The Queen of the Tearling (Queen of the Tearling #1) - Erika Johansen
Publisher: Bantam Books 2015 ISBN 9780857502476
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
It was on her nineteenth birthday that the soldiers came for Kelsea Glynn.
They came to escort her back to the place of her birth – and to ensure she survives long enough to take possession of what is rightfully hers.
But like many nineteen-year-olds, Kelsea is unruly, has high principles and believes she knows better than her elders.
Unlike most nineteen-year-olds, she is about to inherit a kingdom that is on its knees – corrupt, debauched and very dangerous.
Kelsea will either become the most fearsome ruler the kingdom has ever known… or be dead within the week.
Rating: 5/5 stars
In a nutshell:
At nineteen years old, Kelsea Glynn is set to take the throne of Tear. She has spent her whole life in hiding, training and studying, waiting for the day when she becomes Queen. On her birthday, the Queen’s Guard arrives to escort her back to the Keep to claim her birthright.
Characters:
“You win your people or you lose your throne.”
It’s been a while since I read a book with a character like Kelsea. She’s strong, smart and she learns quickly, three qualities I admire in heroines. Though the book is written in multiple points of view, I found Kelsea’s to be the most interesting. I enjoyed reading about her weather through all the things that got thrown her way. As a queen she learns how to command and demand respect, but she also has a side that cares deeply for the people who look after her, especially her Queen’s Guard and her foster parents Barty and Carlin, which balances out her character nicely.
Kelsea is also very instinctive and she acts quickly and impulsively for the most part. She doesn’t hesitate to take action and take command of a situation. She knows the power her position holds and despite her insecurities she tries to do best by her people and makes it clear she wants to rule in justice not in fear (thought she can be pretty fearsome too.)
Another character I love is Mace, her Captain of Guard. Mace is the kind of character that inspires fear among the whole of Tearling, which is convenient because it does its job in protecting the Queen. Make them fearful of her Captain of Guard and they just might hesitate to kill her. Mace, while a blunt, secretive and faithful Guard, has a really good relationship dynamic with Kelsea. They work together really well, and you can just feel the respect Mace has for his new Queen. I also love that she calls him “Lazarus” when everyone calls him Mace. It adds a unique angle in their relationship.
“When Kelsea twisted around to peer up at Mace, she saw that he had his sword raised in one hand, his mace in the other. The ball of the mace was still crusted with dried blood. Mace’s expression was one of dangerous serenity: a man so casual and comfortable with death that he begged it to come forward and make its presence known.”
Pen, one of the youngest in the Queen’s Guard at thirty, is the best swordsman among them. It took a while for Kelsea to earn the respect of most of her Guard, but with Pen, I always felt like he never felt ill towards Kelsea. He entertained her questions, talked to her, defended her and sometimes acted with affection. I really like that Kelsea has someone in her Guard who treats her such.
Kelsea’s uncle, the Regent, I didn’t hate his character as much as I felt sorry for him. He made some god-awful choices while he sat on Kelsea’s throne and he never deserved that position in the first place. He was arrogant, selfish and self-serving.
The Fetch – who is he, really? No one knows. I hope we get more answers about his identity in the second book. I’m most curious about what his character is going to do next.
Red Queen, where do I even begin? This woman makes a wonderful antagonist. She’s cruel, sadistic and in my opinion, a little in over her head. The things she did in the book made me cringe. I love to hate her, which is the perfect feeling for villains in fantasy books.
“The Fetch was intelligent, diabolically so, and intelligent people devised intelligent cruelties. That was where the Red Queen had always excelled.”
World:
The book is set in the 24th century and it has a really unique setting. It involves an occurrence called the “pre-Crossing”, so the story is basically set in the future, but the story is told like it was set in times when there were kings and queens and court nobles and guards. It’s a really interesting world because for once, the future isn’t written as a dystopian or utopian society, but rather a very old-fashioned, Queen-Elizabeth-era with the court intrigue and the politics and the war strategizing. Since it’s fantasy, it also involves magic.
However, since it’s set in the 24th century, the book mentions a few stories of the pre-Crossing and other things that belong in the 21st century such as Kelsea reading books that were published in our time (a fun surprise).
A lot of readers will argue that the world-building in the book was slow, but I thought it was okay. I was really interested in finding out what was going to happen next that I flew through the story and immediately wanted to pick it back up right after.
Would I recommend?
This book is great for fantasy lovers if you’re craving to read a book with strong characters, an intriguing world, court, war, and a lot of mystery.