Kendare Blake
Author of Three Dark Crowns
About the Author
Kendare Blake is the bestselling author of several novels and short stories. Her work is sort of dark and violent. She was born in Seoul, South Korea but came to the United States at a very early age with her adoptive parents. Kendare is the author of the Anna Series, Goddess of War Series, and the show more New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Kendare Blake
The Oak Prison 5 copies
Untitled (Fantasy Series #1) 5 copies
Winter 5 copies
The Anna Dressed in Blood Duology: Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares (Anna Dressed in Blood Series) (2018) 1 copy
Der Schwarze Thron: Die Schwestern/ Die Königin : Zwei Romane in einem Band | 2in1-Bundle (2011) 1 copy
Associated Works
Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader (2013) — Contributor — 470 copies, 18 reviews
His Hideous Heart: 13 of Edgar Allan Poe's Most Unsettling Tales Reimagined (2019) — Contributor — 324 copies, 8 reviews
The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power (2024) — Contributor — 109 copies, 2 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 20th century
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Ithaca College
Middlesex University - Occupations
- novelist
short story writer - Organizations
- The Elevensies
- Short biography
- Kendare Blake is an import from South Korea who was raised in the United States by caucasian parents. You know, that old chestnut. She received a Bachelor's degree in Business from Ithaca College and a Master's degree in Writing from Middlesex University in London. She brakes for animals, the largest of which was a deer, which sadly didn't make it, and the smallest of which was a mouse, which did, but it took
forever. Amongst her likes are Greek Mythology, rare red meat and veganism. She also enjoys girls who can think with the boys like Ayn Rand, and boys who scare the morality into people, like Bret Easton Ellis. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Seoul, South Korea
- Places of residence
- Minnesota, USA
Ithaca, New York, USA
London, England, UK
Lynnwood, Washington, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Discussions
#75 Books Challenge 2018 (@BellaKitty369) in 75 Books Challenge for 2018 (June 2018)
Reviews
I swear that Kendare Blake is an evil genius. Her Three Dark Crowns series has more disturbing plot twists than would seem possible, but they all work so well. This latest novel is just as dark and gruesome as the previous novels, but it has the added benefit of allowing readers the chance to learn a bit more about the island’s history and the queens’ lineage. This glimpse into the past is fascinating, but it is the ending which made me shout with glee. While it would be easy to get show more upset with Ms. Blake at yet another cliffhanger, the possibilities the cliffhanger implies makes me way too excited rather than angry. I ended the story with such an adrenaline rush that it took me a good hour to settle after finishing it. That, to me, is always a fantastic sign of an excellent novel. show less
I read the first Anna book, Anna Dressed In Blood back in 2012 and I thought it was an excellent example of a ghost story where fear is something to be fought and the future as something we have to win the right to. Despite the horror wrought and the blood spilt, the most important thing in the book was the bonds forged between the weak and the frightened to push back the dark.
Girl Of Nightmares, the sequel to Anna Dressed In Blood and sat on my TBR pile much longer than it should have done. show more Perhaps that's part of the problem I had with getting in sympathy with the second book. It's as well-written as the first. It continues to develop the magic systems that were introduced in the first book, adding some interesting twists. The relationships between the characters also work well.
Yet, at 37% I'm setting it aside. I stopped reading it a couple of weeks ago and every time I've reached for a book since then, something else has called to me more strongly.
The problem for me is the premise. In Anna Dressed In Blood, we met a ghost killer who'd finally met a killer ghost he didn't want to kill. It was an original and surprising twist and it was executed. The premise in Girl Of Nightmares is much more familiar: Anna is in Hell and Cas will do whatever it takes to get her out. So Can gets to play Orpheus to Anna's Eurydice, except Anna was already dead when Cas met her, going to Hell was a sacrifice she chose to make and the killings she performed as a ghost probably justify her being there. The book is quite captivating. Can is obsessed. He's haunted by nightmares in which he sees Anna being tortured. He's lost his appetite for life, set his calling aside and put his friends at risk. Anna remains a mute, suffering figure who fuels his obsession.
So why set it aside? Maybe I'm too old or too jaded. I suspect this is meant to be romantic in that Orpheus and Eurydice way but to me, it feels like Cat is ill and that the illness is likely to kill him. Instead of cheering Cas on, I want to shake him, tell him to get a grip, let it go, move on, get real - all those things the old say to the young when confronted by a passion and optimism that they are no longer capable of. Then there are the torture dreams. No. Not something I want in my head. They're not gratuitous but that makes them tougher to let go of.
So, if you liked Anna Dressed In Blood, you'll probably enjoy Girl Of Nightmares. Just don't leave eight years in between them and don't get old and jaded in the meantime. show less
Girl Of Nightmares, the sequel to Anna Dressed In Blood and sat on my TBR pile much longer than it should have done. show more Perhaps that's part of the problem I had with getting in sympathy with the second book. It's as well-written as the first. It continues to develop the magic systems that were introduced in the first book, adding some interesting twists. The relationships between the characters also work well.
Yet, at 37% I'm setting it aside. I stopped reading it a couple of weeks ago and every time I've reached for a book since then, something else has called to me more strongly.
The problem for me is the premise. In Anna Dressed In Blood, we met a ghost killer who'd finally met a killer ghost he didn't want to kill. It was an original and surprising twist and it was executed. The premise in Girl Of Nightmares is much more familiar: Anna is in Hell and Cas will do whatever it takes to get her out. So Can gets to play Orpheus to Anna's Eurydice, except Anna was already dead when Cas met her, going to Hell was a sacrifice she chose to make and the killings she performed as a ghost probably justify her being there. The book is quite captivating. Can is obsessed. He's haunted by nightmares in which he sees Anna being tortured. He's lost his appetite for life, set his calling aside and put his friends at risk. Anna remains a mute, suffering figure who fuels his obsession.
So why set it aside? Maybe I'm too old or too jaded. I suspect this is meant to be romantic in that Orpheus and Eurydice way but to me, it feels like Cat is ill and that the illness is likely to kill him. Instead of cheering Cas on, I want to shake him, tell him to get a grip, let it go, move on, get real - all those things the old say to the young when confronted by a passion and optimism that they are no longer capable of. Then there are the torture dreams. No. Not something I want in my head. They're not gratuitous but that makes them tougher to let go of.
So, if you liked Anna Dressed In Blood, you'll probably enjoy Girl Of Nightmares. Just don't leave eight years in between them and don't get old and jaded in the meantime. show less
Once I'd finished the dense and challenging [b:Seven Surrenders|28220647|Seven Surrenders (Terra Ignota, #2)|Ada Palmer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1517514624s/28220647.jpg|48249332], I decided to read some YA as light relief. What I didn’t anticipate was that after Ada Palmer’s complex allusiveness, ‘One Dark Throne’ would seem rather slight by comparison. To be fair, Blake’s world of battling queens does include interesting commentary on the social construction of magic. show more Poisoner magic is essentially physical resilience and enhanced healing; it must have become focused on resisting poisons for some historical reason. I also liked the elements of nature versus nurture, magical gifts against training, and the portrayal of an idiosyncratically matriarchal political system. The world-building was thus worthwhile and original, albeit not as hyper-intellectual as Palmer’s.
Unfortunately, ‘One Dark Throne’ does suffer from the challenge of middle books in trilogies, which rarely manage to sustain the same pace as the beginning and end of the story. Here, the action only really gets underway nearly halfway through. The first two hundred pages included more romance that I cared for and could have been edited a fair bit. Around the halfway mark, though, things picked up and I was once again hooked. As I’d hoped,two queens teamed up and escaped their weird tradition-bound island. Their mum didn’t appear, although I’m holding out hope that she will in the third book. It also wasn't made explicit that Katherine has naturalist magic, although I assume that she does somewhere underneath the angry-ghost-queen possession. There were also some exciting twists that I didn’t predict: Natalia’s murder was genuinely shocking, as was Katherine’s accidental killing of her new husband. How to put this delicately… It seems her quim is deadly poisonous. The action set pieces were well done as well, especially the duel and prison break. I didn't really care that Joseph died, though, as the female characters are so much more vibrant and interesting. He was just the boring corner of a love triangle. The slower start meant that I didn’t enjoy ‘One Dark Throne’ quite as much as [b:Three Dark Crowns|28374007|Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns, #1)|Kendare Blake|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469265712s/28374007.jpg|42750582], but Blake has created an appealingly odd fantasy world and I definitely want to know what happens next. show less
Unfortunately, ‘One Dark Throne’ does suffer from the challenge of middle books in trilogies, which rarely manage to sustain the same pace as the beginning and end of the story. Here, the action only really gets underway nearly halfway through. The first two hundred pages included more romance that I cared for and could have been edited a fair bit. Around the halfway mark, though, things picked up and I was once again hooked. As I’d hoped,
"Three Black Witches are born in a glen,
Sweet little triplets
Will never be friends.
Three Black Witches, all fair to be seen.
Two to devour,
And one to be queen."
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.... What the heck just happened?
Going into this story, I was prepared to have my heart torn out because it was three sisters fighting for a throne (and I happen to have two sisters), and they will have to kill each other.
But gosh darn it, I didn't expect to be tortured this badly!
To begin with, the sisters don't really show more remember each other. They know NOTHING about each other except for what is common gossip. And everyone expects the eldest, Mirabella, to be the strongest one who rules. Katharine and Arsione appear weak to those around them.
The three girls are surrounded by people who will give anything to have their queen win. They will scheme and plot with or without their girls knowing to destroy the other two queens.
I feel like I am most like Mirabella, but that does not make it any easier to read the three sisters plotting to kill each other. I wanted them all to survive!
Thoughts: This book was dark, well thought out, fantastic(!), and I am dying at not being able to currently pick up "One Dark Throne" and find out the ending to this story. show less
Sweet little triplets
Will never be friends.
Three Black Witches, all fair to be seen.
Two to devour,
And one to be queen."
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.... What the heck just happened?
Going into this story, I was prepared to have my heart torn out because it was three sisters fighting for a throne (and I happen to have two sisters), and they will have to kill each other.
But gosh darn it, I didn't expect to be tortured this badly!
To begin with, the sisters don't really show more remember each other. They know NOTHING about each other except for what is common gossip. And everyone expects the eldest, Mirabella, to be the strongest one who rules. Katharine and Arsione appear weak to those around them.
The three girls are surrounded by people who will give anything to have their queen win. They will scheme and plot with or without their girls knowing to destroy the other two queens.
I feel like I am most like Mirabella, but that does not make it any easier to read the three sisters plotting to kill each other. I wanted them all to survive!
Thoughts: This book was dark, well thought out, fantastic(!), and I am dying at not being able to currently pick up "One Dark Throne" and find out the ending to this story. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 31
- Also by
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- Rating
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- Reviews
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