I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake
Series: Three Dark Crowns #4
Published by HarperTeen on 9/3/19
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 447
Format: Hardcover
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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After the grim confrontation with Queen Katharine, the rebellion lies in tatters. Jules’s legion curse has been unbound, and it is up to Arsinoe to find a cure, even as the responsibility of stopping the ravaging mist lies heavy on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone. Mirabella has disappeared.

Katharine’s reign remains intact—for now. When Mirabella arrives, seemingly under a banner of truce, Katharine begins to yearn for the closeness that Mirabella and Arsinoe share. But as the two circle each other, the dead queens hiss caution—Mirabella is not to be trusted.

In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn’s history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested. But the fate of the island lies in the hands of its queens. It always has.

Short and Sweet

After the last confrontation with Katharine, Jules’s legion curse has come unbound now Arsinoe has to find a cure.

Mirabella leaves the rebels and joins Katharine, and Katharine wants a bond with Mirabella but the dead queens don’t trust Mirabella and don’t want her around.

The mist is rising, allegiances will change, and bonds are tested, and one queen will rise and rule the island of Fennbirn.

Characters

Mirabella: Mirabella joins Katharine mainly to find out what’s wrong with her. I love Mirabella she loves her sisters and will always try to find the good in them and I liked the developing relationship with her and Katharine. Mirabella still feels bad for leaving Arsinoe but she would never betray her.

Arsinoe: Arsinoe is still as tough as ever and she’ll do whatever she has to do to make things right. Arsinoe our queen of low magic proves how beneficial she is and how much she’s improved with using low magic.

Katharine: Katharine poor Katharine. We can see glimpses of the old Katharine the girl who’s smart and not a murderer but she’s possessed by the dead queens and more times than not they win no matter how hard Katharine tries to fight them.

Jules: Jules is the Legion Queen and she’s pretty fierce when the curse is unbound, but when its bound she’s the same old Jules. I love that Jules still looks out for Arsinoe and will try to do the right thing.

Romance

* We have three couples or relationships, but there’s not a lot of romance mainly because they all have a war to focus on.

Arsinoe and Billy: I love these two! They care about each other so much and will always try to make sure the other one is okay and safe. 

Katharine and Pietyr: So Pietyr is unconscious for most of the book, because of what happened with the dead queens. Katharine still loves Pietyr and visits him as often as she can.

Jules and Emilia: There’s chemistry between these two. Emilia cares for Jules a lot but Jules is still apprehensive and still has moments when she thinks about Joseph.

My Thoughts

~ I think what I loved the most was seeing how Mirabella brought out a side to Katharine that showed she was still humane. I liked that these two got to spend some time together I only wish all three sisters had the chance.

~ In this book we’re preparing for a war. Katharine is preparing to face Jules and the rebellion. Katharine gets some help from the dead queens though and learns that she can give the dead queens to another vessel that is willing.

~ The mist is still attacking the Island and Mirabella seems like the only person who can keep it away.

~ Arsinoe gets better with using low magic, she’s able to get Jules’s legion curse under control and she wakes up Pietyr.

~ I read this book so fast I was excited to see what would happen. I wanted to know what would happen with Mirabella now that she was with Katharine. I wanted to see how Jules and Arsinoe would go about things.

~ We learn a little bit more about the history of Fennbirn and the past queens. I wish we could see more of the past queens and what powers they possessed.

Overall

I love this series and I wasn’t sure how everything wrapped up but in the end I can say that I’m satisfied. I loved following the queens throughout four books and I enjoyed the epic battle and the glimpse of a relationship these sisters could of had if they weren’t born on Fennbirn. If you haven’t read this series yet pick it up, you won’t regret it!

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake
Series: Three Dark Crowns #3
Published by HarperTeen on 9/4/18
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 464
Format: Hardcover
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Queen Katharine has waited her entire life to wear the crown. But now that she finally has it, the murmurs of dissent grow louder by the day. There’s also the alarming issue of whether or not her sisters are actually dead—or if they’re waiting in the wings to usurp the throne.

Mirabella and Arsinoe are alive, but in hiding on the mainland and dealing with a nightmare of their own: being visited repeatedly by a specter they think might be the fabled Blue Queen. Though she says nothing, her rotting, bony finger pointing out to sea is clear enough: return to Fennbirn.

Jules, too, is in a strange place—in disguise. And her only confidants, a war-gifted girl named Emilia and her oracle friend Mathilde, are urging her to take on a role she can’t imagine filling: a legion-cursed queen who will lead a rebel army to Katharine’s doorstep.

This is an uprising that the mysterious Blue Queen may have more to do with than anyone could have guessed—or expected.

Short and Sweet

After waiting her whole life Katharine is finally the crowned queen of Fennbirn, but theres a few things that still trouble her: the dead queens that life inside of her, the fact that she doesn’t know for sure if her sisters are dead, and that the people aren’t happy with her reign. Arsinoe and Mirabella are very much alive and are on the mainland trying to adjust to life there. But things become complicated when Arsinoe starts dreaming about things that occurred during the Blue Queen’s reign and when Arsinoe sees the blue queen her message is clear, the two sisters need to go back to the island. Jules has been with the war gifted warrior Emilia training to control her legion curse but Emilia believes that Jules can take the throne from Katharine with a rebellion, and begins to call Jules the Legion Queen

Characters

Mirabella: Mirabella is my favorite character, I love her so much. She definitely loves her sisters especially Arsinoe and she takes on the big sister role and really likes it. In this book we see more of her big sister nurturing side come out because its her and Arsinoe together on the mainland.

Arsinoe: Sweet, strong Arsinoe. Arsinoe is also one of my favorite characters and her story in this book is interesting. Even though she’s on the island its like she can’t leave Fennbirn behind and that becomes even more true when she starts having dreams about a girl named Daphne who lived during the reign of the Blue Queen. Arsinoe is the only one having the dreams and its because of the low magic that she used on the island. Arsinoe’s goal is to find out what the dreams mean and why the Blue Queen would want her and Mirabella to go back to Fennbirn.

Katharine: Usually I dread reading about Katharine and her life but something changed in this book. I actually felt bad for the poor girl I couldn’t tell if she still had a bit of Katharine in her or if she really was overcome by the dead queens in her body. She really struggled with them and they did end up doing things when they took control of her that made the people question her leadership even more than they already did which only made things harder for her. The undead queen deals with a lot in this book.

Billy: Billy plays a bigger role in this book mainly because Arsinoe and Mirabella are staying with him and his family on the mainland. I loved Billy he cares about Arsinoe and he has a friendship with Mirabella and I liked seeing these relationships develop in this book.

Jules: Jules Jules Jules, the Legion Queen. Jules has been staying with Emilia training and learning how to control her war gift. I liked Jules in this book she has to make a lot of decisions in this book about her future and whether being a queen would be worth it in the end.

Emilia: … I feel bad for saying this but I could not stand Emilia, I dreaded reading scenes with her in them. Emilia is so head strong and believes that Jules needs to be the legion queen and does not care if Jules wants to do it or not. Jules would try to tell Emilia that she doesn’t want to do this and that she just wants to be able to go back to wolf spring but  Emilia will not hear any of that.

Romance

Arsinoe and Billy: We obviously get a lot more of Billy and Arsinoe in this book and I couldn’t stop swooning over them. They’re just so right for each other even though they do have to deal with certain things like Billy’s mother trying to marry him off to another girl and him having to go to school on the mainland. In the last book Arsinoe wouldn’t tell Billy how she feels about him but I’m sure she made it obvious in this book and I love how patient he is with her.

Katharine and Pietyr: Well these two definitely care about each other but they’re dynamic has somewhat changed since Katherine has become queen crowned. I like that Pietyr cares about Katharine and that she trusts him and that he’s her confidant.

Quotes

~ “I am my sister’s keeper. Her protector.”

My Thoughts

~ The whole Blue Queen mystery was intriguing. First of all, who is she? What does she want? What is she doing back? Why is she in Arsinoe’s dreams? Further into the book we get the answers to all of these questions and it was not what I was expecting. When I got the answers I had to process everything I just read. The Blue Queen and the mist play such a big role in this book.

~ The mist is supposed to protect the island of Fennbirn and it was created by the Blue Queen during her reign. But the mist starts to attack the people of Fennbirn and leaves the bodies strewn around.

~ My favorite characters POVs to read from were Arsinoe and Mirabella and I liked seeing how their bond as sisters grew. They both genuinely care for each other and it was nice to see.

~ On the island Arsinoe and Mirabella’s powers aren’t strong and start to fade because of their distance from the island.

~ On Fennbirn Katharine has to deal with the mist and a so called rebellion from the legion queen so her time as queen crowned is not going well and not only does she have to deal with that she has the dead queens to worry about.

~ Jules is just weighing her options and trying to decide if she actually wants to be a queen or if she just wants to lay low.

~ There’s so much going on in this book but in a good way and it kept me hooked until the very end. And the ending ugh cliffhanger and I need to know whats going to happen!

Overall

The books in this series just get better and better and I can’t wait until the next one is released! The build up of whats going to happen or what I think is going to happen has me on the edge of my seat. This is one of my favorite series and I will always recommend it! So on that note read this book, and if you haven’t read any of the books binge the first three!!!

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Young Queens by Kendare Blake
Series: Three Dark Crowns #0.2
Published by HarperTeen on 12/26/17
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 85
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katharine weren't always scheming to murder each other. They weren't always surrounded by rival foster families, each swearing to have their best interests at heart. And they weren't always afraid of being unexpectedly attacked—by one of their own sisters, no less—in a way that could cost them their last breath.

They used to be together. Just three sisters. Alone in a glen.

This is the story of the three queens—after they were born, before they were separated, during the time when they all lived together, loved each other, and protected each other. It’s also the story of the day they were torn apart, and the several years that follow.

From birth to eleven years old, this is a rare glimpse of the queens' lives…before they were at stake.

Short and Sweet Review

What could go wrong when you read a book about your favorite queens before they knew about having to kill each other? Absolutely nothing. When we first start this novella we get to read about The queens parents, Queen Camille and King Philippe. I love reading about past queens I think it would be interesting to see what their lives are like after they give birth to the future queens and leave Fennbirn. In this book we get to see the queens when they were younger when they lived at the cottage and how close they were as sisters and their bond. We also get some insight on some things that I don’t want to spoil for you guys. All of the queens have a pretty rough go of it once they’re separated but we see how they adjust to life away from each other and with their new foster families. Mirabella is my favorite queen, she is the oldest of the three but she has a motherly instinct and still cares about her sisters even though she can no longer see them. This book really explains why each queen is the way she is, why Mirabella is so reluctant to hurt her sisters, why Arsinoe tries to leave the island, and why Katherine the youngest is struggling with being a poisoner. I love this series and I think everyone should read it. I would recommend reading this novella after the first book so nothing gets spoiled for you!

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Oracle Queen by Kendare Blake
Series: Three Dark Crowns #0.1
Published by HarperTeen on 4/3/18
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 120
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Triplet queens born on the island of Fennbirn can be many things: Elementals. Poisoners. Naturalists. If an oracle queen is born, however, one with the gift of sight, she’s immediately drowned, extinguishing her chance at ever taking the throne.

But that’s not how it always was. This cautionary practice started long ago, with Queen Elsabet—the legendary, and last, oracle queen—whose reign was tinged with blood and horror.

Paranoid, ruthless, and utterly mad, Elsabet’s mistrust led to the senseless slaying of three entire houses of innocent people. At least, that’s the unchallenged tale carried down from generation to generation. But what really happened? Discover the true story behind the queen who, though born with the gift of sight, could not foresee her swift and sudden fall from power . . . until it was too late.

Short and Sweet Review

“Do not be sorry. Just do not become my enemy.”

The Oracle Queen is the story of the last oracle queen of Fennbirn, Queen Elsabet. Queen Elsabet is known for taking the throne and eventually going crazy, she orders that three houses with families inside be burnt down without reason or cause. I felt really bad reading Elsabet’s story she was dealt a bad hand when it came to the people closest to her that she should have been able to trust. Everyone around her was out to make her look bad except her maid and the leader of the queens guard. I liked Elsabet she knew that some of the people on the black council were a little shady and didn’t like how she operated as the queen. There’s a lot of back stabbing and shadiness that goes on in this book and I just wish that Elsabet and the people she could actually trust caught onto it before it was too late. When starting this book I came into it thinking that Elsabet was ruling with an iron fist and that she was crazy but she was the opposite and trying to make everyone happy. Elsabet’s story is just tragic and after reading it I’m just so conflicted I don’t want to spoil anything but if it wasn’t for the people in this book all future born oracle queens wouldn’t be drowned out of the fear that they’re mad. I enjoyed this novella and learning about the last oracle queen I just wish Elsabet’s fate turned out a little differently. I would say that this novella can be read before starting the Three Dark Crowns series or in between books.