Review: THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING by Erika Johansen

"You win your people or you lose your throne."

~THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING

What's different about THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING is that Kelsea Glynn has always known her destiny. She's not a hidden princess plucked from her ordinary existence as a peasant and thrust into royalty. Instead, she's studied and built the role up in her mind. She's made her mother into something she's not. When her mother dies, Kelsea must put all of her studies to use and repair the broken kingdom she's inherited before it's destroyed by war. There's so much more to being the Queen of the Tearling than Kelsea ever thought possible, both good and bad, and only her actions will decide if she lives or dies, and if her country will rise or fall.

THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING is one of those books. You will love it or you will hate it. I think the reason for the conflicting viewpoints is the way this has been super-marketed. "The next big thing since Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games!" I thought the book was a good start to an immersive new series that I'm interested in continuing. Do I think it's the best book in the entire world? No. But it has so much potential! Is it like the two series referenced? I can see similarities, but it's really its own story. There's so much happening in the first book that it does move slowly at times, but there are other parts that flash past. There's a lot of world-building at play, and I'm looking forward to seeing the story open up and become epic and sprawling in future books. This is one where you'll have to read it and make up your own mind. Don't rely on anyone's review!

One thing I really loved was the way readers were introduced to Tearling history at the start of each chapter. I don't always read the anecdotes that begin a chapter; in this book, I relished seeing each and every one because they enhanced the novel. My other favorite element was a character, the Fetch. His scenes were absolutely my favorite ones, and there's so much more to him than we're seeing right now. I'm looking forward to seeing more and more of him in future books. He absolutely captivated me, and I can see why he blindsided Kelsea right away as well. We didn't see him all that much in the first book, but I can already tell he'll play a big part in the series, and I'm already building theories! I'm glad readers were able to follow his POV a bit, and that the book wasn't 100% from Kelsea's POV. We even saw things through the eyes of villains such as the Red Queen.

Another interesting element that made THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING stand out was the way it read like old-school fantasy, but took place far in the future. I would have believed you if you told me this took place centuries ago...until current literature was referred to as being really old, and modern science such as recessive genes were discussed. Then I realized just how much changed and was lost after the Crossing that changed the world. It took a while to wrap my head around the notion and pulled me out of the book a little at first, but then I thought about it and really appreciated the way a world can come so full-circle. Everyone says that history repeats itself. Here is proof! The world is much darker and more disturbing, which is where, I think, some of The Hunger Games comparisons come into play (but no spoilers!).

THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING is being marketed as an adult fantasy with YA crossover appeal. I can see the appeal, since Kelsea is 17 years old and stepping into a new role in life, which is the type of coming of age story that the YA genre loves most. At the same time, there are a lot of dark issues, adult scenes, and brutality in the book's pages, so I would only recommend this one to older teens mature enough to handle the issues introduced. I was definitely intrigued by this series and can't wait to see with author Erika Johansen takes us next as she continues fleshing out her world and deepening her characters.

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