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alexiacambaling 's review for:
Two Dark Reigns
by Kendare Blake
Warning: Spoilers for the first two books and mild spoilers for this one.
I binge-read the first two books in one day last May and have felt the intense need for the third one since. Unfortunately, it kind of disappointed me. Don’t get me wrong- I enjoyed it while I was reading, although it can certainly be a lot better.
I’ll start with my gripes. Two Dark Reigns is a very Jules-centric book. I wouldn’t mind it so much if it was better explained why. Why is she special? Why does Emilia and the war-gifted want her to be queen? I don’t understand. The legion curse wasn’t well-explained either, like what is it and why is it bad?
The Jules-centricness took a lot away from this dark story about sisters killing each other for power. I actually expected Jules to be revealed as a fourth sister (the Blue Queen) at some point and I was disappointed when she wasn’t. Her storyline felt kind of random and maybe more-than-a-little-bit out of place.
However, I also want to point out that I like Jules as a character. She does have a good and compelling character arc involving a reluctant queen gathering an army against Queen Katherine. The circumstances surrounding said arc can be better, but her character itself was likable. It shows that she has a lot of doubts about becoming queen and wonders if she’s cut out for it. On the other hand, Emilia grates on my nerves. She pushes Jules to be queen, disregards her wishes, doesn’t explain things and practically treats her like a puppet. She also shows quite a bit of disregard for Jules existing ties to her family and to her friends, like Arsinoe. That was a big no-no for me.
Katherine is still not my favorite character, although she does get better in this book. Her arc is darker than ever before and she also has to deal with being called “Katherine the Undead” now. Not only that, but the dead queens also pose a problem along with so many people blaming her for the island’s problems and the mist. After what happened at the end of the book, I’m pretty excited to see where her storyline goes.
I don’t feel like Mirabella got a lot of time in the spotlight compared to her sisters and Jules, but I did feel like she exhibited a lot of growth. She’s no longer the powerful elemental queen who’s almost certainly going to be queen crowned. She’s not basically Arsinoe’s protector and just wants the best for herself and her sister in the mainland. However, I did like the scene where she contemplates her legacy, when she thinks of how she’ll be like a footnote in the island’s history. I felt like that scene was one of the strongest in the book, and one of Mira’s best.
Arsinoe is always my fave and I liked how her storyline expands the lore and history of the island. We see the history of the Blue Queen and uncover one of the island’s secrets- I enjoyed learning about Daphne and Illian and how they were described as friends and sisters. At the same time, I also loved Arsinoe’s relationship with Billy and how she continues to flout gender norms-especially on the mainland.
The plot changed from sisters fighting for a throne to overthrowing a queen I get that it’s somehow the logical course for this particular story but I wished that the book focused on the sisters more and maybe less on Jules. Still, it moves at an okay pace-although the mainland part did drag. The book overall feels like a set-up for the last one. It’s not bad if you like the series and you’re invested. I am.
Overall, if you’re a fan of the first two, this comes highly recommended. Otherwise, the first two can stand alone.
This review is also on The Bookworm Daydreamer
I binge-read the first two books in one day last May and have felt the intense need for the third one since. Unfortunately, it kind of disappointed me. Don’t get me wrong- I enjoyed it while I was reading, although it can certainly be a lot better.
I’ll start with my gripes. Two Dark Reigns is a very Jules-centric book. I wouldn’t mind it so much if it was better explained why. Why is she special? Why does Emilia and the war-gifted want her to be queen? I don’t understand. The legion curse wasn’t well-explained either, like what is it and why is it bad?
The Jules-centricness took a lot away from this dark story about sisters killing each other for power. I actually expected Jules to be revealed as a fourth sister (the Blue Queen) at some point and I was disappointed when she wasn’t. Her storyline felt kind of random and maybe more-than-a-little-bit out of place.
However, I also want to point out that I like Jules as a character. She does have a good and compelling character arc involving a reluctant queen gathering an army against Queen Katherine. The circumstances surrounding said arc can be better, but her character itself was likable. It shows that she has a lot of doubts about becoming queen and wonders if she’s cut out for it. On the other hand, Emilia grates on my nerves. She pushes Jules to be queen, disregards her wishes, doesn’t explain things and practically treats her like a puppet. She also shows quite a bit of disregard for Jules existing ties to her family and to her friends, like Arsinoe. That was a big no-no for me.
Katherine is still not my favorite character, although she does get better in this book. Her arc is darker than ever before and she also has to deal with being called “Katherine the Undead” now. Not only that, but the dead queens also pose a problem along with so many people blaming her for the island’s problems and the mist. After what happened at the end of the book, I’m pretty excited to see where her storyline goes.
I don’t feel like Mirabella got a lot of time in the spotlight compared to her sisters and Jules, but I did feel like she exhibited a lot of growth. She’s no longer the powerful elemental queen who’s almost certainly going to be queen crowned. She’s not basically Arsinoe’s protector and just wants the best for herself and her sister in the mainland. However, I did like the scene where she contemplates her legacy, when she thinks of how she’ll be like a footnote in the island’s history. I felt like that scene was one of the strongest in the book, and one of Mira’s best.
Arsinoe is always my fave and I liked how her storyline expands the lore and history of the island. We see the history of the Blue Queen and uncover one of the island’s secrets- I enjoyed learning about Daphne and Illian and how they were described as friends and sisters. At the same time, I also loved Arsinoe’s relationship with Billy and how she continues to flout gender norms-especially on the mainland.
The plot changed from sisters fighting for a throne to overthrowing a queen I get that it’s somehow the logical course for this particular story but I wished that the book focused on the sisters more and maybe less on Jules. Still, it moves at an okay pace-although the mainland part did drag. The book overall feels like a set-up for the last one. It’s not bad if you like the series and you’re invested. I am.
Overall, if you’re a fan of the first two, this comes highly recommended. Otherwise, the first two can stand alone.
This review is also on The Bookworm Daydreamer