Is Three Dark Crowns appropriate for younger teens?

Publishers and reviewers generally recommend it for readers age 14 and up. The book contains graphic violence (including animal mauling and torture), some blood-drinking in rituals, and minimal sexual content and language, which is heavier than most middle-grade fantasy.

What order should I read the Three Dark Crowns series in?

The main line is Three Dark Crowns (2016), One Dark Throne (2017), Two Dark Reigns (2018), and Five Dark Fates (2019). Two companion novellas, The Young Queens and The Oracle Queen (collected together as Queens of Fennbirn), fill in backstory around books 1 and 3 but aren't required to follow the main plot.

Three Dark Crowns

YA Fantasy Fantasy

Pages: 398
Published: 2016
Language: English

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born--three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to control storms or flames with the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, able to ingest the deadliest poisons without harm. And Arsinoe, a naturalist, can control nature. But becoming the Queen Crowned isn't solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it's not just a game of win or lose ... it's life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown. --

Prose complexity: 7/10

Dark Tense Atmospheric Gritty

Court Intrigue Multiple POVs Coming of Age Survival Betrayal Reluctant Hero

Kendare Blake

Kendare Blake is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction. She is best known for the horror novel Anna Dressed in Blood and its sequel Girl of Nightmares, the Three Dark Crowns fantasy series, and the standalone thriller All These Bodies, which won the YALSA Teens' Top Ten award. Born in Seoul, South Korea, and adopted as an infant, she was raised in Cambridge, Minnesota. She holds a degree from Ithaca College and a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Middlesex Universit...

MirabellaProtagonist

The elemental-gifted triplet queen, able to summon storms and flame; widely presumed the strongest of the three.

ArsinoeProtagonist

The naturalist triplet queen, able to command plants and animals; reluctant about the tradition that pits her against her sisters.

Queen KatharineProtagonist

The poisoner triplet queen, trained from childhood to ingest lethal poisons unharmed.

All characters in Three Dark Crowns

Frequently asked questions

Is Three Dark Crowns appropriate for younger teens?
Publishers and reviewers generally recommend it for readers age 14 and up. The book contains graphic violence (including animal mauling and torture), some blood-drinking in rituals, and minimal sexual content and language, which is heavier than most middle-grade fantasy.
What order should I read the Three Dark Crowns series in?
The main line is Three Dark Crowns (2016), One Dark Throne (2017), Two Dark Reigns (2018), and Five Dark Fates (2019). Two companion novellas, The Young Queens and The Oracle Queen (collected together as Queens of Fennbirn), fill in backstory around books 1 and 3 but aren't required to follow the main plot.