Initial Impressions 9/7/16: Well, I am VERY unhappy. I found out that this is a series... by finishing the book. As in, I finished and it didn't end. (I think the series info was updated WHILE I was reading because I swear it wasn't there before...) 
 Then to top it off, the best part of the whole book was literally the last sentence. 
 Okay, let's rewind. I was SUPER excited for THREE DARK CROWNS. I mean, it's dark. There are three queens. They're badass. Sounds amazing -- so I had super high hopes for it. I was interested in the beginning. The book alternates view points between the three sister queens -- not an alternating POV first person but a third person narrative that shifts perspectives. I always like this because it's not as jarring as an actual first person POV switch in many ways! The book felt very different. I had a dark, eerie sort of quality that made for a really great atmosphere. Like if you were watching it as a movie, it would be all darky and inky and misty. That atmosphere really carried throughout so that was lovely. 
 Basically at about halfway through the book, I was frustrated that not enough was happening. I guess finding out that it's a series makes a little more sense BUT there are still books that are parts of a series that have plenty of things going on. I just got a little bored and there just wasn't as much as I had hoped. The plot is pretty sinister - the queens are supposed to kill each other off and the "winner" is the reigning queen - but it really wasn't as dark as I had hoped. (Are my hopes for darkness in books too high nowadays? This isn't the first time I've felt this in the last month or so.) Maybe I just went in expecting too much. 
 The story also just didn't quite feel exciting. The sisters are separate so there's not much crossover with their story and once they do meet, things seem to bob around and not really flow. I almost felt like I was missing chapters the way things jumped around. The romances felt really rushed, unfinished, and one was plain unnecessary (in this book) and I just didn't like it at all. The characters were also very hard to keep track of, with each girl having maids and priestesses and aunts and mothers and townspeople... it was just a LOT of names and with some people people so similar, it was hard to remember the name with the proper association, much less who they actually were. 
 I also was kind of disappointed in the concept of each ability, maybe because I didn't see how the other sisters stood a chance against an elemental. If you're trying to kill each other, poison just seems like too easy of a thing to avoid. And I don't really know what the Naturalist powers can do since they're not really explained too much (not as much as the others). But despite all that, I actually liked Katharine (the Poisoner) and Arsinoe (the Naturalist) the best. I loved their stories and their settings. 
 I think overall, I just didn't feel anything blending. They felt like three very separate stories, even when they all converged. The only way they really FELT connected was the basic concept that they'd have to go head-to-head eventually. 
 I really wanted more twists and just didn't feel that dark, twistiness that I really wanted. UNTIL the very last sentence. I actually said WHOA. And then the book ended. 
 So will I read the next book? Maybe. Probably? I love where the ending was heading but as of right now, I don't feel the draw to read more. I guess we'll see when it comes out how I feel. 
 Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 10/3/16: One of the exciting things about being a book blogger is being able to read review copies before a book or series is published. There are a few drawbacks to ARCs (advanced reader copies) sometimes and I had a huge upset while reading THREE DARK CROWNS in the sense that I didn't realize it was a series until I finished the book... BY finishing the book and finding a cliffhanger. Book info doesn't always get updated right away and I started reading THREE DARK CROWNS before realizing it was a series. 
 Aside from the "surprise" of a series, the book definitely had a feel like things were taking a long time to go anywhere. Looking back, I can see where this would be a natural part of a series opener BUT I also felt like I shouldn't have been so disconnected, even without that knowledge. I was so excited for something dark and sinister, magical and mysterious, and THREE DARK CROWNS really missed the mark on a lot of those things for me. With a concept of three sister queens pitted against each other and only one surviving, I was expecting a lot more darkness and a lot more intrigue. I was actually rather interested in the beginning. The book has this overall eerie, misty, inky feeling that you get when you watch creepy movies. I really picked up on the darker vibe, especially in the Poisoner chapters, but I did want a little bit more of it from the other two sisters as well. It was towards the middle of the book where I started to feel like things really weren't going anywhere and I felt like even being the first in a series, it could have been a little better-structured. 
 The story just didn't quite feel exciting. The sisters are separate (alternating but still third-person POVs) so there's not much crossover with their story and once they do meet, things seem to bob around and not really flow. I almost felt like I was missing chapters the way things jumped around. The romances felt really rushed, unfinished, and one was plain unnecessary (in this book) and I just didn't like it at all. The characters were also very hard to keep track of, with each girl having maids and priestesses and aunts and mothers and townspeople... it was just a LOT of names and with some people even described so similarly, it was hard to remember the name with the proper association to each queen, much less who they actually were. 
 I also was kind of disappointed in the concept of each ability, maybe because I didn't see how the other sisters stood a chance against an elemental. If you're trying to kill each other, poison just seems like too easy of a thing to avoid. And I don't really know what the Naturalist powers can do since they're not really explained too much (not as much as the others). But despite all that, I actually liked Katharine (the Poisoner) and Arsinoe (the Naturalist) the best. I loved their stories and their settings the most and their relationships really expanded in the best ways. Maybe I also liked them better because they were the underdogs, with Elemental sister Mirabella being the favorite and highly doted upon. 
 Overall, I just didn't feel anything blending in THREE DARK CROWNS. The story lines for each sister felt like three very separate stories, even when they all converged. The only way they really felt connected was the basic concept that they'd have to go head-to-head eventually. I really wanted more twists and just didn't feel that dark, twistiness that I really wanted. UNTIL the very last sentence. (I actually said WHOA. And then the book ended.) So will I read the next book? Maybe. Probably? I love where the ending was heading but as of right now, I don't feel the draw to read more. I guess we'll see when it comes out how I feel.