Scan barcode
maple_dove's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, Death, Blood, Misogyny, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Gore, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, and Self harm
Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Child death, War, Animal death, Vomit, and Sexual content
Self-harm (graphic - Ritualistic purposes)zaesbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Okay. Wow.
You often hear about “the second book curse”. This phenomenon in which the second of a series is a bit of dud - something to get through to continue the story. This book is not.
Since the world has already been built and as much time is not needed spent creating this island of Fennbirn, this book moves quickly. Lots of action, lots of character development. The beautiful writing and storytelling started in the first book continues here.
Kendare Blake does such a good job of keeping the reader on their toes; never quite sure what will happen. Which I deeply appreciate! Halfway through this series and (though I have hopes) I genuinely have no clue how it will end. And I am very excited to find out!
You often hear about “the second book curse”. This phenomenon in which the second of a series is a bit of dud - something to get through to continue the story. This book is not.
Since the world has already been built and as much time is not needed spent creating this island of Fennbirn, this book moves quickly. Lots of action, lots of character development. The beautiful writing and storytelling started in the first book continues here.
Kendare Blake does such a good job of keeping the reader on their toes; never quite sure what will happen. Which I deeply appreciate! Halfway through this series and (though I have hopes) I genuinely have no clue how it will end. And I am very excited to find out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Grief, Confinement, and Animal cruelty
cardlikecredit's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book was so intense! The pace definitely was better than the first one, especially the utter chaos at the end. I also appreciated the character map at the beginning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
rafacolog's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Violence, Blood, Gore, and Murder
mia_luvsreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Animal cruelty, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, and Vomit
kzsof's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty
thaliareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Overall I enjoyed this book. Through probably an accidental pocket tap on my end while trying to pause the book, I'm pretty sure I skipped about an hour of the book towards the end, but didn't realize for a bit because I assumed it was just the jumpiness between perspectives. While I like the idea of the book and am glad I read it, I don't think I would have finished it if I were reading the physical book because I moved through it pretty slow. I do still plan to finish the series as I'm excited about the direction the story was moving at the end of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
This book is very dark. Be prepared for self-poising with the intention of getting stronger, animal attacks, and general violence and torture. Injuries are described in high detail. There are some animals that do die, and one animal that becomes neglected during this book.paperbackbookies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book made me cry more then once. I’m mad and excited and I’m a mess?? This book had me sitting in the same position for hours while I read. Now I’m sitting here all covered in snot writing this review because WOW. My minds blown, my heart hurts, I’m devastatingly sad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Sexual content
kibiiiariii's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, and Pregnancy
rinku's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
5.0
In the second book of the Three Dark Crown series, One Dark Throne, the pace of the story finally picks up and the stakes are higher than ever. While the first book was more an introduction to the characters and the world, the battle between the sisters intensifies here and gets more dramatic-
I’m still so much invested in this intriguing story. Since I’ve bounded so much already with certain characters, I was always worried that something terrible would happen to them. This leads to a more suspenseful atmosphere than before. Adding to this is that Katharine has lost her mind which makes her even more unpredictable than before. Besides her, the other two queens develop so much in the course of the story which was amazing to see. Thanks to the many different POVs besides the sisters, we get a closer insight in the politics of Fennbirn and how they play a huge role in the fight for the throne.
The ending was so dramatic as well: It was so hard to see how Katharine became the queen and how Mirabella and Arsinoe couldn’t do anything to prevent it. They should be executed as well but Arsinoe was able to fake her own death while Mirabella thought it was her real death. Natalia’s death was so dramatic too, just as Nioclas’ death was brutal. After this, it is revealed that Katharine is barren, meaning that the whole system of the queens will probably end and nobody knows what will happen then. In the end, Mirabella and Arsinoe are able to flee but Joseph dies, and Jules goes back to Fennbirn .
I’ve said it before, but all the characters are so well written. I’ve bounded so much with some of them (like Arsinoe and Jules) that I’m always worried that something will happen to them. My opinion on the queens has also changed a bit; the main ranking is still the same (Arsinoe > Mirabella > Katharine) but I don’t like Katharine now at all.
I mentioned this as well before, but I love that are only females in power positions. Besides this, there are so many great female characters. In comparison, the male characters, and the love triangle every queen has are just not great. I hate how Joseph couldn’t make a decision, and Pietyr’s justification for what he did was so weird.
In summary, One Dark Throne took all what made the first book great and extended upon it. There’s so much potential for the rest of the story since so many things happened that will change everything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content
Minor: Pregnancy and Vomit