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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Like many nineteen-year-olds, Kelsea Glynn is unruly, has high principles and believes that she knows better than her elders.
Unlike many nineteen-year-olds, she is about to inherit a kingdom that is on its knees – corrupt, debauched and dangerous.
She will either become the most fearsome ruler the kingdom has ever known, or be dead within the week …
19-year-old Kelsea Glynn is heir to the kingdom of Tearling but has spent her whole life in a remote cabin in the woods, raised by her mother’s trusted servants, Carlin and Barty. Having reached the age of ascension, soldiers come to take her to the Keep but her uncle has served as Regent since she went into hiding and he’s not about to vacate the throne voluntarily. Worse, the Tearling’s beholden to the cruel Red Queen of Mortmesne who invaded twenty years ago and demanded a heavy price for her retreat. Riddled with corruption and debauchery, there are many in the Tearling who prefer the status quo and will do anything to maintain it.
But Kelsea has allies – the soldier Mace (who first took her into hiding and now heads her guard) and the Fetch (a notorious outlaw who sees potential in Kelsea). She also has her mother’s sapphires – strange jewels that seem to have a life of her own. If Kelsea can survive the week, she may just become the Tearling’s best hope ...
Erika Johansen’s debut YA/crossover fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) arrives under the fanfare of a major movie deal (with Emma Watson attached to star) but is ultimately a ho hum affair that never rises above its common fantasy genre elements to make them its own. Kelsea reads like a stock YA fantasy female character who (obviously) has to be physically unattractive while her moral compass is fixed to good, removes any chance of exploring the ambiguities of the deal made between her mother and the Red Queen. She’s also remarkably well socialised for someone who’s spent her life isolated from others and is depressingly dependent on the good opinion of Fetch. Johansen tries to bring in a SF element, but this didn’t make much sense in the context of the cod medieval world setting (although it may be explained in later books). My biggest problem though is that much of the book relies on Kelsea deliberately not being told things and although it’s couched in the idea that she has to choose her destiny, given that her reaction is so obvious, it makes absolutely no sense other than to try and manufacture tension. Ultimately, the writing was good enough to keep me turning the pages and although I will read the next book, I’m not in a rush to.
The Verdict:
Erika Johansen’s debut YA/crossover fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) arrives under the fanfare of a major movie deal (with Emma Watson attached to star) but is ultimately a ho hum affair that never rises above its common fantasy genre elements to make them its own. Kelsea reads like a stock YA fantasy female character who (obviously) has to be physically unattractive while her moral compass is fixed to good, removes any chance of exploring the ambiguities of the deal made between her mother and the Red Queen. She’s also remarkably well socialised for someone who’s spent her life isolated from others and is depressingly dependent on the good opinion of Fetch. Johansen tries to bring in a SF element, but this didn’t make much sense in the context of the cod medieval world setting (although it may be explained in later books). My biggest problem though is that much of the book relies on Kelsea deliberately not being told things and although it’s couched in the idea that she has to choose her destiny, given that her reaction is so obvious, it makes absolutely no sense other than to try and manufacture tension. Ultimately, the writing was good enough to keep me turning the pages and although I will read the next book, I’m not in a rush to.
THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING was released in the United Kingdom on 17th July 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
Like many nineteen-year-olds, Kelsea Glynn is unruly, has high principles and believes that she knows better than her elders.
Unlike many nineteen-year-olds, she is about to inherit a kingdom that is on its knees – corrupt, debauched and dangerous.
She will either become the most fearsome ruler the kingdom has ever known, or be dead within the week …
19-year-old Kelsea Glynn is heir to the kingdom of Tearling but has spent her whole life in a remote cabin in the woods, raised by her mother’s trusted servants, Carlin and Barty. Having reached the age of ascension, soldiers come to take her to the Keep but her uncle has served as Regent since she went into hiding and he’s not about to vacate the throne voluntarily. Worse, the Tearling’s beholden to the cruel Red Queen of Mortmesne who invaded twenty years ago and demanded a heavy price for her retreat. Riddled with corruption and debauchery, there are many in the Tearling who prefer the status quo and will do anything to maintain it.
But Kelsea has allies – the soldier Mace (who first took her into hiding and now heads her guard) and the Fetch (a notorious outlaw who sees potential in Kelsea). She also has her mother’s sapphires – strange jewels that seem to have a life of her own. If Kelsea can survive the week, she may just become the Tearling’s best hope ...
Erika Johansen’s debut YA/crossover fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) arrives under the fanfare of a major movie deal (with Emma Watson attached to star) but is ultimately a ho hum affair that never rises above its common fantasy genre elements to make them its own. Kelsea reads like a stock YA fantasy female character who (obviously) has to be physically unattractive while her moral compass is fixed to good, removes any chance of exploring the ambiguities of the deal made between her mother and the Red Queen. She’s also remarkably well socialised for someone who’s spent her life isolated from others and is depressingly dependent on the good opinion of Fetch. Johansen tries to bring in a SF element, but this didn’t make much sense in the context of the cod medieval world setting (although it may be explained in later books). My biggest problem though is that much of the book relies on Kelsea deliberately not being told things and although it’s couched in the idea that she has to choose her destiny, given that her reaction is so obvious, it makes absolutely no sense other than to try and manufacture tension. Ultimately, the writing was good enough to keep me turning the pages and although I will read the next book, I’m not in a rush to.
The Verdict:
Erika Johansen’s debut YA/crossover fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) arrives under the fanfare of a major movie deal (with Emma Watson attached to star) but is ultimately a ho hum affair that never rises above its common fantasy genre elements to make them its own. Kelsea reads like a stock YA fantasy female character who (obviously) has to be physically unattractive while her moral compass is fixed to good, removes any chance of exploring the ambiguities of the deal made between her mother and the Red Queen. She’s also remarkably well socialised for someone who’s spent her life isolated from others and is depressingly dependent on the good opinion of Fetch. Johansen tries to bring in a SF element, but this didn’t make much sense in the context of the cod medieval world setting (although it may be explained in later books). My biggest problem though is that much of the book relies on Kelsea deliberately not being told things and although it’s couched in the idea that she has to choose her destiny, given that her reaction is so obvious, it makes absolutely no sense other than to try and manufacture tension. Ultimately, the writing was good enough to keep me turning the pages and although I will read the next book, I’m not in a rush to.
THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING was released in the United Kingdom on 17th July 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
