CANR
WORK TITLE: Three Dark Crowns
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Hughes, Kim Ahnna
BIRTHDATE: 1980?
WEBSITE: http://kendareblake.com/
CITY: Kent
STATE: WA
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME: CANR 312
On Characters Taking the Wheel: An Interview with Kendare Blake
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born c. 1980, in South Korea; adopted and raised in Cambridge, MN; married Dylan Zoerb, 2009.
EDUCATION:Ithaca College, B.S., 2002; Middlesex University, London, master’s degree.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
WRITINGS
Contributor to anthologies, including Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader, edited by Cassandra Clare, SmartPop/BenBella Books, Inc. (Dallas, TX), 2012; and Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, selected by April Genevieve Tucholke, Dial Books/Penguin Group (New York, NY), 2015. Contributor of short fiction to periodicals, including Momaya Press Annual Review and Mirror Dance magazine.
SIDELIGHTS
Kendare Blake is the author of popular and critically acclaimed genre fiction. Her novels and short stories are noted for their mix of darkness, violence, and psychological insight. Adopted from South Korea at the age of seven months, Blake was raised in the United States in the small city of Cambridge, Minnesota, by Caucasian parents. Blake received a bachelor’s degree in business from Ithaca College and later went on to earn a master’s degree in writing from Middlesex University in London. In addition to her novels, Blake’s short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including the Momaya Press Annual Review and Mirror Dance magazine. She has also contributed to anthologies and to the multiauthor novel Violent Ends: A Novel in Seventeen Points of View.
Blake’s debut novel, Sleepwalk Society, set in the summer of 2002, is the story of three teens and their growing awareness of themselves and the world. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Violet, Terran, and Joey want nothing more than that their time of relative innocence should continue without threat. They spend their time getting high together and trying to avoid facing the harsh realities of a world that no longer feels stable or welcoming.
But it is impossible for the friends to remain oblivious to the fact that life is often messy and complicated. Terran, whose life seems perfect to her best friend, Violet, struggles to live up to her mother’s rigid and overly ambitious demands. Violet’s own mother, who drinks heavily, has become paranoid about anthrax and other potential terrorist threats. Meanwhile, Joey hopes finally to declare his long-held love for Terran. To take their first hesitant steps toward maturity, the friends realize, they must be willing to risk doubts, insecurity, and even failure.
Anna Dressed in Blood
Anna Dressed in Blood and its sequel, Girl of Nightmares, are young adult horror books chronicling the life of Cassio Lowood, a teenage ghost hunter who falls in love with the dead girl he was intended to kill. In Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas is sent to exterminate the most lethal ghost he has yet to encounter: Anna Dressed in Blood, a teenage girl whose 1958 murder remains unsolved. Cas starts to realize that Anna is different from many of the ghosts he hunted previously, and as he digs into Anna’s past, he starts to rethink his mission.
Anna Dressed in Blood met with much praise from reviewers. A contributor to the BookYurt Web site remarked on Cas’s narration: “He is hilarious, in a dry almost British sort of way, not to mention smart, with just the right touch of authentic teen boy obliviousness.” The reviewer also noted: “This story is well paced and intelligently put together, with a compelling mystery that comes together wonderfully at the end.” The reviewer concluded: “This is a book that absolutely finishes the story and still leaves its readers begging for more, no trickery or sleight of hand required.” A critic on the Vampire Book Club Web site also commented on the narrator, noting that “the wry wit of protagonist Cas pervades the novel.” The reviewer continued: “His confidence keeps Anna from being scary and instead remains rooted in character development and progressing the mystery plot.” “The relationships among the characters, including Cas and his mother, are multidimensional and satisfying,” observed Nina Sachs in a review of Anna Dressed in Blood for School Library Journal. “Blake’s vivid imagery … is cinematic and compelling, as is the predictable but touching relationship between Anna and Cas,” noted Debbie Carton, who reviewed the book for Booklist.
“Effectively blending horror and romance, Blake … delivers an exciting and witty gothic ghost story,” noted a Publishers Weekly contributor. “There was a great mix of everything in this book from the witchcraft, romance, blood & gore, to the sarcastic humor from Cas,” observed a contributor on the Parental Book Reviews Web site. Anna Dressed in Blood “is one of a kind and could very well be a stand alone book, no extreme cliffhanger at the end,” added the reviewer. A reviewer on the Harris County Public Library Web site also praised the novel, calling it “chilling and haunting and beautifully written.” “A ghost hunter novel of a different type evolves in a satisfying fantasy packed with twists and turns of plot,” contended a reviewer for Bookwatch. “Teeth-chattering suspense and suppressed chuckles might attack readers in this superior black comedy/adventure,” mentioned a Kirkus Reviews contributor.
In an interview posted on the BookYurt Web site, Blake was asked if she consciously infused humor into Anna Dressed in Blood to give readers a break from all the gore: “I think so,” she replied. “I think I am naturally kind of like that, I’m kind of dry and sarcastic anyway, so that’s going to come out in my writing, but Cas is especially—he does lead such a dark existence, that if he doesn’t yuck it up a little bit, he’s going to end up on a water tower with an AK-47,” added Blake.
Girl of Nightmares
In Girl of Nightmares, Cas feels guilty that Anna’s self-sacrifice has saved him and his friends but cast her into hell with the horrible Obeahman. He decides to risk saving her, no matter the cost. He travels to England and meets Jestine, who has trained to become a ghost killer and wants to take Cas’s place as the next athame warrior. Despite some serious differences about how best to deal with ghosts, Cas and Jestine make an effective pair as they unite to destroy the Obeahman in battle.
A writer for Kirkus Reviews hailed the book as a “satisfying” conclusion to Anna’s story, and praised the author’s talent not only for exciting action but also for “delicious dry humor.” Debbie Carton, writing in Booklist, admired the novel’s “creepy, atmospheric landscapes.”
Antigoddess
Blake’s trilogy “The Goddess Wars” combines teen romance with themes and plots based on ancient Greek mythology. The first book in the series is Antigoddess. Darkness has begun to descend on the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, eroding their superpowers. Once immortal, the gods are now growing sick and dying. Desperate to find a way to survive, they have begun fighting among themselves. Hera, queen of the gods, allies herself with an Olympian faction that is murdering rival gods in hopes of saving their own lives. Fearing the actions of these antigods, Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, goes in search of possible allies in the war that is looming among these fallen divinities. Traveling with her brother Hermes, messenger of the gods, Athena finds Cassandra Weaver. Cassandra is a twenty-first-century American teen who has no memory of her former life, millennia ago, as the Trojan seer Cassandra, who could foretell the future but whose curse was that her prophesies would never be believed. Though the Trojan Cassandra had been Athena’s hated enemy, the goddess now realizes that Cassandra, along with her boyfriend Aiden, a reincarnation of the god Apollo, will play a key role in triumphing over the antigods and ensuring the survival of the threatened Olympians. Athena must forge a new relationship with her former enemy in order to win her own survival and that of the remaining gods. Athena believes.
Reviewers admired the novel’s fully wrought characters and exciting plot. Judith Palka, writing in School Librarian, enjoyed the book’s mix of fantasy and myth with touches of horror and plenty of narrative tension. The author received particularly strong praise for her highly individualized depictions of the gods. “Blake does an admirable job of linking [Greek myths] back to a world where Gods and Goddesses roamed freely in the world and were either loved or despised by mortals,” stated Palka. Library Journal reviewer Ryan F. Paulsen observed that one of the book’s greatest strengths is its skillful use of parallel narration, with alternating chapters narrated from Athena’s and Cassandra’s points of view. Noting Blake’s “real affinity for the way history shapes the present,” a contributor to Publishers Weekly described Antigoddess as a “gory, thrilling vision” of the gods’ decline.
Mortal Gods
The story continues in Mortal Gods. Aiden/Apollo is dead, killed by Aphrodite. Mourning her beloved, Cassandra can think of nothing but avenging his death. Having discovered her supernatural powers in battle against Hera, Cassandra knows she has the ability to kill a god by her mere touch, and she sets out to use this deadly power against Aphrodite. Athena, meanwhile, sets out with Odysseus to find the warrior Achilles, who they hope will join their side. The narrative climaxes with a final battle at Mount Olympus.
Ryan F. Paulsen, writing in School Library Journal, found this installment of the series equally exciting and accomplished, pointing out that the author “expertly brings these ancient characters into the modern world” and creates an enjoyable story in which epic heroes and heroines prevail. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews, however, found “an undeniable feel of second-volume sag to the story,” yet acknowledged that “the series still intrigues.”
Ungodly
“The Goddess Wars” concludes with Ungodly. In this book, Athena’s alliance of dying gods and mortal warriors has splintered into three small groups after their defeat at Mount Olympus. Each is now operating independently to discover what has deprived the gods of their former immortality. From Thanatos, the god of death, they finally learn the truth. As Blake ties up the threads of her three-part story, a Kirkus Reviews writer observed, the results are not necessarily tidy. It is the Fates who have decided that the gods must die. Athena is left in the underworld, cradling the dead body of her beloved Odysseus. But Hermes is still alive for now, and able to help Cassandra’s friends, Andie and Henry. And Cassandra is still raging for revenge. The battered allies have not achieved what they had hoped, but they realize that neither have they completely lost.
Praising the book’s thrilling action and engaging characters, a contributor to the Gizmo’s Reviews Web site observed that Blake “in no way takes the easy road out of this series. She strives to push her characters to the absolute maximum, while giving them even more horror and shocking surprises to resolve. … Sometimes you need to push the envelope in order to truly entertain and show how deadly and awful this God killing disease really is. … There is nothing shiny or nice about going to war. People do die. Heroes do prevail but with consequences.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, June 1, 2011, Debbie Carton, review of Anna Dressed in Blood; October 1, 2012, Debbie Carton, review of Girl of Nightmares, p. 88; September 1, 2013, Frances Bradburn, review of Antigoddess, p. 111; October 15, 2014, Frances Bradburn, review of Mortal Gods, p. 44.
Bookwatch, November, 2011, review of Anna Dressed in Blood; July 15, 2015, review of Ungodly.
Children’s Bookwatch, March, 2015, review of Mortal Gods; November, 2015, review of Ungodly.
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2011, review of Anna Dressed in Blood; July 1, 2012, review of Girl of Nightmares; July 15, 2013, review of Antigoddess; August 1, 2014, review of Mortal Gods; July 15, 2015, review of Ungodly.
Publishers Weekly, August 15, 2011, review of Anna Dressed in Blood; August 5, 2013, review of Antigoddess, p. 72.
School Librarian, spring, 2014, Judith Palka, review of Antigoddess, p. 62.
School Library Journal, November, 2011, Nina Sachs, review of Anna Dressed in Blood; November, 2012, Hayden Bass, review of Girl of Nightmares, p. 96; September, 2013, Ryan F. Paulsen, review of Antigoddess, p. 152; October, 2014, Ryan F. Paulsen, review of Mortal Gods, p. 114; September, 2015, Tamara Saarinen, review of Ungodly, p. 157.
ONLINE
Author Turf, http://authorturf.com/ (February 17, 2012), Brittney Breakey, author interview.
BookYurt, http://bookyurt.com/ (August 19, 2011), review of Anna Dressed in Blood; (April 24, 2012), author interview.
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Web site, http://www.carnegielibrary.org/ (February 28, 2012), review of Anna Dressed in Blood.
Cuddlebuggery Book Blog, http://cuddlebuggery.com/ (February 28, 2012), Stephanie Sinclair, author interview.
Friday the Thirteeners, http://fridaythethirteeners.blogspot.com/ (March 6, 2012), “Kendare Blake Takes the Dare.”
Gizmo’s Reviews, http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/ (May 29, 2016), review of Antigoddess; review of Mortal Gods; review of Ungodly.
Harris County Public Library Web site, http://www.hcpl.net/ (March 8, 2012), review of Anna Dressed in Blood.
Kendare Blake Home Page, http://kendareblake.com (May 29, 2016).
My Friends Are Fiction, http://www.myfriendsarefiction.com/ (May 29, 2016), review of Antigoddess; review of Mortal Gods; review of Ungodly.
Nocturnal Library, http://www.thenocturnallibrary.com/ (May 29, 2016), review of Ungodly.
NPR Online, http://www.npr.org/ (December 19, 2011), review of Anna Dressed in Blood.
Parental Book Reviews, http://sites.google.com/site/parentalbookreviews/ (June 7, 2012), review of Anna Dressed in Blood.
PRA Publishing Web site, http://www.prapublishing.com/ (June 7, 2012), author profile.
Rex Robot Reviews, http://www.rexrobotreviews.com/ (May 29, 2016), review of Ungodly.
Vampire Book Club, http://vampirebookclub.net/ (December 15, 2011), review of Anna Dressed in Blood.*
Series
Anna
1. Anna Dressed in Blood (2011)
2. Girl of Nightmares (2012)
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Goddess War
1. Antigoddess (2013)
2. Mortal Gods (2014)
3. Ungodly (2015)
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Three Dark Crowns
1. Three Dark Crowns (2016)
2. One Dark Throne (2017)
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Novels
Sleep Walk Society (2010)
The Dogs of Athens (2015)
Violent Ends (2015) (with Derek Blyth, Steve Brezenoff, Delilah S Dawson, Margie Gelbwasser, Shaun David Hutchinson, Tom Leveen, Hannah Moskowitz, Beth Revis, Brendan Shusterman, Neal Shüsterman, Cynthia Leitich Smith and Courtney Summers)
The Young Queens (2017)
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Novellas
When Gods and Vampires Roamed Miami (2014)
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Kendare Blake is the author of several novels and short stories, most of which you can find information about via the links above. Her work is sort of dark, always violent, and features passages describing food from when she writes while hungry. She was born in July (for those of you doing book reports) in Seoul, South Korea, but doesn’t speak a lick of Korean, as she was packed off at a very early age to her adoptive parents in the United States. That might be just an excuse, though, as she is pretty bad at learning foreign languages. She enjoys the work of Milan Kundera, Caitlin R Kiernan, Bret Easton Ellis, Richard Linklater, and the late, great Michael Jackson, I mean, come on, he gave us Thriller.
She lives and writes in Kent, Washington, with her husband, their cat son Tyrion Cattister, red Doberman dog son Obi-Dog Kenobi, rottie mix dog daughter Agent Scully, and naked sphynx cat son Armpit McGee.
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#Young Adult Literature#anna dressed in blood#interviews#kendare blake#three dark crowns
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How Bookstagramming Returns Made me a Better Librarian
Lucas Maxwell
09-08-16
Book returns are a part of every librarian’s life. Some people might think that sorting through book returns is a dull, arduous task. It certainly can be time consuming, but it’s not dull. I propose that keeping a close eye on my book returns has made me a better librarian.
In the public library, opening the book drop could be interesting. In fact, it was often like sorting through a tiny room full of horror film props.
The weirdest thing we had stuffed through the book slot, you ask? A deer’s leg. Yes, a severed deer’s leg with the fur still on it.
Disgusting, sure, but think how awkward it must have been for that three-legged deer.
“Um, hi, I’d like to borrow this Bambi DVD and, well, this is going to sound weird but you wouldn’t have a leg back there by chance? Yes, I have photo ID.”
In a school library, I don’t have weird things delivered to me because I don’t have a book drop, just a counter.
When students return their books, I take a picture of them as they pile up. It’s easy and takes almost zero effort. It was initially just something to put on Instagram but it evolved into something much more beneficial.
Book returns
I soon had a record of what the students were borrowing on a daily basis. Sure, I can easily look these stats up using our cataloguing system, but this was more tangible. I now have more informed conversations about the students’ borrowing trends because the trends are being photographed and are fresh in my mind. It has made me better at doing the one thing that is most important: putting books into the hands of teenagers.
Plus, students can see what their friends are borrowing (This is very, very important) in real time by checking out the pictures on our social media pages. It also introduces them to new books that they choose to read based on the cover (Also very, very important).
book returns
“Hi, can I borrow that book you put on Instagram? It had a blue cover.” I get that sometimes, and I love it.
I want to spread this further and connect with other librarians around the world. What better way than to share our book returns?
Hence the hashtag #bookdroplife – It doesn’t matter if your book drop is like mine and just a counter. Or if you’ve got a giant room filled with piles of books that need sorting and you’ve only got thirty minutes to do it before you open because some jerk cut you off in traffic and you spilled lava hot coffee on your arms and were late to work. Let’s share what our patrons are borrowing so we can be better book pushers!
Kendare Blake grew up in the small city of Cambridge, Minnesota. She is a graduate of Ithaca College, in Ithaca, New York and received a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Middlesex University in London, England. She loves to travel, is an advocate for animals, and cheats a lot when she plays Final Fantasy. Adopted from South Korea at the age of seven months, she arrived with the following instruction: "Feed her chocolate." Though not medically advisable, she and her parents are eternally grateful for this advice.
Kendare is the author of six novels: the contemporary SLEEPWALK SOCIETY, YA horror duo ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD (2011 NPR Top 5, Kirkus Top Ten), and GIRL OF NIGHTMARES (2012 Kirkus Reviews Top Ten), and the Goddess War trilogy (ANTIGODDESS, MORTAL GODS, UNGODLY).
Coming in September 2016: THREE DARK CROWNS, the first book in a fantasy series about warring triplet queens.
Cover Reveal: ONE DARK THRONE by Kendare Blake
Cover Design
02/13/2017 1:37PM | Posted by: TeamEpicReads
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Cover Reveal: ONE DARK THRONE by Kendare Blake
The USA cover for ONE DARK THRONE has been revealed!
The Official Three Dark Crowns Facebook Page
One Dark Throne, the sequel to Kendare Blake’s Three Dark Crowns, is coming this Fall on September 9, 2017 and the cover has just been revealed on the Three Dark Crowns Series page on Facebook. This Facebook page will have all the latest and greatest news and content for the series going forward – including exclusive author content from Kendare, graphics, videos and more!
Wait, what is Three Dark Crowns?
New to this series? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? This was a huge breakout book in the YA world in 2016 and people are obsessing over this *epic* fantasy. You can start reading the first book, Three Dark Crowns, right here!
The One Dark Throne Book Cover
Now it’s time to feast your eyes on this cover. It’s everything we love about the series – dark, dangerous and beautiful. We were already looking forward to One Dark Throne after the first book left us with a serious case of cliff-hanger anxiety, but now we NEED this gorgeous book for our shelf!
ONE DARK THRONE by Kendare Blake
About ONE DARK THRONE
THE BATTLE FOR THE CROWN HAS BEGUN, BUT WHICH OF THE THREE SISTERS WILL PREVAIL?
With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.
In this enthralling sequel to Kendare Blake’s New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns, Fennbirn’s deadliest queens must face the one thing standing in their way of the crown: each other.
Interview with Kendare Blake
Kendare Blake
We interview young adult fiction author Kendare Blake - on her advice to writers, dealing with rejection and the benefits of creative writing courses.
Firstly, can you tell us a little bit about your books?
I can! Sleepwalk Society is a contemporary tale about figuring out your future, Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares are horror novels about the strange life of ghost hunter Cas Lowood, Antigoddess and Mortal Gods are Greek mythology quest adventures about dying gods and the havoc they wreak in the lives of reincarnated Trojan heroes.
What inspired you to write Three Dark Crowns, the first book in your new fantasy series?
Actually, it was a conversation I had with friends at a book event. One of them is a beekeeper, and there was a hive swarming in a tree behind the bookstore. She told me all about queens and how they operate, how they decide to lay three or four queen eggs and then the first queen who hatches murders her sisters and takes over the hive. I thought, wow, good thing people aren’t like that, and then I thought, hang on, we totally could be.
Your characters, despite being in horrible situations, often lighten the situation with dark humour. Do you think this is important in horror fiction?
I don’t necessarily think it’s important but I sure find it enjoyable. One or another of my characters always winds up being a smartass.
YA novels are often told from the perspective of teenage heroine. However, one of your protagonist is Cas, a young man. Was this a conscious decision?
Not really a conscious decision. I didn’t know that most YA novels are told from heroine POVs. I only knew that if I let Anna tell the story, it would have been a much smaller, more claustrophobic story because for most of it she couldn’t leave her house. And I also knew that it wasn’t really her story. I mean it was, but the journey in it was always going to belong to Cas.
Your more recent books lean more towards the fantasy genre than horror. Do you feel there is any crossover between the two genres?
Yes. At least there is in mine. I can’t get away from violence and gore. Every fantasy I write will be dark, and disturbing in places. That’s what I like in my fantasy.
The fantasy market is so saturated now. Do you have any advice for authors looking to stand out from the crowd?
I don’t. Just, write quality. Write something you enjoy. The market is unpredictable.
For your ANTIGODDESSES series, you drew on Greek mythology. How did you approach taking centuries-old myths and telling them in a fresh way?
I was nervous about it. It felt ballsy in a way, like bad idea ballsy. The gods aren’t mine, and readers have ideas about who they are already, so taking them and trying to interpret them myself was intimidating.
You have a Master’s degree in Creative Writing. How useful do you feel this has been to you? Would you advise other writers to consider taking creative writing courses?
Completely useful! It helped me understand the business side, honestly, and the process of publishing. The steps and the path. And it makes you look at writing from a different perspective, and can really jumpstart the creative juices. I’ve never been more productive than I was during the course, and many of those stories went on to be published. So I would advise it, definitely. It’s not mandatory by any means, but it is a ton of fun. I’d like to do more.
Writers often have to face rejection before getting published. Did you? If so, how did you cope with it?
Oh yes. I did. Many and varied kinds. And there were times, long stretches, where I thought I ought to just pack it in and do something else. I did other things, for what feels like a long time. But, the quitting never stuck. And if the quitting doesn’t stick, chances are, you’re probably a writer.
Finally, what’s the one piece of advice you would like to share with other writers?
I usually say read, and write. Those are the obvious two, and you can’t survive in this biz without doing both. But lately, talking to aspiring writers, it seems like learning to finish things is important. So, that. Finish your story. Finish your poem. Finish, finish, finish. And then do it all over again.
Three Dark Crowns
Maggie Reagan
112.22 (Aug. 1, 2016): p80.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
* Three Dark Crowns. By Kendare Blake. Sept. 2016.416p. HarperTeen, $17.99 (9780062385437). Gr. 9-12.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
"Three Black Witches, all fair to be seen / Two to devour, / And one to be queen." So goes a childrens song on the mainland, where the natives cast a suspicious eye to the island of Fennbirn. There several strains of magic run strong, and every generation a set of girl triplets is born to the queen. Each has a different magical ability, and they are separated and raised by a family with matching abilities. When they reach 16, their deadly fight for the crown begins, and the last girl standing becomes the queen until her own set of triplets are born. This year, with the triplets' sixteenth birthday approaching, the clear favorite is Mirabella, a powerful elemental who can manipulate the weather. Her sisters-- Katharine, who can make and ingest poisons, and Arsinoe, a naturalist who controls plants and animals--are weak, their powers barely manifested. The outcome of the fight should be obvious, but there are other forces at work here, and the battle is only just beginning. With exquisite world building and luminous detail, this is high fantasy at its best. The magic is fierce and the plot intensely twisted, but at this novel's dark heart beats a story about sisterhood, the unbreakable bonds of family, and ties that bind enough to kill.--Maggie Reagan
Reagan, Maggie
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Reagan, Maggie. "Three Dark Crowns." Booklist, 1 Aug. 2016, p. 80. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA460761856&it=r&asid=8e3bef476336acd3551bbfc7168cb9e4. Accessed 24 May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A460761856
Blake, Kendare: Three Dark Crowns
Sue Polchow
64.4 (Winter 2016): p243.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
Blake, Kendare
Three Dark Crowns
Macmillan, 2016, pp432, 7.99 [pounds sterling]
978 1 5098 0455 9
This compelling dark fantasy tells the story by way of third person narrative telling of a set of triplets separated at a young age and all born to be the rightful queen and claim the crown of the island of Fennbirn. Each has a special prowess which becomes known as they approach their teens, Mirabella can control the elements, Arsinoe tame the natural world and Katherine has ability with poisons. Some of the sisters are better at their abilities than others which means that the playing field is far from level. Their horrific destiny, which has been repeated over and over across the generations, is that in order to claim the throne they must use their gifts once they reach the age of sixteen to murder their sister rivals. As this time approaches we switch from one sister to another and experience their friendships, loves and betrayals, but somehow remain distant from them possibly due to the monstrous task they have to perform. Those surrounding each court are desperate to ensure that their faction wins at all costs, whatever the price to their queen who must not weaken. Tensions build, dark deeds are done and deadly schemes hatched.
The sisters seem destined to be trapped in their doomed ritualistic roles. But as their characters steadily develop and grow stronger you start to see slight chinks of light as signs of sibling emotion, rebellion and escape emerge. It will be interesting to see how this plot strand develops in the next book.
First in a series, this will appeal to fans of sumptuous fantasy sagas with a dark twist to them.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Polchow, Sue. "Blake, Kendare: Three Dark Crowns." School Librarian, Winter 2016, p. 243+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA478639596&it=r&asid=148bae30292526ed6d1292d3140b3be2. Accessed 24 May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A478639596
Blake, Kendare. Three Dark Crowns
Zeying Wang
62.7 (July 2016): p79.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
BLAKE, Kendare. Three Dark Crowns. 416p. ebook available. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. Sept. 2016. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780062385437. POP
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Gr 8 Up--A poisoner--a teen who comes from a line of people who are supposed to ingest poison without being harmed--whose body betrays the gift that should have been innate suffers the ravage of toxins to defend her house's reign over Fennbirn Island. A naturalist who dims in the brilliance of her childhood friend turns to low magic to mold the earth and its creatures. An elemental whose beauty is made more terrible by her savage fires and storms is trapped within the palms of the Temple priestesses, ruthless in their scheme to overthrow the Black Council. Three sisters celebrate their 16th birthdays at the Beltane festival, but two are to be murdered during the Quickening, and one is to be crowned the red-handed Queen. This is a story entrenched in deceit, twisted by selfish desires for redemption and revenge in a crooked game set in generations of insidious matriarchal rule. Readers will be riveted by Blake's ingenious world-building, stunning developments of main and supporting characters, and spiraling tensions. VERDICT Highly recommended for fans of fantasy action thrillers with strong female leads, such as Victoria Aveyard's "Red Queen" and Sarah J. Maas's "Throne of Glass" series.--Zeying Wang, School Library Journal
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Wang, Zeying. "Blake, Kendare. Three Dark Crowns." School Library Journal, July 2016, p. 79+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA457303187&it=r&asid=91b63f8ce2676c20173030e866a4b560. Accessed 24 May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A457303187
Sanctioned Sororicide: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
Alex Brown
Mon Sep 26, 2016 3:00pm 2 comments Favorite This
Into every generation a slay— wait, let’s try that again. Into every generation triplet queens are born. Each sister specializes in one of three magics: Mirabelle is a fiery elemental with the ability to command earth, wind, fire, and water; Arsinoe a naturalist who communes with plants and animals; and Katharine a cunning poisoner able to consume toxins as if they were sugar pills. Or at least that’s how it’s supposed to be. Instead, Mirabelle is the one with all the power and her younger sisters more or less giftless.
For decades, the poisoner faction has defeated the naturalists and elementals and retained control of the throne, yet with the backing the Temple of the Goddess and her priestesses, this year the elemental is the favored champion. No one thinks Arsinoe, the plain country mouse of the trio, even stands a chance. Nevertheless, all three will square off at Beltane on their sixteenth birthday. Three queens enter, only one will survive. Years of training in their arts has brought them to this moment, yet none of them are prepared for the chaos that ensues. Hearts are broken, loyalties tested, schemes foiled, and friendships betrayed. The queens must decide if they want to play by the rules and murder the only family they have left or take matters into their own hands and defy the Goddess and their kingdom.
I’ve been a fan of Kendare Blake’s ever since Anna Dressed in Blood, a vicious bite of YA horror that begs to be devoured. When Three Dark Crowns arrived on my doorstep, I practically tore the box open to get to the excitement inside. The cover, of course, is gorgeous and absolutely perfect for the story it contains. The interior holds visual joys of its own. The map of the isle of Fennbirn is a gorgeous mass of intricate detailing. Even the fonts are striking. Whoever did the layout and technical production deserves a massive raise. I just wish the narrative appealed as much as the visual elements did.
Before you get your pitchforks out, lemme explain. I didn’t hate Three Dark Crowns, nor did I especially dislike it. There were an awful lot of bits to quibble over, and I suspect how much anyone falls for this book will depend entirely on how much weight they give them. For me, they overpowered the story, but for others they might be negligible. All I can do is tell you what I felt and why. In other words, this is a Your Mileage My Vary book.
Because I like you, I’ll start with the good stuff first. Katharine, Arsinoe, and Mirabelle are wildly compelling. The girls are so very different from each other and are likeable and unlikeable in equal measure. Arsinoe the naturalist is unrefined and nonchalant, personality traits that put her at odds with the other nature magicians. Katharine the poisoner begins as a frail, frightened girl and becomes a determined, defiant young woman. Elemental Mirabelle is all confidence until she falls in love and learns to fear others and fear for others.
The worldbuilding is also aces. Fennbirn has a believable history, complicated political machinations, and varied social groups. Think Westeros for the YA set, minus dragons. Blake is also great at setting tone and building tension. Once the action finally gets going she delights in twisting the knife deeper and deeper. The shockers in the final act will have grave ramifications for the queens and their courts, and I for one can’t wait to find out what happens next.
Now comes the grumbling, so if you don’t want to have your good opinion tainted, skip to the end.
The first issue is the pacing, a problem conflated by the fact that there are approximately 3 million characters in the book. Blake’s structure of giving each queen her own POV chapter helps once you settle into the pattern, but because the queens all have a dozen hangers-on, many of whom get POV sections within the queen’s chapter showing a scene from their non-royal perspective, it’s very easy to both lose the thread of all the plots and find it hard to care. Some of the courtiers are complex creatures with rich inner lives—Natalia the poisoner aunt, Elizabeth the secret naturalist priestess—but most either have so little impact on the narrative that it’s easy to forget they even exist—like Bree and Luke who do…stuff…I think?—or are one-note characters—Jules, Joseph, Madrigal, Billy, Luca, Pietyr, etc.
Thing is, if most of the extraneous characters were cut out the main story wouldn’t suffer from the losses and it would give more screentime to the more important yet just as underserved side characters. Given how the book turns out, Jules, Joseph, Billy, and Pietyr should be far more interesting people than they are, and that they aren’t is largely because when we do see them, they’re too busy obsessing over the queens. It’s as if whenever Mirabelle, Arsinoe, or Katherine walk away, the others cease to exist. Other characters disappear entirely despite Blake treating them as if they were super important to the storyline.
If you’re the kind of reader who really digs cishet love triangles and overwrought Romeo and Juliet-esque romances, you’ll probably have a good time with Blake’s newest series. Honestly, the overabundance of shoehorned romantic subplots was what really kicked me off Three Dark Crowns. Nearly every one of those 3 million characters have the hots for someone or are mad about who someone else has the hots for. And every one of those romances is heterosexual. (The lack of diversity is another big sticking point, but it’s also, sadly, a common one in YA.) Blake dabbles with critiquing some common YA and fantasy tropes, but instead of committing to the contradiction she veers back at the last minute and goes full trope.
Speaking of the end, Three Dark Crowns doesn’t. And this is probably my biggest issue with the arc structure, namely that there isn’t one. I actually had to pull up the page count online to make sure I didn’t have a faulty galley. There are cliffhangers and then there’s ending before the ending. The first two thirds of the novel move slow—too slow for my taste, but a lot of people really like glacially slow burns—and the final act rips through a dozen storylines in about a hundred pages, building up to the final moment only to have its knees knocked out from under it. I’d much prefer books in a series to be their own complete story. They don’t have to be episodic, but they should be able to stand on their own. Three Dark Crowns feels like the first section in a GRRM-style epic fantasy novel rather than the first book in series.
I know this review wasn’t what Blake fans were hoping for. Hell, it wasn’t what I was hoping for either. Despite the negativity of my review, I hope I haven’t completely put you off Blake or her books. There really is a lot to like in Three Dark Crowns. No matter how I felt about the experience of reading her latest book, Blake is a great writer with a strong, unique voice. I’ve loved her previous work in the past and I’ll love her future work. Just because this story didn’t work for me doesn’t mean it doesn’t work at all or won’t work for you. Again, YMMV here, and I’m certain my dissents will be in the minority. At least give it a chance to win you over.
Three Dark Crowns is available from HarperTeen.
Three Dark Crowns
by Kendare Blake
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THREE DARK CROWNS is the newest release from Kendare Blake, the author of ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD. It follows triplets Katharine, Mirabella and Arsinoe, who were all born with equal rights to the same crown. Katharine is a poisoner, able to digest even the strongest of poisons. Mirabella is an elemental, able to create storms and fire with her mind. And Arsinoe is a naturalist, able to grow flowers and control a variety of animals. Once the sisters turn 16, the fight for the crown begins, and the last one alive will get it.
THREE DARK CROWNS started off very slow and confusing for me. There are a ton of new characters, terms and locations thrown at the reader from page one. Eventually all of these details become familiar, but this was definitely discouraging at the start. Even as an avid fantasy reader, I had to push myself through the beginning a bit. But looking back at it now, I am beyond glad that I did.
"THREE DARK CROWNS features interesting characters, a fantastic world and drama that will leave the reader guessing until the last page. "
The world and characters of THREE DARK CROWNS are beautifully complex. After my initial confusion, I found myself happily lost on Fennbirn island and completely engrossed in the lives of the characters. The book switches between each of the triplets’ lives every chapter. Each triplet has a strong story and I never found myself thinking that any one of the queens had dull chapters. The side characters also have very detailed backstories and make themselves equally as important as the leading ladies. I hope that the side characters come into play more throughout the series because some of them are by far my favorite characters. The author also makes the reader fall in love with each queen, even when the premise of the book clearly states that only one will win. I found myself in a constant battle of trying to pick a favorite out of three great characters that I had grown to love.
The magic system in this world was also very well crafted. The real key is just getting through the beginning information dumps so you can understand it. The various gifts in this world are exciting and fun to read about. There is also a lot of mystery still left about them, keeping the reader guessing a bit and anxiously awaiting the second book (I definitely am).
The ending of THREE DARK CROWNS was by far my favorite part. The last 50 pages or so are beyond intense. The suspense carries until the last page, where a major twist is revealed. I never saw it coming, but once I read those last few words I finally saw the full picture that I was missing throughout the story. I was honestly blown away by the ending. Kendare Blake set up the story so well and I’m still in a bit of shock from it.
I would highly recommend this book to any fantasy lovers. It definitely has some more complex fantasy elements throughout the story so it may not be the best for a fantasy newcomer. But for someone who knows their way around the genre and genuinely enjoys it, they will love this book. THREE DARK CROWNS features interesting characters, a fantastic world and drama that will leave the reader guessing until the last page. It is definitely well worth a little bit of struggling to understand the world in the beginning of the novel.
Reviewed by Danielle F., Teen Board Member on September 28, 2016