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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
What an epic end to an amazing series. Seriously, I sat down for five whole hours and took almost this entire book out. A bit boring in the beginning (all that damn talking) but once it hit the action button, it did not stop. Just a page turner after that.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I finished this book yesterday and normally I’d give myself a few days to think about it before putting down my thoughts. But this book keeps going down in my estimation every time I think about how it ended, so I needed to write down the good parts before I forget them. There were a lot of good parts - up until about 2/3 of the way through, I thought this was going to be my favorite book in this series - but the way so many of the character arcs ended left me very dissatisfied.
Five Dark Fates (don’t ask what those are, we’re never told, though if I had to guess I’d think maybe the five powers found on Fennbirn?) starts off in the aftermath of the disastrous meeting between the Undead Queen and the rebel faction which left Madrigal Millone dead, Katharine barely in control of the dead queens who possess her, and Jules in the thrall of her legion curse. Pietyr’s attempt to use low magic to free Katharine from the queens failed, leaving him in a coma and Katharine alone and increasingly desperate. It’s into this environment that Mirabella arrives to answer Katharine’s call for unity, partially because she doesn’t really believe in the rebellion and the need to bring an end to the line of triplet queens, but also because she wants to figure out the mystery of Madrigal’s last words: “she has the dead in her.” Her quest to figure out what is really wrong with Katharine and how much of the little sister she once loved is still in her leads her to investigate the history of Fennbirn’s queens and reforge her connection with her mentor Luca, the High Priestess who betrayed her. The more time Mirabella spends in the capital, the more she feels torn between her two sisters and the very different futures they support for the island they were all born to serve.
Meanwhile, with the rebellion, Arsinoe cares only about saving Jules. To find a way to free her best friend from the legion curse, Arsinoe finally embraces her nature as a poisoner. But while she may pretend not to care about the bigger political matters around her, the rebellion is still alive. Emilia, their war-gifted leader, is still determined to see Jules on the throne, and while Arsinoe is a potentially valuable ally, she also represents the old world that the rebellion wants to overthrow. And Mirabella’s defection has left Arsinoe caught between the sister she loves and the friend who has been her most loyal ally all her life.
Like I said, I really enjoyed this book for the majority of the time I was reading it. I really love these characters and the relationships between them. Kendare Blake does a great job with complicated friendships, whether it’s the difficult history and lingering love Mirabella has for both her sisters, the complex feelings of Arsinoe and Katharine for each other, the deep loyalty of Arsinoe and Jules or the sweet sisterhood between Mirabella, Bree and Elizabeth. I especially liked getting to see some of these relationships shift around. Arsinoe and Emilia will clearly never be friends, but I liked seeing their points of connection. I was glad that Bree and Elizabeth had come to care about Katharine, and I even enjoyed the brief alliance between Arsinoe and Pietyr. And Blake takes that same complexity to the larger groups - seeing Arsinoe try to find her place within the rebellion or Mirabella with the Temple that both raised and betrayed her were great.
It was also great to finally dig into the background of Fennbirn. Since the beginning of the series, there have been intriguing hints about this world, it’s Goddess and it’s magic: where did the line of queens come from and why are they locked into a cycle of sacrifice and death; what is the relationship between the queens and the Temple; what is the source of the mist that protects Fennbirn but keeps it isolated from the outside world. In this book, for the first time, it felt like the characters themselves were interested in these questions, and we got to learn more than we had before. Other than the question of the mist, none of these were really answered, but there was enough to hint at other stories in Fennbirn’s history. I wouldn’t mind if Kendare Blake decided to write more stories in this universe.
So that’s the good. What about the bad? Well, an unfortunately large percent of the plot of this story centers around terrible communication. There is an entire subplot in the middle of the book that only exists because Mirabella, for no good reason, ran off without leaving Arsinoe a note telling her where she was going, and even when they meet up again, she still won’t explain for reasons that make no sense. Arsinoe is also keeping a major secret from Mirabella - but one she has no problem sharing with just about everyone else. Luca holds the key to explaining one of the big mysteries of the story, but rather than just spit it out, she sends Mirabella on a library quest, I suspect just to take up more time in the book. That leads to another problem: a lot of this book involves characters trying to figure out the answers to questions the audience already knows. I was really interested in the story of Illiann and Daphne that was introduced in the previous book and wanted to know more about it; instead, we got to spend time in this book watching Mirabella and Katharine, separately, learn the same information Arsinoe got in the last one.
If those were the only problems, I would have been okay with a book that stretched its story out unnecessarily to get to a satisfying ending. But instead we got deeply unsatisfying endings for the majority of the characters and a very weak wrap-up to the plot.
Spoilers for the ending of Five Dark Fates: I went into the book expecting Katharine and Mirabella to die. Katherine has been a tragic character from the beginning, and once she decided that the dead queens possessing her had to be defeated, I thought she would die to do it. And while I knew Mirabella wouldn’t be queen - too many people kept insisting she was born for it for the story to actually end that predictably - I was also sure she wasn’t going to get the happy ending as a teacher on the mainland that she’d dreamed of. Mirabella was too sure that she had been born to serve the island and I thought she would do so by dying to stop the mist. So for both of them, I expected a sad ending… but I also expected one that had a point. Instead, Mirabella was killed by Katharine, not to stop the mist or save anyone, but so she couldn’t be possessed. And the writing of that scene was so awkward - her death came out of nowhere, right when it seemed she and Katharine were finally going to get some answers about the Goddess and the cycle of queens, and it was written to deliberately obscure that I guess she asked Katharine to kill her? That’s revealed later like it was a big surprise but it sure didn’t feel like one. And the timing meant that Mirabella ended up having no role at all in the climax of the story. (Yes, she wrote Arsinoe a note telling her to… do exactly what Arsinoe had already planned to do anyway. So helpful.)
Katharine’s death was equally pointless. It seemed that she had accepted that she had to let Arsinoe kill her to destroy the queens, but then Arsinoe managed to exorcise the queens out of her with low magic. So instead Katharine died by… falling off a building trying to save Arsinoe? And then the mist killed the queens for… reasons…. None of it felt like a satisfying end for any of these characters or relationships. Not to mention all the worldbuilding around the dead queens, Illiann and Daphne, the mist… none of that really went anywhere. The magic apparently just sorted itself out.
I was happy to see Jules end up as queen - I’m always here for a disabled heroine - but her storyline felt like it kind of fell apart at the end too. Jules accepting her legion curse as the only way to defeat the dead queens: great. Jules’s legion curse then just disappearing because I guess she’d used it for what it was meant for? Uh, sure. (And are she and Emilia getting together or not? I know that’s not the most important thing but there was such build up around that relationship and then it never got resolved. I appreciate Jules having difficulty moving on from Joseph but it felt like there was a scene missing here.)
Arsinoe was the one main character who did have a satisfying ending. Arsinoe was the queen who always expected to die and who never fought for anything but her own survival and that of her friends, so it was nice to see her finally embrace her power - and her low magic! - and step up as a queen. I was glad she survived, glad she doesn’t have to be a ruling queen, and glad that she and Billy will probably end up together after all they’ve gone through, even though the last-minute drama over their relationship felt unnecessary. I still wish her connection with Daphne felt like it had any kind of point or resolution.
I would still read more Kendare Blake books but I’m not sure I’d recommend this series without a serious warning that the ending is not a satisfying one.
Five Dark Fates (don’t ask what those are, we’re never told, though if I had to guess I’d think maybe the five powers found on Fennbirn?) starts off in the aftermath of the disastrous meeting between the Undead Queen and the rebel faction which left Madrigal Millone dead, Katharine barely in control of the dead queens who possess her, and Jules in the thrall of her legion curse. Pietyr’s attempt to use low magic to free Katharine from the queens failed, leaving him in a coma and Katharine alone and increasingly desperate. It’s into this environment that Mirabella arrives to answer Katharine’s call for unity, partially because she doesn’t really believe in the rebellion and the need to bring an end to the line of triplet queens, but also because she wants to figure out the mystery of Madrigal’s last words: “she has the dead in her.” Her quest to figure out what is really wrong with Katharine and how much of the little sister she once loved is still in her leads her to investigate the history of Fennbirn’s queens and reforge her connection with her mentor Luca, the High Priestess who betrayed her. The more time Mirabella spends in the capital, the more she feels torn between her two sisters and the very different futures they support for the island they were all born to serve.
Meanwhile, with the rebellion, Arsinoe cares only about saving Jules. To find a way to free her best friend from the legion curse, Arsinoe finally embraces her nature as a poisoner. But while she may pretend not to care about the bigger political matters around her, the rebellion is still alive. Emilia, their war-gifted leader, is still determined to see Jules on the throne, and while Arsinoe is a potentially valuable ally, she also represents the old world that the rebellion wants to overthrow. And Mirabella’s defection has left Arsinoe caught between the sister she loves and the friend who has been her most loyal ally all her life.
Like I said, I really enjoyed this book for the majority of the time I was reading it. I really love these characters and the relationships between them. Kendare Blake does a great job with complicated friendships, whether it’s the difficult history and lingering love Mirabella has for both her sisters, the complex feelings of Arsinoe and Katharine for each other, the deep loyalty of Arsinoe and Jules or the sweet sisterhood between Mirabella, Bree and Elizabeth. I especially liked getting to see some of these relationships shift around. Arsinoe and Emilia will clearly never be friends, but I liked seeing their points of connection. I was glad that Bree and Elizabeth had come to care about Katharine, and I even enjoyed the brief alliance between Arsinoe and Pietyr. And Blake takes that same complexity to the larger groups - seeing Arsinoe try to find her place within the rebellion or Mirabella with the Temple that both raised and betrayed her were great.
It was also great to finally dig into the background of Fennbirn. Since the beginning of the series, there have been intriguing hints about this world, it’s Goddess and it’s magic: where did the line of queens come from and why are they locked into a cycle of sacrifice and death; what is the relationship between the queens and the Temple; what is the source of the mist that protects Fennbirn but keeps it isolated from the outside world. In this book, for the first time, it felt like the characters themselves were interested in these questions, and we got to learn more than we had before. Other than the question of the mist, none of these were really answered, but there was enough to hint at other stories in Fennbirn’s history. I wouldn’t mind if Kendare Blake decided to write more stories in this universe.
So that’s the good. What about the bad? Well, an unfortunately large percent of the plot of this story centers around terrible communication. There is an entire subplot in the middle of the book that only exists because Mirabella, for no good reason, ran off without leaving Arsinoe a note telling her where she was going, and even when they meet up again, she still won’t explain for reasons that make no sense. Arsinoe is also keeping a major secret from Mirabella - but one she has no problem sharing with just about everyone else. Luca holds the key to explaining one of the big mysteries of the story, but rather than just spit it out, she sends Mirabella on a library quest, I suspect just to take up more time in the book. That leads to another problem: a lot of this book involves characters trying to figure out the answers to questions the audience already knows. I was really interested in the story of Illiann and Daphne that was introduced in the previous book and wanted to know more about it; instead, we got to spend time in this book watching Mirabella and Katharine, separately, learn the same information Arsinoe got in the last one.
If those were the only problems, I would have been okay with a book that stretched its story out unnecessarily to get to a satisfying ending. But instead we got deeply unsatisfying endings for the majority of the characters and a very weak wrap-up to the plot.
Spoilers for the ending of Five Dark Fates:
Katharine’s death was equally pointless. It seemed that she had accepted that she had to let Arsinoe kill her to destroy the queens, but then Arsinoe managed to exorcise the queens out of her with low magic. So instead Katharine died by… falling off a building trying to save Arsinoe? And then the mist killed the queens for… reasons…. None of it felt like a satisfying end for any of these characters or relationships. Not to mention all the worldbuilding around the dead queens, Illiann and Daphne, the mist… none of that really went anywhere. The magic apparently just sorted itself out.
I was happy to see Jules end up as queen - I’m always here for a disabled heroine - but her storyline felt like it kind of fell apart at the end too. Jules accepting her legion curse as the only way to defeat the dead queens: great. Jules’s legion curse then just disappearing because I guess she’d used it for what it was meant for? Uh, sure. (And are she and Emilia getting together or not? I know that’s not the most important thing but there was such build up around that relationship and then it never got resolved. I appreciate Jules having difficulty moving on from Joseph but it felt like there was a scene missing here.)
Arsinoe was the one main character who did have a satisfying ending. Arsinoe was the queen who always expected to die and who never fought for anything but her own survival and that of her friends, so it was nice to see her finally embrace her power - and her low magic! - and step up as a queen. I was glad she survived, glad she doesn’t have to be a ruling queen, and glad that she and Billy will probably end up together after all they’ve gone through, even though the last-minute drama over their relationship felt unnecessary. I still wish her connection with Daphne felt like it had any kind of point or resolution.
I would still read more Kendare Blake books but I’m not sure I’d recommend this series without a serious warning that the ending is not a satisfying one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Spoilers I guess?
This is more so a review for the series as a whole. Overall, the concept held so much promise and the author wanted you to believe that this was a gritty and dark high fantasy world. But in the end, too many characters survive relatively unscathed that it just felt flat.
Each of the queens endings were so....meh. One died and I didn’t know if that was real because...It had happened before. The other’s death was so underwhelming that I just rolled my eyes. The last queen survived and she just get sit live. I just...ugh.
Katherine was such a wasted villain and even when she did do bad things the author tried to make into a victim. I hated it. The author would always reference how “little” she was and it’s just so infuriating.
I hate Arsenoie.
Mirabella was a wasted character.
Jules has no personality and the random lesbian romance felt so out of left field.
Far too many characters who didn’t matter to the plot were used to do the ACTUAL stuff.
Such a wasted idea. The only closure i had in this finale was that it was over and I can move on with my life.
This is more so a review for the series as a whole. Overall, the concept held so much promise and the author wanted you to believe that this was a gritty and dark high fantasy world. But in the end, too many characters survive relatively unscathed that it just felt flat.
Each of the queens endings were so....meh. One died and I didn’t know if that was real because...It had happened before. The other’s death was so underwhelming that I just rolled my eyes. The last queen survived and she just get sit live. I just...ugh.
Katherine was such a wasted villain and even when she did do bad things the author tried to make into a victim. I hated it. The author would always reference how “little” she was and it’s just so infuriating.
I hate Arsenoie.
Mirabella was a wasted character.
Jules has no personality and the random lesbian romance felt so out of left field.
Far too many characters who didn’t matter to the plot were used to do the ACTUAL stuff.
Such a wasted idea. The only closure i had in this finale was that it was over and I can move on with my life.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book probably deserves a higher rating. But I am bitter. And so this rating shall remain. It was a good conclusion. Most of the characters I wanted to live did live. It was a nice conclusion. It was fast paced but still didn’t feel rushed. And I liked the final battle. The stakes were high, it wasn’t quickly ended and a lot of the plot points were wrapped up. The entire premise of this series is that one queen survives whilst the other two dies. Yet when that happens, I don’t like it. Mirabella’s death hurt. It was so sudden. It was tragic. It made sense for the plot but I still hate it. It was an awful ending for her. There was at least something to come of it with the mist protecting Arsinoe but I’m still bitter. I did like Katharine’s ending. There was no way in my eyes that she would survive at the end. And her sacrifice was an almost full circle moment of her admitting she went too far and she got to die as herself. I did not expect the Pietyr redemption arc but I accept it. It made sense for his character. The ending was nice and I like how it was set up for Billy and Arsinoe to have to let each other go, only for the end to be like as fucking if. It’s the only healthy relationship. Let them live. Billy is the best man. Underrated book boyfriend. Luca is such a complex character and I love the relationship between her, Elizabeth and Bree that’s explored more outside of Mirabella’s presence. I did enjoy this series. I definitely feel like it could’ve been a trilogy but it did balance out as the last book was filler and this book had a good pace in my opinion.