My book club has been reading the Three Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake since December. In this series, the island of Fennbirn is ruled by one queen, chosen from a set of triplets born to the previous queen. Typically, each triplet is born with special abilities - one is a poisoner, able to consume poisons without ill effects and wield them against others with expertise; another is a naturalist, gifted with a familiar and able to grow plants and influence animals; and the third is an elemental, able to control wind, water, fire, etc. Their sixteenth birthday begins what is known as the Ascension, a year in which each sister fights for the throne...to the death. Last triplet standing gets the crown.
If you're thinking, "wow, this sounds dark and intense!" Well...you're not wrong. It's also gripping and keeps you on the edge of your seat. And while Pietyr, the unofficial consort to poisoner Queen Katharine, is partial to hemlock biscuits, I can't snack on poison while I read, so for this first Books & Bites post, I decided to go for some chocolate almond biscotti instead.
I modified the chocolate biscotti recipe from Kristine's Kitchen, omitting the chocolate chips and nuts and subbing two teaspoons of almond extract for the one teaspoon of vanilla. They're no hemlock biscuit, but for a non-poisoner like me, I find a couple pieces of these biscotti and a mug of hot chocolate to be the perfect accompaniment to the final book of this series.
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