The Queen of the Tearling a novel

I am speechless and disappointed in myself that I did not read a single review about this book and that merely by chance I started reading it. The Queen of the Tearling is a great fantasy book. It starts with Kelsea, whose nineteen birthday has allowed her to ascend to her rightful throne. The first years of her life were spent with her foster parents, Carly and Barty Glynn, in the forest learning everything she would need once she became a queen. She describes herself as “tall, but dark in coloring, with a face that could charitably be described as plain.” I loved how she describe herself as honestly as she could. I find so often a lot of protagonist are gorgeous and they know it, but Kelsea is too modest to describe herself in a flattering way. And I think that perfectly describes her character. Even though she suddenly becomes the queen of this poverty-stricken country she always puts her people first. She is brave, selfless and even though she has her childish moments, she knows when to stop and always does what needs to be done. She is so honest with everyone, its impossible not to relate with her. And I absolutely loved her. I loved all of the Queen's guard and how they pride themselves in guarding the queen, especially Mace with his fierce personality. Also The Fetch, of whom I won't say more other than I love him and his little band of renegades and I can't wait to learn more about them. And if you want to learn more you will definitely need to read the book. The only thing that I am not exactly sold on, is the idea that the Tearling is a weird dystopian society from the future. But still I have great hopes from future books. Needless to say I loved everything about the book. Kelsea reminded me of Katsa, from the Graceling series. It is a great fantasy read with lots of adventure. There are assassins, magic, thieves and cunning cold Treasurers. If that's not enough to tempt you into reading I don't know what else I can say.

Great book - listened to the audio version on Scribd and I really loved the narration, with character voices and lots of scene-appropriate emotion. Here's my review from Scribd The reading was so good - the narrator did unique and consistent voices for each character, with different accents that made me curious if she had behind the scenes information from the author about these characters' backgrounds. She also read the non-dialogue parts with great emotion. a real performance, must have taken lots of effort. The story was interesting - it seemed to move slowly, with a lot of insight into the protagonist's thoughts, and a pre-journey at the beginning before things got going that reminded me of the pre-Rivendell parts of The Fellowship of The Ring. But that made the setting/world-building all the better for the slow pace. On the one hand it seemed to drag on, and the story could have been told faster if going by plot points alone. But it was also very well plotted and made more sense than another fantasy novel I listened to recently. This book brings up questions about human rulership / governance - in a future with less technology and resources, would humans revert to a monarchy? This is an underlying assumption that I question, and I wonder if they will address it in the sequels, which I'm eager to read. Thanks to Emma Watson for putting this title on her book club list.

This book really caught me by surprise in the last couple hundred pages. The first few were very introductory and there was a lot of traveling. It really picked up and escalated very quickly towards the end. I am very much looking forward to the second one!

I really really loved this book! I'm not sure how to feel about the very ending so it's four stars from me. There were so many things to love about this book. There really wasn't a character that I didn't like or found boring. I found the very first book in this series a bit dragging but I'm glad that I stuck with it because The Fate of the Tearling was such a fast paced read for me. I could not put it down and I highly recommend it!

“You win your people or you lose your throne.” I've had this book for so long on my shelves I'm so glad I finally read it. This is a high fantasy following a ninteen-year-old called Kelsea who returns to her kingdom, The Tearling, to claim back her throne from her uncle. This book is a few years old now and it showed its age in some ways, as long as had some predictable elements, but overall I actually really enjoyed this! what I liked ➢ Kelsea as the main character Kelsea is SUCH an interesting main character. She isn't exactly wholly moral but she isn't grey either. She definitely makes some decisions that aren't 'good' and does some unlikeable things but I liked that. Her decisions made sense in her situation and I really like how she's a character that takes what she's owed and doesn't feel bad about it. I can really see where her character is going and I LOVE IT. There's a lot of unexplored depth here and I can't wait for that to come out more in the next books. I just really enjoyed following Kelsea and watching her make decisions decisively and ruthlessly. In these books, the Queen is often naive and lost but I liked having someone capable and strong come in as the main character. ➢ The politics I really liked the set up of the politics! I love political fantasies so obviously this was right up my alley. I would really like to see more of this in the next books - because some of the politics weren't as complex as I would have liked. Still, overall it was done well and I liked the inclusion of religion, the army, the Queendom, the economy and lots of other aspects weaving together to influence the plot. ➢ The setting The Tearling has a really interesting and unique fantasy setting. It kind of blends contemporary and fantasy. The Tearling was established by William Tear when he and 'Americans and Europeans' left their home. There's places called New London, New Europe, there are references to old books that Tear brought with him (Lord of the Rings, "The Seven Rowling Volumes") and I found this mysterious setting so interesting! It blends dystopian or futuristic concepts, with contemporary culture, with fantasy, and I am looking forward to learning more about this setting what I didn't like ➢ The slow start This was SOO slow at the start. The first good 100 pages were just Kelsea riding a horse and I found it so boring! Once the story gets going it is way more enjoyable but I was so disinterested in the beginning. I also think this book is kind of slow in general, things DO HAPPEN, but it's in a sequential, plodding way. That said, that is often the nature of political fantasies so I didn't mind too much. ➢ Felt like a First Book This really was one of those books where it just feels so much like it's setting up the series but doesn't have much happening in the first book. Up until the last third, this felt like one long prologue. I did think it sets up the series well, but I wish it had more happening in book one “Time stretched years back and years forward, but nothing that came afterward ever had the power to wash away what came before.” ” Overall, this was about a 3.5 star for me. I did enjoy reading this once I hit the middle and I really wish I had the second book with me because I feel so compelled to keep reading on. This definitely wasn't a perfect book but it was enjoyable and fun and I liked it more than I thought I would

“This, I think, is the crux of evil in this world, Majesty: those who feel entitled to anything they want, anything they can grab.” I'm so sad I finished this series but so glad I loved the ending! The ending is super controversial and I was worried but I thought it was great. Usually, I wouldn't go for that kind of ending but I think it fit perfectly with the themes of the book and the bitter-sweetness was REAL. I was glad Johansen took a risk with it and even though it broke my heart I think it was such a perfect and logical end to Kelsea's story. This book is hard to review given it's the third in the series so read my review of book one The Queen of the Tearling which is more detailed. what i liked about this conclusion - I loved how non-stop it was. It starts right at the heart of the story and it never stops moving and there are SO MANY REVELATIONS. Some I guessed, but I did like that the character's reaction was well written so it felt dramatic nonetheless. - Kelsea and the Red Queen scenes! - I really liked the chapters from the past and the way this blended the past, present and future so much - the destruction of the Fetch's character and the entire history behind Row Finn and the Fetch *chefs kiss* - I honestly just loved the worldbuilding of this whole series and especially in this final book. It has sci-fi elements and such expansive worldbuilding. I also love the themes and the focus on sacrifice, religion and politics which has always been the pillars of this series. I think this was really clear in the flashbacks to the original Tearling, it was all done so perfectly especially given the ending - finally, I LOVE KELSEA. She's one of my favourite characters ever. I love that she has such a dark, angry side and feels like a real and complete character with lots of flaws but also strengths what i didn't like - PEN AND KELSEA UM?? - Some moments were vague and left me a little confused about what the author was trying to convey - Javel's storyline was completely useless and so was Aisa'a

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I adored the writing style and found myself falling in love with the characters. I definitely recommend!

I know for a fact that there is a love/hate thing going on with The Queen of Tearling among many readers, but for me this book was just a roller coaster ride of so many emotions. Erika Johansen is a very good storyteller. Her writing style really captured the essence of the surroundings as well as the conflict going on. The story started very bleakly for our main character Kelsea, and it sure did not improve as the book progressed. I admired her so much for her courage and bravery, and all though she was very far from most kickass YA heroines with immeasurable skills and mean streaks etc. I liked the way she was portrayed. The character development was great on her part. The chapter headers were snippets from history books from the future that hinted at Kelsea's rise to power and how she was the greatest Queen the Tearling has ever known. And reading about her flawed and slightly naive character growing and learning, watching her work hard and trying her best is probably why I'm so drawn to her. I can see her trying to strengthen her relationship with her parents, Lazarus the Mace, Andalie and the rest of her Queensguard. I think it's great how she can be a firm leader but a really warm friend to her subjects, and how she makes very smart decisions but still asks advice from everyone around her nonetheless. She can be strict sometimes, but sometimes she can also be really funny. The other characters and the shifting POV's was a good addition to the plot, I think, because some parts that escaped Kelsea's attention was brought forward. I liked Javel and his issues with his integrity and loyalty. Very little is revealed about both The Fetch and The Red Queen, but I liked it anyway because it adds a little more mystery and thrill, and it gives me something to look forward to in the next installment. What bothered me was the very poor backstory of the land they called the New World. In terms of geography, climate etc. The details and world building were clear enough but I think the backstory, or what they referred to as the Crossing from the world as we know it today to the "New World" was very vague. They have places called New Europe and New London and my brain is just itching for explainations behind these. The setting reminds me of Europe circa 1170. "There was a kingdom called the Tearling. It was founded by a man named William Tear, a utopian who dreamed of a land of plenty for all. But ironically, the Tearling was a kingdom of scarce resources, for the British and Americans had not been fortunate in their choice of landing place. The Tearling had no ores, no manufacturing. The Tear were farmers; all they had to offer was the food they grew, the meat they raised, and a limited amount of good lumber from their indigenous oaks... “The neighboring kingdom had been luckier in the Crossing. It had everything that the Tearling lacked. It had doctors with access to centuries of European knowledge. It had masons, decent horses, and some of the technology that William Tear had forbidden. Most important of all, it had vast deposits of iron and tin in the ground, so it had not only mining but an army with superior weapons of steel edge. This kingdom was New Europe ...” Why did the people cross? Why were they able to develop addictive drugs but not medical drugs? How was New Europe able to discover gunpowder but not the Tearling? For all it's faily medieval ways, it's set in the future! This is clearly what sets apart The Queen of Tearling from other dystopian books. They had found the seven volumes of Rowling with no help at all, but there was no squabbling. Aisa walked away with The Hobbit under her arm. Kelsea stood looking after her, torn between wanting to watch the children and wanting to read The Lord of the Rings all over again. Okay, so there are no guns, only swords and blades, no civilized architecture, but there's Harry Potter and LOtR? A little strange, perhaps? But then again, these points did not bother me very much. In a way,instead of being detrimental to the plot, it builds the anticipation of the reader and makes the second installment necessary. I know some authors add more books to a series even when it clearly doesn't need it for (let's be frank here) profit purposes. I'm sure the story of the Crossing will be revealed in due time, as it seems to hold a good deal of importance to the plot. Our ignorance as the reader enhances the experience for us because it requires us to actively participate as we solve the mystery alongside Kelsea. There is also some disturbing graphic content, but nothing that I haven't seen before. The elements are common constituents of the dystopian genre, but I think this book would be better for a much older audience. Adults would definitely love the political and slightly-historical aspects. All in all, this was such and excellent read and very unputdownable. There is so much more to it than meets the eye and combines all of my favorite genres --- a little of dystopia, a little fantasy, a little history and some romance as well --- that makes it one of my favorites for this year!

I know for a fact that there is a love/hate thing going on with The Queen of Tearling among many readers, but for me this book was just a roller coaster ride of so many emotions. Erika Johansen is a very good storyteller. Her writing style really captured the essence of the surroundings as well as the conflict going on. The story started very bleakly for our main character Kelsea, and it sure did not improve as the book progressed. I admired her so much for her courage and bravery, and all though she was very far from most kickass YA heroines with immeasurable skills and mean streaks etc. I liked the way she was portrayed. The character development was great on her part. The chapter headers were snippets from history books from the future that hinted at Kelsea's rise to power and how she was the greatest Queen the Tearling has ever known. And reading about her flawed and slightly naive character growing and learning, watching her work hard and trying her best is probably why I'm so drawn to her. I can see her trying to strengthen her relationship with her parents, Lazarus the Mace, Andalie and the rest of her Queensguard. I think it's great how she can be a firm leader but a really warm friend to her subjects, and how she makes very smart decisions but still asks advice from everyone around her nonetheless. She can be strict sometimes, but sometimes she can also be really funny. The other characters and the shifting POV's was a good addition to the plot, I think, because some parts that escaped Kelsea's attention was brought forward. I liked Javel and his issues with his integrity and loyalty. Very little is revealed about both The Fetch and The Red Queen, but I liked it anyway because it adds a little more mystery and thrill, and it gives me something to look forward to in the next installment. What bothered me was the very poor backstory of the land they called the New World. In terms of geography, climate etc. The details and world building were clear enough but I think the backstory, or what they referred to as the Crossing from the world as we know it today to the "New World" was very vague. They have places called New Europe and New London and my brain is just itching for explainations behind these. The setting reminds me of Europe circa 1170. "There was a kingdom called the Tearling. It was founded by a man named William Tear, a utopian who dreamed of a land of plenty for all. But ironically, the Tearling was a kingdom of scarce resources, for the British and Americans had not been fortunate in their choice of landing place. The Tearling had no ores, no manufacturing. The Tear were farmers; all they had to offer was the food they grew, the meat they raised, and a limited amount of good lumber from their indigenous oaks... “The neighboring kingdom had been luckier in the Crossing. It had everything that the Tearling lacked. It had doctors with access to centuries of European knowledge. It had masons, decent horses, and some of the technology that William Tear had forbidden. Most important of all, it had vast deposits of iron and tin in the ground, so it had not only mining but an army with superior weapons of steel edge. This kingdom was New Europe ...” Why did the people cross? Why were they able to develop addictive drugs but not medical drugs? How was New Europe able to discover gunpowder but not the Tearling? For all it's faily medieval ways, it's set in the future! This is clearly what sets apart The Queen of Tearling from other dystopian books. They had found the seven volumes of Rowling with no help at all, but there was no squabbling. Aisa walked away with The Hobbit under her arm. Kelsea stood looking after her, torn between wanting to watch the children and wanting to read The Lord of the Rings all over again. Okay, so there are no guns, only swords and blades, no civilized architecture, but there's Harry Potter and LOtR? A little strange, perhaps? But then again, these points did not bother me very much. In a way,instead of being detrimental to the plot, it builds the anticipation of the reader and makes the second installment necessary. I know some authors add more books to a series even when it clearly doesn't need it for (let's be frank here) profit purposes. I'm sure the story of the Crossing will be revealed in due time, as it seems to hold a good deal of importance to the plot. Our ignorance as the reader enhances the experience for us because it requires us to actively participate as we solve the mystery alongside Kelsea. There is also some disturbing graphic content, but nothing that I haven't seen before. The elements are common constituents of the dystopian genre, but I think this book would be better for a much older audience. Adults would definitely love the political and slightly-historical aspects. All in all, this was such and excellent read and very unputdownable. There is so much more to it than meets the eye and combines all of my favorite genres --- a little of dystopia, a little fantasy, a little history and some romance as well --- that makes it one of my favorites for this year!

Bevor ich euch mehr von meinem Leseeindruck berichte muss ich euch sagen, dass ich den Klappentext nicht gelungen finde. Beachtet ihn einfach nicht. Wenn ihr diese Rezension lest, dann kennt ihr die Reihe bis Teil 2 wahrscheinlich. Bestimmt mochtet ihr sie auch und freut euch auf Band 3. Lasst euch gesagt sein: Dieser ist so viel besser, als der Klappentext verspricht. Mich verbindet so viel mit Erika Johansens Reihe. Ich glaube, zu erfahren, dass die Protagonistin in der Verfilmung von Emma Watson gespielt wird, die schon immer eines meiner größten Vorbilder war, hat meine große Liebe zu Kelsea Glynn geweckt. Und diese hat durch alle drei Bücher, gelesen auf Englisch und Deutsch, nicht nachgelassen. Kelsea ist einer der interessantesten Charaktere, von denen ich je gelesen habe. Ihre Wandlung innerhalb der Trilogie beeindruckend und gerade ihre Entscheidung zum Ende des zweiten Bandes hat mich gespannt auf Band 3 hin fiebern lassen. Kelsea hat mich in diesem Band erneut nicht nur begeistern können, sondern darüber hinaus mehr als einmal überrascht und ebenfalls mehr als einmal leiden lassen. Darüber hinaus bin ich sehr angetan vom Weltenentwurf. Nachdem wir in Band 1 wenig erfahren haben und in Band 2 mehr über die Zeit vor der Überfahrt erfahren haben, tauchen wir in Verbannt noch tiefer in die Geschichte des Königreichs ein und erfahren von der Geschichte der ersten Siedler. Dabei werden eine Menge Fragen geklärt, wie die Geschichte der Saphire oder das Schicksal von Tear selbst. Das hilft uns, die Welt, in der Kelsea lebt, besser zu verstehen du es entsteht noch mehr Tiefe als zuvor. Auch den „finalen Showdown“ zwischen Kelsea und der Mort-Königin fand ich mehr als passend. Dieser ist definitiv anders als erwartet und steht überraschenderweise nicht am Ende des Buches. Es gibt noch mehr, das Kelsea regeln muss und schnell merkt man, dass die Mort Königin längst nicht mehr das geringste Übel darstellt. In diesem Zuge konnte mich die Geschichte mehrere Male überraschen und nimmt sehr schnell eine Wendung, die man so nicht erwartet hätte. Dazu gehört definitiv auch das Ende, das mich nach der letzten Seite mehr als sprachlos zurückgelassen hat. Ich hätte noch unzählige weitere Bücher der Glynn Königin gelesen und ich hoffe, dass Erika Johansen mit einer neuen Reihe nicht lange auf sich warten lässt. Fazit: Das Finale der Trilogie um die Glynn Königin Kelsea hat mich nicht nur überrascht, sondern mir auch außerordentlich gut gefallen. Das Ende ist zwar gewöhnungsbedürftig und nicht das, was jeder von uns erwartet hätte, dafür aber mehr als passend. Verliebt habe ich mich auch in diesem Band wieder in Protagonistin und Weltaufbau und ich möchte gar nicht glauben, dass ich mit Verbannt diese wundervolle Reihe abgeschlossen habe.

All hail The Queen of The Tearling. I am left speechless for a moment trying to come up with words to describe this book that will do it justice. The Queen of the Tearling is perhaps the best work of fiction I've read... in my lifetime. Kelsea's ascend to her throne is incredible and is what legends and tales are made of. The novel had me at the edge of my seat and it the first time I have fallen in love a with fictional character that is completely unpredictable in such a brave and heroic way, so much so that I can say Queen Kelsea is my number one favorite fictional character. She is real, raw, imperfect, and she fights for what is right despite being "plain" to the eyes, as so many people through the book describe her. I find it refreshing. It's a powerful message to send to girls everywhere; one needn't be beautiful to be special, or old to be wise; only have a just heart and courageous life. Loyalty, knowledge, and empathy are traits that are easily lost among humans now and days and the book makes a point that society will only get better with wide spread knowledge and care for all humans despite class. The next book can not come out soon enough.

Disclaimer: Sit back and relax because this is going to be one hell of a review. It will be spoiler free, but I will add a small section on the bottom for my "emotional" review that will include spoilers. To understand how I am feeling I will start this with a quote from Da Vinci: I awoke, only to see that the rest of the world is still asleep. This series had the wheels of my mind turn non-stop. I have gone through some sort of awakening and I could never go back to sleep now that I'm seeing the world with new eyes. I could not help noticing the significance of the events of this book and how it relates to our reality and our world. I never thought I would learn about our time by reading a Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Dystopian book. The first two books were incredible but I had so many questions and not enough answers and in The Fate of The Tearling Erika Johansen had an answer for every question that went through my head. The narratives for each character introduced were so beautifully intertwined and even though she introduced even more new characters in this book, I grew just as attached to them as I did the characters I met in the beginning. Many of the new characters introduced were from the past during what is known in Tearling History as "The Crossing" and their stories were so vital to outcome of the series. In learning about the past Kelsea learns how to change their present circumstance and ultimately alter the future, and I think this is a lesson everyone should learn. Without fully knowing your past, you can not move forward or we will be doomed to make the same mistakes as our ancestors. Above all this book provoked thought about how we treat other humans, how much control is too much from a government, the role religion plays in our lives, and whether a perfect society will ever be achievable. As we learn, the cost at achieving this is extremely high and sometimes we are not ready or are not willing to pay it. We lose ourselves in the familiar and give into the very human emotions of greed, selfishness, and suspicion. In addition, I really enjoyed the role books and education played in this book and in the series entirely. At one point the Mace learns to read and he admits to Kelsea how important it is to read because we learn the pain of others. Through reading and education, we lose these preconceived boundaries in our minds and are more open to others vulnerabilities and lifestyles. I might add that I grew up Christian and because I read, I am more open to others opinions as long as they don't hurt anyone. But for the pious or devout person, they might find some of the things said about religion offensive. I didn't but I thought I should put that out there. I really enjoyed Erika Johansen's point of view on religion and how that translated through Kelsea and the other characters. In this book you will find deeply religious people and deeply atheist people as well and the blend of both was beyond perfect. I was able to open my eyes to a new way of thinking and I learned a lot. I really appreciate it. I never would have foresaw how it ended, it was bittersweet and very painful to finish. But it was the perfect ending in my opinion. I don't agree with people saying that it was anti-climatic because the last 2-3 chapters I was just holding my breathe the whole time and saying "Oh shit." I will though, forever wonder what could have been. Now for the emotional spoiler review. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! (view spoiler)[Emotional... this book took it's toll on me. I felt exhausted after reading this book from just everything that happened. I did not expect it to end the way it did. I would be lying if I wasn't sad that Kelsea and Pen didn't end up together. That really got me down. And I was in shock when Kelsea and the Red Queen her "getting along." And I use that term lightly. Even though you pretty much know what happens with the characters in the past like Katie and Jonathan *cries* I still am shocked when the events unfold. I gasped out loud when Aisa was killed and how she was killed. Gosh that hurt my heart so bad. I'm also really upset by the the fact that after Kelsea changes the past, no one remembers her and she isn't a queen and she's basically all alone with this grand adventure. The Mace doesn't remember her (which breaks my heart), Pen is with another girl and has a baby. And his name isn't even Pen!! And some people were simply not born. I know though that if I were in her place, I would have done the same thing as Kelsea. (hide spoiler)]

This is my first time listening to the audiobook and I STILL LOVE IT AND IT IS STILL ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS.

This book was a good conclusion to the trilogy. It wrapped everything up neatly, and it was creative. That said, I didn't really like the ending. (view spoiler)[ I'm glad that Kelsea was able to save the Tearling. That said, I think that it was really shitty that it was at the expense of all of her friends and family. I felt like there was a lack of a resolution there because, while Tear's vision of a mostly-Utopia came true, Kelsea lost everything she had known up until that point. She couldn't even have Mace as a friend in this new life? It made me really sad. (hide spoiler)]

I finished this book last night shortly before bed, and I hope my thoughts would be more than just “WHAT?!? WHAT?!???? WHY!!!” after a good night’s sleep. I can’t say i was completely successful in that 😅 but let’s see if I can formulate it in a semi-coherent way: I disliked this book because after a kind of meandering, disjointed first half (with brief interludes of what we loved in the first two books), the narrative just went kind of awry and progressively worst, culminating in the worst possible ending I could have imagined (and believe me, I had imagined some pretty bad endings. This is dystopia after all and one has to brace herself.) After creating two very solid novels with good world and character development, the author seems to have lost herself when it came to creating her world’s background and mythology, as well as a workable resolution. It felt like the story got away from her and she had to scramble to paste together somewhat random pieces into a cohesive narrative. What emerged was a weird blend of elements and twists that hurt the flow of the story and occasionally broke continuity a little, or at the very least undid character and story development from the previous two volumes to a degree. I still think this trilogy is worth reading, because the first two books are very good IMO; but with all the questionable choices and disjointed narrative, I can’t give this volume in the trilogy more than 2 1/2 STARS, sadly.

What an incredibly satisfying read! This has been sitting on my TBR for a while. I finally picked it up to give it a shot but I didn’t have much hope that I’d get into it, TBH — I haven’t been into high fantasy, and sometimes I feel like the whole royalty and guards and stuff has been done to death and I’m not often in the mood to find out if this latest iteration of the usual tropes will have something new about it. Well, damn — I love being proven wrong! (not as a general rule, but here I certainly do) First of all, this isn’t high fantasy but dystopian fantasy. I don’t want to give too much away but I thought this was a relatively unexplored, but interesting twist. As for what else makes this book so hard to put down, it’s definitely the compelling characters and great character dynamics. The MC is a normal-looking (that is, not especially pretty) girl with unusual circumstances who doesn’t always know her own mind but knows she want to do good and that she needs to surround herself with good people to live long enough to do that. She is in a crappy situation (yeah she is a Queen, but I definitely wouldn’t trade place with her!) and doing her best to not let it turn her into a crappy person, much less a shitty monarch. She has to WORK to gain respect from her subordinates, and faith from everyone else. There are also some really interesting and lovable morally gray characters: the Captain of her guard and the “king of thieves”, for starters — strong characters who could have easily overshadowed the MC but instead emerge as intriguing, relatively well-fleshed out though somewhat mysterious characters of their own. Interestingly enough, the villains are the ones who still remain slightly shapeless and foggy when the book ends, but we’ll no doubt hear more about them in the sequels. As it stands, this is the most compelling and bingeable adult fantasy I have read in at least two years, so I’m giving it 4 1/2 STARS and moving straight onto the sequel!

Really good! Anything that wasn't Kelsea reminded me of Game of Thrones. I liked it a lot.

I heard people said that this book is full of political intrigue and a strong female protagonist who is also a queen. Oh boy, this book is much more political than I initially thought. The story follows Kelsea, the heir to the Tearling Throne. She was raised by her foster parents far away from the palace and retrieved by the Queen Guard at the age of 19 to ascend to the throne and become the Queen of the Tearling. From there, she has to survived many assassination attempts, betrayal, the threat from a neighboring kingdom, and the threat from inside of the kingdom. Kelsea is headstrong and stubborn, which could aggravate people. Even her own traits sometimes annoyed her, but we follow her as she grows and understands the condition her kingdom is in. She is also curvy if I'm seeing it correctly and constantly felt insecure about her body. But then she went from being the insecure girl who knows nothing about how to be a monarch to a powerful, still stubborn, but caring queen that the kingdom needs. I adore her character growth. One thing I notice is that this book has no romance. Yes, Kelsea is always surrounded by men, but currently, she has no love interest. We do get to see her fawn over the appearances of them, but nothing more than that. It may change in the second book, I don't know. And usually, I wouldn't enjoy a political book if it didn't have a romance that I enjoy, but I didn't mind the absence of it. I do admit that the middle part bored me, but other than that, this series has potential.

2.5 I did not expect that ending. And by that, I meant I. Hate. It. The beginning was a bit slow and uninteresting. Yes, at first I was annoyed that we're getting another flashback from the early years after The Crossing. Then things starts to get interesting, and I was hooked. I really liked the dynamic between Kelsea and The Red Queen (even though I am disappointed in how that ends). I enjoyed Katie's storyline and her complicated feelings. I enjoyed a lot. But, ugh, the payoff of this book is terrible. I didn't fully understand what happened with Katie and where she finally ends up in, I don't understand how I manage to hate some of the characters just because they didn't fully developed and how their story didn't end in a satisfying way, and I absolutely HATE the 180 degrees change in that last chapter. It makes it seems like the author didn't know how to solve the problem and decided to change it.

This review is hosted at Illeana's Book Reviews at https://notyourmommasbookreviews.word... "Let me just start off by saying…the blurbs on the covers, usually I don’t agree with them. This time I do. The Queen of the Tearling was everything I had imagined. And then more. We start off with Kelsea a 19 year old girl, who on her birthday has to go with some guards to become queen. After living her whole life in one cottage, never allowed to venture out of the boundaries surrounding it for fear that someone will kill her. She travels with these men, most of whom had been part of her mothers guard years ago and none of them are willing to tell her anything about her mother because they have sworn a vow that still holds even if she is dead. There is just so much that happens within the first 200 pages it would take me all night to tell you guys about it. So I highly, HIGHLY, suggest to read this book. It’s only 434 pages, and well worth it. Honestly I don’t remember the last time I was so pleased with how a book was, and yes, there were some things I still need to know. But there are two more books. And I plan on starting the second one tomorrow."

The Young Adult genre is not my favorite. Once upon a time, I absolutely loved it. The Hunger Games, Divergent (if we ignore the travesty that was Allegiant), Uglies, and heck, even Twilight, were all a lot of fun when I first read them five or so years ago. They weren’t masterpieces of literature by any means, but they were fun. I doubt I would enjoy them as much a second time, but I’ve left them with the ratings I originally gave them because they earned that rating at the time. Since then, the genre has gotten stale to me. Books like Matched, Red Queen, Beautiful Creatures, The Young Elites and others left me with a bad taste in my mouth. They just seemed so formulaic, recycled from stories that had already been successful. I got sick of the angst and self doubt and insta-love and love triangles that plague the genre as a whole. There were exceptions, of course; I loved Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Six of Crows, and Cinder. But since the genre has been pretty hit-or-miss for me, I was hesitant to pick this book up. I’m glad I did, though! Kelsea started off as an unlikely heroine to me, but she tried so hard to do the right thing that I couldn’t help but like her. She struggled with her looks and with believing in herself, but the girl was smart and determined and just so strong. The supporting characters were very well written, as well, especially Lazarus, the Fetch, and Javel. As a reader, I appreciate when a writer gives me character development and insight in small doses, instead of drowning me in information or starving me for the same. Johansen balanced this very well. When I first started reading, the setting kept throwing me out of the story. It felt like a completely new place, but I kept being reminded that the capital was New London, and that they were a colony whose American doctors had been lost at sea and so on. For some reason, the emphasis on the setting being founded on our reality was jarring to me. But I acclimated, and I’m beginning to see the reasoning behind Johansen’s choices. The magic in the book was very mysterious and remains unexplained, but I actually enjoyed that aspect. I’m a big fan of technical magic systems á la Sanderson, but I can appreciate mystery when it’s well presented, as this was. Sometimes the magic was a tad too convenient, but alas. Hopefully the Jewels and their power will be further fleshed out in following books. A couple of things bothered me, though. First and foremost, some of the content makes me uncomfortable with the YA label attached to the book. There was a good bit of language and sexual content that I wouldn't be comfortable with a high school freshman reading. In my opinion, this would be more appropriately labeled a New Adult fantasy instead of a Young Adult fantasy. I had much the same problem with the genre being tacked onto the Red Rising trilogy. Also, I'm afraid that Kelsea's self-image issues and her focus on her looks or lack thereof could be harmful to girls struggling with their appearances. Finally, I appreciated that there was an actual ending to the story. Yes, this is a trilogy, and the book most definitely left room for the next two volumes. But there was actually a resolution! So many YA books just leave you hanging at the end. (I’m looking at you, Three Dark Crowns.) All things considered, this was a fun read, and I’ll be continuing the trilogy at some point in the future. A buddy read with my friend Missy!

I finished this book a few days ago and I still don't know how to rate it. It's between 3 and 4 stars but I'm giving it a 3 because it doesn't feel like a 4. I like the idea it was just a bit slow to get into. I started it a couple of times before and it didn't capture my attention. But I did listen to the audiobook this time and it was a much better experience. The characters are okay. I really like some of the aspects of the book and the social commentary. ( And I can also understand why someone would not like those same aspects) I really hope that the second book will have faster pace. And that I'll start soon so I don't forget everything that happened here.

This isn't set in the past, but in a post-apocalyptic future where the world reverts back to medievalism (don't forget this or you'll be driven crazy by the language and references)

Rating: somewhere between two and three. Why doesn't goodreads have a half star rating.