Three Dark Crowns

Three Dark Crowns is a young adult epic fantasy novel by Kendare Blake. Published in 2016, it is the first book in the Three Dark Crowns series, which comprises four titles. Blake has written several novels for young adults, including Anna Dressed in Blood, a 2011 book that was named one of the Top 5 Novels of the Year by National Public Radio and one of the “Best Teen Books of the Year” by Kirkus.

Three Dark Crowns is about triplet sisters, Katharine, Arsinoe, and Mirabella. Each of the girls has been born with a unique magical gift, and one of them is destined to become queen of the land of Fennbirn. The girls are part of a tradition that extends back to the founding of the realm. Each generation, three sisters are born to the current queen and raised apart. They are each trained in their different magical disciplines with the ultimate goal of killing the other sisters and claiming the throne.

Katharine has been trained to tolerate the ingestion of deadly poisons. On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Katharine attends a ball being thrown in her honor. She knows that she will be asked to fight her sisters the next day. She has to make a good showing. As part of a test, she is required to eat poisoned food to show her prowess, but failing the test, she leaves in disgrace.



Arsinoe is the second sister. She has power over nature and can tame animals. However, Arsinoe’s friend Jules is a much stronger naturalist than she is, and Arsinoe is worried about the outcome of the battle. The feast to honor Arsinoe is sparsely attended. However, Arsinoe is surprised to learn that her old caretaker, Joseph, is returning from exile. Joseph was banished when Arsinoe was younger for trying to help her escape.

The third sister, Mirabella, is an elemental magician and more skilled than the other two. She is most likely to win the crown. She has the support of the temple priestesses but is tormented by the thought of killing her sisters. The temple priestesses ask her to participate in a sacrifice. Mirabella performs the sacrifice but does not enjoy it, which leads the priestesses to wonder if she is strong enough to be queen.

Katharine and Arsinoe realize that they need to raise support if they are going to have a chance of winning. Katharine tries to become more beautiful so that people will fall in love with her and join her cause. Arinoe’s friends introduce her to likely suitors who will fight at her side if Arsinoe makes a good impression.



Meanwhile, the temple priestesses discuss Mirabella and decide that she might be the prophesied White-Handed Queen, who ascends to the throne without killing her sisters. They decide to force the prophecy by turning public opinion against Katharine and Arsinoe so that the people kill them before Mirabella has to.

Mirabella runs away from the temple. During her escape, she rescues Joseph from a shipwreck and falls in love with him. Joesph leads her back to Arsinoe, who talks briefly with her sister before the priestesses find them and force Mirabella to return with them.

Friends of Katharine and Arsinoe learn of the plan to kill the two girls and join forces, vowing they won’t let it happen. Pietyr and Natalia, old friends of Katharine, admit to each other that they love her and want to protect her until the battle.



Finally, the time for the battle between the sisters arrives. They all travel to the mainland with their escorts and present themselves to the people. Mirabella runs into Joseph and the two confess their feelings for each other, but Joseph is involved with Jules, a fellow hunter and naturalist.

While Katharine and Arsinoe are busy going through the motions of the ceremony, the priestesses plan their assassinations. Arsinoe’s friends come up with a plan to make her appear stronger than she is and intimidate the priestesses.  They arrange for bears to attack Mirabella’s demonstration of her power. Joseph rescues Mirabella from the bear, and Katharine flees in the confusion with Pietyr.

Pietyr betrays Katharine, tossing her into the bottomless pit where the former losers of the competition are flung. The others search for her in vain.



Arsinoe’s confidence has been restored by the bear attack and the sudden groundswell of support for her. She is ready to fight, as is Mirabella, who believes that Arsinoe set the bear on her. Soon after, Katharine reappears, having escaped from the pit. She too is ready for battle.

Joseph and Jules argue about Joseph’s attraction to Mirabella, as they do, Jules accidentally ingests poison intended for Arsinoe. She lives, but Arsinoe reveals that she ate several of the chocolates before and felt no ill effects. The book ends on a cliffhanger, with the shocking revelation that Arsinoe is the real poisoner and Katharine is the naturalist. Their roles were switched when they were still children.