"Three Dark Crowns"

“Three Dark Crowns”

Written by Kendare Blake

Review written by Diana Iozzia

          I recently received an ARC of Kendare’s new book, the second in this series, “One Dark Throne”, so of course I needed to read the first. I was excited at the premise, three sisters must fight to see who can be the queen of their island of Fennbrin. The sisters are Arsinoe, Katherine, and Mirabella. Arisnoe is a naturalist, which means she can bond with and train her pet to protect her. Katherine is a poisoner, which means she can consume poison and learn to poison others. Mirabella is an elemental, which means she has powers that can control the elements.

          This is a very ambitious novel and it shows, but I still really enjoyed this novel. I have many gripes about it, but I don’t often read young adult / teen fiction, so I could imagine I may pick it apart. This review is spoiler free, but if you feel you may be spoiled in any way, please do not read on, because I will speak about characters, plot lines, and the world building.

          To start, I absolutely love the island / kingdom. I have always longed to write a YA fantasy and world-build, so I always pay attention to the details. There’s a map in the beginning of the book, so it helps, but I think you can still understand where everything goes. When a chapter begins, it reminds you where the characters are from. This does happen with many of the details, that you are constantly reminded who is kind, who is mean, who does this, who betrays who, what powers everyone has. This is a very vivid book, so I do appreciate the details.

          Arsinoe is by far my favorite out of the princesses, but I think the hidden gem of this book is not any of the princesses. Jules is Arsinoe’s best friend, and by God, I love them. They have a “we grew up together, we’re straight, we like men, WE REALLY LIKE MEN, dynamic, but I could have imagined a love story between them. Jules is a great friend and a fantastic ally to have with her mountain lion familiar and her strong will. But of course, she falls in love with the character who is equally as wonderful as he is repulsive?!?

          This starts me on another tangent, does everyone have to have a possible love interest? Honestly, it’s so hard to keep up with all of the men. I liked Joseph, but he’s a terrible person later on! Luke is the true M.V.P. though. He has done no harm to any of the characters, and is a very beloved character in Arsinoe’s story. Arsinoe is very badass, and you can tell she doesn’t take any prisoners. However, she becomes very invested in the lives of others, to her downfall.

          The story is told in third person PRESENT tense. I cannot stand when stories are written in present tense. It’s like an episode of The Office. Mirabella walks this way. Oh, my, here comes Luca this way. Also, Luca is a female, an old female, I understand this may be a little non-PC, but any other name would have been fine. I don’t understand why there are so many characters. Some of them could have easily been combined to save me the confusion.

          My next issue with this book is the pure acceptance of killing yourself, killing someone else, or nearly killing someone. I understood the idea of three queens fighting for the throne, but two are to die, so one can rule. Three sisters trying to kill each other, and some of the citizens try to “help them”. I don’t like that it’s just accepted, and it only seems that there are two characters that question this. Another yucky thing is that we don’t even see who wins? There isn’t the actual competition or killing or fighting? This is completely reserved for the second book, I guess. Also, the poisoners actually ingest poison for sport, entertainment, and culinary taste? What? Why? How is this appealing? (Poor Elizabeth, am I right? You know if you’ve read this). I mean, these queens are literally raised to kill their sisters some day.

          My last issue is time. How old is everyone? We know Luke is 27, but he really loves Arsinoe who is 16. Weird. I wasn’t sure until the third or fourth chapter that Natalia is old. What time period are we even in? They have sweet shops and a grocery store. I really would love to know exactly how old every character is.

          I do have to mention that I like the religion aspect, that the people in the kingdom believe in The Goddess. The priestesses love Mirabella and they believe that she is the chosen one, picked by The Goddess. I like that there is the discussion how people who believe in a loving god are not always caring and loving people.

          Another huge gripe I have is the horrible injustices and unkindness towards women in this kingdom. I understand that the hidden message must be to overcome your family, overcome your friends, and be a good person. Rise from the ashes, blah blah blah. It just seems so unjust to women, as if the writer wasn’t even a woman herself. Love potions, girls who fall madly in love with bad men? This is a teen’s novel for cripes sake, why couldn’t it actually be a little pro-feminism? I don’t even consider myself a feminist, and I’d love the women to actually resemble real women. “She kisses him deeply. It is exactly what she wants. It is all she has ever wanted.” Not to have her best friend and almost sister not murdered? I mean, that’s probably what she should have always wanted. Mirabella is half dead after nearly drowning and all she wants to do is kiss her savior? No, I’d want warm clothes, oxygen, and dinner. Stop.

          There are some things I don’t understand, but I do wonder if this is because this book will have a sequel and possibly be part of a series. So, I really hope the second book answers my questions and improves the whole “I’m a strong woman and I don’t need a man to live my life happily” vibe. So many YA fantasy novels need to adapt to this idea.

          In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It may not seem so, because I did point out lots of little issues I had with the book. Even though they exist, I still really enjoyed it. Read it in about four hours, 3 last night, 1 today.

          P.S. I absolutely love the cover. I think the entire book jacket is beautiful.

          P.P.S. The Quickening Ceremony? Beltane? Gave Noir? WHAT ARE THESE. I read the entire book, and I still don’t have a clear understanding of the differences between these.

          P.P.P.S. Jules – “I could never hate you, but if you do not leave now, my cat will tear your throat out”. Hell yes, Jules. Proud of you, girl. Also, is her love triangle with Mirabella and Joseph going to continue into the book? If so, I have matches.