Three Dark Crowns is a secondary world fantasy. Blake hits the right tone with each of them for me. I like these elements in my fantasy, but I’m pretty particular about them. It’s got a magic system that affects everyone in Fennbirn, not just the gifted queens. It’s got drama and action dark enough to keep you on your toes without being too gruesome (usually…). It’s got political intrigue that doesn’t strive for complexity. This series is built around royal politics, ancient traditions, and magical affinities.

Here’s how Three Dark Crowns grabbed my attention and didn’t let go.įlaming phoenix by Sujono Sujono Review ✍🏻 👑 Dark High Fantasy I also convinced my sister to read the first book. It helped me easy back into reading, as I picked up other books while waiting for Two Dark Reigns. This series turned out to be exactly what I needed, for reasons I’ll explain below. The wait for my library’s digital copy of One Dark Throne (#2) wasn’t bad, but the wait for Two Dark Reigns (#3) was painful. Happily, we also had The Queens of Fennbirn and Five Dark Fates on the shelf, so I grabbed those. Then came the announcement that we wouldn’t be going back to work next week. When I saw Three Dark Crowns on the shelves at work, after we closed to the public, I thought, “Maybe this is the kind of story I need right now…” I checked it out and read it over two days. I struggled to find a book that could hold my interest. But I’m picky about fantasy and about young adult fantasy especially, so I didn’t expect I would actually read the book one day.

Mostly I did this because I loved the cover. I added Three Dark Crowns to my ‘to-read-ya-maybe’ shelf back in the summer of 2017. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.īut becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. 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.

Queens of fennbirn series