One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake Review

Title: One Dark Throne

Author: Kendare Blake

Age Group: Teen/Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy/Horror

Series: Three Dark Crowns, book two

Star Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

I borrowed this book from my local library and reviewed it.

I’ve been a fan of Kendare Blake ever since she published her debut novel, Anna Dressed in Blood. In fact, I bought my own copy as soon as it came out in paperback. It’s still sitting on my shelf to his day. Three Dark Crowns was one of my favorite books of last year, so when I found out that the sequel was coming out, I was so stoked. I immediately put a hold on it at my library, and when it came in, I was practically squealing with joy and excitement. It sat in my stack for a while, and finally, I had one last renewal on it before I had to take it back to the library. I put it at the top of my stack, and then I started to read. First of all, I loved the fact that there was a map and a list of characters at the beginning; it was nice to have references when I got lost. But I was quickly drawn again into the triplets’ dangerous world, full of dark magic, political power plays and uneasy alliances, and a fight for the ultimate prize: to be the Queen of Fennbirn.

Feuding triplet queens Mirabella, Katharine, and Arsinoe have come a long way since their childhood. Elemental Mirabella is hesitant to kill her sisters, even though her victory is all but assured. Arsinoe, the naturalist, long considered the runt, the sacrifice, discovers that there may be more to her power than she ever could’ve imagined. And finally, Katharine, the poisoner queen, has crawled up from the depths of a dark pit and become endowed with a dark, mysterious power. All three are reeling from the fierce war they’ve fought since coming of age, and they must decide what they want more: each other or the crown.

This sequel was really, really good! It took a few minutes for me to remember what was going on, but once I really got into it, I couldn’t put it down. Blake takes the reader all across the country, between the viewpoints of the three queens and several of their courtiers. I really liked the pacing, because once things really started rolling, I couldn’t put it down! I was captivated by the lush, gorgeous prose, and I was frantic to find out what was going on. I loved the way the book elaborated on events from the previous one, especially where Arsinoe and Katharine were concerned! All the awesome character development! Almost against my will, I was rooting for all three of them! I also really enjoyed the way the side characters: Madrigal, Jules, Joseph, Billy, Pietyr, and Eva, were brought in and given a more pivotal role. And that ending, oh my gosh! There better be a sequel or I will never recover! The bottom line: The long-awaited sequel to one of Blake’s best books, One Dark Throne completely exceeded my expectations! I can’t wait for the next book! 2018 can’t come soon enough! Next on deck: Warcross by Marie Lu!