Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #4) by Kendare Blake #bookreview #YA #darkfantasy

On By Teri PolenIn Book Reviews

After the battle with Katharine, the rebellion lies in tatters. Jules’s legion curse has been unbound, leaving her out of her mind and unfit to rule. Arsinoe must find a cure, even as the responsibility of stopping the ravaging mist rests heavy on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone. Mirabella has disappeared.

Queen Katharine’s rule over Fennbirn remains intact—for now. But her attack on the rebellion exacted a high price: her beloved Pietyr. Without him, who can she rely upon when Mirabella arrives, seemingly under a banner of truce? As oldest and youngest circle each other, and Katharine begins to yearn for the closeness that Mirabella and Arsinoe share, the dead queens hiss caution—Mirabella is not to be trusted.

In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three dark sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn’s history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested, and some broken forever.

The fate of the island lies in the hands of its queens.

Being such a fan of this dark fantasy series, I bought this book the day it was released, but hate that it took me months to finally read it.

Admittedly, I was a little lost at the beginning.  Part of the reason is the length of time between finishing the previous book and starting this one, and the other is listening to the audiobook.  I’ve learned that when an extensive character list is involved, I do better reading the book instead of listening, so that’s on me.

Between the three sisters, I can’t say I really have a favorite, but I admire certain qualities about each of them, and they all have distinct personalities.  From the beginning, the world-building fascinated me – triplet girl queens, each possessing different gifts, who must fight to the death for the crown upon reaching a certain age.  Years ago, I attended a panel where the author explained what sparked the idea – bee hives, of all things.

In this last novel, explanations come to light, mysteries are solved, and deaths abound – plenty of them.  I can’t say it ended as I’d hoped or expected, but the unexpected isn’t always a bad thing, either.  This YA dark fantasy is one I’d recommend to fans of the genre.

35 thoughts on “Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #4) by Kendare Blake #bookreview #YA #darkfantasy”

  1. Bee hives…huh…I never would have thought to use that for inspiration. It sounds like a wonderful trilogy. I have one particular book that is a final in a series that has been sitting on my shelf since the beginning of the year despite the fact that I really want to read it. One day ❤️ Great review!

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    1. You never know where the ideas will come from – that’s why I’m always interested in story origins. I have the final book in a series I’ve been so anxious to get to because the previous book left off with a heart-stopping ending. Trying to get through some other book commitments first. Thanks, Tessa!

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    1. I’ve reacted to both books and movies that way, Jina. Sometimes the brain just doesn’t want to cooperate. Have to admit, I enjoyed the first book of the series more than the rest, but overall, it was a creative, dark fantasy series.

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    1. This author wrote a YA horror duology you should look into, Robbie – Anna Dressed in Blood is the first one. Hands down, one of my favorite horror novels, and the characters and dark humor are fabulous.

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  9. I like dark fantasy, Teri. This one sounds good and now that the trilogy is complete, I’ve added it to my list. I don’t like having to wait since I tend to forget the nuances of what came before. And same comment on names – somehow they stick better if read rather than heard. And interesting inspiration for the book! You never know. 🙂 Thanks for the recommendation.

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    1. I don’t think I realized how many characters there were in this series until I listened to the audiobook. I’m going through the same thing with the book I’m listening to now – lots of characters, and I’m merging them together. Visual has always worked better for me.

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  10. I don’t think I could listen to an audio book that involved a large cast of characters. Probably much too hard to keep track off (I like to be able to flip back through pages, LOL). It sounds like the ending was somewhat surprising, but also satisfying.

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    1. Exactly! And I have this book on my Nook, but knew it would take me a while to get to it. I think in the future, I’m going to check the character list before downloading audiobooks, lol.

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  13. Love this series. I agree, I was a little detached from the beginning of the novel too. And I constantly went back and forth as to who my favorite was. I think Katharine is the most interesting character, where Arsinoe is the most admirable. Mirabella’s a mix of both I think.

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