Are you looking for the perfect Three Dark Crowns series order? We’ll list all of the books and tell you the two ways you can read this epic series.
Three Dark Crowns is a fantasy series written by Kendare Blake. The story follows Katherine, Arsinoe, and Mirabella as they compete to ascend as the next Queen of Fennbirn after their mother’s demise.
It is a young adult fantasy story that dissects familial bonds and tricky relationships. In addition to the complex family themes, there is also romance within Three Dark Crowns. If you love YA fantasy then you will for sure want to read this series.
#1 Three Dark Crowns Series Order by Publication
But let’s finally dive into the Three Dark Crowns books.
There are two ways you can approach the Three Dark Crowns series order. The first way to read the books is in order of publication. If you are new to the series, this is the recommended way to read the books for the first time.
If you need further convincing, the author Kendare Blake recommends reading the Three Dark Crowns series in this order.
The series is composed of four full-length novels and two prequel novellas, which were then republished as a bind-up. The novellas and bind-up are clearly marked in the list below. If you chose to read The Young Queens and The Oracle Queen then you have already read the material found within Queen of Fennbirn; likewise, if you read the bind-up, you don’t need to read the individual novella editions.
- Three Dark Crowns (2016)
- One Dark Throne (2017)
- The Young Queens (2017) (Novella)
- The Oracle Queen (2018) (Novella)
- Queens of Fennbirn (2018) (Novella Bind-up)
- Two Dark Reigns (2018)
- Five Dark Fates (2019)
#2 Three Dark Crowns Series in Chronological Order
The other way to approach the Three Dark Crowns series order is chronologically. If you are already a fan of Three Dark Crowns and are wanting to do a re-read, this would be an interesting way to experience the series.
This reading order puts the novellas at the start of the list as they are prequels to the events within the main timeline of the Three Dark Crowns series.
Again, if you read The Young Queens and The Oracle Queen then you don’t need to pick up Queens of Fennbirn. That is unless you are the type of fan who needs all of Kendare Blake’s publications for your collection. But the material found within the bind-up is the same as the individual novella editions.
- The Oracle Queen (Novella)
- The Young Queens (Novella)
- Queens of Fennbirn (Novella Bind-up)
- Three Dark Crowns
- One Dark Throne
- Two Dark Reigns
- Five Dark Fates
Is There a Three Dark Crowns Movie?
While the rights to Three Dark Crowns were acquired by Fox in 2017, there still has not been a film released. Fox’s plans were for a feature film, but information since the announcement has been sparse.
About the Three Dark Crowns Series
Three Dark Crowns was initially published in 2016 and the final installment in the series was published in 2019.
The series follows the lives of a set of triplet girls who were born heirs to the throne of Fennbirn. All have equal right to claim the throne, but only one can claim the Crown and ascend.
To make matter more complicated, on the island of Fennbirn, the three queens also all possess a form of magic.
Mirabella can control the elements and is able to spark flames or ignite storms with a snap of her fingers. Her sister, Katharine, is a poisoner who can ingest the deadliest of poisons without flinching. Meanwhile, the third sister, Arsinoe, is a naturalist and is rumored to have the ability to control plants and animals.
The series recounts the battle between these three sisters as they fight for the crown and fight to the death to discover who will be the last queen standing.
Who is Kendare Blake?
Kendare Blake is the author of the Three Dark Crowns series as well as several other novels, such as the Anna Dressed in Blood duology and the Goddess War trilogy. She writes within the fantasy and horror genres and describes her writing as dark and always violent. Blake is a New York Times bestselling author.
Her books have been translated into more than 20 languages.
Summary of Three Dark Crown Series Order
If you’re looking for an epic, addictive series to read, Three Dark Crowns is a great option. It is a dramatic story of magic, betrayal, and love within a captivating fantasy setting. Continue reading to find out more about each installment in the series.
1. Three Dark Crowns
When kingdom come, there will be one.
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 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.
2. One Dark Throne
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 favor 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 a danger she can’t seem to prevent.
0.1 & 0.2 Queens of Fennbirn
Both of the below prequels are available in this paperback bind-up. Allowing you to explore the sisters’s origins, dig deep into the calamity of the Oracle Queen’s reign, and uncover layers of Fennbirn’s past that have been hidden up to now.
0.1 The Oracle Queen
Triplet queens born on the island of Fennbirn can be many things: Elementals. Poisoners. Naturalists.
If an oracle queen is born, however, one with the gift of sight, she’s immediately drowned, extinguishing her chance at ever taking the throne.
But that’s not how it always was. This cautionary practice started long ago, with Queen Elsabet – the legendary, and last, oracle queen – whose reign was tinged with blood and horror.
Paranoid, ruthless, and utterly mad, Elsabet’s mistrust led to the senseless slaying of three entire houses of innocent people. At least, that’s the unchallenged tale carried down from generation to generation. But what really happened?
Discover the true story behind the queen who, though born with the gift of sight, could not foresee her swift and sudden fall from power…until it was too late.
0.2 The Young Queens
Three black witches are born to a descending queen. One would rise to become queen in her place.
Perhaps the strongest of the three. Perhaps the cleverest. Or perhaps it would be the girl born under the best shield of luck.
Katharine, Arsinoe, and Mirabella are three young queens born to fulfil their destiny. They will fight to the death to win the crown. But before they were poisoner, elemental, and naturalist – they were children, sisters, and friends.
3. Two Dark Reigns
Queen Katharine has waited her entire life to wear the crown. But now that she finally has it, the murmurs of dissent grow louder by the day. There’s also the alarming issue of whether or not her sisters are actually dead – or if they’re waiting in the wings to usurp the throne.
In fact, Mirabella and Arsinoe are alive, but in hiding on the mainland and dealing with a nightmare of their own. They are being visited repeatedly by a specter they think might be the fabled Blue Queen. Though she says nothing, her rotting, bony finger pointing out to sea is clear enough: Return to Fennbirn.
Jules, too, is in a strange place – in disguise. And her only confidants, a war-gifted girl named Emilia and her oracle friend Mathilde, are urging her to take on a role she can’t imagine filling: A legion-cursed queen who will lead a rebel army to Katharine’s doorstep.
This is an uprising that the mysterious Blue Queen may have more to do with than anyone could have guessed – or expected.
4. Five Dark Fates
After the grim confrontation with Queen Katharine, the rebellion lies in tatters. Jules’s legion curse has been unbound, and it is up to Arsinoe to find a cure, even as the responsibility of stopping the ravaging mist lies heavy on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone. Mirabella has disappeared.
Katharine’s reign remains intact – for now. When Mirabella arrives, seemingly under a banner of truce, Katharine begins to yearn for the closeness that Mirabella and Arsinoe share. But as the two circle each other, the dead queens hiss caution – Mirabella is not to be trusted.
In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn’s history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested.
But the fate of the island lies in the hands of its queens. It always has.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a fan of young adult fantasy romance, you will for sure want to pick up the Three Dark Crowns series. It is a riveting tale filled with magic and emotion as three sisters battle for the throne and overcome their own personal battles.
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Check out this list of The Cruel Prince series in order.