**Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan Australia for sending me an eARC in return for an honest review. 
 Full 3 stars!!! 
 I guess what really drew me to this book was the blurb and the cover (it is so gorgeous). The story revolves around 3 sisters who are queens. Katherine who is a poisoner. She has to be able to ingest poisons without falling ill. Mirabella is an elementalist; she controls fire and other elements. Arsinoe is a naturalist ie. she can communicate with plants and animals. Out of these three, only one sister will ascend the throne by killing the other two. Each queen is groomed by a certain family. So, this first book mainly focuses on how each of them in coming into their power and we see interactions between them and their various guardians. 
 The world that Kendra Blake builds is a truly fascinating one. The magic system is quite complex and multi layered. I was grateful for the fact that there was no info-dumping. The story is deliciously dark but not overly scary. Each queen has some qualities which are endearing and I found myself rooting for one or the other at various points. Out of three sisters, I preferred Arsinoe the most, but I did feel her parts were very lacking. The author seemed to focus more on Jules, her guardian and friend. The story was way too centered on Jules' relationship with Joseph. Jules was pretty irritating. I found her to be quite selfish and lazy. I honestly felt Arsinoe was overlooked and we get to know more of her towards the end of the book. 
 Katherine was the next best character. I really felt that her character was portrayed well and I definitely saw a progression in her personality over the course of the book. She definitely has a vulnerable side and was quite likeable in some instances. Of all three sisters, she has to really show strength and at times I felt sorry for the amount of pressure put on her. I also liked learning about the Arron family. Mirabella, on the other hand, was the weakest of the sisters. All we gather is that she is the prettiest and I really didn't like what happened in the middle of the story regarding her. I felt the plot twist was just forced upon the reader and was used to create friction among the sisters. Her character went down in my eyes after that. 
 The book doesn't have much of romance except between Jules and Joseph along with the courtship of the queens with the king-consorts. The story is more about politics, betrayal, deception and manipulation. I found that particularly interesting. However, this novel suffered from major pacing issues. I didn't mind that the story was told in third person but it was so achingly slow. Three quarters of the book just goes on about how the queens are preparing for the Beltane Festival (where they meet the consorts). It is only towards the end do we actually see some action take place. By then, I just wanted to finish the book. 
 Overall, the story has loads of potential. I think this was a good start to the series. I am hoping book 2 picks up the pace a bit. The revelations at the end were mind blowing and I can't wait to see what's in store for the characters. I would recommend this book to lovers of YA fantasy. Just be prepared to push yourself to finish the story. It is worth it. :)