Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns Series, book 4)

By Kendare Blake

Blurb: 

After the battle with Katharine, the rebellion lies in tatters. Jules’s legion curse has been unbound, leaving her out of her mind and unfit to rule. Arsinoe must find a cure, even as the responsibility of stopping the ravaging mist rests heavy on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone. Mirabella has disappeared.

Queen Katharine’s rule over Fennbirn remains intact—for now. But her attack on the rebellion exacted a high price: her beloved Pietyr. Without him, who can she rely upon when Mirabella arrives, seemingly under a banner of truce? As oldest and youngest circle each other, and Katharine begins to yearn for the closeness that Mirabella and Arsinoe share, the dead queens hiss caution—Mirabella is not to be trusted.

In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three dark sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn’s history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested, and some broken forever.


The fate of the island lies in the hands of its queens.

Review: 
This is sadly the last book in the series and I am so disappointed that it now has officially ended. I can't wait for more of her books to be out so I can read them. This series as a whole is amazing. And this book was just a whole new level.

The book starts right where Two Dark Reigns finished. Mirabella, Jules and Arsinoe are back on the island thanks to the mist. Jules war gift has now been released and her body is overcome since the low blood magic has been broken. That's about as much as I will say, those are a few spoilers but if you are reading this review, you surely must have read the other books so you don't get spoilers.

Within this book there is a lot of action, it is super fast paced. I don't want to go into too much detail but there a few moments that make you try and hold your full body in one piece as you feel like shattering. There was several moments that tears appeared in my eyes, so make sure you have a box of tissues near by. I'm not sure if it was the moments that made me cry or the thought that this is the last book.

The characters in this book have developed so much and to know that they always think positively is actually quite nice. It makes a change that not one of them thinks negatively and it actually improves the atmosphere of the whole book. Arsinoe feels like she has developed the least but then at the same time, I feel like she is just perfect and lived up to her shy powerful personality. So personally, I say she has just grew into her boots and it's a shame that this happened in the last book. But I'm so pleased that it happened eventually and that I feel that she is now complete. I just wish I found out the reaction at the end that really tore me in two.

There was also a lot of sisterly love and trust going on within this book especially between the three sisters. There was also friendship goals that people dream of. At times there was a few moments where the sisters went against each other but there was reasons for this, you discover them the more you read into the book, so don't hate people straight away, trust your gut instincts.

I feel like the actual ending of the book was quite good as it completed everything to be truthful but just that one part at the end was just heart wrenching. So definitely prepare yourself for that. It just makes me feel like I'm not whole after reading this book.

There is still a touch of romance through this book which is actually quite nice, it wasn't too soppy and to be honest, it's how people actually react when they're trying to hide it so I feel it was quite fitting. With this love there is also jealousy, which is nice to actually read about in this book as there wasn't much within the first three. 

So like I said at the start of the review this book was just truly amazing and I am proud to say it has made me change my favourite books read list. I plan on reading this book series at least once a year.

I definitely recommend this book series to anyone that likes adventure, low blood magic, love, friendship, magic, sisterly love and just a whole bunch of awesome characters and story-line.

Favourite Characters: Arsinoe

Read: 12/09/19 - 18/09/19

5 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns Series, book 4)

By Kendare Blake

Blurb: 

After the battle with Katharine, the rebellion lies in tatters. Jules’s legion curse has been unbound, leaving her out of her mind and unfit to rule. Arsinoe must find a cure, even as the responsibility of stopping the ravaging mist rests heavy on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone. Mirabella has disappeared.

Queen Katharine’s rule over Fennbirn remains intact—for now. But her attack on the rebellion exacted a high price: her beloved Pietyr. Without him, who can she rely upon when Mirabella arrives, seemingly under a banner of truce? As oldest and youngest circle each other, and Katharine begins to yearn for the closeness that Mirabella and Arsinoe share, the dead queens hiss caution—Mirabella is not to be trusted.

In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three dark sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn’s history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested, and some broken forever.


The fate of the island lies in the hands of its queens.

Review: 
This is sadly the last book in the series and I am so disappointed that it now has officially ended. I can't wait for more of her books to be out so I can read them. This series as a whole is amazing. And this book was just a whole new level.

The book starts right where Two Dark Reigns finished. Mirabella, Jules and Arsinoe are back on the island thanks to the mist. Jules war gift has now been released and her body is overcome since the low blood magic has been broken. That's about as much as I will say, those are a few spoilers but if you are reading this review, you surely must have read the other books so you don't get spoilers.

Within this book there is a lot of action, it is super fast paced. I don't want to go into too much detail but there a few moments that make you try and hold your full body in one piece as you feel like shattering. There was several moments that tears appeared in my eyes, so make sure you have a box of tissues near by. I'm not sure if it was the moments that made me cry or the thought that this is the last book.

The characters in this book have developed so much and to know that they always think positively is actually quite nice. It makes a change that not one of them thinks negatively and it actually improves the atmosphere of the whole book. Arsinoe feels like she has developed the least but then at the same time, I feel like she is just perfect and lived up to her shy powerful personality. So personally, I say she has just grew into her boots and it's a shame that this happened in the last book. But I'm so pleased that it happened eventually and that I feel that she is now complete. I just wish I found out the reaction at the end that really tore me in two.

There was also a lot of sisterly love and trust going on within this book especially between the three sisters. There was also friendship goals that people dream of. At times there was a few moments where the sisters went against each other but there was reasons for this, you discover them the more you read into the book, so don't hate people straight away, trust your gut instincts.

I feel like the actual ending of the book was quite good as it completed everything to be truthful but just that one part at the end was just heart wrenching. So definitely prepare yourself for that. It just makes me feel like I'm not whole after reading this book.

There is still a touch of romance through this book which is actually quite nice, it wasn't too soppy and to be honest, it's how people actually react when they're trying to hide it so I feel it was quite fitting. With this love there is also jealousy, which is nice to actually read about in this book as there wasn't much within the first three. 

So like I said at the start of the review this book was just truly amazing and I am proud to say it has made me change my favourite books read list. I plan on reading this book series at least once a year.

I definitely recommend this book series to anyone that likes adventure, low blood magic, love, friendship, magic, sisterly love and just a whole bunch of awesome characters and story-line.

Favourite Characters: Arsinoe

Read: 12/09/19 - 18/09/19

5 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

Owlcrate - September 2019

Theme: Fear the Night

Items: 

• Scare-amel Corn Coffee by Bones Coffee  
• Something Wicked Comes This Way Art Print by Anne Lambelet
• Fingerless Gloves by Owlcrate 
• Frankenstein Trinket Dish by Stella Bookish Art
• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
• The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
• Monthly Enamel Pin by Label and Spells

Review: 
This is my first Owlcrate box and I doubt it will be my last. I did really enjoy the box, I found items to be good quality and on this occasion I got 2 books which is a nice plus. The theme of this box was Fear the Night, so clearly a very Halloween box.

The first item I found in the box was skull fingerless gloves. They looked cool, really nice feeling and just seemed good quality. I kind of wished they had fingers as I do prefer my gloves to have them but I can understand why they hadn’t so that the gloves will fit all. I do like them, although in a month that isn’t October they will look quite goth. That’s just expected though with a Halloween themed box.

Owlcrate I believe usually contain coffee or hot chocolate in their boxes. I don’t like coffee so I hoped for hot chocolate. Sadly it was coffee, but I’m not going to rate the box less because of it because I was aware of the risk. This coffee was an exclusive caramel corn flavour, which isn’t a flavour I’ve heard of in the UK but I assumed it had something to do with Candy Corn. My sister tried it though and she didn’t find it that nice, she couldn’t really taste much flavour so she added pumpkin spice to it.

I would say my favourite item was the trinket dish. It just is so pretty and seems like such good quality. I’m currently using it for a place to put my earrings. I just loved the design and unexpectedly needed one.

The first book I found was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. This book is the book that the Netflix Original TV series of the same name is based on. I haven’t watched the series, I heard it was really scary so decided against it. However, I will read the book and if I enjoyed that then I will watch the series, I might even review it like I did with Ready Player One movie.

There was an art print in this box, it does look nice but I’m not too bothered about art, especially as an item.


Owlcrate always include a pin in their box. I like pins and I have a few pin flags to fill, so I’m happy to get one. This pin represents the book of the box and is a skull with glow in the dark flowers. It’s really pretty and it makes a nice addition to my collection.

The main book of this box was The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones. It sounds really interesting and a bit creepy, so I look forward to reading it. The book was signed and came with a bookmark and authors letter. The book has an exclusive cover and it looks like it is different from the normal book as the cover is white instead of black. I quite like this change.

Overall, I do really like this box. It didn’t take long to arrive once receiving the dispatch email, it was only a few days. The box was good quality and I would buy from them again. It was a bit more for the box compared to FairyLoot and Illumicrate because of the shipping but it wasn’t drastic and it was worth it.

 Rating: 4 rune out of 5

Written by Lauren

Owlcrate - September 2019

Theme: Fear the Night

Items: 

• Scare-amel Corn Coffee by Bones Coffee  
• Something Wicked Comes This Way Art Print by Anne Lambelet
• Fingerless Gloves by Owlcrate 
• Frankenstein Trinket Dish by Stella Bookish Art
• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
• The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
• Monthly Enamel Pin by Label and Spells

Review: 
This is my first Owlcrate box and I doubt it will be my last. I did really enjoy the box, I found items to be good quality and on this occasion I got 2 books which is a nice plus. The theme of this box was Fear the Night, so clearly a very Halloween box.

The first item I found in the box was skull fingerless gloves. They looked cool, really nice feeling and just seemed good quality. I kind of wished they had fingers as I do prefer my gloves to have them but I can understand why they hadn’t so that the gloves will fit all. I do like them, although in a month that isn’t October they will look quite goth. That’s just expected though with a Halloween themed box.

Owlcrate I believe usually contain coffee or hot chocolate in their boxes. I don’t like coffee so I hoped for hot chocolate. Sadly it was coffee, but I’m not going to rate the box less because of it because I was aware of the risk. This coffee was an exclusive caramel corn flavour, which isn’t a flavour I’ve heard of in the UK but I assumed it had something to do with Candy Corn. My sister tried it though and she didn’t find it that nice, she couldn’t really taste much flavour so she added pumpkin spice to it.

I would say my favourite item was the trinket dish. It just is so pretty and seems like such good quality. I’m currently using it for a place to put my earrings. I just loved the design and unexpectedly needed one.

The first book I found was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. This book is the book that the Netflix Original TV series of the same name is based on. I haven’t watched the series, I heard it was really scary so decided against it. However, I will read the book and if I enjoyed that then I will watch the series, I might even review it like I did with Ready Player One movie.

There was an art print in this box, it does look nice but I’m not too bothered about art, especially as an item.


Owlcrate always include a pin in their box. I like pins and I have a few pin flags to fill, so I’m happy to get one. This pin represents the book of the box and is a skull with glow in the dark flowers. It’s really pretty and it makes a nice addition to my collection.

The main book of this box was The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones. It sounds really interesting and a bit creepy, so I look forward to reading it. The book was signed and came with a bookmark and authors letter. The book has an exclusive cover and it looks like it is different from the normal book as the cover is white instead of black. I quite like this change.

Overall, I do really like this box. It didn’t take long to arrive once receiving the dispatch email, it was only a few days. The box was good quality and I would buy from them again. It was a bit more for the box compared to FairyLoot and Illumicrate because of the shipping but it wasn’t drastic and it was worth it.

 Rating: 4 rune out of 5

Written by Lauren

GIVEAWAY!!!

To Enter, you must live in the UK. Like and Comment on the Youtube Video to be within a chance of winning! 

Prizes include:

- Mystery/Thriller Book

- Six of Crows Headband

- Notebook

- Art: Six of Crows and A Court of Thorns and Roses

Thanks for entering!

GIVEAWAY!!!

To Enter, you must live in the UK. Like and Comment on the Youtube Video to be within a chance of winning! 

Prizes include:

- Mystery/Thriller Book

- Six of Crows Headband

- Notebook

- Art: Six of Crows and A Court of Thorns and Roses

Thanks for entering!

The Bookish Box - Five Dark Fates Edition

Items: 

• Signed First Edition of Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake
• Exclusive Dust Jacket Set by Sandra Winther
• Poster Size Tapestry by Drop and Give Me Nerdy
• Crown Necklace 
• Billy Woodmark
• Arisnoe Candle
• Pencil Case
• Shirt
• Throw Pillowcase

Review: 
This is my very first box ordered with Bookish Box, so I was quite nervous. I was looking forward to it though because I had watched several unboxings on special editions before hand so I knew that each time they contained the same items.

Overall, I was impressed with the box to an extent. The quality and quantity of items was the same as Illumicrate and FairyLoot being honest. But at the same time, I didn't actually mind this because I usually like the items that are included in those boxes, I just don't really like the fandoms that are on them. So in my eyes this box was perfect for me because it contained all the items I like for a fandom that I really love. I'm so pleased that I got this box before release date in the UK too. But I did also get my Waterstones copy early too so wasn't overall excited about the time frame.

So the price of the box for me was £56, this is the most I've ever spent on a box but it is a fandom I really love, so I can justify the cost. The time frame of delivery for this box was also good, it took 5 days in total from when I got my shipment email and I honestly thought it would have took longer than this due to the hurricanes occurring in America at the time.

Now actually on to the items in the box. There was a candle which I absolutely loved the smell of, it is the best scented candle I have ever smelt. It is quite hard to describe the scent but it is really refreshing and not over powering. The size of it was also really good as it should last a minimum of 20 hours at a guess. The candle was based on Arsinoe and the design on the front was quite plain and simple but I think that is just her personality really.


The next item was a woodmark. This was super cool and I did really love the design and quote on it. The quote was "I Want Revenge and Then I Want My Crown". It is just so touching and made me want to read the book so desperately and you could guess which character had said that. To me it just felt really fitting for the book.

A crown necklace was included in this box rather than a pin as usual. This disappoints me a bit to be honest because I was really looking forward to a pin, but I guess I now have to buy Illumicrate's Three Dark Crown pin. But the crown was fitting for the box and I loved that it was silver, quite small, and plain.

There was a tapestry included in this box too, it was possibly a3 size. It was relatively quite big and the colours on it were amazing, it really went well with the design. The writing was a little difficult to read but it did make it super pretty. The quote was "Three Dark Queens Are Born in a Glen, Sweet Little Triplets Will Never Be Friends, Three Dark Sisters All Fair To Be Seen, Two To Devour and One To Be Queen". 


Another fabric item was a cushion cover. The material of this was the only disappointing part about it. It just felt generally rough and I like my pillow cases to be cotton or polyester. The pattern and design of this was also similar to the tapestry which was quite nice cause you could display them in the same room and they'd make a nice set.


The dust jackets were super pretty and I really liked how there was the main characters on each one. It just makes the set complete. I just need to actually buy book 2 and 3 now. But least I know which design of book I need to get to make them all match. The only thing that I didn't like about these was that they were not pre-folded, so I am dreading that moment.

Now onto the actual book. It was just so pretty and I am so pleased that it actually matches the rest of the series because quite a few of my favourite authors change the size or design of the last book in a series and it makes me go crazy because my set doesn't match. I'm not sure how I feel about deckled edges as this is my only third book with them. I do think they look quite tatty, but then at the same time I think they are quite fitting for a book series with crowns as to me it looks like a crown.

Written by Sammie.

The Bookish Box - Five Dark Fates Edition

Items: 

• Signed First Edition of Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake
• Exclusive Dust Jacket Set by Sandra Winther
• Poster Size Tapestry by Drop and Give Me Nerdy
• Crown Necklace 
• Billy Woodmark
• Arisnoe Candle
• Pencil Case
• Shirt
• Throw Pillowcase

Review: 
This is my very first box ordered with Bookish Box, so I was quite nervous. I was looking forward to it though because I had watched several unboxings on special editions before hand so I knew that each time they contained the same items.

Overall, I was impressed with the box to an extent. The quality and quantity of items was the same as Illumicrate and FairyLoot being honest. But at the same time, I didn't actually mind this because I usually like the items that are included in those boxes, I just don't really like the fandoms that are on them. So in my eyes this box was perfect for me because it contained all the items I like for a fandom that I really love. I'm so pleased that I got this box before release date in the UK too. But I did also get my Waterstones copy early too so wasn't overall excited about the time frame.

So the price of the box for me was £56, this is the most I've ever spent on a box but it is a fandom I really love, so I can justify the cost. The time frame of delivery for this box was also good, it took 5 days in total from when I got my shipment email and I honestly thought it would have took longer than this due to the hurricanes occurring in America at the time.

Now actually on to the items in the box. There was a candle which I absolutely loved the smell of, it is the best scented candle I have ever smelt. It is quite hard to describe the scent but it is really refreshing and not over powering. The size of it was also really good as it should last a minimum of 20 hours at a guess. The candle was based on Arsinoe and the design on the front was quite plain and simple but I think that is just her personality really.


The next item was a woodmark. This was super cool and I did really love the design and quote on it. The quote was "I Want Revenge and Then I Want My Crown". It is just so touching and made me want to read the book so desperately and you could guess which character had said that. To me it just felt really fitting for the book.

A crown necklace was included in this box rather than a pin as usual. This disappoints me a bit to be honest because I was really looking forward to a pin, but I guess I now have to buy Illumicrate's Three Dark Crown pin. But the crown was fitting for the box and I loved that it was silver, quite small, and plain.

There was a tapestry included in this box too, it was possibly a3 size. It was relatively quite big and the colours on it were amazing, it really went well with the design. The writing was a little difficult to read but it did make it super pretty. The quote was "Three Dark Queens Are Born in a Glen, Sweet Little Triplets Will Never Be Friends, Three Dark Sisters All Fair To Be Seen, Two To Devour and One To Be Queen". 


Another fabric item was a cushion cover. The material of this was the only disappointing part about it. It just felt generally rough and I like my pillow cases to be cotton or polyester. The pattern and design of this was also similar to the tapestry which was quite nice cause you could display them in the same room and they'd make a nice set.


The dust jackets were super pretty and I really liked how there was the main characters on each one. It just makes the set complete. I just need to actually buy book 2 and 3 now. But least I know which design of book I need to get to make them all match. The only thing that I didn't like about these was that they were not pre-folded, so I am dreading that moment.

Now onto the actual book. It was just so pretty and I am so pleased that it actually matches the rest of the series because quite a few of my favourite authors change the size or design of the last book in a series and it makes me go crazy because my set doesn't match. I'm not sure how I feel about deckled edges as this is my only third book with them. I do think they look quite tatty, but then at the same time I think they are quite fitting for a book series with crowns as to me it looks like a crown.

Written by Sammie.