Three Dark Crowns- Kendare Blake BOOK TALK

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I hate that I didn't like this book! I've seen so much hype and so much praise and I just don't understand where it's coming from!
There were a few main reasons I didn't like this book: the characters weren't likeable, all of the supposed 'powerful' Queens were passive as heck and the story was really slow. The blurb says that the book is about a fight to death between three sisters who want to become Queen? Yeah, that's not what this book is about. It basically follows the weeks before this battle, where everyone just sits around and talks. Fun.
I can't see me continuing with this series, unfortunately, as I just don't care about the characters and don't want to waste any more of my life waiting around this story to get interesting.

'I want revenge. And then I want my crown.'

GOODREADS

AMAZON

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
I think my main issue with this book was that there was a lot of 'telling' and not 'showing.' Let me explain. As a writer, the number one rule is to 'show not tell' in your writing. For example, instead of  simply stating that a character is scared, show that they're scared. Instead of "Character X was scared", write "Character X gasped, arms trembling as she struggled to control her erratic heart." It's not a great example, but you get what I mean. Now, this issue isn't always evident in the prose but the characters and relationships. It's alright for an author to say a character is strong but if we never see that character do anything strong, it's hard to believe. And that's all this book was.

Mirabella is strong? Okay, but I didn't see too much evidence of that other than weather control. Arsinoe is wild and defiant? All I saw was weak-willed and passively going on with what everyone said. Pietyr and Katharine are in love? Er... other than a few kisses, I've seen nothing to justify why they'd be in love with each other. Where's the heart-to-hearts and tender moments where they confide in each other? Was I missing a chunk of my book where they actually got to know each other?
So, that was my main issue. All the character relationships and traits were just given to us and I didn't actually see evidence of them, making everything seem out-of-the-blue and unrealistic.

Another little stylistic choice that I think stopped me from enjoying this book was the number of perspectives. It was written in third person but not just of the three Queens- of everyone. In my opinion, it stopped me really caring for or getting to know any of the characters because we didn't spend enough time in their head, experiencing and feeling what they did. There were too many characters and I didn't care about any of them, let alone remember all their names! Luke and Luca? Genevieve and Giselle? Ellis and Elizabeth? Jules and Joseph? Writing 101: don't have characters names so similar or with the same initials! I didn't know who I was reading about half the time. It all felt a bit scattered and surface-level to me.

Moving onto characters..
Katharine was probably my favourite out of the three sisters but only by default because I hated Arsinoe and Mirabella more.
Arsinoe was a bit pathetic really and there weren't any personality traits that made me warm to her.
Mirabella... she was cool at first, not wanting to kill her sisters but, when she met Joseph, my opinion did a complete 180. It was the most obvious and disgusting insta-love I've ever seen! I don't care if it was Arsinoe's spell-gone-wrong that caused the friction between Joseph and Jules- this whole plot line was just weird! I mean, Mirabella had known Joseph for a good two seconds before they decided to have sex? What the heck is that about? And then, when Joseph goes back with Jules and Arsinoe, Mirabella takes it super personally and acts like they belong together and he broke her heart? It was just a bizarre concept that really irritated me.
Talking of side characters, Pietyr and Billy were my favourites. Pietyr was the only character who had a lighter feel to him (I'm pretty sure he was the only to crack a joke or tease throughout the book). But.... after pushing Katharine into the Breccia Domain, I don't really know what to think. Billy was another of my favourite side characters because he seemed super genuine but I can't for the life of me figure out what he sees in Arsinoe. She has about as much charisma as a twig.
I hated Jules and Joseph as well- maybe the most. I just don't care about their drama! They both irritated me and I can't even put my finger on why. Joseph was an ass because he switched between Jules and Mirabella so easily (Arsinoe's low magic spell is no damn excuse) and Jules just acted like she was better than everyone else because she's a strong naturalist.

From the beginning, I didn't mind Katharine- like I said, she's my favourite of the three. She doesn't have a strong poisoner gift like she's expected too but I didn't care that she was weak because I like an underdog and, compared to the other two, she seemed to have a least a couple of brain cells. I also quite liked Pietyr which made me like her chapters more. I didn't know whether to trust Pietyr at the beginning but I grew to like him even though their 'love' for each other was super quick and it was another case of 'telling' and not 'showing'- we were kind of just told they were in love without truly seeing the relationship grow or be believable.

The general plot of the book was a huge bore. Really, the blurb is false advertising. I was expecting a brutal and clever and scheming fight to the death and all I got was our characters sitting around and talking. The main points of the book were literally just; Joseph returns, Katharine and Arsinoe obsess over how weak they are, Joseph screws Mirabella randomly, Katharine and Arsinoe fake their powers and Katharine is pushed over a cliff. That's it.
I will say that the ending was a tiny stride towards redemption for this book but... it just wasn't enough. Too little, too damn late.
Pietyr pushing Katharine into the Breccia Domain was the first time I was gripped to the page and wanted to know more. Why did he push her? I'm also interested in the fact that Arsinoe is a poisoner- does that mean Katharine is a naturalist and they got swapped somehow?
But, despite these ten pages of excitement and questions I want answered, I don't care enough to actually keep reading the series. I feel nothing for the characters and don't care what happens to them. There's too many books and too little time to slug through books that I don't enjoy until the very final pages.

And those were my thoughts! Obviously, no offence if you love this book! I'm not saying this was a bad book- it just wasn't for me.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment your thoughts. Stay amazing!
Chloe