Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
What do you even say about the 4th and final book in a fantasy series. I wasn't disappointed by the ending and I left the series feeling very satisfied. I'll miss these characters.
Five Dark Fates was amazing. The perfect kind of ending to an epic series. The only thing I'm sad about is that it's over! I could live in Fennbirn for several more books!
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
This was a great conclusion to the series that brought back the same amount of enjoyment I had for the first in the series! I loved seeing all three sisters finally get a chance to interact and remember again.
This was such a mess for the first 300 pages which is really unacceptable. I still think this is a gorgeous series but by the end I think the author found herself with too many characters and too many plot points to wrap up. If we’d taken two or three concepts (dead queens, legion queen, triplet queens, ghost queens and visions from the past, big battle, sisters being sisters….zombies?) instead of the many many different ones we ended up with, I think it would have been for the better. The first book absolutely outsold and I think it deserved a better series than what we got. I also thought the ending —> epilogue was fairly weak.
Not really what I expected, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't very bloody. Interesting to see how they all accepted society changing and sort of abandoned war.
adventurous
Disappointed, but not surprised.
Pacing was again a huge issue, and I really did not like the ending.
Emilia’s interactions with Jules was kind of fresh, I guess, but their bond could have been developed more.
I’m just struggling to express how disappointed I am, but like the writer knows her craft and, yes, this book is still better than the Selection.
Pacing was again a huge issue, and I really did not like the ending.
Emilia’s interactions with Jules was kind of fresh, I guess, but their bond could have been developed more.
I’m just struggling to express how disappointed I am, but like the writer knows her craft and, yes, this book is still better than the Selection.
adventurous
dark
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
There are two types of series for me: series that I want never to end and series that I desperately want to get to the ending to know how it all got resolved. Three Dark Crowns was in the second category. I really wanted to know how everything would work out, so I did read the last half much quicker than the other books.
Overall, I liked this book! I'm really impressed that I enjoyed all the shifting POVs because I usually find it tedious. She's able to overcome any potentially boring POVs by always keeping the story moving forward - rarely do we read the same moment from a different perspective, or have to wait until we get back to one person to see how their part of the story progresses. It doesn't leave you with the annoying cliffhangers that make you want to skip the next three chapters in order to see what happens in that POV, which I really commend. I also thought this book was really action-packed and balanced with emotional stuff, and more balanced than the previous books!
What I wasn't a huge fan of though, is the endings. Mirabella's death in particular I hadn't realized was happening until she was fully declared dead and even then, I had to go through the next thirty pages checking to make sure she was really dead. It seemed too quick and anticlimactic for her, and I was sad she didn't get to see the final battle. I'd been expecting Katharine's death since the dead queens plot began, but I was holding out hope for Mirabella. The actual ending was also rushed, despite the battle being so long and detailed. It feels like Arsinoe only just gets up to the battlements and then Katharine is dead. I wish she would have done something more with that part, though I don't know how.
I do want to say that while I loved all three sisters, Arsinoe was my favorite in the end. She was the overlooked one, and though I wasn't expecting her to be the one to survive (again, I thought Mirabella would be), it does make sense with her storyline and work with magic. I think I could have gotten over how rushed the ending was had we gotten to see Arsinoe's emotional reaction, at least a bit in the epilogue. I'm not upset she had a happyish ending, but we should have seen her be sad, at least a little bit.
Honestly, I was expecting more death. We had a few major deaths - Mirabella and Katharine, obviously, and Madrigal, Natalia - but it ended pretty tamely? The Arrons survived, Jules and her family, Emilia (who, by the way, was so annoying at times - particularly when she was jealous about Arsinoe and Jules' relationship), Billy, Luke. It was just a lot more survival than I expected!
Anyway, overall, I feel good after reading. A little bit emotionally drained, but not distraught. A solid ending to a solid series.
Overall, I liked this book! I'm really impressed that I enjoyed all the shifting POVs because I usually find it tedious. She's able to overcome any potentially boring POVs by always keeping the story moving forward - rarely do we read the same moment from a different perspective, or have to wait until we get back to one person to see how their part of the story progresses. It doesn't leave you with the annoying cliffhangers that make you want to skip the next three chapters in order to see what happens in that POV, which I really commend. I also thought this book was really action-packed and balanced with emotional stuff, and more balanced than the previous books!
I do want to say that while I loved all three sisters, Arsinoe was my favorite in the end. She was the overlooked one, and though I wasn't expecting her to be the one to survive (again, I thought Mirabella would be), it does make sense with her storyline and work with magic. I think I could have gotten over how rushed the ending was had we gotten to see Arsinoe's emotional reaction, at least a bit in the epilogue. I'm not upset she had a happyish ending, but we should have seen her be sad, at least a little bit.
Honestly, I was expecting more death. We had a few major deaths - Mirabella and Katharine, obviously, and Madrigal, Natalia - but it ended pretty tamely? The Arrons survived, Jules and her family, Emilia (who, by the way, was so annoying at times - particularly when she was jealous about Arsinoe and Jules' relationship), Billy, Luke. It was just a lot more survival than I expected!
Anyway, overall, I feel good after reading. A little bit emotionally drained, but not distraught. A solid ending to a solid series.
Really great conclusion to this story. Every book in the series left me guessing and this was no different. Very unlike any other fantasy series I've read.
Five Dark Fates is the fourth and final book in the Three Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake. I started the series not quite knowing how I felt about Three Dark Crowns, but seeing potential. It was a challenge to juggle all of the characters, especially because many were given equal weight to the narrative, but not enough character development to make them memorable - but I felt that after the second book things were more settled and you could focus on the plot/main characters. (And I would hope that would be the case, otherwise, we're in trouble four books in.) I'm just talking about how I feel overall, so there aren't any spoilers for any of the books other than which queens might still be alive.
Katharine, Arsinoe and Mirabella are still struggling to determine who will rule the island of Fennbirn even if most of them have no desire to be Queen. By the fourth book, I felt that each Queen had her own distinct personality, flaws, passions, and you could see each of their points of view - even if you didn't necessarily agree with them. I felt that it was a strength of this book because it made the characters relatable and the story more impactful. In fact, I actually liked Katharine in this book and I had never particularly liked her in the previous books.
Although I was not expecting the plot of this book or how the characters would end the story, I did feel that it was satisfying. I was not left feeling let down or that I had tons of questions that went unanswered. It was dramatic and emotional, violent and bloody, full of sacrifice and betrayal, and ultimately change. There was so much packed into this book and I was content when I finished reading it.
This series has been very hit and miss with me, at times I loved the scenes and characters and in other moments I found myself having to make myself sit down and continue. That being said, I actually enjoyed this book the most out of all of the books in the series. I felt that there was more emotional weight to it, there was a cost to all of their actions and very serious repercussions. I flew through this book and I am sad to have left this world when I was just starting to truly enjoy it.
Katharine, Arsinoe and Mirabella are still struggling to determine who will rule the island of Fennbirn even if most of them have no desire to be Queen. By the fourth book, I felt that each Queen had her own distinct personality, flaws, passions, and you could see each of their points of view - even if you didn't necessarily agree with them. I felt that it was a strength of this book because it made the characters relatable and the story more impactful. In fact, I actually liked Katharine in this book and I had never particularly liked her in the previous books.
Although I was not expecting the plot of this book or how the characters would end the story, I did feel that it was satisfying. I was not left feeling let down or that I had tons of questions that went unanswered. It was dramatic and emotional, violent and bloody, full of sacrifice and betrayal, and ultimately change. There was so much packed into this book and I was content when I finished reading it.
This series has been very hit and miss with me, at times I loved the scenes and characters and in other moments I found myself having to make myself sit down and continue. That being said, I actually enjoyed this book the most out of all of the books in the series. I felt that there was more emotional weight to it, there was a cost to all of their actions and very serious repercussions. I flew through this book and I am sad to have left this world when I was just starting to truly enjoy it.