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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
This was nice but VERY predictable.
I don't know how to feel about it yet... on the one hand liked the ending but on the other hand everything seemed to wrap up way too perfectly and easily.
Still, I really appreciated all the action in this book, and it was way more entertaining than the third installment. Also, I loved the sister relationship between the queens in this!
I don't know how to feel about it yet... on the one hand liked the ending but on the other hand everything seemed to wrap up way too perfectly and easily.
Still, I really appreciated all the action in this book, and it was way more entertaining than the third installment. Also, I loved the sister relationship between the queens in this!
Warning this review contains spoilers for the Three Dark Crowns series. Do not read unless you have read books 1-3. You've been warned.
Rating: 5 Stars
This was a stunning and wonderfully dark conclusion to such a fantastic series. There have been so many twists and turns throughout this series and I absolutely loved every minute of it.
We are essentially on the brink of war as a new 'queen' is thrown into the midst, Jules Malone, Arsinoe's best friend. Arsinoe's skills as a poisoner and low magic wielder are put to the test as she tries to keep Jules's legion curse at bay. Mirabella has run off to the capital to uncover what Madrigal meant when she said: "Katharine is full of the dead." Katharine anxiously waits for Pietyr to awake, but without being able to divulge how he got into this state there is little the healers can do to help. She must figure out how to control the dead queens that rage inside her, find a way to conquer the dreaded mist that has turned against the island, win the hearts of her people, and figure out some way to bear the triplets. All of which she must do alone and in secret.
There were so many shocking things I didn't see coming and thoroughly enjoyed throughout this book. This story kept me on the edge of my seat and I didn't want to put it down. And although this definitely is a war and people do die, I'll admit I was in tears over these deaths, I will say that the epilogue left me happy and content with the way things turned out. I am happy to give this series 5 stars and can't wait to add them to my collection.
Happy reading my Friends.
Rating: 5 Stars
This was a stunning and wonderfully dark conclusion to such a fantastic series. There have been so many twists and turns throughout this series and I absolutely loved every minute of it.
We are essentially on the brink of war as a new 'queen' is thrown into the midst, Jules Malone, Arsinoe's best friend. Arsinoe's skills as a poisoner and low magic wielder are put to the test as she tries to keep Jules's legion curse at bay. Mirabella has run off to the capital to uncover what Madrigal meant when she said: "Katharine is full of the dead." Katharine anxiously waits for Pietyr to awake, but without being able to divulge how he got into this state there is little the healers can do to help. She must figure out how to control the dead queens that rage inside her, find a way to conquer the dreaded mist that has turned against the island, win the hearts of her people, and figure out some way to bear the triplets. All of which she must do alone and in secret.
There were so many shocking things I didn't see coming and thoroughly enjoyed throughout this book. This story kept me on the edge of my seat and I didn't want to put it down. And although this definitely is a war and people do die, I'll admit I was in tears over these deaths, I will say that the epilogue left me happy and content with the way things turned out. I am happy to give this series 5 stars and can't wait to add them to my collection.
Happy reading my Friends.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't explain why I didn't find this one quite as compelling as the previous entries in the series, but I didn't. I was pleased with the way that the story ended, though.
yo ngl i expected kat to die but mira's death really hit hard
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The writing of books 3 & 4, and even the novella stories felt very different than the first two books. 1 & 2 I found to be sluggish in the story. 3 & 4 tried to cram a lot more into it. An example of this, Luke/ Cait/ Ellis/ Caragh all had far more agency in the first two books than the last two. They ended up feeling thrown in for the end of the story than really impacting the over-all plot. We don't even get any true closure with them in the same manner we did with their introduction.
I also had a lot of questions about the over-all world building in the most nuanced items. For naturalists, oracles and poisoners it mentions that both genders are able to carry the gifts. For elementals and the war gift, it seemed to only select women... or at least we were only ever introduced to women that held those powers. The magic system, in that aspect, felt like it was meant to be written as only women had these gifts because of their link to the Goddess but it was convenient to have men in only specific gifts.
The over all story changed direction what felt like 5 times from the end of book 2 to the end of the entire series. It was all interesting enough, however it didn't add much solid development to what was actually going on.
Also, were the 5 dark fates just relating to the 5 different gifts?
<Spoilers>
Just very quickly, the plotline with Daphne and the Blue Queen felt utterly pointless. It was truly just to pull Mirabella and Daphne back to the island, but once Arsinoe made it to the cave after the build up leading to it, all Daphne did was creepily touch Arsinoe and tell her that Mirabella had to die to defeat the mist.
Mirabella was my favorite to become Queen over-all in the Ascension. I knew that it would have been too easy of a story to place her there, so I went throughout expecting to not have her live. I am not angry with the way she died, but more-so the lack of impact that it had on the island and the plotline Daphne inserted into the story. When she fell over the cliff, it did nothing for the mist nor did she personally discover anything to defeat the mist. Only her sisters did. It made strong Mirabella seem like such an oblivious fool, which is not the character she developed into.
Katharine's death I felt could have been far more impactful and emotional. She had the hardest and toughest time out of all three sisters. Growing up being poisoned only to find out she was a weak naturalist. She did not have the friendships and support like Mirabella and Arsinoe did, and in which case she was more desperate for the kindness Mirabella attempted to extend to her by leaving the rebellion. Personally, I think she could have had a better ending by having her take her own life from the grief of seeing Peityr, the only person who truly knew Katharine's character and loved her for it, turn on her and side with Arsinoe.
I grew bored and annoyed with Jules and Emilia regarding their drive to counter the crown. It felt like anytime either one of them were mentioned in the book, it was just regurgitated that Jules was the legion queen that could go mad but needed to take the thrown and Emilia loved her. There wasn't any development there. Anytime we were with the rebellion, we focused more-so on Arsinoe and all of the low magic she could do rather than developing Jules, how she truely felt about literally anything.
Arsinoe I felt carried the entire last two books soley on her own back. What I find most annoying is that the entire story continues to mention that the Goddess is what created Fennbirn, the queens and the gift and really built it up for that to be the answer against the dead queens and the mist. It ultimately was Arsinoe using low magic that saved everyone, and although her queens blood was required to do it, it had nothing to actually to do with the Goddess. In that case, Madrigal could have stayed alive and saved them all with vials of Arsinoe's blood.
Most of the support characters had a choppy impact on the over all story. Outside of Billy, Madrigal, and Peityr there wasn't any more development for characters like Mathilde and Emilia. They were more-so to move the plot where Billy actually played a bigger part in the over-all story because of how he was introduced and developed. He had complex relationships with two of the sisters and it felt like he replaced Joseph's character input after Joeseph died.
</Spoilers>
I also had a lot of questions about the over-all world building in the most nuanced items. For naturalists, oracles and poisoners it mentions that both genders are able to carry the gifts. For elementals and the war gift, it seemed to only select women... or at least we were only ever introduced to women that held those powers. The magic system, in that aspect, felt like it was meant to be written as only women had these gifts because of their link to the Goddess but it was convenient to have men in only specific gifts.
The over all story changed direction what felt like 5 times from the end of book 2 to the end of the entire series. It was all interesting enough, however it didn't add much solid development to what was actually going on.
Also, were the 5 dark fates just relating to the 5 different gifts?
<Spoilers>
Just very quickly, the plotline with Daphne and the Blue Queen felt utterly pointless. It was truly just to pull Mirabella and Daphne back to the island, but once Arsinoe made it to the cave after the build up leading to it, all Daphne did was creepily touch Arsinoe and tell her that Mirabella had to die to defeat the mist.
Mirabella was my favorite to become Queen over-all in the Ascension. I knew that it would have been too easy of a story to place her there, so I went throughout expecting to not have her live. I am not angry with the way she died, but more-so the lack of impact that it had on the island and the plotline Daphne inserted into the story. When she fell over the cliff, it did nothing for the mist nor did she personally discover anything to defeat the mist. Only her sisters did. It made strong Mirabella seem like such an oblivious fool, which is not the character she developed into.
Katharine's death I felt could have been far more impactful and emotional. She had the hardest and toughest time out of all three sisters. Growing up being poisoned only to find out she was a weak naturalist. She did not have the friendships and support like Mirabella and Arsinoe did, and in which case she was more desperate for the kindness Mirabella attempted to extend to her by leaving the rebellion. Personally, I think she could have had a better ending by having her take her own life from the grief of seeing Peityr, the only person who truly knew Katharine's character and loved her for it, turn on her and side with Arsinoe.
I grew bored and annoyed with Jules and Emilia regarding their drive to counter the crown. It felt like anytime either one of them were mentioned in the book, it was just regurgitated that Jules was the legion queen that could go mad but needed to take the thrown and Emilia loved her. There wasn't any development there. Anytime we were with the rebellion, we focused more-so on Arsinoe and all of the low magic she could do rather than developing Jules, how she truely felt about literally anything.
Arsinoe I felt carried the entire last two books soley on her own back. What I find most annoying is that the entire story continues to mention that the Goddess is what created Fennbirn, the queens and the gift and really built it up for that to be the answer against the dead queens and the mist. It ultimately was Arsinoe using low magic that saved everyone, and although her queens blood was required to do it, it had nothing to actually to do with the Goddess. In that case, Madrigal could have stayed alive and saved them all with vials of Arsinoe's blood.
Most of the support characters had a choppy impact on the over all story. Outside of Billy, Madrigal, and Peityr there wasn't any more development for characters like Mathilde and Emilia. They were more-so to move the plot where Billy actually played a bigger part in the over-all story because of how he was introduced and developed. He had complex relationships with two of the sisters and it felt like he replaced Joseph's character input after Joeseph died.
</Spoilers>
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated