Review: Queens of Fennbirn (Three Dark Crowns 0.5) by Kendare Blake

Summary from Goodreads:

Uncover the sisters’ origins, dive deep into the catastrophic reign of the Oracle Queen, and reveal layers of Fennbirn’s past, hidden until now.

The Young Queens

Get a glimpse of triplet queens Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katharine during a short period of time when they protected and loved one another. From birth until their claiming ceremonies, this is the story of the three sisters’ lives…before they were at stake.

The Oracle Queen


Everyone knows the legend of Elsabet, the Oracle Queen. The one who went mad. The one who orchestrated a senseless, horrific slaying of three entire houses. But what really happened? Discover the true story behind the queen who could foresee the future…just not her own downfall.

My Review:



I usually stay away from novellas, I'd rather have a full length book of my favorite characters, but I do enjoy it when publishers put out a collection of them. It bulks up the book and it feels like a complete novel. I somehow managed to read this 200 paged novel in one sitting it was that good.

What I Liked:

Characters The main reason I love this fantasy series is the well-crafted characters. I cannot pick a favorite from this cast, main and side, of characters, they are all good. And I loved seeing all of my favorites as children. 

World Building/Atmosphere. We got to see Fennbirn and the islands past and that was interesting to see. I would have liked to even more of the world or of the different abilities. The whole atmosphere of the novel was well written and it is easy to jump back into the world. 

Plot. I enjoyed book of the short stories. They were both easy to get into and action packed. I hope that Blake will write more in this universe. 

What I Disliked:

Too Short. I tend to not read a lot of novellas for my favorite series because I am always left wanting more. The first story, centered around the queens as children could have been a full complete novel and I would have been there for that so fast. I did feel that the second story The Oracle Queen felt rushed to me, it could have been 50 or so more pages.

I recommend checking out this collection of short stort stories set in the Three Dark Crowns universe if you love the characters just as much as I do.

My Rating:

4.5 Stars Out of 5 Stars