You know, let me just take a second here to say that there are some exceptional young adult books out there. Like this one. But for real though, I find myself reading more "Teen Fiction/Teen Fantasy and Adventure" than I do normal Fiction. Anyway...
This little gem of a book takes place on an island named Fennbirn that is separated from pretty much the rest of the world. There are a select few on the 'mainland' that know of this island and the people who inhabit it, but it's a very small few. On this island, there are triplet daughters born to the queen and her king-consort. As soon as the triplets are born, the queen and her man peace out to somewhere else, the triplets are split up between the three different regions of this island, and raised up there by foster families. In Wolf Spring, there are naturalists. They make shit grow, have animal familiars, and like to hunt. Arsinoe calls Wolf Spring her home. Then there's Rolanth, home of the elementals. They control earth, wind, fire, water, and all of that cool shit. Mirabella calls Rolanth home. Then there's Greavesdrake Manor, home of the poisoners. Not only do they poison other people but they consume poison and most are pretty immune to it. Katharine is the poisoner queen. Now that you know the triplets...on to their issues.
Katharine's biggest issue is she's deathly ill because she's not immune to the poisons even after years of ingesting it. She's a bit more able to deal with it now than she used to be, but basically she's not a very good poisoner and the people fear she will fail as a queen. She's not the only one with this seemingly 'giftless' problem. Arsinoe can't bloom a flower to save her life. She has no naturalist power whatsoever, and despite calling it every day, she still does not have a familiar. Her people fear she will fail as a queen. Mirabella, however, seems to be fairly strong in her power in controlling the elements, just don't make her do too much with water...
The point of all of this is that there can only be one queen. One queen has to kill her sisters in order to gain the crown to rule the land of Fennbirn. Well things aren't looking too good for Katharine and Arsinoe, so the Temple, priestesses who are supposed to be neutral, are backing Mirabella. Mirabella is the only one who seems to have any gift so obviously the Goddess has chosen her to be the queen. Eh...Mirabella is a softy who still has memories of her sisters from when they were children...before they were taught that they hated each other and would one day kill one another until only one was left.
Katharine is treated so poorly in Greavesdrake Manor that I immediately joined her side. I root for her. I want her to kill these bitches and I want her to kill the Arrons...the poisoners who rule the Black Council...think Parliament. There's a queen and all but they make most of the rules and decisions. There's been a poisoner queen for the last 3 generations so the Arrons are flipping their shit that they may be ousted if their queen can't get her shit together...and quit vomiting everywhere due to the poison she's consuming.
So, when the girls turn 16, on their birthday, there is a celebration for them to demonstrate their awesomeness. Arsinoe can't do shit. Katharine gets sick in the middle of the ballroom in front of all of the poisoners. And Mirabella is able to wow the people of Rolanth with her thunderstorm, wind, and fire. I think because she does have some measure of power is the reason that I just don't like her. Well that and she fucked Joseph...but I'm pissed at him too for fucking her. So Joseph...follow this flow chart children. Arsinoe's best friend and foster sister is Jules. The girls are sent to a family that will help teach them the art of their power and how to use it. For Arsinoe, that was Jules' family. Jules is an incredibly powerful naturalist and her familiar is a cougar which is holy shit balls powerful in the naturalist world. So Jules, Joseph, and Arsinoe were bff until they tried to sneak Arsinoe off the island and Joseph was banished. He's back now though and he and Jules are in love or appear to be and they've always held out hope for one another and knew they would be reunited and blah blah blah hearts and kisses everywhere (barf). So when this dude fucked Mirabella, I was pissed. Like put the book down for a week kind of pissed. I know the bitch saved you from drowning and you were confused but fuck off. Now...having said all of that, I'm really confused now that I've finished the book with how I feel about Joseph and Mirabella. It's like I don't want him around Jules because he can't seem to keep his mind or dick off of Mirabella so I'm starting to kinda feel like just go on with her somewhere. You hurt Jules so just go.
Now that I'm done rambling about that...after the birthday celebrations, the following year there is the Quickening ceremony where they meet potential suitors that come from the 'mainland' and they basically show off their powers again. And once again, epic failure abounds. I don't want to give it away but it's a disaster. People die...a queen dies which is, in itself, a plot twist I didn't see coming...and then there's another plot twist that showed up. It got super plot twisty right there toward the end which was good because I really, really, really want to read the next book now! The whole point though of the Quickening is after it...it's game on to try and kill your sister! So...any bets on who gets killed first and by whom? It could be like a game of Clue!
For a young adult book...two thumbs up. 5 stars. I'm ready for the next book. If you're into a little supernatural but with a monarchy and also people trying to kill each other...totally read this book. It's a super fast read and I would have finished sooner had I not gotten in my feelings about Joseph and Mirabella doing the dirty dirty.
And...now that I'm done...I'm still on Team Katharine! Make me the shirt and bumper sticker.
LOVED IT!
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