Author: Erika Johansen
# of Pages: 448 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: 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.
Review: Almost gave this book four stars.
When I started this book, it was about what I was looking for; middle age-style fantasy. It was surprising because although The Queen of Tearling is considered as YA for some, the sexual references, rape mentions, pedophilia, etc. make this book definitely for the older side of YA if not adult. However, it never really gripped my attention like other similar fantasy books (e.g. The Graceling); I ended up taking a several month break from it, in fact. There were also several aspects of the book that I found odd:
1. This book takes place in the future. This threw me for a loop and is somewhat ignorable until the characters start talking about books and referencing the Harry Potter series, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, etc. It's not believable that the future would be a regression to the past (it was easier to think of this book as a whole different world), so references to these books broke the immersion for me.
2. There is an obsession with Kelsea's, the protagonist's, appearance. Through the book, the characters and especially Kelsea herself will repeatedly mention how plain she is. I understood the necessity for mentioning it the first time (maybe even the first couple of times), but the characters just wouldn't shut up about it. I'm not sure what Johansen was aiming to go for here; if there is some positive message about body image hidden in here, obsessing about the protagonists appearance doesn't seem to be the best way to go about it.
3. The character building for Kelsea was weak. Most of what she does throughout the book is attributed to the her black-boxed past in exile. She at first seemed to be an underdog, but I found she was surprisingly capable when facing challenges through the book, with little indication on how she got the skills to be a Queen while she interacted with very few people during her exile.
These problems made me lower the star rating to three stars. When I decided to finish this book once and for all, it wasn't too difficult to get into it, although as I said before, still not as gripping as other fantasy stories I have read. When I was finishing the book, I wanted to continue reading the series just to find out what happens next (although more than likely I will not end up reading the rest of the series). I don't regret reading it as it was reasonably enjoyable and an easy read.
It wouldn't be the first fantasy book I would recommend; if you are already interested then I would say to give it a shot. But otherwise I would recommend other fantasy books (and MANY other dystopian books) before this one.
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