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sophline's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mozbolt's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed these novellas and sad to be finished with the series. It was nostalgic to travel in time to the beginnings of the three queens, especially after the bittersweet ending of the final novel, and also interesting to read about what really happened to The Mad Queen 500 years before the three queens.
beesboo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ihateprozac's review against another edition
4.0
A word of warning: you're going to want to read both [b:Three Dark Crowns|28374007|Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns, #1)|Kendare Blake|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469265712s/28374007.jpg|42750582] and [b:One Dark Throne|29923707|One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns, #2)|Kendare Blake|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1487862160s/29923707.jpg|50306201] before picking this up. While you can probably get by only having read the first book, it's after reading the second book that you'll reeeeeeeally start to appreciate this.
Queens of Fennbirn is a bind up of two prequel novellas: The Young Queens and The Oracle Queen. Because I know I'm personally too lazy to click into individual book reviews, here are both of mine given below for y'all~
The Young Queens
The Young Queens chronicles the births and lives of Arsinoe, Katherine, and Mirabella prior to their fight for the throne. We get to see their birth at the Black Cottage, meet the queen and king-consort, see how Arsinoe and Katherine’s *cough* situation *cough* happened, understand Caragh’s banishment to the cottage, and watch the queens grow up and struggle to adjust to life within their new factions.
While this novella is a prequel, I would highly recommend reading both the first and second books in this series before delving in. It adds so much to the Fennbirn world, from the circumstances of the spoiler>switch at birth to the arrival of the mountain lion, Camden. It’s not necessary to consume before you go on with the series, but it serves as a nice Easter Egg and provides more context and rationale to the way some of our favourite characters behave or misbehave. Think of this book as a nice side of sauce to go with your fries; you could just eat the fries by themselves, but they’re a helluva lot better with some sriracha mayo or aioli. ;)
I recall finding Three Dark Crowns to be such a painful slog, but I’m pleased to say that falling back into this world with The Young Queens was completely effortless. It’s been a few months between books, but from page 1 I felt like I’d never left.
----------------------
The Oracle Queen
The Oracle Queen takes place several hundred years prior to the events of our main story, chronicling the life of Elsabet, the last sight-gifted queen to rule Fennbirn. The novella opens with her story being recounted to the young queens, before launching into a tale that proves the mad queen was far more complex than the history books would have you believe.
THIS. IS. THE. KIND. OF. POLITICAL. INTRIGUE. I. AM. HERE. FOR. I spend sooooo much time reading court and monarchy fantasy tales, praying and hoping we get some juicy political intrigue a la Game of Thrones. Sadly, I’m usually left wanting.
Fortunately, The Oracle Queen delivers all the delicious backstabbing and treachery that I could ever want! It took me back to the days of mic drops and plot twists in Game of Thrones, feeling helpless as your faves suddenly have the rugs snatched out from under them. The political machinations were SO dark and delicious that I haven’t been this shook since I watched Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding on TV!
I’m not sure this will contribute to the story happening in real time, but you won’t regret picking this up. It’s JUST SO DAMN EVIL AND GOOD.
Queens of Fennbirn is a bind up of two prequel novellas: The Young Queens and The Oracle Queen. Because I know I'm personally too lazy to click into individual book reviews, here are both of mine given below for y'all~
The Young Queens
The Young Queens chronicles the births and lives of Arsinoe, Katherine, and Mirabella prior to their fight for the throne. We get to see their birth at the Black Cottage, meet the queen and king-consort, see how Arsinoe and Katherine’s *cough* situation *cough* happened, understand Caragh’s banishment to the cottage, and watch the queens grow up and struggle to adjust to life within their new factions.
While this novella is a prequel, I would highly recommend reading both the first and second books in this series before delving in. It adds so much to the Fennbirn world, from the circumstances of the spoiler>switch at birth to the arrival of the mountain lion, Camden. It’s not necessary to consume before you go on with the series, but it serves as a nice Easter Egg and provides more context and rationale to the way some of our favourite characters behave or misbehave. Think of this book as a nice side of sauce to go with your fries; you could just eat the fries by themselves, but they’re a helluva lot better with some sriracha mayo or aioli. ;)
I recall finding Three Dark Crowns to be such a painful slog, but I’m pleased to say that falling back into this world with The Young Queens was completely effortless. It’s been a few months between books, but from page 1 I felt like I’d never left.
----------------------
The Oracle Queen
The Oracle Queen takes place several hundred years prior to the events of our main story, chronicling the life of Elsabet, the last sight-gifted queen to rule Fennbirn. The novella opens with her story being recounted to the young queens, before launching into a tale that proves the mad queen was far more complex than the history books would have you believe.
THIS. IS. THE. KIND. OF. POLITICAL. INTRIGUE. I. AM. HERE. FOR. I spend sooooo much time reading court and monarchy fantasy tales, praying and hoping we get some juicy political intrigue a la Game of Thrones. Sadly, I’m usually left wanting.
Fortunately, The Oracle Queen delivers all the delicious backstabbing and treachery that I could ever want! It took me back to the days of mic drops and plot twists in Game of Thrones, feeling helpless as your faves suddenly have the rugs snatched out from under them. The political machinations were SO dark and delicious that I haven’t been this shook since I watched Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding on TV!
I’m not sure this will contribute to the story happening in real time, but you won’t regret picking this up. It’s JUST SO DAMN EVIL AND GOOD.
wyliecoyote851's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
eb_rivers's review against another edition
emotional
5.0
Both of these novellas made me sad. Seeing how close the sisters were and how much Mirabella loved them really broke my heart when they have to grow up and kill each other. It was crazy to learn that they locked Mirabella in the basement for some years. They did allude to her being difficult at first, but knowing what really happened was crazy. But it was still nice to see their childhood. Learning Elsabet's story was heartbreaking and made me despise the Arrons even more. At first I was excited to learn what prophecy Elsabet saw that led her to killing entire families, but the truth was absolutely devastating and infuriating, especially since they would thereafter drown all oracle queens and there's no way anyone can learn the truth.
worldsunlikeourown's review against another edition
4.0
Read more reviews on my blog at Worlds Unlike Our Own.
This book has been on my ‘to-review’ shelf for nearly two years, so it was about time I sat down to write one for it. I hadn’t initially intended to read this book at all, owing to my general dislike of novellas and spin offs, but after I finished reading Five Dark Fates, there were some questions I had unanswered, and I really wanted to see if this book had the answers.
The Young Queens shows the story of the birth of Katharine, Arsinoe and Mirabella, and their childhood at the black cottage, unaware of what the future holds. The big reveal in this story was how Arsinoe and Katharine were switched, as well as some insight into the amount of power the poisoners have held by being in power for so long and how they have taken advantage of it. It was a good insight into what the queens were like as girls and an interesting read.
The Oracle Queen was the story I liked better, as it shows a different side to Elsabet, as well as the true story behind the supposedly mad queen, a very different one from what the legend states. The ending was quite a shocking one, and a sad tale too, but this story also allowed for a glimpse at Fennbirn many, many years before the events of the main series and how different the dynamics were between the differently gifted people, as well as some parallels with the Fennbirn we know.
Queens of Fennbirn was an enjoyable read and a great window into the past, filling in some gaps in the main story. I would definitely recommend this book for fans of the Three Dark Crowns series!
This book has been on my ‘to-review’ shelf for nearly two years, so it was about time I sat down to write one for it. I hadn’t initially intended to read this book at all, owing to my general dislike of novellas and spin offs, but after I finished reading Five Dark Fates, there were some questions I had unanswered, and I really wanted to see if this book had the answers.
The Young Queens shows the story of the birth of Katharine, Arsinoe and Mirabella, and their childhood at the black cottage, unaware of what the future holds. The big reveal in this story was how Arsinoe and Katharine were switched, as well as some insight into the amount of power the poisoners have held by being in power for so long and how they have taken advantage of it. It was a good insight into what the queens were like as girls and an interesting read.
The Oracle Queen was the story I liked better, as it shows a different side to Elsabet, as well as the true story behind the supposedly mad queen, a very different one from what the legend states. The ending was quite a shocking one, and a sad tale too, but this story also allowed for a glimpse at Fennbirn many, many years before the events of the main series and how different the dynamics were between the differently gifted people, as well as some parallels with the Fennbirn we know.
Queens of Fennbirn was an enjoyable read and a great window into the past, filling in some gaps in the main story. I would definitely recommend this book for fans of the Three Dark Crowns series!
martareader's review against another edition
4.0
I love anything Three Dark Crowns but ''The Oracle Queen'' had so many characters for such a short story I was a bit confused while reading it.
But still, it was so much to read about my favourite queens past and also to learn about the oracle queen.
But still, it was so much to read about my favourite queens past and also to learn about the oracle queen.
julieabe89's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This had two interesting short stories. One of the oracle queen that was the last one to ever rule Fennbirn and the true story. The other what happened with Mira, Kat, and Arsinoe before the events of the first book. Very enjoyable.