑💍🌩💔Three Dark Crowns is a wonderfully twisted and brutal fantasy deeply rooted in bees despite bees never being involved in the book. No, seriously, read the story behind the novels, and it will explain a lot of the premise behind this wonderful novel. I read Blake’s explanation after I read her book, and it made the book all the more twisted for me. (http://www.mykindabook.com/…/kendare-blake-s-three-dark-cro…)That being said, I would also say that this book feels deeply rooted in Paganism. (What, with a female-centric cast and culture, familiars, Beltane, Goddesses, elements, and herbs, how could I not think of that?) However, I will add that it’s Hollywood’s version of Paganism—with more harm than good—but I thought it was addressed brilliantly by explaining how poisoners were also healers but had long since forgotten the skill.I loved that.I loved a lot about the book.If you don’t know, Three Dark Crowns is about triplet queens, but only one of them can live to rule. Separated during childhood, and living in three different lands, the three girls are raised with their unique powers to kill one another. There’s Katharine the poisoner, Arsinoe the naturalist, and Mirabella the elemental. Each girl has a unique personality and secrets they’re struggling to hide. They also have friendships, tutors, and suitors. So prepare yourself for a full cast of characters to sink your teeth into. The book itself has a female-centric cast, which was my favorite part. (There’s also a Queen Shannon. Or was a Queen Shannon. But still. I hardly ever see my name in a book, and I’m not going to lie, it makes me squeal every time.)That being said, it took me 170 pages to understand what was happening. There are so many places, so many characters, so many relationships and political intrigue happening all at once, that it’s difficult to keep up at first. So, I suggest to just let it all go and go for the ride. I did, and Three Dark Crowns fulfilled its promise of unraveling in a beautifully twisted way. My favorite part of the plot was definitely the end, but I will admit that I loved how my emotions changed throughout the book. An example? I loved Mirabella at the beginning. In fact, she was the ONLY one I liked at first, but by the end, all my feelings were twisted about and confuzzled and didn’t know what to do with themselves. And that is where the brilliance hides in Three Dark Crowns. It’s in the shifting sides, the ever-changing “loyalty” of the reader and the brutal betrayals of the characters. It’s in the love and hate and confusion and “if they only knew what actually happened” suspense. It’s truly magnificent.So who am I rooting for in the end? Arsinoe. I liked her the whole way through, because she felt the most real to me. She makes mistakes. She feels hope. She faces despair. She decides to try to overcome it. She fails again. She tries again. She fails more. But so did the other girls. What is comes down to, for me, is that her relationships felt the most natural and honest among the bunch. I liked that she seemed the least likely to succeed at all times, yet still carried on in whatever way she could. Even through hiding or running or lying or deception. I always believed in her.As for Katharine, I never really liked her, even with her suffering. Why? No clue. But I still enjoyed her story. I found her parts interesting, and her character was fascinating to read about. Probably the one to face the most pain out of the girls, and honestly, someone who deserves the most credit, but I never connected with her on a personal level. In regards to Mirabella, I LOVED her in the beginning. I was like, this is it; she’s my gal. But by the end, I just feel deeply, deeply out of love for her. If I explained, I would ruin half the book. So I won’t say anymore about this YA novel. You should choose your own side. It’s the best part....But wait, can I say one last thing?Hey, Joseph. You’re a jackass.Oh, and I can’t wait to read book 2.~SATRecommended to: YA fantasy readers looking for a female-centric cast, magic, and betrayal. Must enjoy romance and be okay with violence. (There are some scenes in this book that even made me cringe at the blood baths, but in a good way. Just a forewarning for the queasy readers out there.)Favorite Quote: N/A: Please do not get me wrong. The prose is wonderful. The story is riveting. But a standalone quote didn’t leap out at me. Maybe because of the present tense? Present tense isn’t normally something I enjoy, which actually speaks volumes of Blake, because I really enjoyed her novel and hardly noticed a tense that usually forces me to put a book down on the first page.Favorite Word: Since I didn’t have a favorite quote, here’s two favorite words used.Comeuppance: a punishment or fate that someone deserves: But any comeuppance Genevieve receives will be kept quiet and private. (pg. 57)Lacquered: a liquid made of shellac dissolved in alcohol, or of synthetic substances, that dries to form a hard protective coating for wood, metal, etc.: The mask is lacquered black, and stretches over her good cheek and the bridge of her nose to taper her chin on the right side. (pg 274)

Precioso libro

Le pongo cinco estrellas porque el contenido es bueno y no quisiera dañar a la autora por el mal manejo de Amazon, pero por fuera está en terribles condiciones.Me llegó sin plástico protector, con la portada con polvo y manchas como de grasa, y todas las páginas están mal cortadas o rasgadas. Pedí un reemplazo y, no me quejo, me lo cambiaron sin contratiempos y al día siguiente, pero me encuentro con la sorpresa de que el reemplazo tiene los mismos defectos sólo que en cantidades ligeramente menores.Recomiendo comprar el libro, pero no de Amazon, si es posible de una tienda física en la que puedan estar seguros de que está en buenas condiciones.

Pas une 1 protagoniste mais plusieurs, au début les introductions me paraissaient un peu longue, tout s'accélère avec le rencontre des sœurs, des rebondissements, une fin très rapide, qui donne envie de lire la suite...

“Three dark queensAre born in a glen,Sweet little tripletsWill never be friendsThree dark sistersAll fair to be seen,Two to devourAnd one to be Queen”You can't even imagine how happy I am to finally be able to write this review.I've been wanting to read this series since I got involved in the bookstagram community, which means it's been almost five months. The cover immediately attracted me and the synopsis seemed very intriguing, but for one reason or another, I've never got my hands on Three Dark Crowns until 10 days ago.You may have noticed my weird rating. 4.75 is very, very close to 5, so you're probably wondering what led me to not give this book the best rating.First thing first, this book was amazing. I loved every second of my reading experience and I can't wait to have the sequel in my hands. The writing style is perfect for my tastes, it flows like a dream and it's never excessive. There aren't unnecessary, long descriptions, but at the same time the world building is top notch: while reading, I really felt like I was able to perfectly portray Fennbirn and the different places of the story in my mind. It was like I already knew them, like I've been there myself - yes Claudia, you wish.But what really blew my mind is... the characters.Imagine being able to write a very good book, with a strong world building, a strong plot and an even stronger main character. Sounds awesome right? It isn't something achievable by anyone. Many of the super hyped books out there don't have a good MC.Do you agree that it is pretty impressive? Perfect.Now, imagine being able to write a very good book, with a strong world-building, a strong plot and three even stronger main characters. Imagine being so good at it, to be able to not only portray not one, not two, THREE perfect MCs, but to always portray complex and three-dimensional background characters that almost feel like MC themselves.This is the true strength of this book. Its characters.They're perfectly described, beautifully complex, so faceted and real. Empathizing with each and every one of them is almost too easy, at the point where you quickly get affectionate to the three girls and struggle to root just for one of them.Every character has a well-built background, they have history and it's tangible. It's easy to understand them, the way they think, the reason why the act like that.I loved how the writer was able to make the sisters so different, yet with some similarities in their own, unique stories.And don't let me start on the ending!If you thought that The Wicked King's ending was a major plot twist - I didn't, but whatever - then you're not prepared for this one. This book has a REAL plot twist, one of those you would never think about because the writer is able to lead your thoughts toward different roads.So, again, why am I giving it only 4.75?Well, even though I loved this book, I must say it lacks a little bit of action.I'm not saying it needs more action because it doesn't. I'm just saying that, being the first book of a series, it is obviously a bit more chill: it's the book you need to get to know the characters, their lives, their pasts, it's the book where the story slowly starts to take form, but it's only the base point for what will be the sequel.Again, I loved it. I loved getting to know the queens, their friends, their lovers, their people, their gifts. I loved getting to know about Fennbirn, discovering hidden places, learning about its culture and traditions.This book felt like the beginning of a beautiful trip: those first moments when you arrive in a new country, somewhere you've only heard of but don't really know anything about and you're pretty excited to get in touch with the locals, to learn their ways and their habits. It's the first part of the trip, when you're still trying to navigate this new, intriguing place, when you're not completely confident yet, you're still trying to make some friends and to find your place. But when this first part is over, that is when the fun really starts.And I'm pretty sure One Dark Reign is going to be lots of fun.SPOILER ALERT: Now, let's move on with something more spoilery. If you haven't read the book yet, feel free to stop reading.First of all, I want to highlight the romances in this story. I loved how the writer was able to portray a romance for each of the queens, all of them forbidden but, at the same time, very different from each other.What I'm trying to say is that even though it could sound a bit repetitive at first, all three romances were so unique and heart-wrenching and I loved everything about them.Except for when Pyetir decided to throw Katherine in the Breccia Domain. That boy needs to give me some explanations!And how the heck did she survive?! I mean, I don't really care for it.She wants revenge, I want it too. I felt personally attacked when Pyetir betrayed her, I don't know exactly why, but I know I want to kill him almost as much as her. GO KATHERINE!Also, I would like to start a petition to reach Fennbirn and give Joseph lots of punches on the nose. I get it, Arsinoe screwed up by throwing the magical vodoo thing in the fire and that's why now he's obsessed with Mirabella, but was kissing her in front of the entire population of Fennbirn - with the girl you always loved among them - really necessary?The final plot twist. OMG. OMG OMG OMG. DID THEY MADE A MISTAKE WHEN THEY SEPARATED THE QUEENS? ARE THEY ALL SUPER POWERFUL AND FIERCE AND STRONG?I guess I'll find out soon. Hopefully this review was helpful!

I don't have words to describe just how much I enjoyed this book. It's been ages since I read such an awesome YA fantasy book. I had lost all faith and interest in YA fantasy early this year because whichever book I picked up it was similar to the previous one I read and that frustrated me to no end.The synopsis of this book hooked me right from the start and I finished this book in 2 days only!Loved the characters but mostly I loved Katherine through out the story but the end made me love Arsinoe much more (those of you readers who read this till the end know what I mean!). To be brutally honest I didn't like Mirabella much. On the other hand I loved Natalia's character a lot too and Jules as well.Loved the plot and the shocking ending sealed the deal for me. The pacing was great though at places I thought the story would loose my interest but this awesome story line just kept gut punching me.The romance is subtle and does not takeover the whole plot and we get to see how the lives of these three queens change once they turn 16. The story reminded me a lot of the hunger games and the way people enjoyed the fight between the contenders, it was the same here as the common folks rooted for the most powerful queen.So excited to see what happens in the next installment. Hope this series never end.