Review: One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

Unsure how to talk about this precious book. Feel like I devoured it. And no words are coming out to describe how I felt about it all. Because my feelings are too many, too much. This second book was beyond amazing. And I loved every word of it. Even though it is even more rude than the first. Hmph. Yet stunningly perfect.

This book is much darker than the first one. Okay, both are pretty dark. Dark and lovely and oh so awesome. I will start by saying that I loved this book a whole bunch, and I'm giving it five stars. I'm feeling a bit broken, though. That ending just about killed me. So so glad that there will be two more books in this series. Yess.

Trying hard to figure out what to write down about this amazing story. But I'm having trouble thinking about it. This book was so epic. Full of murder and poison and danger. And a bit of romance here and there. Full of amazing animals as well. There are a lot of brutal deaths too. Two that I am not okay with and might never forgive. Hmph. How rude. Yet so amazing to read, even so. I'm so nervous about what will come next. But so excited to find out. Kendare said she still would have ended this book the same, ah, even if it had only been two books, like it was planned at first. And oh gosh, I could not have survived that. This ending is rude. And a bit awful, and a bit happy too. But I need more books. For sure. So happy there will be more. Not done with the queens.

The writing in this one is just as amazing as every other book by Kendare. Which is the very best. I had no issues at all reading this one. Eee. I am thrilled that I loved it lots. Yes, I am all kinds of heartbroken about certain things, and so angry with Kat, but I loved the story so much. These characters are precious to me. I love reading about them and getting to know them better. This world is incredible. This island is so special and I want more and more about it. The story is brutal yet so awesome. Dying to know more.

One Dark Throne takes place a short time after Three Dark Crowns. Things are not going very well for Katharine and Arsinoe and Mirabella. They all face so many awful things in this book. And I loved reading every moment of it. Eee. I must say that my favorite character this time was Arsinoe. She's stronger and braver too. So kind and gentle as well. There is also a bear. And it's the most amazing thing. And so cute. And I'm a bit bitter about one scene. Hmph. But I'm dealing with it, lol. The bear was awesome to know.

And I just adored reading about Arsinoe in this book. At first I was a bit unsure, as I didn't like that she and Jules were arguing a little. But that passed. And they are the best of friends. But yeah. Arsinoe is awesome. And Billy is stunning in this one too. I love how their friendship is turning into something more. The most adorable thing to read about. Still wishing for more kisses, haha. But lovely romance. And I just love reading about them together. How they argue and tease and are just awesome friends. So adorable.

And oh, Jules. She's still the most precious to me. But I did miss her a bit in this one. I wish there had been even more about her. But gosh, what there is about her is so perfect. So much new happens with her and I am beyond curious about all of it. It's a bit scary, yet thrilling too. And oh, her relationship with Joseph. I'm still so mad about this boy because of what happened in book one. And Jules is too. But she loves him. And he loves her. And there is more about them in this one. Complicated, but I'm happy with it.

I actually liked Mirabella a lot more in this sequel. I was afraid that I wouldn't like her at all. But I did. She isn't rude and she isn't cruel. Okay, fine, she's a bit awful in the beginning. But I can forgive that. I do think I like this girl a lot. Not too much, just enough. Her friendship with Bree and Elizabeth is still stunning. And I love how she and Billy becomes friends too. Mostly I love that she isn't with Joseph at all, haha. But ah. I really do wish that Mirabella will find someone else to love, maybe. I'm curious to know more about her.

Then there is my precious Katharine. I loved her so in book one. And I still love her tons. But gosh. Kat is so changed in this one. After what happened to her at the end of the previous book, I can't really blame her. But it was such a brutal change. The soft and kind Kat is gone. And she is horrible in this book. So so terrifying, to be honest. I liked it at times. But most of the time I wanted to murder her. Hmph. But I still have hope for my Kat. I think she can get better. Maybe. I hope so. I want the best for her. Ack. Nervous.

There are so many characters in this story. I can't begin to mention all of them. So I'm not going to. But I will talk about Natalia a little bit. She is the foster mother of Kat, and she's pretty amazing. And yet totally scary and fierce. She's in this book a lot, and I loved that. There is also Jules's mother. I cannot decide what I really feel about her. She's kind of awful, to be honest, haha. Yet I can't help but feel that I like her a little bit too. But maybe not too much, after learning some of the things that she has done lately. Hmph.

So much happens in this precious sequel. There is a lot of death. There is a lot of poison. A lot of hurt people. There is a big hunt, which broke my heart, yet was so amazing to read about. There are a lot of battles between the three queens. Where they try to kill each other. And oh, I don't want any of them to die. But I fear that it will happen. How rude. I want them all to live. Ahh. There was one small thing that bothered me; how Kat treated Pietyr. I don't like jealousy and such. Hmph. But it passes. Well, I hope so.

There is so much more that I could say about this book. But I'm not going to say much more now. Already said much more than I had planned. I just loved this book oh so much. And I'm thrilled that I got to read it early. Thank you so much to the publisher for the auto-approval on Edelweiss. Eee. One Dark Throne is a bloody sequel. It's a dangerous yet fun story. The three queens are amazing. This book was everything I wanted it to be. Despite all the death and all the rudeness. You must read it when you can. So stunning.

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