REVIEW: One Dark Throne

One Dark Throne

by Kendare Blake

Pages: 464

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: September 19th 2017

Received From: HarperTeen

The battle for the crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail? 

With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favour without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before - ones that put those around her in danger that she can’t seem to prevent.

When I read Three Dark Crowns I think I gushed about it for about a month! The world in which Kendare Blake creates pulls you in and the story keeps you on tender hooks until last page is closed... and I have to say One Dark Throne is no different! I was so excited to get a copy of this and I read it within a couple of days. The three Queens are just as kick ass and awesome as I remembered and the story just kept getting better and better. 

One Dark Throne picks up where Three Dark Crowns finished, with the three queens, Katherine, Mirabella and Arsinoe about to start their Ascension Year. The purpose of this year is for the Queens to kill each other until only one is left to rule over Fennbirn and after the events of the The Quickening it is set to be a very exciting and dangerous year indeed. With the hurt of Arsinoe's betrayal still hanging heavy in Mirabella's heart, with Katherine's sudden strength and Arsinoe's new found ability no one knows quite where they stand. But when the poisoned gifts arrive and the festivities begin only one thing is certain... no one is safe from the three deadly Queen's as they fight for the throne and for their lives.

This is one of those reviews where I keep it all quite vague as I don't want to give anything away. I love YA fiction but with it such a huge genre it can mean the stories become a bit predictable. However, One Dark Throne had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish, I didn't know what was coming next or how the story would unfold. If I'm honest I didn't know how Kendare was going to keep up the pace after Three Dark Crowns but holy moly on toast she did it! I couldn't put this book down, I NEEDED to know what was going to happen to the characters that have well and truly made their way into my heart and I must say I was not disappointed! 

When reviewing the first installment I wrote, "All three queens have their moments where they could do with a slap," and this book was no different! Kendare creates these characters that will have you wanting to give them a good shake and yet, by the end of the book you want to wrap them up in your arms and tell them everything is going to be okay. I found that with this book more than the last this was the case and I went on an emotional roller-coaster within the covers of One Dark Throne. 

Overall One Dark Throne is fast paced, unpredictable, exciting, heartbreaking and everything I hoped it would be. For those of you that adored Three Dark Crowns as much as I did you will fall in love with this book in less time than it takes you to make a cup of tea. The island of Fennbirn takes no prisoners and this book will leave you begging for more! If there is only one book you read this month can I recommend that it be this one... you wont regret it. 

**I received this book as an ARC from HarperTeen to read & review. This is a 100% honest review.**

SBPT: Kim @ Dreaming In Libraries

It's that time of the week again! Todays epic blogger is Kim from Dreaming in Libraries. She's a German blogger who I have to say I'm a little in love with, she's made this tour for me and a friend for life (she has no choice in this).
Being from Germany we thought up a cool post idea where she compares German and UK book covers. I've never understood why the publishers change the covers but it would seem that the German ones do appeal more to Kim and the UK ones more to me. So enjoy the post and let us know what you think of the covers.

Kim is a book-obsessed girl from Germany studying Physics of Earth. When not struggling with mathematic formulas, she’s busy fangirling over her latest favorite book. She loves to do everything concerning books: reading, blogging, writing, making bookish pendants,… Kim started her book blog “Dreaming in Libraries” in 2014 and thereby discovered a new hobby. You can find her blog at dreaminginlibraries.blogspot.com and she’s more than happy to talk to you on Twitter (@DreamingLibrary)!

English Covers vs. German covers

with Kim

Hey Everyone!

I’m Kim blogging over at Dreaming in Libraries!

So for this guest post Mily asked me to do something very fun: comparing English covers to German covers. If you’ve ever wondered whether English books translated into German would end up with the same covers, the answer would be: most unlikely! German publishing houses almost always don’t only change the title of the book; they create a complete new cover, too.

I’ve thought of ten covers from my book shelves to show you the differences between their original covers and the German ones.

Here we go alphabetically:

    

After by Anna Todd

I think I prefer the German version of “After”, especially if you have a look at the following books in that series. You probably won’t see it in the picture very well, but the black font is shiny and haptic as is the flowery thing. The rest of the book cover is matt.

    

Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky

These covers really don’t look similar AT ALL! If it weren’t for the name of the author on it, you couldn’t tell it was ONE book. I do like both covers very much. Since I own the German version, I’d probably tend to like that one more, but the English cover is pretty cool, too.

    

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

Both covers are very different and yet so similar… I can’t tell you why, but I’m not the hugest fan of either of those covers. I think it’s because of the drawing, though. Both covers contain a drawing of Harry Potter and I don’t like either of them.

   

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Again, I can’t really tell you which one I like better. Both covers are quite different. Yet I’d probably again prefer the German cover, because it fits the story a bit better. 

    

Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

I love both covers of this book very much! Both of them are unique in their own ways and I think they are gorgeous. At last covers without people on it ;-)!

    

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

As for this series I definitely prefer the German covers! They are shiny and I just like the design in general.  I think the model looks a bit freaky on the English cover.

    

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

I love the German covers – as a whole, the trilogy looks gorgeous on my book shelf. I don’t really know why the English cover doesn’t speak to me, but I probably wouldn't have picked up the book, if I had only seen the English copy in my bookstore.

    

Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens

So, the content of those two covers is pretty similar and yet they are completely different. To be honest, I don’t like the English cover at all and I’m very happy that I have the beautiful German covers on my shelf :-)!

  

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

There are two different German covers for one of my favorite series ever. Unfortunately the hardcover version isn’t beautiful at all! Maybe the publishing house realized that too, because in fall they’re publishing all books of that series as a much prettier paperback version again and they won’t continue with the original hardcovers. Also, I’m glad they stuck to the English cover this time, because I like that one really much.

    

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

Another series by Josephine Angelini and again, I prefer the German cover! I think that one is just stunning and it fits the story so well! Nonetheless the English cover looks amazing, as well, so I’d totally buy that copy, too.

What do you think about those different covers?

In case you wondered: books translated from German into English have different covers, too. I chose two series for you to compare:

Tintenherz (or Inkheart) by Cornelia Funke

and

Rubinrot (or Ruby Red) by Kerstin Gier

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Yours, Kim

Book Looks

GET THE BOOK LOOK

Last week I read the entire Something Strange and Deadly series by Susan Dennard and I loved them. If you haven't had the chance to check out my reviews for the series I'll link it through at the bottom of the post. 

So these are my book looks inspired by the covers of each Strange and Deadly book. 

Something Strange and Deadly by emily-bradley-dorman featuring crystal jewelry

A Darkness Strange and Lovely by emily-bradley-dorman featuring black lace gloves

Strange and Ever After by emily-bradley-dorman featuring Rupert Sanderson


My Reviews

  

So lovelies those are my Book Looks for this series. For all my other Cover Looks check out my tumblr Get The Book Look

Friday Finds #7

Friday Finds is a weekly post the tells you lovelies about some of the books I've found this week. Whether it be an ARC, a classic or anything in between; these are books I've discovered over the past 7 days.

My Last Kiss
by Bethany Neal

Cassidy Haines remembers her first kiss vividly. It was on the old covered bridge the summer before her freshman year with her boyfriend of three years, Ethan Keys. But her last kiss--the one she shared with someone at her seventeenth birthday party the night she died--is a blur. Cassidy is trapped in the living world, not only mourning the loss of her human body, but left with the grim suspicion that her untimely death wasn't a suicide as everyone assumes. She can't remember anything from the weeks leading up to her birthday and she's worried that she may have betrayed her boyfriend. 
If Cassidy is to uncover the truth about that fateful night and make amends with the only boy she'll ever love, she must face her past and all the decisions she made--good and bad--that led to her last kiss.
Bethany Neal's suspenseful debut novel is about the power of first love and the haunting lies that threaten to tear it apart

Illusions of Fate
by Kiersten White

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.

Atlantia
by Ally Condie

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden—she has nothing left to lose.
Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.

Ghostwritten
by Isobel Wolff

A childhood mistake. A lifetime of regrets.
Jenni is a ‘ghost’: she writes the lives of other people. It’s a job that suits her well: still haunted by a childhood tragedy, she finds it easier to take refuge in the memories of others rather than dwell on her own.
Jenni has an exciting new commission, and is delighted to start working on the memoirs of a Dutchwoman, Klara. As a child in the Second World War, Klara was interned in a camp on Java during the Japanese occupation – she has an extraordinary story of survival to tell.
But as Jenni and Klara begin to get to know each other, Jenni begins to do much more than shed light on a neglected part of history. She is being forced to examine her own devastating memories, too. But with Klara’s help, perhaps this is finally the moment where she will be able to lay the ghosts of her own past to rest?
Gripping, poignant and beautifully researched, Ghostwritten is a story of survival and love, of memory and hope.

Thoughts

From pretty covers to inspirational authors to epic story lines. This week I managed to discover a whole hoard of books I need to get my hands on and this is why... 

Firstly there's My Last Kiss which sounds right up my street. I've only heard good things about this from all my blogging buddies and I can't wait for it to finally hit the shelves so I can get my hands on a copy. Also, just look at the cover!! 

Then we have Illusions of Fate which looks AMAZING! I saw this on someones Waiting on Wednesday post and it instantly got added to my TBR list. It also doesn't hurt that it sounds like it has a pretty exciting book boyfriend for us all to fall in love with.

Next is Ally Condie's new book and I don't know about you but I've been dying for something Condie since Reached came out! This is exciting. Breathe! 

Lastly we have Ghostwritten by Isabel Wolff. Now I adore this woman, and her book A Vintage Affair is one of my all time favourites. I discovered this when noseying around Reviewed The Book's blog and I NEED to read this. Like... NOW! 

What did you find this week?