Title: Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #4)
Author: Kendare Blake
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication date: September 3rd, 2019
452 pages
3/5 stars
Goodreads Synopsis
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.
Review
The Three Dark Crowns series was one I was very interested in, it seemed like a newer, darker, Hunger Games-esque story. I love a book that pits people against each other to the death, what can I say? As I continued on in this series I became less and less enthused with how the story progressed. I didn’t agree with a lot of what Kendare Blake decided to do and where she decided to take the story. By the end, I just wanted to finish the story to give it a chance to change my mind with the ending. I’m going to keep this review as free of spoilers as I can, since it is the fourth book in a quartet.
I was disappointed, I’m not going to lie. I wish I had enjoyed Five Dark Fates more as I was so excited for it for so long. Queen Katharine is my fave of all time and all I wanted was a good storyline for her. I do feel like her arc got cleared up pretty well, but I didn’t feel that way about all the characters.
One serious issue with these books is the amount of information and set up required to keep it moving. I was legitimately bored for the first 200 pages and had to put it down and read something else for awhile before going back to it. There is just so much build up and set up where next to nothing is happening, until brief spurts of action come by.
Do I recommend this series? Heck yes. It is dark and mysterious and twisty, will religion, magical powers, politics, etc. I think everyone should try this series because even though I would have preferred a different ending, there are people out there that will love this. Kendare Blake is an amazing writer and I would gladly read more of her work.
Happy reading, bookish friends! 🙂
Baltimore Bibliophile 