The Oracle Queen: A Three Dark Crowns novella

Three Dark Crowns #0.1

by Kendare Blake

A short story from Kendare Blake's bestselling Three Dark Crowns universe, The Oracle Queen tells the story of the last queen born with the gift of sight. . .

Historically, baby queens born with the sight gift were drowned. This had been the practice for hundreds of years, so long that few were even born anymore, as if the Goddess knew it would be a waste. It is a harsh sentence, but necessary, for it is well-known that in a queen the sight gift will run strong. Strong enough to drive her mad.This is the tale the last sight gift queen to be allowed to live. She was overcome by paranoia and false visions, driven past the brink by the phantom thoughts of others in her head, so she set upon the capital with bloody ruin, murdering whole houses, whole family lines without trial. Or at least, that is how the tale is told. This is her story.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Novella, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Romance, High Fantasy

89 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2018

About the author

So, I write books. The Anna Dressed in Blood duo is horror, The Goddess War trilogy is mythology, and Three Dark Crowns is fantasy, because the world don't move to the beat of just one drum. What might be right for you, may not be right for some. Love to read, too. Fiction, philosophy, good books, bad books, because you take the good you take the bad you take them both and there you have a stack of books and stuff. I mean, you've got to be adventurous. There's more to life that what you're living, so take a chance and face the wind.

There's more coming soon like ALL THESE BODIES and a new fantasy series, so don't waste another minute on your cryin. We're nowhere near the end.

My likes include animals, food, and nostalgia. I mean, whatever happened to predictability? The milkman, the paperboy, the evening TV? Used to be everywhere you look, there's a heart, a hand to hold on to.

Anyway, I love to hear from readers so drop me a line here or at my website and we'll talk about friends to know, and ways to grow, and how if you threw a party you would see that the biggest gift would be from me and the card attached would say, thank you for being a friend.

We can also talk about all the sitcom theme songs in this bio. Sha la la la.

Reviews

[Jaidee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 "was she mad crazy or just mad angry ?" stars !!

Ok the 15 year old girl in me insisted that I read this. I really enjoyed Three Dark Crowns by the same author and I am pumped to move forward in the series but first I decided to take a step back and read this prequel by 500 years !!

Queen Elsabet was the last Oracle Queen and the legend was that she was stark raving mad and murderous! How did this come to be and is this why every Oracle princess is now drowned ?!?
What part do the Elementals, Poisoners and War Gift Houses have to do with this ??

Once again I really enjoyed this novella and the royal intrigues, betrayals and love affairs. This book was not quite as excellent as Three Dark Crowns but still very good and enjoyable.

My fifteen year old inner self is sated for the time being and I can go back to reading my adult fictions !!

[Sheila G · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my FULL review of this book on my blog along with others at: shesgoingbookcrazy.com



Out today!

“Was it not also me who warned you that a queen is only as good as her advisers?” “Yes.” She crooked her mouth at him. “But you were wrong. That may be true of other queens, but an oracle queen is only as good as her gift.”

I've been anticipating this novella for quite. The Oracle Queen, mentioned several times throughout the Three Dark Crowns series, has remained an aloof point of intrigue. So, I dove into this story, devouring each page, and looking for...something more than I found.

Politics have always played a big role in this series--and the politics are often muddied with deceit and corruption. 500 years earlier...nothing has changed. While there are five abilities represented instead of the three prominent abilities between Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katherine, there is all-the-more treachery at work between the groups. While I expected this aspect to play a role in this story as well, I was also hoping for more of a fantasy element to be at work as well. Honestly, I felt a bit let down with the way everything panned out, and the truth is revealed behind Queen Elsabet's story.

Despite that fact, the interworkings between the different groups were interesting to see. There was a lot more openness between the groups in terms of friendships and working together. Elsabet, a Sight-gifted queen was close friends with the War-gifted Rosemund. Whereas, 500 years later, friendships between people of different gifts was taboo.

Handsome, they called her. She was a queen of presence, they said. She hoped it was true. With such a homely face, it was all she could aspire to.

Queen Elsabet wasn't what I was expecting. Although, I'm not really sure what I was expecting. While she was a queen, and a young one at that, she was constantly worried about her vanity--to the point of paranoia. This was her weakest quality that guided her to not always make the best decisions.

While this was a decent short story, I was just hoping for it to have more to it. The way everything happened was much more predictable than I had expected.

Vulgarity: None.
Sexual content: There are references, but nothing in detail.
Violence: Minimal.

My Rating: ★★★

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[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so happy that I finally found time to read this!! It was better than I expected it would be.

The Oracle Queen didn't really satisfy all my questions that I had about the Oracle Queen. We've heard so much about this crazy queen so I was intrigued to find out more about her. It was definitely interesting to see how different everything was back then. Especially with how it is with the girls now.

Then there's Queen Elsabet.. who was interesting to say the least. Poor girl was a very young queen but then again, I feel like it's always been that way in this world. Besides that, she was constantly paranoid that I felt so bad for her. It was definitely a weak point for her because she made so many bad decisions. It kind of reminded me of where I'm at in this series.. almost at the end of the series - here I come book 4!

Overall, I liked it but I think it was missing something. No idea what that would be but that's all I got.

[Ameya Warde · Rating 5 out of 5]

POOR ORACLE QUEEN.
Eff the Arrons across time and space.
That is all.

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 Stars.



SO, THAT'S IT?
THE BAD GUYS WON?
THE QUEEN LOST?
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

[Ali Mohebianfar · Rating 4 out of 5]

داستان السابت، آخرین ملکه پیشگوی فنبرن که از نزدیک ترین افراد خود خیانت دید...

سه تاج شوم همیشه یکی از مجموعه‌های فانتزی موردعلاقه من بوده، هست و خواهد بود. توی این داستان کوتاه، گریزی به زندگی یکی از معروف ترین ملکه های فنبرن، آخرین ملکه پیشگو یا همون ملکه دیوانه می زنیم.
شخصیت السابت اونقدر جذاب بود که دلم می خواست به جای یه داستان کوتاه، یه رمان طولانی ازش می خوندم.
کندرا بلیک با همین داستان کوتاه هم تونست منو یه بار دیگه شیفته خودش کنه و البته که بازم قلبم رو بشکنه!
و آرون ها بار دیگه ثابت کردن که چه افعی های زهرآگینی هستن... لعنت بهت فرانچسکا!

پ. ن: پادشاهِ همسر چه گهی بود😒

[Michaela's Archive · Rating 4 out of 5]

“No Sight, no sound, no fault was found, no treason to be had.
Yet every one would die that day for Elsabet the mad.”

I must say I am pleasantly surprised. It's not necessary to read this novella to understand the main story, but it's a nice addition. Queen Elsabet was such an interesting character to read about. It also reminded me how everyone can be deceived and it's not always the truth that is being told. To be honest, I would rather have 4 books about Queen Elsabet.

[Rissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The oracle queen 3.5⭐️

I really enjoyed seeing before the princess came to power when they were itey bitey and watching the oracle and how she ruled. Shes a very off with their heads ask questions later which I really enjoyed.

[jagodasbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

what a bitch, she really said imma steal your husband, your brother and your kingdom, poisoning you slowly and making everybody for millenia think you went mad

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate the Arron's.

[Rya Marrelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good back story on some of the historical elements of the Three Dark Crowns saga but WOW am I SO mad at some of these characters. A testament to good writing, in my books (excuse the pun).

[Arielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well....shit.

[Amber Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so sad. I was so mad for most of it. I loved it though. I understand more about this universe now.

[Athena (OneReadingNurse) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so sad and brutal, definitely not to be missed as part of the Three Dark Crowns world

What it really does is show exactly how terrible the Arrons and black council were, and to some degree still are.

What really led to the events that dubbed all future oracle queens mad?? You'll have to read to find out 😭

[✰ Liz ✰]

ON DECK~ I have heard so many amazing things! I cannot wait to dive in!!!!


For more reviews/reveals/giveaways visit:

[catherine ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Something about the writing and the characters in this series are just so difficult to get into for me, it's like they do all the world-building and just plop characters into it.

[Ilona · Rating 3 out of 5]

That ending though 0.o I am shooketh

[Dani N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gah, I love this series! I was hoping the novellas would tide me over, but I need Two Dark Reigns <3 The Oracle Queen offers a fascinating backstory and finally provides us with the full truth behind why queens born with the gift of sight have been drowned instead of being allowed to rule for the last 100+ years. A fun, fast read and worthy addition to the series.

[anabel ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ · Rating 1 out of 5]

⋆˚࿔ annie’s reading diary ep. 12 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
⟢ the oracle queen (three dark crowns .01
⟢ dark fantasy
⟢ 1.75 ⭐️

˚₊‧꒰ა ꣑ৎ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

BORING DAFUQ? bro i fell ASLEEP while reading this 😭😭 thank god i didn’t spend my money on book 1 😖

i will say though that some moments in this novella were so BADASS that i needed to add the .75 out of solidarity 🫡

[Nancy The book junkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5

Review to come!

[Kayla (onthefritz) · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO MANY FEELINGS!

This novella was freaking awesome. If you enjoy the TDC series, you will surely enjoy this one.

This is the true story of the infamous Oracle Queen, who foresaw visions of an usurping and killed three houses of Fennbirn. - or so, that is what we are told...

I loved this so much. Any backstory, rumored or true, I just eat up. The lore of the Queens past and the island are my favorite part of this series. I hope we get more novellas like this about past queens, or past events that are now told as stories to the children of Fennbirn.

[Nadhira Satria]

OMGOMGFOMOFGMO

[Joana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love anything that has to do with this world!

[helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW!!!!!!! WHAT A BOOK, PEOPLE
What. a. book.
Gotta be honest with you guys: I thought this one would turn out to be really boring for me, because it wasn’t about our three beloved triplets. But I was excited to read anyway.
Boy... how wrong I was.
Here we get to know some new and very interesting characters, that lived when Queen Elsabet reigned, 500 years in the past. And it’s... incredible. I just love this story. Get ready to love and hate people that lived haft a millennium on the Three Dark Crowns series’ past.
I love you, Kendare Blake. Just... thank you for this.

Ps: It’s probably going to break your heart. Life isn’t fair. And honestly, the Arrons can choke.

[Shelby Wyllie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kendare Blake is a lovely writer and I absolutely will read anything in the Three Dark Crowns universe. While this prequel was extremely fascinating and offered great insight into the history of world she created, it had my LEAST favorite trope which is essentially “gaslighting.” I totally see how it was necessary for the story to show how cruel the characters were, but it also caused me a lot of anxiety to read about a character who is being gaslighted or made to seem “mad.”

[Nicole ✨Reading Engineer✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review in review for Queens of Fennbrin

[Claudia Torkan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*
The best one yet.

[Sérgio A. A. N. Lopes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gostei bastante desta short story, apesar de a achar um pouco irrelevante para o panorama geral da história da Arsinoe, da Maribella e da Katharine.
Serve mais de um bónus trivial, na minha opinião.

Já tínhamos lido acerca da rainha Elsabet, ou Oracle Queen, e ter sido ela a causa de ser agora proibida uma rainha com sight gift. Diziam-na louca e perigosa, mas descobrimos, agora, que a realidade não foi bem assim.
O pouco que a autora nos mostrou da vida desta rainha, é triste e, muitas das vezes, frustrante. A prova que nem sempre são os bons que ganham.

[Sari · Rating 4 out of 5]

this one was so freaking sad

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

really good! so short but I was so sad at the end