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Reviewer's Note
I won't post the book summary for this one, as it's the final book in the series. That being said, I will not reveal any spoilers for Five Dark Fates or any other of the books in my review. If you're not up to date with the Three Dark Crowns series, you have plenty of time to get caught up before this final installment comes out on September 3rd!

Flo's Spoiler Free Review
Five Dark Fates was one of my most anticipated, if not my most anticipated book of this year, so I was beyond the moon to read it. I am so, so happy to report that it did not disappoint! I flew through this book in under 48 hours. This series is just so compulsive readable. You find yourself flipping the pages because the pacing is so strong and steady, while it builds and builds to the conclusion.

I definitely had a book hangover this one and had to step back for a few days before writing my review so I could process my thoughts. In a nutshell: Five Dark Fates is a thrilling and satisfying conclusion to a fantastic YA fantasy series. Each one of the queens has a fulfilling role in the fate of the island. That's not to say that my heart wasn't wrenched out a bit, so be prepared! But each queen's story ended in a way that was true to her individual character. I can honestly say that I understood each queen's arc and where it led her. They were realistic, and I really enjoyed following their journeys from book one to book four.

The best kind of ending for a series is one where you set down the last book with a bittersweet feeling in your heart: you are sad to leave the world and the characters, but you are also so proud of them and you know that they will be alright. I definitely had this feeling for Fennbirn at the end of Five Dark Fates.

I will end by reiterating what I said above -- if you haven't read this series, I highly, highly encourage you to do so. You will not be disappointed! Kendare Blake has given us such a fun roller coaster of a fantasy ride. Pack your bags and head to the island.

If you have read the series and are eagerly anticipating this conclusion -- you will not be disappointed! Pick this one up as soon as you can.

Note
To keep this review spoiler free, I will not post the book summary, as it may be a spoiler for Three Dark Crowns and One Dark Throne.

Flo's Spoiler Free Review
I have had so much fun binging this series over the past weeks! I was spoiled to receive Two Dark Reigns early for review, and I've loved every moment of my three book journey.

Like its predecessors, Two Dark Reigns brought non-stop action and surprising twists. However, not as much as the first two. I wasn't in love with the Blue Queen story line. I understand why it's in there in that I see what it had to accomplish for the characters to set up the end of the book, but it didn't feel connected to the main story. I also had trouble with Arsinoe in this installment. Her stubbornness came off as rude, and her independence just put everyone around in danger without her consulting them about it.

But in this series, "not as good as the first two books" is still so good! I had an e-book of this and it made me want to go to the gym so I could read it on the bike! And last night I stayed up past my bedtime because I had to finish it. If you've been following the series thus far, you will enjoy the story's continuation.

If you haven't -- dude, get on that! Three Dark Crowns is one of Barnes and Nobles' Book Haul Blowout, so you can get it for like $5!

Two Dark Reigns publishes on September 4th, 2018.

Note: To keep this review spoiler free, I will not post the book summary, as it may be a spoiler for the first book in the series Three Dark Crowns. Go read Three Dark Crowns! In the meantime, proceed to the review feeling safe that I won't ruin anything for you :).

Flo's Spoiler Free Review
Kendare Blake and the Queens of Fennbirn have done it again! I listened to this one on audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. The narrator was great -- she really made the queens sound distinct and gave them voices to match their characters. Nicolas Martel's voice did kind of make me laugh, but he needed an accent, so there you go.

What I loved about this book (and the last one) is that I really had no idea how it could end. A big event would come up and I'd think it would be the kind of thing that would end everything, but it wasn't. Every time! Something happened and I continued to be pulled along in this intriguing story. The action and the pacing in these books is truly fantastic.

I kept saying "No spoilers!" when I wrote the books, and I wouldn't even let myself look at the summary of book 3, just in case. Speaking of book 3, I am so glad I don't have to wait to continue this story. Naturally, I have no idea what direction this is going in after the end of One Dark Throne, and I'm excited to find out.

Next up: Two Dark Reigns. Let's do this.

Spoiler Alert: May contain spoiler for the Mortal Instruments trilogy. Proceed with caution.

I pretty much love everything that Smart Pop YA does. They're the ones behind The Girl Who Was On Fire, which I simply adored. So when I discovered that they were doing a book about another one of my favorite series, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, I was beyond excited.

A nice collection of essays that covers many different aspects of the series is contained in this collection. Allow me to speak to a few of my favorites ones:

Simon Lewis: Jewish, Vampire Hero by Michelle Hodkin: Okay, part of my love of this essay is simply because I love Michelle. I have had the opportunity to meet her twice and she is just great! I also really did enjoy her book The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. But I think this essay really stuck with me because I am a devoted Catholic. I know it's not Jewish, but my faith is also rich in history and tradition, and I love that Michelle was able to take her faith, which is clearly also very important to her, and relate/apply it in this way. When I was reading The Mortal Instruments, I was able to pick up on some of these ideas, but not all of them, and certainly not with this depth. Also, I love Cassandra Clare's introduction for this essay -- it almost comes off like she is speechless from the awesomeness this essay.

Brotherly Love by Kendare Blake: Because, yes, the brother/sister storyline -- it needed to be addressed. And Kendare did a great job with it! I learned about the Westermarck effect and I see as I'm looking at my book that I actually wrote in the margin by one point: "I never thought of this!" This storyline was definitely an interesting choice by Cassandra Clare and it was nice to read a thoughtful analysis on it.

Immortality and its Discontents by Holly Black and Kelly Link: I like that Cassie and Smart Pop chose to keep this one in an interview/discussion format. This worked so well with this essay because I, as a reader, was able to follow a thought train and see how we got from discussing one thing to something else. Also, the reality of the discussion led them all to get sidetracked sometimes, which was just fun. Kelly makes an interesting point about Magnus: "In terms of audience reaction, his sexual preferences seem much more notable than the fact that he's immortal." Interesting, right?! Good point, Kelly! Oh, and this one, too, which I love:

"...that's a big part of young adult literature, period. It's a literature of discovery and change. You, the protagonist, have to discover the world. And at the same time you have to discover what you are that you didn't know was possible. You are changed. You change the world."

Wow. Bam!

When Laws are Made to Be Broken by Robin Wasserman: I loved reading an analysis of The Clave!

What Does that Deviant Wench Think She's Doing? Or, Shadowhunters Gone Wild by Sarah Rees Brennan: I remember meeting Sarah at the RT convention in Chicago last year. (We had a deep discussion about the merits of being on Team Stefan in The Vampire Diaries.) She entertained me then, and she entertained me with this essay. I was literally laughing out loud and shaking my head and some parts of this one. And putting this one at the end? Nicely played by Cassie and Smart Pop. And this quote here:

"Love is what matters. Love is the song you hear even while you sleep, and you know you are healed, and safe, and where you belong." <3

My random favorite line of the anthology, courtesy of Diana Peterfreund: "See, Jace never learned to flirt properly because he was raised by a murderous sociopath."

If you are a Mortal Instruments fan, I would definitely recommend you picking up a copy of Shadowhunters and Downworlders!