Scan barcode
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: violence, death, blood, child abuse mention
Queens of Fennbirn by Kendare Blake is a companion prequel novella from the Three Dark Crowns series containing two short stories: The Young Queens and The Oracle Queen. Possible spoilers for the series ahead.
The first story, The Young Queens follows Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katherine before the time of Three Dark Crowns. We see them as children at the Black Cottage and with their foster families. We get to see why Queen Camille made the decision to hide Arsinoe and Katherine's true gifts. We also get to see more of Jules and how she grew and claimed Camden, her familiar. Although this was a nice little bit of extra, I don't think this prequel adds any value or anything new to the existing series.
The second story, The Oracle Queen, was much more interesting, and makes me wish we got all the stories of the previous queens. We follow Queen Elsabet, the last Oracle Queen. In the series we hear about how she had visions of treachery and sentenced three whole houses to death without evidence, and was locked away in a tower for the rest of her reign because of it. We finally get to see what actually happened. This story was full of political machinations and treachery, but the kind the queen was accused of. It was a very sad story. We also see that the Poisoner Arrons have always been ruthless, political monsters.
Queens of Fennbirn by Kendare Blake is a companion prequel novella from the Three Dark Crowns series containing two short stories: The Young Queens and The Oracle Queen. Possible spoilers for the series ahead.
The first story, The Young Queens follows Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katherine before the time of Three Dark Crowns. We see them as children at the Black Cottage and with their foster families. We get to see why Queen Camille made the decision to hide Arsinoe and Katherine's true gifts. We also get to see more of Jules and how she grew and claimed Camden, her familiar. Although this was a nice little bit of extra, I don't think this prequel adds any value or anything new to the existing series.
The second story, The Oracle Queen, was much more interesting, and makes me wish we got all the stories of the previous queens. We follow Queen Elsabet, the last Oracle Queen. In the series we hear about how she had visions of treachery and sentenced three whole houses to death without evidence, and was locked away in a tower for the rest of her reign because of it. We finally get to see what actually happened. This story was full of political machinations and treachery, but the kind the queen was accused of. It was a very sad story. We also see that the Poisoner Arrons have always been ruthless, political monsters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Child abuse
pageafter_paige's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Wanted to sit down and read this one today and I really liked it! It was one think to hear these stories mentioned in passing during the main story, but it’s another to go back and time to read about the islands history and the childhoods of the 3 queens. I want to murder Francesca so bad she screwed the entire island and it’s future cause she’s petty
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
woolgathering_jane's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Young Queens broke my heart, but it was pretty average. Not a disappointment, but nothing remarkable.
The Oracle Queen tho? Freaking depressing. I just stared at a wall for several minutes after finishing. I just couldn't believe the ending, I felt so sorry for Elsabet! I also can't believe I got that attached to the characters only after 100 pages.
I'd rate The Young Queens 3 stars and The Oracle Queen 5 stars.
The Oracle Queen tho? Freaking depressing. I just stared at a wall for several minutes after finishing. I just couldn't believe the ending, I felt so sorry for Elsabet! I also can't believe I got that attached to the characters only after 100 pages.
I'd rate The Young Queens 3 stars and The Oracle Queen 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Blood
brynn_books's review against another edition
3.5
This book is a short story bind up based on the world of Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake. I will talk about each book separately.
THE YOUNG QUEENS:
This was probably my favorite out of the two. I loved learning about the queens and what they were like when they were younger and how they became what they were. Just seeing what they went through and how that affected their life to what it is like in the first 2 Books was really interesting.
I liked seeing how they are so different and how they came to be who they are today. I also liked seeing the relationships form and how Mirabella became friends with Bree, Arsinoe became friends with Jules and Joseph and Katharine became friends with Natalia and learned to trust her. Just seeing how they were so different.
I didn’t like how they kept on skipping time. I get why she wanted to skip time to show the queens development but sometimes it felt a little choppy. Overall I would give this story, a 4/5 stars.
THE ORACLE QUEEN:
I liked seeing the different perspective with Elsabet being an Oracle Queen, it was interesting to see the different power and how it was used. Also, seeing how things were so different in the past was really interesting to just see how these people were so different and how they did things differently. Also, I loved seeing the War gift in use. Rosamund was one of my favorite characters. Also, the ending was very cool to see how all of it was executing and knowing the story that Katharine, Mirabella and Arsinoe know and just seeing how different it actually was and how that affected everyone.
That being said I didn’t really like most of the characters. Rosamund and Jonathon were the only characters I actually liked. I don’t know what it was I was just having a hard time connecting with most of the characters and didn’t really like them. Gilbert annoyed me and I didn’t like Bess.
I would probably give this a 3/5 stars.
Thanks for reading my review. I did enjoy this book just not as much as I wanted to.
THE YOUNG QUEENS:
This was probably my favorite out of the two. I loved learning about the queens and what they were like when they were younger and how they became what they were. Just seeing what they went through and how that affected their life to what it is like in the first 2 Books was really interesting.
I liked seeing how they are so different and how they came to be who they are today. I also liked seeing the relationships form and how Mirabella became friends with Bree, Arsinoe became friends with Jules and Joseph and Katharine became friends with Natalia and learned to trust her. Just seeing how they were so different.
I didn’t like how they kept on skipping time. I get why she wanted to skip time to show the queens development but sometimes it felt a little choppy. Overall I would give this story, a 4/5 stars.
THE ORACLE QUEEN:
I liked seeing the different perspective with Elsabet being an Oracle Queen, it was interesting to see the different power and how it was used. Also, seeing how things were so different in the past was really interesting to just see how these people were so different and how they did things differently. Also, I loved seeing the War gift in use. Rosamund was one of my favorite characters. Also, the ending was very cool to see how all of it was executing and knowing the story that Katharine, Mirabella and Arsinoe know and just seeing how different it actually was and how that affected everyone.
That being said I didn’t really like most of the characters. Rosamund and Jonathon were the only characters I actually liked. I don’t know what it was I was just having a hard time connecting with most of the characters and didn’t really like them. Gilbert annoyed me and I didn’t like Bess.
I would probably give this a 3/5 stars.
Thanks for reading my review. I did enjoy this book just not as much as I wanted to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, and Blood