Kendare Blake: Complete Three Dark Crowns series + Q&A

“One or another of my characters always winds up being a smartass.”

Three sisters. One throne. A fight to the death. In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomach ache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of beasts.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose... it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown…

“Gorgeous and bloody, tender and violent, elegant, precise, and passionate; above all, completely addicting.”—Kirkus

Kendare Blake is the author of several novels and short stories, including In Every Generation (which revisits Buffy the Vampire Slayer), the Anna Dressed in Blood series, and the Goddess War series. Several of Blake’s fiction projects have been optioned for media adaptations. Kendare’s official bio claims her work is “sort of dark, always violent, and features passages describing food from when she writes while hungry.”

Scroll down for a list of books in the series, and for questions and answers from author interviews.

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Three Dark Crowns series

Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1)

New York Times Bestseller * New York Public Library Best Book of 2016 * Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2016 * Kirkus Best Book of the Year

Fans of acclaimed author Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood will devour Three Dark Crowns, the first book in a dark and inventive fantasy series about three sisters who must fight to the death to become queen.

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.

Buy Three Dark Crowns from Amazon

One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns #2)

Fennbirn’s deadliest queens must face the one thing standing in their way of the crown: each other.

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.

Buy One Dark Throne from Amazon

Prequel novellas (Note: Contains spoilers for Three Dark Crowns)

The dazzling prequels to the Three Dark Crowns series uncover the sisters’ origins, dive deep into the catastrophic reign of the Oracle Queen, and reveal layers of Fennbirn’s past, hidden until now. (Find separate links below for individual eBooks and a paperback collection.)

The Young Queens (prequel #1)

Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katharine weren’t always scheming to murder each other. They weren’t always surrounded by rival foster families, each swearing to have their best interests at heart. And they weren’t always afraid of being unexpectedly attacked—by one of their own sisters, no less—in a way that could cost them their last breath.
They used to be together. Just three sisters. Alone in a glen.
This is the story of the three queens—after they were born, before they were separated, during the time when they all lived together, loved each other, and protected each other. Even as children, their personalities were starting to emerge—Mirabella was the responsible eldest; Arsinoe, the wild spitfire; and Katharine, the obedient youngest. It’s also the story of the day they were torn apart, and the several years that follow.
From birth to eleven years old, this is a rare glimpse of the queens' lives…before they were at stake.
Buy The Young Queens as an eBook from Amazon

The Oracle Queen (prequel #2)

Triplet queens born on the island of Fennbirn can be many things: Elementals. Poisoners. Naturalists. If an oracle queen is born, however, one with the gift of sight, she’s immediately drowned, extinguishing her chance at ever taking the throne.
But that’s not how it always was. This cautionary practice started long ago, with Queen Elsabet—the legendary, and last, oracle queen—whose reign was tinged with blood and horror.
Paranoid, ruthless, and utterly mad, Elsabet’s mistrust led to the senseless slaying of three entire houses of innocent people. At least, that’s the unchallenged tale carried down from generation to generation. But what really happened? Discover the true story behind the queen who, though born with the gift of sight, could not foresee her swift and sudden fall from power . . . until it was too late.
The Oracle Queen as an eBook from Amazon

There’s also a paperback edition that includes both prequels: Buy the collection Queens of Fennbirn from Amazon

Two Dark Reigns (Three Dark Crowns #3)

While Arsinoe, Mirabella, and Katharine all have their own scores to settle, there is another queen 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 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.

Buy Two Dark Reigns from Amazon

Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #4)

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.

Buy Five Dark Fates from Amazon

Kendare Blake Interviews

Q: What inspires you to write? Are there any books or writers that have influenced your work?

“Whatever story I’m working on sort of forces me to write it. It wants to be told, kind of like the ring always wants to get back to Sauron. If that makes me Gollum, or Bilbo, I guess I’d rather be Bilbo. As for influences, just about every book I have read has influenced me somehow. There’s always something to learn. And good writing is always an inspiration, even if it isn’t the type or style of writing that I do myself.”—INTERVIEW WITH KENDARE BLAKE, AUTHOR OF THREE DARK CROWNS (YASH3LF)

Q: You named your cat Tyrion, so I assume you’re a Game of Thrones fan. Would you recommend your novel to GOT-fans and in which way differs your novel from his works?

“Since I do love Game of Thrones, it would be great if GOT fans enjoyed Three Dark Crowns. They do share some similar elements: a struggle for a throne, betrayals and unexpected twists, a cast of varied and manipulative characters.

“But they also differ in many ways. Three Dark Crowns is is intensely matriarchal. There are no dragons, to my great dismay, and also no Khal Drogo. What was I thinking?”—Interview with Kendare Blake about her Three Dark Crowns novel series (Darkstars Fantasy News)

Q: I saw so many interesting themes in there about power and politics that I really enjoyed. I’d love to hear from you — what are some things you hope readers will see in this story?

“Well, first and foremost I hope they get an enjoyable read. I was surprised at how much fun it was to write—all the scheming! And the different kind of city-societies. I got to immerse myself in their different cultures along with their shared culture, and all their different aims.”—ON CHARACTERS TAKING THE WHEEL: AN INTERVIEW WITH KENDARE BLAKE (Book Riot)

Q: Where did your inspiration initially come from when you started this series?

“Oh, that’s a long story. To make that long story shorter: bees. A ball of bees, and a helpful beekeeper who told me about queen bees, and how they will lay several queen eggs, and the baby queens will hatch and kill each other.”—Interview: Kendare Blake, Author of ‘Five Dark Fates’ (The Nerd Daily)

Q: Your characters, despite being in horrible situations, often lighten the situation with dark humor. 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.”—Interview with Kendare Blake (Writers & Artists)