akirma's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The premise is so promising, but the writing style made reading this like pulling teeth. The characters seem flat, there's no discernible rationale behind their actions. The author throws the world at your feet and just expects you to go along with it. I kept thinking "this scene would be great if it were written by someone competent". It's a pity, seeing as the plot twists at the end of the book make me want to know what happens next but I just can't take 400 more pages of this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Animal cruelty, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
cc0906's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Medical trauma, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Physical abuse, Torture, and Vomit
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: Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
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.thatbookishwriter23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Every generation, three triplets are born, each with different powers of their own and shipped off to foster families. Mirabella is the strongest with the power to control the weather and call lightning down from above. Katherine is poisoner, able to engulf the deadliest of poisons, but her gift is weak, leaving her to put on a facade. Arsinoe, a naturalist, with the ability to conjure any flower or plant in the palm of her hand, except she can't, she is giftless.
After their sixteenth birthday, the triplets are supposed to meet, see their suitor, prepare to fight each other to the death for the crown.
Who will win?
To be honest, y'all, I didn't expect to love this book. I mean, you see all these reviews about how slow the pacing is and it makes you want to turn the other way.
Well, don't.
Please, don't.
ITS TRUE WHAT THEY SAY, THE ENDING IS WORTH IT!
I was skeptical while reading this, and I was afraid I would have not been invested enough to enjoy the end, but all that faded away once the ending came. The drama builds up, the pacing speeds up, and the tension intensifies. I cannot tell y'all how much this is worth it. And this not just about three queens training to fighting to the death. Oh, no, no, no. There's betrayal, assassination attempts, love, secret schemes, and revenge! By far my favorite queen is Katherine, she is meek and abused but she never really loses hope. My least favorite is Mirabella. THEY NEED TO MAKE THIS A MOVIE, PLS!
AND I GET WHY EVERYONE HATES JOESPH NOW!
PROS
▪Great ending
▪Good characters
▪Sneaky schemes
▪Sisters!
▪Triplets
Cons
▪Extremely slow pacing
▪Instalove
▪Joseph (one of Arsinoe's friends)
▪Mirabella
I rate Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake four stars out of five.
After their sixteenth birthday, the triplets are supposed to meet, see their suitor, prepare to fight each other to the death for the crown.
Who will win?
To be honest, y'all, I didn't expect to love this book. I mean, you see all these reviews about how slow the pacing is and it makes you want to turn the other way.
Well, don't.
Please, don't.
ITS TRUE WHAT THEY SAY, THE ENDING IS WORTH IT!
I was skeptical while reading this, and I was afraid I would have not been invested enough to enjoy the end, but all that faded away once the ending came. The drama builds up, the pacing speeds up, and the tension intensifies. I cannot tell y'all how much this is worth it. And this not just about three queens training to fighting to the death. Oh, no, no, no. There's betrayal, assassination attempts, love, secret schemes, and revenge! By far my favorite queen is Katherine, she is meek and abused but she never really loses hope. My least favorite is Mirabella. THEY NEED TO MAKE THIS A MOVIE, PLS!
AND I GET WHY EVERYONE HATES JOESPH NOW!
PROS
▪Great ending
▪Good characters
▪Sneaky schemes
▪Sisters!
▪Triplets
Cons
▪Extremely slow pacing
▪Instalove
▪Joseph (one of Arsinoe's friends)
▪Mirabella
I rate Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake four stars out of five.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
bookish_bookerz's review
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, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Animal death
emeraldrina's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Great characters and very interesting world. It starts off a little slow, but since it’s the first book in a series I didn’t mind that. The long introduction to each queen was necessary to set up the stakes and emotions that drive all the action in the last third of the book. Will definitely continue the series!
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Vomit, and Gore
miandrade's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-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? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
em_davies7019's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood, Infidelity, Animal death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gore
Minor: Sexual content and Confinement
claudiapr's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The beginning was really boring and the ending was very predictable. I knew what the ending was going to be just by reading the first 50pages
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Minor: Vomit and Sexual content
anastasiamakes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I was expecting this book to be very Hunger Games / Battle Royale-y but it actually focused a lot more on the characters, their relationships, and the politics of their world. A dark romp with strong female characters throughout and some good twists. Enjoyed it more than I expected!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Vomit, and Blood
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Torture, and Violence