One Dark Throne

This book is the sibling equivalent of a group chat gone nuclear. Remember how Three Dark Crowns ended with Katharine being shoved into the Breccia Pit? Yeah, she crawled back out—angrier, creepier, and basically sponsored by Poison Control. Arsinoe finally stopped cosplaying as the weak sister and unlocked her deadly gift like some late-game bonus power, and Mirabella is… still Mirabella. She cries with fire in her eyes, but let’s be real, she’s still the least exciting sister.

The best part is the pacing. The slow, worldbuilding slog of book one is gone. This one is packed with betrayals, duels, surprise corpses, and the kind of reveals that make you scream at two in the morning. Half the plot twists flew past me because chaos comes at you fast, but Billy? Oh, Billy sticks. He’s the only YA love interest who doesn’t make me want to fling the book into traffic. Loyal, funny, and protective, with actual banter that doesn’t sound like recycled Tumblr posts. Billy and Arsinoe are true relationship goals. Protect him at all costs.

Meanwhile, Pietyr is still wandering around like a walking red-flag factory, swearing he loves Katharine even though his last romantic gesture was throwing her into a pit. But apparently, attempted murder is considered foreplay on this island, because she still hasn’t kicked him out. Their dynamic is part obsession, part power struggle, and completely messy soap opera nonsense.

Jules, bless her, deserves hazard pay. Every time she shows up, the universe drops another bomb on her… curse revelations, betrayals, heartbreak. By the halfway point I wanted to send her on a spa retreat. And Joseph? Still a human dumpster fire. The kind of guy you keep in the plot for chaos but would absolutely block in real life.

This book never lets you breathe. Every time you think things will calm down, someone’s poisoned, betrayed, or halfway to murdering their sister again. The only thing I wanted more of was a bigger cliffhanger. After all that chaos, I expected a scream-into-your-pillow ending. Instead, I got a gasp. But with Katharine fully embracing her villain era, Arsinoe finally stepping into her power, and Mirabella scrambling to keep up, the setup for the next book is perfect.

Final verdict? Four and a half poisoned daggers out of five. Long live Queen Crazy Eyes, because on this island, poison isn’t just a weapon, it’s a lifestyle.”

😍

This world is detailed, the characters are complex and the premise unique. I loved both books and am looking forward to the third!