Three Dark Crowns
Kendare Blake
Katherine the Poisoner, Arsinoe the Naturalist and Mirabella the Elementalist have been doomed to murder each other for the sake of the crown since they were children. The Poisoners have held the island council for many years, but now it could be time for a change with Priestesses wanting their favourite candidate for the throne to win at any cost.
Personally, I think the blurb on GoodReads gives far too much away. You start to get inklings of something being wrong with this generation of Queens as you are reading, and to have them all knocked away before you even start reading would be a serious detriment to your enjoyment of the novel.
I couldn’t decide which Queen I liked the best! I of course felt sorry for Katherine, because she was being poisoned all time and was sickly. But was that just because she was the first Queen introduced in the novel? I’d be interested to hear about the author’s reasoning for which perspectives to display in each order.
The first third of this novel wasn’t riveting enough for me. I couldn’t work out when the dying would occur. Hint, it doesn’t occur in this novel, it might occur in the second (or third, I’m not clear on how many novels will be in this series). I was left with more questions than answers and some intriguing theories about why each of the Queens had odd behaving powers.
I’m not sure there is quite enough depth in there for a re-read, but it certainly has potential if the next novel is as good. 4 stars from me.
Pan Macmillan | 1st October 2016 | AU $16.99 | Paperback
It was a bit convenient how there just happened to be 4 brilliant ‘munies that could be used to help design the maze. Then again, the whole thing was amazingly orchestrated by WICKED. Not having read The Scorch Trials, I didn’t know that there had been two communities in the mazes (male-only and female-only).
I really liked the nifty symbols and I think the author had a lot of fun coming up with them. It likely took a bit of research on his behalf, and it shows nicely. I’m loving the Signmaker and I think lots of teenage readers are going to be able to get into this novel.
This is a nifty concept that takes advantage of social media’s continual encroachment into our lives. Why not take it one more step so it hangs around after your death? After all, you’ll be gone and not able to see the inevitable fallout! But how do you sustain money into the business when all your users die?
This is told in the style of a fairy tale, which I appreciated. The novel is bookended by short sections that tell us what happened when we aren’t looking from Feo’s perspective. There is a hint of Russian culture, although there could have been more of this. I honestly can say I’m interested in Russia and it has a unique environment that I like (maybe it’s the snow?).
I liked Henry’s self-awareness and his relationships with his friends. His friends are always willing to pick him up (unless they are also lying down) and there is a happy dynamic that makes the plot feel more real. Sure, the ‘Australian’ bloke is bloody caricaturish, but that’s pretty typical.
I don’t know what drew me to this novel, or what kept me reading. In any other case, I think I would have gotten frustrated with the glacial pacing, with very little action. However this novel had the right protagonist for me to keep reading. How could I not love Billi? Talk about the underdog (pun intended). I really enjoyed the unassuming and thoughtful dialogue inside Billi’s brain.
Libby connected with me really strongly and left a lasting impression for me. She’s a strong female protagonist that nevertheless needs support from her family, friends and a counsellor. No woman is an island, and Libby is no exception.
Who doesn’t love an underdog? Nessa is going to fight for what she has, and pretend she doesn’t care about everything else. Her legs aren’t going to stop her, when her mind is sharp. Her mind ends up being the thing that can save her. Other reviewers have picked on her being a character trope, but I didn’t have an issue with that. I appreciated that Nessa couldn’t see her own faults until it was to late – she couldn’t be too self-sacrificing after all.