READ: Three Dark Crowns – A Book that was Better than I Expected. PDF, EPUB online free reviews.

★★★☆☆

(3.5/5)

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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.

Well, that was better than I ever expected.

Before starting this book I saw a lot of mixed reviews floating around. Some people love it, some people hate it, so people said it was one of the most boring books they’ve read. Me? I thought it was perfectly enjoyable. And yeah, I mean sure it was slow (literally nothing happened for over half of the novel) but I actually didn’t mind it all that much. In the end, I was honestly impressed by how much I ended up liking it.

Now, be warned, this book is slow. As I said, nothing happens for over half of this novel so if you aren’t into slow books, then this might not be for you. It is character driven novel and we spend most of it just getting to know each of the many characters in this large cast. In fact, I think it was that cast and how much I got to like each of them that really made this book worth reading.

At first, I worried that this book was too short and the plot too slow to effectively hold so many different perspectives and have them each be interesting. Thankfully, my worries were for nothing because I actually really got to like each of the three queens and all of the people around them (except for Joseph who could fall off a cliff and die). I also really enjoyed watching the different environments they had been raised in and how it shaped them into who they were. All of the relationships were great, especially all of the wonderful female friendships between all the different sets of girls. It truly was handled much better than I ever expected it would be.

Despite its extremely slow pace, the story is actually very interesting and the premise is one that is very cruel and creative. Just imagine, three powerful triplet queens destined to murder each other for the throne, all while their kingdom chooses sides and cheers them on. The story is nasty and bloody and a lot darker at points than I imagined, although I don’t know why after reading the synopsis. I think I just expected it to be like most other YA fantasies I read where the terrible things that happen to the protagonists are kept at a minimum (can’t have a ‘strong female protagonists’ with less than perfect features, I suppose). Thankfully, this one held no such sympathies with their characters and I loved it!

Admittedly, I did predict the ending around 40% into the books, but only a small part of it. While my suspicious for one very specific thing did, in fact, come true, there was so much that happened in the end that I did not see coming at all. I finished the book a few hours ago and I’m still thinking about all the things that went down.

In the end, I really enjoyed this book, despite its many flaws. I would have liked more explanation on how that world and its magic work, and I would have wanted to perhaps spend more time with each queen. I also wish more action would have taken place and that certain moments would have been sped along, but really I don’t mind things as they are all that much.

If you like slow building YA fantasies, with lots and lots of strong-willed, morally gray women who will stop at nothing to get their way, and strong friendships, this might be for you. I can’t wait to read the sequel!