Review: The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

GoodReads Summary: 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.

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Publication date: 08/07/14

Despite flying through The Queen of the Tearling, I had some issues with it. My main issue was with the mc, Kelsea. She is described as being plain, and her constant whining about this really got on my nerves. I mean, Alina from Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is also described as plain, and although she has moments of insecurity at least she doesn't go on about it. Further to this, some of the things Kelsea thought and said rubbed me the wrong way. Here are some examples:

How could a woman who looked so old still place so much importance on being attractive?

Um, what? This made me so angry, because so what if you're old and care about how you look? Personally, if I saw an old women like that I would think 'good for you' not why is she even bothering.

Kelsea saw now that there was something far worse than being ugly: being ugly and thinking you were beautiful.

I mean, really? Ugly people can't have confidence, is what you're basically saying.

There is also this point in the book where basically orders her guards to snatch a tiara of a noble she does not like the look of. I did not care for this judgmental side of hers. Furthermore, at another point she demands that her guards go rescue her collection of books, despite the fact that 1) the journey would be very dangerous for them and 2) she can't afford to lose any of them. As a book lover myself, I get wanting to save books, but would I put lives at risk in order to retrieve them? No. There's being stubborn, and then there's being a stupid brat.

Despite all this, however, Kelsea wasn't completely unlikable. I admired her strength and her desperate need to save her land. Plus, there are two more books to come, so there is definitely room for development. 

Although there is no romance in this book, Kelsea does have a crush on an intriguing and mysterious character. When she meets this character he bluntly points out that she is too plain for him, but as the story progresses it seems he is continually surprised by her. Although if his growing interest/respect for her is of a romantic nature it's hard to tell. Even though I did not care for Kelsea's crush on him, because in my opinion she did not know him well enough to form such a crush, I'm curious to see which direction their relationship goes in future books.

Apart from the guy Kelsea is crushing on, another fascinating character is the Red Queen, a tyrant who rules the nearby land of the Mortmesme, and who I guess is the ultimate villain.

The world building in the The Queen of the Tearling is a little weird, and although I didn't have a problem with it I can certainly see why some might. The strange fantasy world melds together three concepts: historical, future, and modern.  For example, there's mentions of castles and horsing riding, but also of more modern stuff like the Harry Potter series. It's confusing and undeveloped (I have many questions, like how did the world come to be the way it is?), but as I said before there are two more books to come, so hopefully the world building will be built upon and better explained in future books.

  

The Queen of the Tearing is far from perfect. However, if you were to ask if I'm going to pick up the sequel  my answer would be yes, because even though I can't say I loved it, I did enjoy it. 

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