ARC Review: Three Dark Crowns

Title: Three Dark Crowns
Author: Kendare Blake
Pages: 405
Published by: Pan Macmillan
Release Date: 22nd September 2016
Synopsis:
Three sisters. One crown. A fight to the death.

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.

Purchase from: Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones

Thank you so much to Catherine from Pan Macmillan for sending me an early copy of Three Dark Crowns to review!

Review:

Three Dark Crowns is a fantastically dark and wonderful read, one that demands to be devoured in one sitting. I loved it!

I loved the idea of this book, and I found the plot so gripping – I had to know what was going to happen, what was going to be the outcome of the queens’ fight. It is quite fast paced, and although I did get a little confused at times, and struggled to keep up, I soon caught up and really enjoyed it. I loved how well this world was built up -I forgot, for a moment, that this is a fantasy world, it felt so real.

This is a book that progressively gets darker and darker as you read, and I love that. Three Dark Crowns follows the three sisters – queens – Mirabella, Arsinoe and Katharine, who are separated as children and raised to hate each other. Each sister lives with a foster family according to their gift – Katharine lives with poisoners, Arsinoe with naturalists, and Mirabella with elementals. They each grow up in different environments, have different attitudes towards the fight to the death that must happen. I loved how different they all were, and I couldn’t decide who I loved more out of the three – and which queen I wanted to win. First it was Katharine, then Mirabella, then Arsinoe – and repeat. And now I want all of them to win.

Alongside the three queens, I loved reading about Jules – her and Camden were so interesting and fun  and I loved her friendship with Arsinoe. And strangely, I even really enjoyed reading from the Natalia and Luca’s point of view. I found them so interesting – how they both cared so much for their own queens, while encouraging that they kill their sisters.

I really liked Blake’s writing style. It was so eloquent and easy to read, and I found that it – and the crazily addicting plot line – just made me want to keep reading. I found myself staying up way too late just to finish this chapter, and then starting another because I need to know what happens after this. And that last sentence – oh my gosh, I need more!

The wait for book two is going to be complete torture!

(Also, have you seen how gorgeous all of the covers are for this series?! There are three! I’m so tempted to get all of them.)

Rating : ★★★★.5