Erika Johansen

The Invasion of the Tearling

With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, a brutal ruler whose power derives from dark magic, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. And nothing can stop the invasion.

a novel

The invasion of the Tearling

Vicky  Nuñez 

It's been a while since a series has engaged my attention the way this has. I don't think I would ever have expected the way it will go. 
I can't wait for the end of the trilogy. I have very high expectations.

Megan During

While I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as the first, I did get a better understanding of how the Tear came to be and you got a lot more background on all of the other characters. Plus with a cliffhanger ending now I can't wait to read the next book!

Courtney

This was about a thousand times better than the first almost to the point where I wondered if a different author wrote this. Either way, it is an amazing sequel and I cannot wait to get my hands on the final book! Highly highly recommended!!

Ugh finally finished!! That seemed to take absolutely forever.

I did enjoy the book I think, it was good, much better and obviously fleshed out that the TV show was but my god was it long. A lot of times it did take a while to get to the point or there was a lot of filler which maybe could have shaved a good 100 pages off but I still had a good time reading! I do honestly hate Michael though, God he's annoying as hell...

I’d definitely recommend this if you saw the TV show as it definitely misses a lot out and speeds and skips over a lot of things I thought were important. Think I’m gonna read book 2 once the new season is out and compare

Invasion of the Tearling

Jamieson

Kelsea wondered suddenly whether humanity ever actually changed. Did people grow and learn at all as all the centuries passed? Or was humanity merely like the tide, enlightenment advancing and then retreating as circumstances shifted? The most defining characteristic of the special might be lapse.


This is gonna sound batshit but ... even though I can see so many problems with this book I still ... liked it. Objectively, there's a lot wrong with it. It's slow-paced, too drawn out, doesn't capitalise on its setting and intrigue as much as it could, and sets up arcs only to brush them away with little satisfying resolve. And yet, I really liked reading this


  I love Kelsea so much
 she is SUCH an interesting main character, and I liked that she had a bit of a anti-hero arc in this book. She's definitely becoming more morally grey and I LOVED IT. I think she's a genuinely interesting main character to follow. 


  I liked the alternative timeline setting
There is a pre-crossing timeline in this book and I genuinely enjoyed these parts. It's dystopian in high fantasy which is fun, and the intertwining of the stories to create mystery and intrigue was my favourite part of this book, plot wise


  Pen and Kelsea is kind of everything
 bodyguard and queen trope? mutual pining? perfection. The romance could/should have been more drawn out but I can Accept it not being so since it's a background aspect of the plot


  I love the politics
There is A LOT of politics and I love political fantasies so this worked for me. You've got the religious/church politics, the invasion, the court politics. Again, I think some could have been more drawn out and complex, but I still liked it


  its so unique
I've read a lot of fantasies but I honestly don't think I've read one quite like this. The setting and the characters and the world feel so fresh, and the way this blends and bends genre is so much fun. It refreshes tropes and definitely has a new take on fantasy. 

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE SO MUCH


  ?? racism
 there's a part where they describe a gang, and the leader is black, and then they refer to them as 'those people' and talk about their proclivity for rape/looting/violence. Even if they meant 'those people' as in, another gang, identifying the leader as a Black man despite noone else race ever being mentioned still feels icky


  lots of homophobia/raping/violence
 It's not necessarily a critique because I don't necessarily think books shouldn't include these themes, but sometimes it felt like misery porn. Almost every female character is raped/faces an active threat of rape and the church is violently homophobic and misogynist. I understand this book Was trying to critique these aspects and mirror them with our world, but I kind of found it all exhausting. 


  (almost) bury your gays
 There is two explicitly gay characters in this book. One is a priest who is violently mutilated by the Church on-page (and it's pretty graphic) and left for the dead. The other is only mentioned to be gay as he lies on his deathbed so that his boyfriend can weep over his death. In both cases, I felt it was weird we only see gay characters when they suffer/so they can suffer. Neither die, but the depiction again felt icky. 


  its pretty slow
 like the first book, this felt like a lot of set-up and not much pay-off. It is the second book, so the pay-offs may be in the third, but I still thought this took to long drawing out tension and too little time actually have the action this tension leads to occurring. Honestly, not a whole lot happens in this book despite it being nearly 600 pages long. 

IN CONCLUSION

Despite having many a grievance, I still did have a fun time reading this. This is far from a perfect series so far, but it's got a great main character and lots of unique and fresh elements. I like the world a lot and I'm definitely intrigued and excited to read the third book. I have heard mixed things about the ending, but I think I know whats going on and I don't think I'll be surprised. I am glad I've read these books, and I like them, but maybe they're just not amazing books I'll want to reread over and over again. 

rating: 3.5 star

Marc 

Finally finished this book! I've been in the worst reading slump. Hopefully I can jump back into books again.
Anyway, this book was great; I loved the writing style so very much! I need to read more of Johansen's books. I can't wait for the final book.

Julia Lotz

Inhalt: Die Königin der Schatten hat den Thron bestiegen, doch kann sie ihr Reich vor dem Untergang bewahren? Seit Kelsea Glynn ihr rechtmäßiges Erbe angetreten hat, ist in Tearling ein Zeitalter der Menschlichkeit und der Gerechtigkeit angebrochen. Doch mit der Roten Königin des Nachbarreiches Mortmesne hat sich Kelsea eine ebenso mächtige wie gefährliche Feindin gemacht: Unau altsam marschiert die gewaltige Mort-Armee auf die Grenzen Tearlings zu. Noch während Kelsea versucht, einen Krieg zu verhindern, den sie nicht gewinnen kann, kommt sie einem Geheimnis aus der Vergangenheit auf die Spur – einem Geheimnis, das das Schicksal Tearlings für immer verändern wird.
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With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, a brutal ruler whose power derives from dark magic, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. And nothing can stop the invasion.

But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing, and she finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime. The fate of the Tearling —and that of Kelsea’s own soul—may rest with Lily and her story, but Kelsea may not have enough time to find out. (Quellen: Verlag)
Meine Meinung: Heute gibt es von mir wieder einmal eine Rezension zu einem Buch, das ich wieder einmal zweisprachig auf Deutsch und auf Englisch gelesen habe. Dieses Mal habe ich wieder einmal bemerkt, wie viel Spaß mir das macht und wie lehrreich es darüber hinaus ist, da man sieht, wie bestimmte Sätze, Ausdrücke etc. übersetzt werden und wie die Arbeit des Übersetzers ein Buch verbessern aber auch verschlechtern kann. Bei The Invasion oft he Tearling war es beispielsweise tatsächlich so, dass ich die deutsche Übersetzung ein Stück weit mehr mag, als das englische Original. Ich finde die Sätze einfach treffender, die Sprache gestochener. Dennoch liebe ich auch Erika Johansens Art zu schreiben. Wie auch schon The Queen of the Tearling, beinhaltet The Invasion of the Tearling nicht viel Spannung und Action, dafür aber viele Stellen, die man aufmerksam und mit einem wachen Geist lesen muss, sowie viele politische und wirtschaftliche Umstände, die man beim Lesen hinterfragen darf. Für mich ist die Die Königin der Schatten-Reihe eine herausragende Fantasyreihe, die über die pure Unterhaltungslektüre hinausgeht. 
Die Protagonistin Kelsea mochte ich in diesem zweiten Band deutlich mehr als im ersten und während ich damals noch gezweifelt habe, ob Emma Watson tatsächlich die perfekte Besetzung für sie ist, habe ich nach der Lektüre des zweiten Bandes keine Bedenken mehr. Sie entwickelt sich in vielerlei Hinsicht zum Positiven, wie zum Negativen und wird ein immer weniger nerviger, dafür aber ein sehr interessanter Charakter. Noch etwas verändert sich im zweiten Band der Reihe. Kelsea hat Visionen und diese führen sie in die Vergangenheit zu Lily. Eine Frau, die vor der Überfahrt im sogenannten New Canaan gelebt hat. Schon früh wird deutlich, dass sie für die Geschichte von Tearling eine wichtige Rolle spielt und das ganze Buch über rätselt der Leser während ihrer doch sehr langen Passagen, wer genau Lily ist. Das bringt nicht nur eine Menge Spannung auf sondern der Leser erfährt eine ganze Menge über die Geschichte von Tearling und über die Umstände, die zur Überfahrt, zum Crossing, geführt haben. Ein Punkt, den ich im ersten Teil kritisiert habe, nämlich dass mir die Hintergrundinfos schlicht und einfach fehlen, wird so auch aufgehoben und neben Lilys Perspektive erfahren wir auch an vielen anderen Stellen etwas über die Geschichte von Tearling. 
Der Hauptkonflikt, die Auseinandersetzung mit den Mort, zieht sich wie ein roter Faden durch das Buch und doch war er anfangs erst einmal gar nicht so wichtig. Das ändert sich jedoch auch im Verlaufe des Buches und er bekommt gegen Ende mehr Gewichtung. Dort steigt die Spannung auch mehr an denn parallel dazu, nähert sich auch Lily ihrem Hauptkonflikt. Gegen Ende konnte ich das Buch, das sich anfangs doch eher gezogen hat, nicht mehr aus der Hand legen. Das Ende offenbart eine interessante Entwicklung und lässt erneut viele Fragen offen. So freue ich mich sehr auf den dritten und letzten Tel der Trilogie, auf den wir uns nicht mehr allzu lange gedulden müssen.
Reading Skills: Bei der Tearling-Reihe handelt es sich um eine Mischung aus Dystopie und High Fantasy. Gerade deshalb gibt es viele Fachbegriffe, die Sprache ist manchmal etwas altertümlich anmutend und generell auf einem höheren Niveau. Wenn ihr das Buch lesen wollt, solltet ihr schon sehr gut englisch Lesen können und vielleicht auch schon das eine oder andere Fantasybuch auf Englisch gelesen haben. Zur Not holft aber auch die parallele Lektüre der deutschen Ausgabe. Ich vergebe das englische Lesefüchschen im Level 3 von 4 für dieses Buch. 
Fazit: The Invasion of the Tearling // Die Königin der Schatten: Verflucht ist ein gelungener zweiter Teil der Tearling-Trilogie. Erika Johansen eröffnet den Lesern viele weitere Blicke in das Universum der Reihe und baut so eine ganze Menge Spannung auf. Der Konflikt der Reihe entwickelt sich weiter, vor allem ist es aber auch die Protagonistin Kelsea, die sich sehr verändert. Nun freue ich mich auf das Finale!

Vielen herzlichen Dank an Harper Collins UK und an den Heyne Verlag für die schönen *Rezensionsexemplare.

Gisela Ayala 

Erika Johansen did it again. The dystopian world of The Tearling and Mortmense is simply breath taking. I would have flew with this book but I really tried to savor it and make it last because I knew once I finished it I would be sad leaving it behind. Queen Kelsea remains my favorite fictional character of all time. She is the most honest and real person I have known in a book, probably more real the a real person. She is morphed into her own and knows what she wants, yet she is still vulnerable and understands when situations are beyond her control. She isn't the only character I love, even the characters I hate I love, like the Mort Queen and Thorne and Ducarte. Erika has created rich characters that seem so life like. I feel as if I am reading a history lesson not fiction. I don't know what else to say about this book without giving to much away and gushing about it like a love sick puppy. Everything in this book is relevant to what is happening in the world today: women's rights,unrest between the classes,power, religion, war, birth control, politics, and ultimately what makes a successful society and government? What works and what doesn't, and the never ending quest to find out the perfect way to live; that even when you do something with the best intentions something can go wrong. I can not wait until the next book.

In this riveting sequel to the national bestseller The Queen of the Tearling, the evil kingdom of Mortmesne invades the Tearling, with dire consequences for Kelsea and her realm. With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, a brutal ruler whose power derives from dark magic, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. And nothing can stop the invasion. But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing, and she finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime. The fate of the Tearling —and that of Kelsea’s own soul—may rest with Lily and her story, but Kelsea may not have enough time to find out. In this dazzling sequel, Erika Johansen brings back favorite characters, including the Mace and the Red Queen, and introduces unforgettable new players, adding exciting layers to her multidimensional tale of magic, mystery, and a fierce young heroine.

A Novel

Ashley Wendt

I loved Queen of the Tearling. It kept me turning the page looking for answers. While reading Invasion of the Tearling I found myself so frustrated with Kelsea's development and while I was still looking for answers, I gave up and DNF'd this one. I just couldn't take Kelsea anymore. I ended up googling book summaries for The Invasion and the Fate of Tearling to find out how it ended. I'm happy I didn't finish, as it sounds like it only would've angered me the way the Divergent Series angered me with its ending (which, by the way, I ended up DNFing at the beginning of the third book and googling the book summary to find out the ending was lame.)

Shay Henrion

The first book in this trilogy was SO good that this one was a bit of a let down. It was still really good, but I always find myself annoyed/liking less the middle part of a trilogy. Still can't wait for the conclusion!

Elisa Bieg

This is a bit of a peculiar book — not weird per se, but the story development here is definitely handled in an unusual and unexpected way. 

It picks up right where The Queen of the Tearling left off but it also includes a dual timeline, the second taking up more and more space as the narrative progresses.
This second timeline was hard for me to reconcile with the main one and it’s not the way I would have chosen to go, but eventually it reeled me in just as the first one did, with compelling characters and a story with familiar elements and a sort of evergreen theme with a new twist. 

All in all, this trilogy continues to impress me — it’s got my attention 100% captive (I normally read several books concurrently but right now it’s all Tearling, all the time 😄) and yet I’d have trouble pinpointing just how it’s doing that, or what makes it different from so many other stories with similar tropes and elements. 

I feel like I 
  need
 to start the next book immediately, which is fairly unusual for me — I don’t often binge entire trilogies this way, and I am usually more reticent to dive into books that are on the chunkier side. 

I’ve heard the third book is the worst of the series, but even so I find myself really eager to start — I need to see how the story continues (and ends!) and if it’s not great I’ll still consider it a win because the fist and second were very good, and I think these characters will stay with me for a while. 

4 STARS

jess

This was quite good. The intertwining of Kelsea and Lily's story gave an insight to the world that was not there in The Queen of the Tearling. While the plot is slow and the book is dense, it's more A Song of Ice and Fire more than anything else. Now, I found ASOIAF hard to read (I haven't even finished A Feast for Crows and Invasion of the Tearling because of the rather slow-paced fantasy plot. 

All in all, deep insight into the characters. There were a few issues I am picking out; we hear about Kelsea's temper a lot but it's rarely shown on a regular basis. I feel like Johansen wrote in self-injury and rape as shock factor and the plot could have done without it. And I still need more explanation on how society got from one rapidly moving towards equality to a strict patriarchy, and how the rest of the world was doing. But all in all, I enjoyed this book.

Livia

3.5

Okay, if I was only judging it from the tail-end of book two and book three, this book would get a 5-stars. But the beginning and the middle is so goddamn boring, I even thought about dnf-ing it. It really dragged down my whole experience of reading it.

Lily's story, at first, seems so pointless. She was an annoying character and I didn't see why are we told her story. But then things started to get interesting, thank goodness. 

In my eyes, Kelsea seems to regressed at the beginning of the book. She was stuck-up and such a know-it-all. But seeing her actions and sacrifices at the end, her character is redeemable. For me, at least.

Emi Gilmore 

Perhaps a 3.5 stars. This book had a pretty decent amount of pages and I felt like not much happened. Very disappointed, but still enjoyed it.

Julie D.

Flavia Louise

3.75 stars
I was quite confused when I started this book and am still not really happy with the contextualisation that happened in this book. I am still very interested in how the story progresses but I do have to say that this book was considerably less impressive than book 1.

Libby G

I enjoyed this book even more than the first one! I was intrigued by the entrance of Lily into the story and how the author managed to make it an integral part of the story when she could have just done random flashbacks or a prequel. 
Kelsea's struggle was always believable from her struggle with self image to her struggle with her anger and her power. 
I was thoroughly engrossed the entire time.

Kayla

I seriously couldn't put it down. I was addicted to seeing Kelsea's transformation through this series: from a commoner to a queen, from a loner to a person surrounded with others, and from a from a girl to a woman. This truly is an adventure.

Laura Yaneth Martinez

Listening to this actually did get me quite confused. I kind of lost track of the names so when it came down to the final reveal at the end I was sort of lost as to who connected with who. Overall a fun listen. I will definitely be going online to fill in the gaps through a good google search.

Grace O'Callaghan

** spoiler alert **
           This seems to be a very divisive series for a lot of people and while I can see why people don’t like it, I really love it. This was a great sequel in my opinion, I felt like more happened in this book than the previous one.

The world building and history was expanded upon in this book which I greatly appreciated. We learnt a lot more about the Crossing and what happened to the world before it and how the Tearling came to be. In my opinion it is such an interesting and unique world as it’s a sort of alternate future of our own world where magic exists and it’s just unlike anything I’ve ever read about.

Kelsea’s character really grew and changed in the sequel and I loved it. She conveyed a more darker side to herself that we hadn’t really seen before. She was more brutal and power-hungry and you could see the learns blur between her morals and her thirst for power. She is still not comfortable with the way she looks and even though her physical appearance does change in this book she is still insecure. I think this depicts her as a normal teenage girl that has insecurities and flaws. Basically Kelsea is amazing and I loved seeing her become more morally grey in this book.

Also enjoyed the developments between her and Pen. It’s clear that Pen is in love with her and their chemistry and relationship is wonderful and I can’t wait to see more of it in the next book. As much as I love a good romance as much as the next girl, but I’m so glad that this is a very minor part of the story. Many a time I’ve read about romance in monarchies and it has taken over the story. It was refreshing to see that the Queen actually has duties and responsibilities instead of throwing them away to sleep with someone.

I read (listened) to this very quickly as I’m so invested in the world and characters but I have to admit that there were times where the story lulled. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore slow paced books, and whilst this definitely had more plot than the last book, there were times where story wasn’t progressing. This isn’t a bad thing by any means, I enjoy just hanging around in the Keep and seeing the politics, but I can see why this wouldnt be someone’s cup of tea.

All in all a slow paced but intriguing sequel with a unique world and morally grey characters. I’m actually going to read (listen) to ‘The Fate of the Tearling’ right now, I can’t wait.

Khloe Grotting

Ashling Brown

This book was much different from the first, and it was wonderful but not as good as book one!

I listened to the audio-book version of this book and enjoyed it immensely. The narrator's voice was both soothing and engaging, and it made the story a lot more engaging. I particularly like the way she voices Mace. 


  “Corruption begins with a single moment of weakness.”


The invasion of the Tearling held a lot more political input than the first book, which at times was a little boring, but it didn't take away from the story as a whole which I appreciated. The book, as a whole, felt a lot more grown-up and advanced than the first book. It touches on forced relationships, female degradation and sexuality, which can be susceptible subjects. Still, I found that they were touched on very well throughout this book. God and religion also held a large impact on this book which was interesting to follow, and I'm excited to see where it leads in book three. 

Kelsey had grown a lot, and at times became a darker, more brutal version of herself which I definitely appreciated. Every decision that she made held a consequence, which is true to life and something that I loved about this story. Mace also changed a lot throughout this book, and became a lot more stern and disapproving of Kelsey which was nice to see; he was like a fatherly figure to her, which she had definitely needed.

Throughout book two, we get to see the perspective of a new character, Lilly, and I found this entire story fascinating. Although Lily was oblivious in the beginning, she grew throughout, and in the end, Kelsey was able to somehow talk to her, which was interesting. At times, Lilly's story was heartbreaking, but she showed strength, and in the end, a determination which was lovely to see, I often found myself more into Lily's story than Kelseys. 
  (I'd love a full book on Lilly and her life after the crossing)


The magic system has never been described in detail, which makes sense through this book as no one seems to know much about Magic; however, it is still strange how two jewels can transport Kelsey back in time and cut people from the inside, out. This was the only fault I found with this book, and wish that the magic was explained more in-depth in both books one and two. 

Overall I really enjoyed the story, however, I didn't enjoy it as much as Book One. I'm looking forward to completing the series by listening to book three sometime this year.

Анастасия Розова

3.75/5
Weeell, that was a long one! Not because of the book, I've just had a lot of issues.

But I liked this sequel just as much as the first book. Kelsea changes quite a lot and we've been introduced to some new characters. I did like Lily very much, even though I can't really explain why. I've seen that some people didn't like those flashbacks, and I admit that I was a little bit confused at first when I've heard a new name. But I grew to like them and actually was anticipating them in my audiobook. 

Going back to Kelsea, I don't know how I feel about her changes - looks or the character. I guess I just don't mind. Plus, she's still a strong character and now I'm interested what's gonna happen to her in the third book. And to the whole kingdom. And Pan. Like, c'mon, give me more Pan! 

Looking forward to the last book in an audio form.

Sophie Elaina 

I didn't enjoy this as much as the first but it was still amazing and the character development Erika Johansen is able to create is astounding. I'm intrigued by the very different direction the series seems to be going in and am very excited to read the final. I found the changes in perspectives a little jumpy at times and found it hard to keep up so thats why I'm not giving it the full five stars but nonetheless this book was wonderful.

The Queen of The Tearling: 5 Stars
The Invasion of The Tearling: 4.5 Stars
The Fate of The Tearling: 5 Stars

The Invasion of the Tearling

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