Carole´s Monday: Three Dark Crowns

Author: Kendare Blake

Narrator: Amy Landon
Title: Three Dark Crowns

Series: Three Dark Crowns #1

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance
Format: Audiobook
Published: September 20, 2016
Where I Got It: Borrowed from library

Summary: 

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.

Review:

First book club book of 2026! Weeeeeee!

Here we follow three sisters. All three are queens and equal heirs to the crown, and all are magical. However, there can only be one queen to rule them all. Mirabella is an elemental. Katharine is a poisoner who can ingest poisons. Arsinoe is a naturalist. This will be a fight to the death on the night of the sisters' 16th birthday. 

How cool is this concept? Def royals meets fantasy meets Hunger Games. Loved the idea and the concept. I wouldn't want to live here, but the powers would be lovely. I guess I would just want to be a civilian. I wouldn't make a good queen. 

The execution of the story was...okay. It was so slow and so dry in the beginning. Yes, we are learning about the sisters and the world and the rules, etc. However, it took forever for anything to really happen. Plus, we had a lot of POVs going on. Not just the queens, but a lot of their friends, etc. Sure, I didn't mind getting a glimpse of the world, but I think I would've liked this more if it were just the queens' POVs. 

Also, I did the audio of this. I wonder if I would've appreciated the multiple POVs if I did the ebook/physical book of it. It would've been easier to follow along. There were a couple of times I was confused about who was saying what. I had to rewind a couple of times. Don't get me wrong, the narrator is good! I have listened to her before, but so many POVs and soooo many characters, it is hard to have a different voice for each person. 

OMG, the end. I need to read book 2. Dayum. 

Oh! There was another scene a few pages back that had me audibly gasp! Holy cannoli batman!

Overall, I did enjoy myself while listening to this. I think I would've liked it more if I did a different format and/or if we have less POVs. I do want to read book 2 because things have HEATED up. I'll give this 3 stars. 

Reading Challenges

- Audiobook #2

- Library Love #3