Book Review :: The Queen of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
Series: The Queen of the Tearling #1
Also in this series: The Fate of the Tearling
on July 8th 2014
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 448
Goodreads

An untested young princess must claim her throne, learn to become a queen, and combat a malevolent sorceress in an epic battle between light and darkness in this spectacular debut—the first novel in a trilogy.

Young Kelsea Raleigh was raised in hiding after the death of her mother, Queen Elyssa, far from the intrigues of the royal Keep and in the care of two devoted servants who pledged their lives to protect her. Growing up in a cottage deep in the woods, Kelsea knows little of her kingdom's haunted past . . . or that its fate will soon rest in her hands.

Kelsea's quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun. Riddled with mysteries, betrayals, and treacherous battles, Kelsea's journey is a trial by fire that will either forge a legend . . . or destroy her.

Last updated on 6 April 2022

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What is The Queen of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen about?

Kelsea is a young woman (19) who lives with her foster parents in the middle of nowhere. One day the Queen’s guard come to collect her, for she isn’t just a farm girl, she’s heir to the throne of the Tearling. While she’s been in hiding for her entire life, she does know who she is and that at some time this day would come, but she didn’t realise what a dark and twisted world she was stepping into – one that she would now have to rule.

“Even a book can be dangerous in the wrong hands, and when that happens, you blame the hands, but you also read the book.”

With the help of her loyal soldiers, Kelsea begins to lead the people of the Tearling, ever weary of the neighbouring kingdom of Mortmesne  ruled by the Red Queen, and the power of the sapphire Kelsea wears around her neck. There’s betrayel, there’s books, there’s an intriguing man known just as ‘the Fetch’, there’s murder, there’s injustice, and there’s a pretty awesome heroine. There’s everything you’d expect to find in a fantasy book, and more.

My thoughts on The Queen of the Tearling

Before I knew that The Queen of the Tearling was being turned into a movie, I knew I wanted to read this book. Basically this first paragraph in the Good Reads description: An untested young princess must claim her throne, learn to become a queen, and combat a malevolent sorceress in an epic battle between light and darkness in this spectacular debut—the first novel in a trilogy. Yup. It had me hooked.

“Carlin often said that history was everything, for it was in man’s nature to make the same mistakes over and over.”

I really did love this book. I did think Kelsea stepped up into her role very quickly, though. It was ‘oh no I can’t do it’ to ‘you will do as I say, peasant, I’m your Queen’ in the space of (what seemed like) a few pages. But the characters were great, and you were immediately either hoping they’d make it to the end of the book alive, or you wanted to climb into the book and them yourself.

I am definitely reading the sequel, The Invasion of the Tearling, and can’t wait to see the movie when it eventually comes out. Emma Watson will be a great Kelsea.

What about you? Have you read The Queen of the Tearling?