Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake->Starting June 3rd, 2019

[C.P.]

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.

[Kaylin]

Oooh. Mind if I join in this one? It's been sitting on my Kindle for a little while and I've heard great things. :)

[Trisha]

not at all! Join us Kaylin!

[Trisha]

sooo...we have no chapter numbers
and the "location" headings on each chapter - they are the same ones over and over

I'm proposing we update about every 100 pages (I have hard copy....).
There are 3 POV's and each POV seems to rotate in the same direction ( so far)

so this first 100 pages are 2 POV from each sister (so 6 total chapters)

Does this all sound okay?

[Trisha]

Done with the first 100: 103

these first 100 pages were perfect - each location is a POV of each sister, and this group meant we read 2 POV from each.

Katharine(view spoiler)[ what a tough life. to be starved so much and then pinch and prodded only to be fed poison
yikes. I hope her skills kick up. (hide spoiler)]

Peityr(view spoiler)[ I wonder if he really means to help her. he seems to just want to court her....maybe he will be another layer of protection? (hide spoiler)]

Arsinoe(view spoiler)[ naturalist. She is struggling just like Katharine, They are all triplets, right?
I can't imagine being tasked with killing my 2 sisters....even if I didn't know them (hide spoiler)]

Jules(view spoiler)[ I like her. she seems like she really cares about Arsinoe, which is so different than Katherine (hide spoiler)]

Camden(view spoiler)[ OMG I want a pet large cat :D (hide spoiler)]

Joseph(view spoiler)[ he sounded sweet and in love with Jules. I wonder what she DID just do throwing that in the fire.
Interesting that the person he brought for Arsinoe will visit Maribella.... (hide spoiler)]

Maribella(view spoiler)[ and sister number three. and she controls the weather. but for as much nurturing she seems to have there...her powers sound stronger
and she's already been killing people. her training sounds much uglier (hide spoiler)]

[Anna 'Bookbuyer']

Trisha wrote: "sooo...we have no chapter numbers
and the "location" headings on each chapter - they are the same ones over and over

I'm proposing we update about every 100 pages (I have hard copy....).
There are..."

I'm okay with that. I'm having a lot of trouble getting in to the book so far though. :(

[Trisha]

200 pages (202)

YES! OOOOH man this thing is soooo sloooooow!!!

Katharine(view spoiler)[ wow, her poison ability is definitely bad. She didn't partake of her own poison.
Katharine being next to Natalia and Natalia's ability - it really shows that poison is not her strongest ability

it's odd that Natalia re-trained the snake. Was that just to make Katharine feel better? (hide spoiler)]

Arsinoe(view spoiler)[ this side seems to be so much about Jules and Joseph. so sad, now we know the cost of the low magic. it's definitely steep for Jules
Billy seems okay. Interesting that he is the King consort to just whichever one lives. Yikes. (hide spoiler)]

Mirabella(view spoiler)[ she is definitely having visions - whether they are possible futures is still unsure
I can't believe she was with Joseph. I guess we know the cost of the fire now (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

Done with 301 pages....

Kathrine- (view spoiler)[ I thought Peityr wasn't true but he really seems to be. it's wrong they can't be together (hide spoiler)]

Rumor- (view spoiler)[ this seems so dirty and unfair. They are priestesses and control SO MUCH of the fight. It seems like their queen would always win...when they control so much. seems like it should be on neutral ground with neutral people running it (hide spoiler)]

Mirabella- (view spoiler)[ what they did to her friend is just awful. and that they are going to kill her sisters. She may be powerful but she's definitely a reluctant queen. she's been so sheltered, I'm not sure she has what it takes (hide spoiler)]

Arsinoe- (view spoiler)[ Where on earth did she and Billy go? And why didn't he swim back? I worry for both of them now (hide spoiler)]

Thoughts(view spoiler)[ There isn't really a sister I like most.
Arsinoe seems off when she was laughing about her stitches
and Katharine doesn't seem strong enough
but Maribella's moment with Joseph is just odd. (hide spoiler)]

I hope to finish this one today...finally lol

[Trisha]

and I'm done

First thing(view spoiler)[ I wish somehow someone could warn you, the queen is not decided by the end of the book. I can't believe I read all those pages to STILL be in limbo (hide spoiler)]

Katharine(view spoiler)[ What!? I do mean...just What?! Why did Peityr push her? so......all this time, he was set to kill her? Or...wait, did pushing her in there make her stronger?
but if Peityr did push her, then why did he search for her? Was that all just a ploy? I am most confused by this storyline
also, yes, I think her familiar was killed. Can you have more than one? and, I mean, one of the crowns on the cover has snakes on it. Foreshadowing maybe? lol (hide spoiler)]

Maribella(view spoiler)[ I'm so glad she was pushed down a little from her pedestal. She needs to realize that she is not the only contender at the table. She kept acting like she would win and just "save" her sisters. She's not the only strong one (hide spoiler)]

Arsinoe(view spoiler)[ I'm glad she got Billy. I like him but with Peityr, now I know to trust no one

I also didn't think it was a surprise, that she can consume poison. I'm just glad SHE finally figured it out. lol
it was obvious that Katherine had a familiar and wasn't a poisoner and that Arsinoe is not a naturalist. Of course they are switching (hide spoiler)]

[Andy, Head of Read-a-thons]

*****Restarting June 3rd 2019*****

[Jennifer, Maker of BR Threads]

Greavesdrake (Katherine) 18% - (view spoiler)[ Ok, I already have a theory that Arsinoe and Katharine have been sent to the wrong places. Could that little snake be Katharine's familiar and maybe she sucks so bad at poisons because she is really the Naturalist heir; likewise Arsinoe can't make flowers bloom because she is really the poison heir? (hide spoiler)]

[Jennifer, Maker of BR Threads]

Wolf Spring (45%) - (view spoiler)[ I don't think Madrigal has anyone's best interest at heart. This blood magic is going to bite them in the ass.

I'm still trying to figure out why the sisters need to kill each other off. Wouldn't the island be stronger if they pooled their magic and ruled together? Are they just doing it because previous generations have done it? Ugh, I hope the author explains. (hide spoiler)]
Wolf Spring (72%) - (view spoiler)[ Aw, these two are sweet together. I hope they get away. (hide spoiler)]
Finished - (view spoiler)[ First, I can't believe I was right. I had completely changed my mind about my little theory. Now that it is turning out to be true, it makes me wonder if they will now change places. And I still don't understand why Pietyr pushed her down the crevice - it seems weird that they would want their queen dead if she escaped the massacre that was planned. I just don't get that part at all. Was she supposed to soak up the magic at the bottom and rise?? And he was supposed to love her too! And what about Jules - if she is the most powerful Naturalist in ages, could she really be a queen that was swapped at birth or something? It just seems like if the previous queen was devious enough to mislabel her children, anything is possible, right? I do feel bad about Jules and Joseph. (hide spoiler)]

Great first book. I am sufficiently entertained and confused at the same time that it makes me want to keep reading the series.

[Andy, Head of Read-a-thons]

~25% (view spoiler)[I’m loving this again! The atmosphere is so dark and foreboding. I love how much conflict Mirabella has about facing her sisters. Arsinoe has basically given up and Katherine is determined to win. It will be explosive when they do actually meet. (hide spoiler)]

~50% (view spoiler)[okay so idk why Mira & Joseph decided to do that shit but Joseph is gonna be in trouble. Pietyr and Katherine are so adorable. And Arsinoe is gonna see Mira in like two mins I’m so excited! (hide spoiler)]

~75%(view spoiler)[ I forgot that the bear attack happens later! For some reason I’d convinced myself that Arsinoe had those scars since the beginning which was definitely not the case. I’m super nervous for her and Beltane. Katherine is devious and cunning enough that she’ll come up with something. Or Pietyr will. (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ Well that quite the quickening. It's crazy how both Katherine and Arsinoe are trying to appear powerful and how well the ruse held up. I love the twist that Arsinoe is a poisoner. I wonder if Katherine could become a naturalist?? (hide spoiler)]