Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1) by Kendare Blake - Restarting February 14th 2022

[Tati]

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.

If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest.

Feel free to join!

[Danielle]

If I get this before that day I'd love to join :)

[Meaghan]

I'm a bit behind, so finally starting this in the next few days!

[Nicole's Book Diaries]

Joining!

[Danielle]

I'm definitely in :)

[Karen]

Read opening chapter-lot of intrigue over who will get power.

[Karen]

11%-creating the world does take some time, and I understand why it has to be done, but it can feel a little slow.

[Karen]

26%-some of the details seem lacking. The behind-the-scenes stuff suggests only one potential queen actually has any talent.

[Karen]

36%-not action-packed as everything seems to be happening behind the scenes. Violent in concept.

[Karen]

67%-still slow, but the plotting and development is stronger than I thought it would be.

[Karen]

86%-really not gone where I'd thought. Ramping up the interest level...

[Karen]

93%-really cannot believe what I just read!

[Karen]

Finished-now that has got a whole lot more interesting.

[Katrina G]

Starting this now. I love the little poem that was on the first page! It was so dark and intriguing, and I hope the book will follow suit!

[Katrina G]

6%
(view spoiler)[ I feel bad for Katharine. She tried to hard to get through all the poison. I don't want to get too attached to these characters since I don't know what will happen. but I can already tell that will be a struggle (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

14%
(view spoiler)[ So now that all three sisters have been introduced, I can say I like Katharine the most so far. But Mirabella is so strong with her abilities, it makes me curious as to why the other two are giftless. I'm almost wondering if maybe they got mixed up, and Arsinoe should be a poisoner while Katharine should be a naturalist? (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

25%
(view spoiler)[ I know this is about three queens fighting for the same throne, but this is surprisingly more political than I was anticipating. I thought it would focus more on all three queens trying to kill each other, but there's so much more to it (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

35%
(view spoiler)[ The pace is starting to slow down a bit. I'm hoping it will pick back up soon. I really don't trust Luca or Rho (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

41%
(view spoiler)[ I do feel somewhat bad for Mirabella. She may have her gift, but it does no good when she feels love for the sisters she's supposed to kill. The other two don't have that problem going for them (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

47%
(view spoiler)[ I wonder if Jules is going to fin out what happened. I feel so sorry for her right now (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

63%
(view spoiler)[ I'm really disappointed that I'm over half way through with this book, and the sisters haven't started fighting each other yet like the summary has lead me to believe they will. Arsinoe may have just been killed by a bear, but I'd much rather see some sort of interaction between the sisters already (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

77%
(view spoiler)[ I don't like Joseph. Jules deserves better (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

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Date Changed. Restarting October 30th 2016. Happy Reading ☺

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[Nicole's Book Diaries]

Can't start today but I'll be able to start tomorrow!

[Nicole's Book Diaries]

Starting!

[Nicole's Book Diaries]

Pg 56 (view spoiler)[ So many characters...I get that we see all three sisters' lives and points of views but omg that is a lot of characters! (hide spoiler)]

[Nicole's Book Diaries]

Pg 152 (view spoiler)[ This is so boring...when's the actual fighting going to start? (hide spoiler)]

[Nicole's Book Diaries]

Finished! (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

[rachel, x]

Hope you don't mind me joining in late.

8% - (view spoiler)[What an opening chapter! I cannot believe they make her eat poison on purpose. How is this a magical ability? Is she meant to be immune to it or something? I'm also a tad confused about the whole political situation at the moment but I'm hoping it'll be cleared up asap. (hide spoiler)]

[rachel, x]

12% - (view spoiler)[I'm still confused... I didn't really understand the second sister's background and I kept getting her confused with Jules. Oops. (hide spoiler)]

16% - (view spoiler)[This is appalling world-building. I have no idea what's happening! Why are they getting this queen to kill someone? (hide spoiler)]

[rachel, x]

Nicole wrote: "Pg 152 [spoilers removed]"

Amen! I think that's literally my entire thoughts on this books summed up in one sentence...

[rachel, x]

60% - (view spoiler)[God, this is so darn boring. I don't know if I'm going to be able to finish this. I'm literally dying of boredom. (hide spoiler)]

70% - (view spoiler)[I'm sad that this book has had nothing to do with the battle it promised us so far. They're not even training for it... just living normal lives. *snore* (hide spoiler)]

80% - (view spoiler)[Did Arsinoe really make it to the mainland? Somehow, I doubt it. And ooooh, they plan to cheat. How clever! (hide spoiler)]

89% - (view spoiler)[Yawn! I'm still sooo bored and confused about this world-building. What the hell is happening with Jules and Joseph? And I actually don't mind Billy that much. I really hope he doesn't die. I have an awful feeling... (hide spoiler)]

94% - (view spoiler)[Bloody hell - that was brutal. I mean as if she trusted him but still... (hide spoiler)]

End - (view spoiler)[Holy shit! I knew something was up like that! I wondered the whole book how they knew which kid would have which power if they weren't revealed as kids and now it's blown up in their faces... wow! Thank God, Jules and Billy didn't die too... (hide spoiler)]

[Nicole's Book Diaries]

Rachel wrote: "60% - [spoilers removed]

70% - [spoilers removed]

80% - [spoilers removed]

89% - [spoilers removed]

94% - [spoilers removed]

End - [spoilers removed]"

I agree with everything you said. I was generous and gave it 2 stars. It's too bad. This book has a lot of potential but it was too slow and had a lot of plot holes.

[rachel, x]

I wish I could be more generous but there was nothing I enjoyed about it, you know? I guess I didn't mind Arsinoe all that much but still... I couldn't justify two stars, personally. I hated how slows it was and the world-building was nonexistent. I really hope the sequel actually explains what's going and wraps it up okay!

[Blake]

I'm not sure where to ask, but can we restart this for Jan 12th :)

[Abi]

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Reading from the 12th of January 2017

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[Tati]

I'm jumping in!

6% (view spoiler)[ this is a bit dark, right? I mean, giving poisons to a child, expecting that girl to kill her sisters... (hide spoiler)]

[Blake]

Nice to have you along!

Anyway I only managed to read the first three chapters so here's my thoughts: (view spoiler)[ yeah, it's pretty dark! Also I'm liking the alternate chapters thing so far, not keen on the present tense used though. Also I wasn't so interested in the first chapter with Katherine, it felt like too many name drops and stuff, but by Mirabella's chapter I got used to it. Also who's best girl so far? Me, I like Arsinoe, the naturalists seemed the coolest and she was pretty chill so yeah (hide spoiler)]

[Tati]

End of chapter 1

(view spoiler)[ this is a bit insane, isn't it?? I mean, did they expect her to be immune to poisons? Poisoners are not immune to poisons, so why should she be? (hide spoiler)]

[Blake]

(view spoiler)[ I think you may have missed the point, pretty sure poisoners in this universe are meant to be immune to poison, hence why it's a tradition for the poisoner queens to eat poisonous food. Katherine states herself she doesn't have a gift yet so they're basically only putting on a show pretending she's got a really good gift, when really she can't handle poison at all like she should (hide spoiler)]

[Tati]

Kate wrote: "[spoilers removed]"

Yeah, you're absolutely right! Sleepy me! LOL

[Tati]

Kate wrote: "Nice to have you along!

Anyway I only managed to read the first three chapters so here's my thoughts: [spoilers removed]"

I've finished the third chapter.

(view spoiler)[ to be honest, I feel like I didn't see much of Arsinoe and Mirabella. I do know that I'm not fond of Katarina so far... (hide spoiler)]

[Tati]

50%

(view spoiler)[ me after Joseph/Stephen (can't remember his name) sleeps with Mirabella:

(hide spoiler)]

[Blake]

Chapters 4-6 (view spoiler)[ still on the #TeamArsinoe train (how do I even pronounce that name? I've been saying Ar-sin-o-ay) but I have to say best chapter this time round goes to Katherine. I really like Pietyr as a character so far, good guys with ulterior motives are my jam. Arsinoe is still best girl, I loved seeing her stand up for what she believed was right (go girl for not forcing a love spell). Mirabella's chalters just kinda seem meh to me right now. I'm not really feeling the elemental slime I am the poisoners or the naturalists. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 7-9 (view spoiler)[ okay so I'm kinda wavering between Team Katherine and Team Arsinoe, Arsinoe is still my favourite girl, I love how independent she is, but Katherine is getting close, and I find her story to be the most interesting. I like how Pietyr was straight out with his true intentions, and his relationship with Katherine. Also seeing Katherine poison someone was pretty interesting. With Arsinoe I feel Joseph and Jules take up too much time, though they are cute. I like Billy, he's pretty interesting and I can't wait to see where they goes. Meanwhile I'm still not feeling Mirabella, she's the blandest of the sisters with the blandest of stories and blandest of side characters, though with how the chapter ended it might be getting interesting (hide spoiler)]

[Tati]

End

(view spoiler)[ so, it all went to hell, basically. I really, really dislike Joseph. He's a cheater, that's what he is. And if Arsinoe is the poisoner, does that mean that Katharine is the naturalist? Maybe that first snake was her familiar, and that was why it was so tame? (hide spoiler)]

[Susan]

Chapters 1-6

So far I love this new book and new author and his style of writing. I have heard such amazing things about this books and was anxious to start reading it.

(view spoiler)[ The three sisters, who are triplet queens, get separated when they are young and go off to live with other people. The are the three types of queens, elementals, naturalists, and the poisoners and each is hoping that their queen will be the one that is standing in the end. The other 2 sister must die at the hand of the gifted queen. It starts off with Katherine who is a poisoner and on her 16th birthday she must eat a feast with all kinds of poisons and no one must no how sick she gets but something goes wrong and she ends up on the floor during her party.

Arisone is the next queen and she is a naturalist and she is supposed to be able to open all the flower buds and turn them into mature beautiful flowers. Her best friend is Jules who has a cougar that follows her and protects her. Arisnoe has not been gifted yet but Jules has. Jules, Arisone and Joseph (another friend that was condemned to stay away from the island for 5 years) tried to escape the island once. Actually they were trying to save their queen and friend from possible death by getting on a boat and trying to leave the island. They did not have luck and Joseph was told to go away and do not return for 5 years. At the end of her 16th birthday party they were told that Joseph is due to return. Jules is there to greet him but Arisone was off doing magic to keep them together forever. In the end she didn't feel right about this magic and tossed it into the fire and who knows what that means...can't wait to get back to this story and find out.

Queen #3 is Mirabella and she is a elemental and is said to already have her gift now except she is still having trouble controlling water. She can make a fire with a snap of her finger. At her 16th birthday party she must sacrifice a young girl named Rho. Rho is ready and willing to be the queens sacrifice. Mirabella does not want to kill this young girl. She has everything handy to make this sacrifice. The council lets her know that if she doesn't not do it they will and they promise the girl will suffer at their hands more so then her own...we have no idea if Queen Mirabella did the sacrifice or not. (hide spoiler)]

[Meaghan]

A few days late, but some people are still reading so I'm joining in!

[Berit☀️✨]

I'm going to give this ago, I just finished a fantasy book and I liked it, so I'm kind of in the mood, and I already own this :-)

[Susan]

Next couple chapters (they are not number grrrrrr wrecks havoc on my OCD nature :)

Page 90-150 (best way to tell where I am for the reviews of this book...for me)

More in love with this book now....I had to reread chapter 2 and 3 after writing my review. It wasn't clear what I had read. Glad I did I feel much better about where this story is.

(view spoiler)[ The sisters are all getting ready to take the throne even though they all know only one can be Queen. The softest of the 3 is Mirabella who actually loves her sisters. Katharine is the smallest but more cut throat it seems and is planning their deaths. The middle sister is only thinking this is her last year. She told a suitor to pay attention to the other two because she most likely will not be alive to take the throne.

I love the way all three stories are being told. Each sister has a different life with other characters but it's not distracting or confusing. I like most of the other characters a lot. (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

I just met the second clean, I think I'm just going to have to really try to keep all these characters straight, but I did like her, now we will see about her sister :-)