Title: Two Dark Reigns (Three Dark Crowns #3)
Author: Kendare Blake
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 4, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake returns with the highly anticipated third book in the Three Dark Crowns series! And while Arsinoe, Mirabella, and Katharine all have their own scores to settle, they aren’t the only queens stirring things up on Fennbirn Island.
Queen Katharine has waited her entire life to wear the crown. But now that she finally has it, the murmurs of dissent grow louder by the day. There’s also the alarming issue of whether or not her sisters are actually dead—or if they’re waiting in the wings to usurp the throne.
Mirabella and Arsinoe are alive, but in hiding on the mainland and dealing with a nightmare of their own: being visited repeatedly by a specter they think might be the fabled Blue Queen. Though she says nothing, her rotting, bony finger pointing out to sea is clear enough: return to Fennbirn.
Jules, too, is in a strange place—in disguise. And her only confidants, a war-gifted girl named Emilia and her oracle friend Mathilde, are urging her to take on a role she can’t imagine filling: a legion-cursed queen who will lead a rebel army to Katharine’s doorstep.
This is an uprising that the mysterious Blue Queen may have more to do with than anyone could have guessed—or expected.
Review:
Queen Katharine won the battle, so she is ruling Fennbirn Island. Her sisters, Arinsoe and Mirabella, are on the mainland, where they escaped after the duel with Katharine. Katharine doesn’t know if her sisters are alive or not, which means they could come and threaten her reign. Arsinoe’s friend Jules also escaped and is living in disguise. Jules’s friends Emilia and Mathilde want her to fill the role of the legion cursed queen to oppose Katharine. At the same time, the legendary Blue Queen is appearing in Arsinoe’s dreams, pointing her back toward Fennbirn Island. The biggest danger may be something they can’t see.
This story had a lot of world building, even though it is the third in the series. It opens with a flashback 400 years ago when Queen Illian, the Blue Queen, was born. She plays an important role in the story. I loved that history returned to the island in this story.
The plot took a twist I didn’t see coming. Some characters that were minor in previous books became more important to the story in this book. I love that the plot arc has changed in a surprising way, yet it still makes sense to the story as a whole.
I loved this book! I’m going to have to get the next book right away!
What to read next:
Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #3) by Kendare Blake
Queens of Fennbirn (Three Dark Crowns #0.1-0.2) by Kendare Blake
Other books in the series:
- Three Dark Crowns
- One Dark Throne
- Five Dark Fates
- Queens of Fennbirn
Have you read Two Dark Reigns? What did you think of it?
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