This final novel in Kendare Blake's breathtaking Three Dark Crowns series has a lot to cover and many questions to answer.
From the blurb;
'Katharine has waited her whole life to take the throne.
'And with the fury of the dead queens roaring beneath her skin, her time has come. But many still challenge her rule, and with the whereabouts of her sisters unknown, Katharine's anxiety grows. Then bodies mysteriously start washing ashore, throwing Fennbirn into a panic.
'Hiding out on the Mainland, Arsinoe and Mirabella try to make a life for themselves away from all they've lost. But it's not long until home beckons: Arsinoe is haunted by visions of the legendary Blue Queen, a rare and mystical fourth-born queen who died hundreds of years earlier.
'Jules, after befriending a war-gifted girl named Emilia, learns there is a rebel army that wants to unsurp the throne - and they wants Jules to lead the charge.
'A queen on the throne, two on their way home, and an unexpected renegade who's gone to ground... the crone has been won, but these queens are far from done.'
Two Dark Reigns takes these novels down a darker path, diving into a realm of ghosts and curses which throw our three queens into even more dangerous territory than the trials which have sought to kill them.
Blake packs a lot into this final novel, taking the readers across oceans and into the most hidden depths of Fennbirn island. While the story remains a delight, with powerful characters, complex magic and beautiful, absorbing, world building we cannot help but feel Blake tried to tie too many loose ends in to few pages and left us with far to many unexplored avenues to be fully satisfying.
We Give Two Dark Reigns Three Stars
ISBN - 978-0-06-268614-5 Hardback Cover Price - $18.99 Published by HarperTeen