Review: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Synopsis

When kingdom come, there will be one.

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.

Review

The initial thoughts i had of this book when i first heard it was along the lines of "this is going to be so bloody and messy and it is going to be amazing."

The plot in this book slowly builds up to a suspenseful ending of the first book in this trilogy, In my opinion the beginning of the book was building too slow and the explaining of the world and the system had me so confused in the beginning. I felt like the telling in the first part of the book was too much instead of showing.
I feel like i would have catch on to things quicker if more of the showing was instead of said telling. After the first half of the book the plot really starts getting interesting and the suspense and intrigue builds up to the climactic ending with shocking revelations. There is also a lot of political intrigue in this book regarding the whole system and the world building which is also really intriguing. The plot is built in such ways that plot twists and shocking twists and turn can be found all over, after you pass that first half and actually get into it.
In this book, trust no characters.

The way the story is told, is following the lives of each queen individually, with each chapter being about one queen (the people around her). That way you get a full perspective on everything happening on the island and also the different mindsets and opinions of each queen and each part of the island trying to rule. 

Katherine, being the poison queen, i found to be a pretty much weak character in general. Just pretty much getting pushed around and doing whatever she is told, by everyone around her, accepting beatings and pretty much torture. 

The naturalist queen, Arsinoe, i found to be the most badass of everyone in the book. She has a great sense of humor, and never, not ever, has given up in this book. There hasn't been one point in this book where this character disappointed me. Not even once. Clever, a pusher and never giving up, also strong will and does not care at all about what people think of her. truly an inspiring character.

Mirabella, our elemental queen and also the temple's puppet. Our third queen on this list, was more like an in between of Arsinoe and Katherine, she does whatever she is told by the temple, but also finds her strong own will power to defy it from time to time. 

The side characters i will not be able to describe and give thoughts and opinions on because of spoilers, but i will say that they are such interesting characters with such unexpected turns and decisions that will leave you with your jaw dropped.

I'm glad that there is discussion on each of the sisters' end about how they feel about the whole ceremony and ritual of having to kill each other. The different opinions and thoughts about it all, especially considering the strength and power that each has and show. I think it is a very interesting dynamic to see the way they feel towards each other. 

I recommend this book if you really like the political intrigue, secrets, shocking revelations and side characters taking unexpected drastic choices changing basically the course of everything. 

I gave this book ★★★ stars on Goodreads.