Review: Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

Hey all, Dani here.

I had a casual conversation with Wil Wheaton yesterday as he walked by the booth where I was working. He was with his wife, Anne, and I said hi, asked them how they were doing, asked how Marlowe–one of their dogs is doing–and told him that I wished I had my D&D Player’s Handbook, because it would be cool to add him to my collection of Critical Role guest stars (I only have Joe Mangianello right now). Honestly, Wil was a totally cool guy, but after he left I totally danced around a little bit and was majorly fangirling. I love conventions so much!

Anyway, I can’t do the review I had been planning on doing today, because I actually haven’t finished the book yet. I need to figure out how to get a little more reading time in my life over the next few days. We’ll see.

In other bookish news, I realized that I hadn’t yet posted a review for this particular book, and since I am hoping to read the final book very soon, now seems like a very appropriate time to write one up.

So let’s get started.

Summary

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake returns with the highly anticipated third book in the Three Dark Crowns series! And while Arsinoe, Mirabella, and Katharine all have their own scores to settle, they aren’t the only queens stirring things up on Fennbirn Island.

Queen Katharine has waited her entire life to wear the crown. But now that she finally has it, the murmurs of dissent grow louder by the day. There’s also the alarming issue of whether or not her sisters are actually dead—or if they’re waiting in the wings to usurp the throne.

Mirabella and Arsinoe are alive, but in hiding on the mainland and dealing with a nightmare of their own: being visited repeatedly by a specter they think might be the fabled Blue Queen. Though she says nothing, her rotting, bony finger pointing out to sea is clear enough: return to Fennbirn.

Jules, too, is in a strange place—in disguise. And her only confidants, a war-gifted girl named Emilia and her oracle friend Mathilde, are urging her to take on a role she can’t imagine filling: a legion-cursed queen who will lead a rebel army to Katharine’s doorstep.

This is an uprising that the mysterious Blue Queen may have more to do with than anyone could have guessed—or expected.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

So I reread the last 100 pages of this las weekend in anticipation of picking up the final book, and those events are the freshest in my mind at the moment. That does not in any way mean that the rest of the book wasn’t memorable; it’s just that I tend to read a lot of books fairly quickly and then I read 100+ more before a sequel is released. It tends to blur things a bit for me.

But this book was still as dark and intriguing and twisted as I’ve come to expect from this series. The first book was a bit slower and I thought it was just okay until close to the end. But since then the second book and the novellas have been so utterly fascinating to me.

I love learning about the different factions and abilities, and trying to guess what could happen next. The character dynamics are so complex and rich.

Every action leads to complications an consequences, which I really enjoy. You can think someone is making a good choice just to learn several chapters later that it probably wasn’t a smart decision.

I cannot wait to finally delve into the concluding novel. I’m sure it will be a roller coaster ride of angst and drama, great highs and probably at least a few awful lows.

Where to Get a Copy

You can get your own copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local independent bookstore.

You can also check with your local library.