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kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
zaesbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
What a book! A spoiler-free review to help you decide if you want to read:
If you are a lover of fantasy novels that have a unique concept, world-building, beautiful writing, political intrigue, and explore all the ins and outs of different kinds of relationships - this series is for you!
So here’s what you can expect: a very interesting, dark concept for a story (three triplets who are raised separately on an island filled with magic, knowing they will either die or kill their sisters to become queen at the mere age of 16), good world-building, examples of a multitude of relationships (including romantic subplots), magic, political power dynamics, surprises, and a plot-twist or two.
Heads up- there are four novels and two novellas (both novellas together in one book: Queens of Fennbirn). Do not read the novellas before reading Three Dark Crowns and One Dark Throne. It contains spoilers for the first two books of the series.
If you are a lover of fantasy novels that have a unique concept, world-building, beautiful writing, political intrigue, and explore all the ins and outs of different kinds of relationships - this series is for you!
So here’s what you can expect: a very interesting, dark concept for a story (three triplets who are raised separately on an island filled with magic, knowing they will either die or kill their sisters to become queen at the mere age of 16), good world-building, examples of a multitude of relationships (including romantic subplots), magic, political power dynamics, surprises, and a plot-twist or two.
Heads up- there are four novels and two novellas (both novellas together in one book: Queens of Fennbirn). Do not read the novellas before reading Three Dark Crowns and One Dark Throne. It contains spoilers for the first two books of the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
cardlikecredit's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The beginning was really slow and then it picks up real fast halfway through. I could have also used a character map, there were so many names to keep track of.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Vomit, and War
Minor: Animal death
nitecrtlvr's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
As a first book it’s definitely more focused on world building and giving the reader a grasp of each character and the background/setting of how life is there and the expectations.
Due to that it is a bit of a slow read, it is written well and quite descriptive but definitely more political and not action driven.
Due to that it is a bit of a slow read, it is written well and quite descriptive but definitely more political and not action driven.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Animal death and Body shaming
Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
pagesbycaroline's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Second read of this book. It's been long enough since I read it the first time that most everything was a surprise, which was delightful. There are many twists that I did not remember, so it was almost like reading it for the first time. I very much enjoy the dark nature of this story and cannot wait to continue reading the series. I remember in the beginning, Katharine was my favorite, but now I am leaning more towards Arsinoe.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, and Blood
teri_b's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I read this to get an idea as to what my own take on this series is.
Suffice to say that I dnfed this book nearly a couple of times. The toxicity of the relationships that is defined by the adults is appalling. Combined with the underlying representation of eating disorders that can be triggering, I would not consider this book to be a healthy read.
Suffice to say that I dnfed this book nearly a couple of times. The toxicity of the relationships that is defined by the adults is appalling. Combined with the underlying representation of eating disorders that can be triggering, I would not consider this book to be a healthy read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
cc0906's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
thaliareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I had a bit of trouble with this book, and I think I might have had trouble finishing it if I hadn't been listening to it. I like the concept, but had some trouble with the pacing and inconsistent order and switching of POVs. I don't think it necesarily detracted from the book on its own, but I think that personally it led to some difficulties.
I liked the concept and the characters. The plot progression was good, if a bit slow at times, but I kept loosing track of how close or far they were from different milestones they'd need to reach.
However, I think the last handful of chapters really brought this up a notch for me. I was sincerely excited to read the next book to see what happens, despite not really enjoying this book as much as some of my recent reads.
I liked the concept and the characters. The plot progression was good, if a bit slow at times, but I kept loosing track of how close or far they were from different milestones they'd need to reach.
However, I think the last handful of chapters really brought this up a notch for me. I was sincerely excited to read the next book to see what happens, despite not really enjoying this book as much as some of my recent reads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
This book doesn't spare any details. This won't be for you if you don't like wounds to be graphically described. Additionally, the self harm/torture and physical abuse all relates to the intentional and repeat poisoning of one character to develop their resistance. This is however out of a desire to live, not a desire to die.bookish_bookerz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Reviewing this book would be comparable as reviewing a childhood snack that you do not eat anymore. I have been wanting to read this book around the time it first came out; however, I was not able to actually read it until now. Reading this gave me a sense of accomplishment but was not well liked either. The reason why this book got a 2.75 stars because I did enjoy it as a whole but not as much as I would have back in the past. Although this book suit my taste in reading (I am devoted YA fantasy reader) it also left an dull impression on me at the same time. The plot of the book sparked my interest and its elements of sisters competing against each other and fighting until the last one stands is what held my long inquired interest in the book. But once into it, I soon started to divert my attention elsewhere. I felt that this book is a nice introduction book into the series as it gives glimpses, explanations, and world building into the plot, but the action itself did not happen until near the end of the book. Because of this, I felt kind of disappointed because I thought some of the action would be near the middle. Furthermore, I kind of disliked the direction of the book was going as it brings in a side character that ends up being the main force later in the series (but this book kind of establishes their strength in the overall series). There were some parts of the book that was slow but not slow enough to DNF. Despite the things I did not like about it, I did enjoy the premise of the book and the plot. There were some characters that I loved and some I didn’t, and I appreciate that. The writing in the book was a nice with descriptions of the world and the characters without being overly detailed. The pacing of the book can be quite slow at times but it does pick up to a medium speed once established. Lastly, I liked how this book had some twist or outcomes I was not expecting. I throughly enjoyed those as it was a driving factor for its continued reading. Overall, this is a great book that I am glad I got a chance to read but it is not a series I would continue right away.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Animal death
dancingprince's review against another edition
Nothing technically wrong with it, just not holding my attention. A little gory.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Physical abuse