Three Dark Crowns
Series: Three Dark Crowns #1
Author: Kendare Blake
Published September 22nd 2016 by Macmillan Children's Books

Goodreads Synopsis
Every generation has one queen that rules the island of Fennbirn. It has been the same for hundreds of years. Imbued with the power of the goddess, every last and present queen possesses a talent that allows them to govern - alongside the powerful families who share that talent. It's traditional. It's political. It's deadly. 

Three daughters are always born to the ruling monarch, but only one can take the crown when her time is come. Separated at a young age, the three sisters must hone their individual power... for when they turn sixteen they will be pitted against each other in a fight to the death. 

Arsinoe is a Naturalist; she has the gift of controlling and manipulating animals and plants. In theory, anyway. Her powers have shown no sign of appearing and she, along her naturalists, are starting to panic. Arsinoe has never been one for playing the game - when she was little she tried to escape Fennbirn, but Fennbirn wouldn't let her go. Her fate is to kill her sisters, but with no tangible power she may have to resort to desperate measures to survive...

Katharine is a Poisoner, but like her sister her powers are weak, and she is introverted and anxious. A Poisoner Queen has governed Fennbirn for generations and the poisoner families will do anything in their power to keep control of The Island. Will the mercurial, gorgeous Pietyr Arron help Katharine develop her confidence - or does he have another, more dangerous agenda?

Mirabella is an Elemental - powerful, beautiful and the strongest of the triplets by far. She can manipulate the weather, control water, create fire. She is also the queen with a conscience, who remembers the night that she and her sisters were separated vividly and causes her frequent nightmares. The money is on her to end the rule of poisoners, but can she put aside her affection for her siblings in order to let fate take its inevitable course?

There is no escape and there is no compromise. There can only be one queen - and the island is waiting to crown her. 

Enthralling, sexy, dark and powerfully evocation, Three Dark Crowns is the incredible new novel from Kendare Blake, the bestselling author of Anna Dress in Blood. With the burning tension, unforgettable characters, and sweeping epic drama, it will captivate readers who enjoyed Half Bad and Game of Thrones and is set to be one of the most hotly anticipated YA novel of the Autumn.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

This book has been hyped up both in the UK, and in the US, since its announcement. The idea of having triplet queens, separated at a young age, who must fight and battle to kill one another until one is named the queen, sounded so epic, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy. 

The three queens, Katherine, Mirabella, and Arsinoe, were all born with the capabilities of performing unique skills - ingesting poison, creating storms, and befriending wild animals. With these gifts, they're to fight one another when they come of age, and finally come into their true power as Queen. Unfortunately, only one of them actually has gifts that manifest, and all are trying to hide their flaws. Each has been with a certain family, who has been training and grooming them for their position. As the time draws close, all those involved are anxious to masquerade as being strong, to stall the inevitable.

Unfortunately, this book was just so long, and honestly, it wasn't even that big. It just seemed to drag, and nothing really happened until we got to the end. I liked Katherine, and didn't mind Mirabella, but Arsinoe was a tad annoying. And the other characters in the book, who should've been minor characters, tbh, seemed to have too large a role, which took away some of the enjoyment factor.

There was romance, but enjoyable, and unnecessary, and I just feel like if the book had been trimmed a bit, and some of the the boring stuff removed, it would've been such a better read. I did enjoy how the book ended, especially with the surprise on the final pages, and I will be reading book 2, but I don't know if I would be in as much a hurry in that case. It was enjoyable, but not amazing.