I really enjoyed this book! It's the first in a fantasy series that is all about 3 young queen's who must battle to rule the island of Fennbirn. I really enjoyed this although it was a little slow to start and I can't wait to continue with the series!

Three Dark Crowns has an interesting premise and world, but as a whole the book didn't work for me. I found the first half kind of boring and I wasn't invested in any of the characters. I really wasn't a fan of the romance in this book either. Overall not for me but worth checking out if you enjoy YA fantasy.

My reaction to this was a pretty conflicted one, so I've been sitting on it for a couple of weeks to see if it would help me figure out what my feelings are towards the book. I think it's helped a bit. Sometimes it does -- gives me a chance to get some perspective and work out what my feelings actually are by seeing what I remember about the book, and what's faded in the time that's past. So here are a few thoughts.

First of all: I can definitely see why this series is popular. I see them mentioned all the time on Goodreads and Instagram (the main place I interact with other YA readers), and I understand why. It's compulsive reading, with life-or-death stakes, and a number of plot twists that genuinely caught me by surprise even when I thought I'd figured out where the story was going. One of these comes right near the end of the book, leaving me desperate enough to reserve the next book at the library so that I could find out what happened next.

However, I really didn't like the writing style. This was partly just the prose, which never felt as polished as I would have liked (also, that one weird metaphor about lice. WHY WOULD YOU CHOOSE LICE FOR THAT COMPARISON. WHY). There were so many characters and POVs that I spent the first third of the book thoroughly confused as to who anybody was. Arsinoe's sections in particular were bewildering: there were too many women with strange names, and they all got tangled in my head.

So when I got to the end of the book, I had two conflicting opinions. On a plot level, I'd definitely have given it four stars. I love to be surprised, I love complicated sibling relationships (which are basically central to this book's premise), I love betrayals and alliances and all that interpersonal conflict you can get. On a prose level... ehhh. This would not have been four stars. And so I found myself unsure how to review it.

With hindsight, though, I lean towards a positive interpretation, because what I *remember* about the book, a couple of weeks down the line, is the plot. Not the writing style. I remember the twists, and wanting to know where they go, not how each sentence was structured. And it'll be the plot that makes me pick up the second book -- which, despite getting from the library a while ago, I haven't yet started.

But it was the writing style that made me get the sequel from the library instead of buying it. So 🤷
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This review is on Goodreads and may be cross-posted to my blog in the near future.

I enjoyed this so much more than I expected to - the premise of 3 warring siblings did not appeal but the writing pulled it off. I loved how different the three voices were and how each was flawed in different but empathetic ways. I'm really excited to see where the story goes as the author does not seem to be playing with cliches (sex in book 1!) An underrated series so far!

Thank you to Netgalley, Kendare Blake and Pan MacMillan for my arc of Three Dark Crowns.

Three Dark Queens
Are born in a glen,
Sweet little triplets
Will never be friends.

Three Dark Sisters
All fair to be seen,
Two to devour and
One to be queen.

Wow this book was a goodie. Deliciously dark, a racing page turner and one which has left me so conflicted I can't wait to pick up book two and hope it helps me make a decision.

Mirabella, Katharine and Arsinoe are 3 Queens born to kill one another in order to win the crown. Each one possesses a gift which could threaten the other two. Mirabella is an elemental, she can call the fire, wind, storms and rain and control them. Katharine is a poisoner and can ingest hundreds of poisons as well as being skilled at poisoning others. Arsinoe is a naturalist and can tame creatures and make flowers bloom. And one of them must use their gifts to kill the other two if they want to live themselves and take the crown.

Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different sister, all sent off to different parts of their island home to be brought up by foster family's. Katharine is with the vicious Arrons a family determined to keep their hold on the council and their control over the next poisoner Queen. Mirabella is with the priestesses, seemingly favoured by the goddess, Arsinoe lives with the Milones and runs free in the wilds of nature with her best friend Jules.

The story was fast paced, and interesting, plenty of world building and vicious politics. I definitely got the feel that the girls didn't really have much choice or desire for the future set out for them, at least not at first, but we're manipulated by events beyond their control and the violence bestowed on them for defiance or perceived betrayal.

This was like Game of Thrones but with a solely female cast (in terms of positions of power). It drew me in and at first I thought I'd be able to easily find a sister who I favoured most. But I was wrong. I still can't decide and I'm holding out hope for all three to pull through. The ending was shocking and has inspired me to immediately pick up book 2!

I really enjoyed this book. It was very intense but enjoyable at the same time. Ive been really into books and tv that feature queens and royal families so i was very invested in this book. However it did take awhile to get fully into the book because there were so many characters featured in the book that you had to make mental noted on each character and which sister they were with. I liked the 3 queens. Katherine was the poisoner sister however was stuggling to cope with her gift. she was thesister that was very set on the end goal and had no interest in her sisters. Arsinoe was the naturalist sister who was also struggling as a queen with her gift. I like how solid her friendships were and how down to earth she was comapired to her sisters. Mirabella, the elemental, was very hard to connect with at the beginning however as the story went on i quickly warmed up to her and like how caring she was towards both her friends and her sister. i like how we got some insight into some of the love interst for girls considering how many there were. They all had their own support groups with their friends and 'family' which i loved and you could really see how much they all loved each other.

I first read this book when it initially came out two years ago and was blown away by how much i enjoyed it.
The story follows three sisters, each with their own type of magical ability, who must one day fight until one remains, to claim the throne and rule the kingdom.
You follow each of the sisters in turn to see how they fare in their training and connect with them all to the point where you yourself do not know who you want to become queen.
The writing is captivating and the story held my attention throughout and when the second installment came out i dropped everything to read it.

This was an excellent read and i really can't wait to see how this story pans out in its final installment.

Three girls, three queens, one throne. Two have to die for one to take over the throne and reign on the island. But which one will be strong enough to murder her sisters. The poisoners are sure that their Queen Katharine will keep them on their counsel seats, as it has been for the last 100 years. The temple priestesses wants Queen Mirabella, the Elementalist, to end the years of the poisoners and bring back the way of the Goddess. And then there is Queen Arsinoe, the Naturalist, waiting for her gift to finally show.
This story did more than fulfill my expectations. I had heard so much good about it, that I was a little skeptical if it can live up to the hype. But, boy, this was truly amazing and I loved all the Queens, hated Luca and Rho and the poisoners, had high hopes for Joseph and Pietyr and Billy. On to the next book asap and for everyone, who hasn’t read “Three Dark Crowns”.....do it, you won’t regret it!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan!