Aditi Nichani
I don’t know how to start describing a book that I devoured in two days straight. I just kept flipping page after page, desperate to know what would happen to the characters that I love, unable to put it down because One Dark Throne was JUST THAT GOOD. If you read its prequel, Three Dark Crowns, and found it slightly slow, it was because Kendare was giving you time to get to know everyone in this book before giving you the marvel that is One Dark Throne. Also, let us take a moment to just appreciate HOW UTTERLY BEAUTIFUL THE SERIES’ COVERS ARE. Both the US and the UK covers are SO SO GORGEOUS and perfectly reflect that ‘Black is the colour of the Queens.’ Let’s break it down: PLOT: For the most part, I absolutely LOVED how the plot built up. It was some genius plot and world building that had me filled with adrenaline in this fast paced magical wonder. The small chapters and the scheming and plotting on all sides was SO MUCH FUN to witness. *** MINOR SPOILER *** I did, however, say ‘for the most part’. There was a point in the book where a duel between Mirabella and Katharine ensures when I realised that Kendare wasn’t ready to kill off her queens just yet and that put a dampener on the whole experience of a competition to the death for the throne.After that, I enjoyed the book, but not AS MUCH AS I PREVIOUSLY WAS. *** SPOILER OVER *** I’m also slightly upset that the two major plot twists that hit us in book one weren’t ACTUALLY HANDLED in book two but instead we were given vague half answers like ‘Only the Queen Knows Why’ and ‘Pietyr doesn’t need to know, but he knows what happened to Katharine.’ WHAT. EVEN. IS. THAT? CHARACTERS: I spent the majority of book one rooting for Arsinoe and Jules and all things Naturalist but I LOVE how Kendare managed to show you the good and the bad of all her characters so much so that I WAS SO CONFUSED ABOUT WHICH ONE I SUPPORTED? I honestly wanted all of them to hug it out and I also wanted to see one queen survive and I love that Kendare managed to change my perceptions because it made the book that much more fun to read. I adored all the secondary characters as well – Joseph, Sara, Bree, Nicolas, Billy, Pietyr, Luca, Natalia and everyone else. I felt like I knew them so well after book one and I loved it. WRITING: Kendare Blake’s writing was simply and easy to read. Despite the fact that she was telling the story from SO MANY people’s point of view, she managed to make me feel the difference with each one of them. Third person and multiple points of view was the perfect way to tell a story that has so many sides and I loved it. CONCLUSION: I’d just about reached the halfway mark in this book before a fellow book lover told me that there were two more (I was under the impression that this was a duology) and that left me both happy and sad. I LOVED ONE DARK THRONE. It was a well written, fast paced, dark magical adventure and one of the best fantasies I’ve read all year. 4.5 stars.
4 people found this review helpful
Jasmine Lara
Short and sweet. I love the women in this book. It makes me want to read more! These are strong women with as much love and loyalty to those around them as to themselves. These characters are torn in different ways and sometimes they are forced or choose terrible things.
2 people found this review helpful
