Welcome to Swoony Boys Podcast! This is our stop on the Three Dark Crowns Tour hosted by The Irish Banana . We have an awesome character interview and giveaway to share with you today and we can’t wait for you to get to know more about this book, its characters and author, Kendare Blake! Are you ready to go?
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Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake Also by this author: Slasher Girls and Monster Boys
Series: Three Dark Crowns #11
Published by HarperCollins, HarperTeen on September 20th, 2016
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 416
Goodreads Buy the Book
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 spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.
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.
If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest.
***Character Interview***
Today we’re sitting down with Mirabella, Katharine and Arsinoe from Three Dark Crowns. Welcome to Swoony Boys Podcast, queen! You are actually our first queens and that’s got us a little nervous. But we can’t wait for our readers to get to know you all a little better. Ready to get started? Here we go…
Mirabella: Because I was born to be. I am the strongest. The Chosen Queen, groomed my whole life to rule.
Katharine: Poisoners like me have sat the throne for the last three generations. My guardians say that it is a dynasty. Meant to be. And I would care well for my people. I have very good advisors.
Arsinoe: *shrugs* Because if I’m not the queen then I’m dead. And I would rather they *points discreetly to her sisters* be dead instead.
Mirabella: I love to call the storms. I love to run along the cliff edge of Shannon’s Blackway near my home and watch the lightning strike the sea. But I embrace every aspect of my gift…though perhaps I do wish that water was less obstinate.
Arsinoe: Icksnay on the Eeckretsay. They can hear us. They’re standing right there.
Katharine: I undergo poison training every day to encourage my gift to rise. To strengthen me in other ways. No queen raised by the Arrons is weak.
Katharine: I would keep my own. There is no more noble gift than to be a poisoner.
Mirabella: I would keep my own.
Arsinoe: I would keep my own. Or I would be a warrior. The war gift is really something. To be able to fight like that, and to move things with your mind…
Mirabella: The war gift has weakened. They cannot move things with their minds anymore.
Arsinoe: Don’t listen to her. She doesn’t know anything about it.
Mirabella: The suitors will always be welcome. Our relations with the mainland are sacred. One of those boys will become the island’s next king-consort.
Katharine: The relationship between the island and the mainland IS sacred. And the suitors must be treated very well. But boys do have a way of becoming distractions. Delightful distractions.
Arsinoe: They won’t affect the fight at all. I doubt if I will even see them.
Mirabella: Arsinoe is gruff, wild, and loyal. Little Kat is sweet, giggling and full of mischief.
Katharine: I do not remember them at all.
Arsinoe: I don’t remember them either, but I know what I’ve heard. Mirabella is haughty, proud and farts cyclones in her sleep. Katharine is sickly and timid. Not much to look at.
Arsinoe: Just make sure they don’t try anything on the way out. We’re supposed to be untouchable until after the Quickening Ceremony. But they’re not above cheating.
***Meet Kendare Blake***
Kendare Blake is the author of several novels and short stories, most of which you can find information about via the links above. Her work is sort of dark, always violent, and features passages describing food from when she writes while hungry. She was born in July (for those of you doing book reports) in Seoul, South Korea, but doesn’t speak a lick of Korean, as she was packed off at a very early age to her adoptive parents in the United States. That might be just an excuse, though, as she is pretty bad at learning foreign languages. She enjoys the work of Milan Kundera, Caitlin R Kiernan, Bret Easton Ellis, Richard Linklater, and the late, great Michael Jackson, I mean, come on, he gave us Thriller.
She lives and writes in Kent, Washington, with her husband, their two cat sons (Tybalt and Tyrion Cattister) and their red Doberman dog son, Obi Dog Kenobi.
***GIVEAWAY***
Open to US residents only
Good luck and happy swooning!
Check out the other stops on the tour by below:
- 9/12: The Irish Banana Review – Review
- 9/13: Reflections by Lili – Review
- 9/14: The Bookkeeper’s Secret – Q&A
- 9/15: Pandora’s Books – Review
- 9/16: Princessica of Books – Q&A
- 9/19: No BS Book Reviews – Review
- 9/20: In Love with Handmade – Bookish Inspired Cupcakes
- 9/21: My Friends Are Fiction – Guest Post
- 9/22: Swoony Boys Podcast – Character Interview
- 9/23: Arctic Books – Review
This book sounds so dark and dastardly, I cannot wait to read.
I’m so excited for this book! Also I loved the interview you had with the three sisters. I always think character interviews are so fun.
Family vs family?! That sounds awesome!
That is a great character interview, we got to know more about the sisters. Can not wait to read this book!