Title: Five Dark Fates
Author: Kendare Blake
Publisher/Year: HarperCollins Publishing 9/3/19
Length: 331 Pages
Series: Three Dark Crowns #4
Overview
In the final book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns series, an all-out war is brewing—one that will pit sister against sister and dead against undead.
After the grim confrontation with Queen Katharine, the rebellion lies in tatters. Jules’s legion curse has been unbound, and it is up to Arsinoe to find a cure, even as the responsibility of stopping the ravaging mist lies heavy on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone. Mirabella has disappeared.
Katharine’s reign remains intact—for now. When Mirabella arrives, seemingly under a banner of truce, Katharine begins to yearn for the closeness that Mirabella and Arsinoe share. But as the two circle each other, the dead queens hiss caution—Mirabella is not to be trusted.
In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn’s history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested. But the fate of the island lies in the hands of its queens. It always has.
My Thoughts
Even though it’s been quite some time since book 3 came out until now, and even though i’ve read quite a few things in between, the moment i started reading this fourth installment, i felt that we were right back where we had left off.
Things on the island are a mess, Katherine is still the Undead Queen, and Jules is still dealing with the ramifications of the Legion Curse that’s been released with the murder of her mother. Mirabella and Arsinoe are stuck in the middle of things once again as they have to pick sides while remaining true to themselves.
Add to all this, the fact that Peityr is still unconscious and no one knows how to wake him, especially as Katherine is the only one who knows what’s caused him to sleep.
The questions in this book overpower the answers and I can honestly say that I didn’t know how this story was going to play out. One thing for sure – we were going to lose many many characters here in this finale. There’s no doubt in my mind that many mains will die, and where that leaves the island will be anyone’s guess.
The Mist continues to be a power that no one can beat. Mirabella is the only one who’s been able to push it back, to keep it from killing more – but the assumption is that it’s because she’s the strongest elemental. There’s a theory that they need to kill her in order for the mist to go away – but that’s a price that no one truly wants to pay. (or do they).
The Rebellion being led by Jules shows us that the Legion Queen perhaps has more power than the triplet queens and that scares people. When we get about 2/3 into the story – we learn some of the origin story of the queens since the first queens weren’t included in the history that everyone learned and there’s an interesting twist there. Of course though, resulting in a death.
We know that the only way this story will end is after a war happens – laying out a new future for the island. The war finds itself at the gates of The Volroy, being fought by everyone including the undead, and it’s so intense that the mist wants in on it as well.
Friendships are created, torn apart, and the same goes for relationships (loving and otherwise). We see some of the chemistry that has played out in this series so far, and we see surprises of people who put their loyalties in new places. The outcome of those twists make this story even more exciting.
Betrayal, Trust, Love, Hate, Fear, Secrecy, Competition. All very deep themes of this series and they all play out in a strong way in this final book 4. I’m a bit sad to see this journey end, but i think that we were given what we needed to see the closure happen for whomever is left. Enjoy!