Book Review: One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

SYNPOSIS

The battle for the crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail?
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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.
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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.

Synposis from Indigo.ca

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PERSONAL REVIEW

I found that I liked this book a lot more then it’s prequel, Three Dark Crowns, but I’m still very on the fence with this series. I find that I read the books quickly, but I don’t really enjoy it while doing so. In good news, Mirabella, Arisone, Jules and Katharine are so much stronger now, which makes them a lot more interesting to read about.
 
Personal Thoughts:  

• Somewhat Stronger Female Characters: Katharine as gone crazy (possessed), Mirabella is out for revenge before returning to her senses and remembering that she loves her sisters, and – best of all – Arisone has figured out her gift (another poisoner? Chaos!). Jules continues to draw the majority of my attention as she grows stronger and we learn that she is legion cursed (??). Not sure what this means (really poorly explained) but I’m sure we’ll get more from her later.
  
  ​Even with this change, I still prefer Arisone the best of the sisters. Mirabella, while definitely the most gifted sister, literally spends half the book thinking about Joseph. Katharine has just gone over the edge and although her time in the pit has made her stronger, we find out at the end exactly how much it has physically (not to mention mentally) changed her. I can’t figure out if Blake will try to redeem her in the next books or not.

• Joseph Is Still Awful: I feel like this needs to be it’s own talking point because somehow this super-boring characters plays a role in the lives of three of the main characters. We have Jules, who continues to forgive him for cheating on her (jerk) because she loves him so much (which honestly makes me so angry!!). There’s Arisone, who keeps saying how upset she is on behalf of Jules…and then promptly also forgives Joseph (why?!). And finally Mirabella, who once again tries to sleep with Joseph because they somehow have this amazing connection after meeting maybe two times, and is absolutely heartbroken when he chooses Jules… Why is this guy so great?! He’s a cheater, a liar, and the only healthy relationship he seems to have is with Billy.  

• The Ending: I guess this was supposed to be the dramatic cliffhanger where we all hold our breath waiting for the next book, but I didn’t feel that way at all. I guess it’s sad that Joseph is dead, but I thought he had over stayed his welcome well before this. I can’t believe that Jules left Arisone (that seemed like a HUGE character change that happened way too fast for it to be believeable) but I am interested to read about Mirabella and Arisone adapting to life on the “mainland”. What country is it? What time period? Still so many questions.

 
One Dark Throne was definitely a better book than I was anticipating, but I’m still not a big fan of the series. I will continue to read it and give honest feedback, and I’m hopeful that if the books do keep getting better, eventually it will be a series that I’m excited to recommend to people.

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FINAL RATING: 3.5/5