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Review: The Queen of the Tearling

by Erika Johansen

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“‘What sort of weak, housebound woman do you think I am Lazurus I’m bleeding, that’s all.’” p.56

Title: The Queen of the Tearling
Author: Erika Johansen
Book: 1 of The Queen of the Tearling
Genre: Fantasy
Found: Goodreads
Rating: 4 Voodoos

On her nineteenth birthday, Princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn, raised in exile, sets out on a perilous journey back to the castle of her birth to ascend her rightful throne. Plain and serious, a girl who loves books and learning, Kelsea bears little resemblance to her mother, the vain and frivolous Queen Elyssa. But though she may be inexperienced and sheltered, Kelsea is not defenseless: Around her neck hangs the Tearling sapphire, a jewel of immense magical power; and accompanying her is the Queen’s Guard, a cadre of brave knights led by the enigmatic and dedicated Lazarus. Kelsea will need them all to survive a cabal of enemies who will use every weapon—from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic—to prevent her from wearing the crown.

Despite her royal blood, Kelsea feels like nothing so much as an insecure girl, a child called upon to lead a people and a kingdom about which she knows almost nothing. But what she discovers in the capital will change everything, confronting her with horrors she never imagined. An act of singular daring will throw Kelsea’s kingdom into tumult, unleashing the vengeance of the tyrannical ruler of neighboring Mortmesne: the Red Queen, a sorceress possessed of the darkest magic. Now Kelsea will begin to discover whom among the servants, aristocracy, and her own guard she can trust.

But the quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun—a wondrous journey of self-discovery and a trial by fire that will make her a legend…if she can survive.

What a controversial book this is turning out to be!!
So my average Goodreads friend’s rating: 3 stars.
The goodread’s community average rating: 3.85
and 8 out of the top 10 reviews on Goodread’s is 2 or less.

And yet I loved it!

I can see why some people may have issues with this book. It’s slow, VERY slow. But to me it worked. As a character Kelsea is very introvert, she’s grown up with no one to play with or confide in. Only her two guardians, who taught her everything she will need to know to be a Queen and how to control her temper, but very little about how to love and trust others. Everyone around her wants something from her, and most want her dead. So it’s no surprise that she is wary and relies heavily on her own judgement. The slow pace gives her time to get to know her guards, it allows you as a reader, time to understand how she comes to rely on them and trust them. There are numerous characters in this story and the slow pace gave me time to distinguish between them. Character development, to me, seemed very important and worked well. Kelsea was very strong and independent and took so much in her stride. She is admirable and, while she may not be able to see it, will make a great leader.

One aspect that was totally lost with me was the Crossing. This was supposed to be the history aspect to the story of the Tearling. I still have very little knowledge of Crossing. Why it happened for example, or exactly when? From the small details I saw, I would guess that the Crossing happened not long from now, (as ebooks were mentioned) but I can’t be exactly sure, and at a total guess I would say the Crossing occurred because a King Tearling disagreed with the worlds reliance on technology and tried to distance his people from it, sadly losing all his doctors in the Crossing and ended up basically taking his people back to a state that is reminiscent of Medieval Britain. But that’s a total guess because, as I said, there is no information on this AT ALL!

But if you totally ignore anything to do with time-frame and the Crossing, the story itself was really good.
The world building (other than when) was well described, I could imagine everything clearly and Erika Johansen wasn’t shy with details. I personally wouldn’t classify this as a YA as there is a lot of graphic violence and sexual references.

I’m very intrigued to see where this series goes next…

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