Curled around her right is a coil of white rope that the painter’s brush will turn into a likeness of Sweetheart.

In her left hand, she holds an empty bottle, which in the painting will become a beautiful poison. Queen Katharine sits for her portrait painting in one of the high, west-facing rooms of the West Tower, just one floor below her own apartments. According to Blake, “It’s a scene inside the Volroy, the palace of the Queen Crowned, and takes place not long after the events of One Dark Throne.”Įnjoy (and remember to pre-order your copy of Two Dark Reigns). We’re thrilled share an exclusive excerpt from Blake’s latest novel, courtesy of HarperTeen. So before reading on, pick up the first two and treat yourself to an epic journey. If you haven’t read books one and two of the quartet, digging into the plot of Two Dark Reigns will give you serious spoilers. Blake followed it up with One Dark Throne in 2017, and now Two Dark Reigns is scheduled for a September 4th release. The first book, also titled Three Dark Crowns, was a New York Times bestseller in 2016. The result is a thrilling fantasy perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Sabaa Tahir. But only one queen can rule, and the last one standing will take the crown for herself. Her Goddess War books (and accompanying short stories published on Tor.com) deliver stunning mythological tales, and her bestselling Anna Dressed in Blood series is paranormal horror at its finest.īlake’s latest series, Three Dark Crowns, is an epic fantasy following three sisters-all queens with unique magical gifts. To say Kendare Blake is a prolific Young Adult author is an understatement.

Two dark reigns