Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

     Three sisters born with gifts. Three possible queens. Two will perish, one will rule. Each must use their gift to try and defeat the others and win the crown. And how epic does that story sound?

     Well, Three Dark Crowns did not disappoint and was amazing. It was dark and twisted and utterly perfect. There were several parts that gave off a lot Game of Thrones vibes but that were original and unique. I especially liked the twist at the end involving Arsinoe.

     I'm usually not a big fan of alternating points of view but, it was done well here. The three separate storylines weaved together really nicely to make up the larger, main storyline. I'm obsessed with any kind of human/animal bonds or animal companions in books so naturally I loved the idea of familiars. If I had to pick any of the gifts, I would want to be a naturalist. There was a touch of romance in this book, but it wasn't the main focus which was nice and it was balanced out by the amount of action in the story.

     I really liked all three sisters. Initially I wasn't crazy about Katharine but, as the story went on, she grew on me. I liked Arsinoe right off the bat and once Mira finally stood up and grew a backbone, I liked her better as well. I loved that none of the sisters were ever portrayed as completely innocent and that we got to see a dark side to each of them. This makes their characters more complex and the story more interesting. I really hope that in the next book they realize how much everyone has been pitting them against each other and decide to work together. The three of them together would be such a powerful team and I feel like they should rebuild their relationship.

     This was a very intense story and was wrapped up at a good point that still left enough unanswered to lead into the next book. It'll be interesting to see where this story goes next. It will no doubt, be as enticing as Three Dark Crowns was.

Rating: 5/5 stars