The Queen of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen

Book 39 of 2015

A friend recommended The Queen of the Tearling to me, knowing I enjoyed Game of Thrones and Red Queen. The Queen of the Tearling is a cross-genre debut in a trilogy, and has already been optioned for a movie (to be executive produced by Emma Watson, no less). The first novel in the series takes place in the future, and all we know of what happened to the world is a war called “The Crossing.” The world has reverted back into a somewhat medieval time with the addition of magic, making this story one of fantasy as well.

The protagonist, Kelsea Glynn, is heir to the Tearling throne. Her Queen mother was killed when Kelsea was a child, and Kelsea was raised in hiding by two people her mother trusted. On her nineteenth birthday, the Queen’s Guard appears to take Kelsea to her rightful throne. The route is long and dangerous and the Queen’s Guard expect Kelsea to be weak and prissy, though they quickly realize the heir to the throne is anything but conventional, and is nothing like the legacy her mother left behind.

Kelsea’s journey is peppered with quirky and untrustworthy characters, unexpected battles, startling deaths and triumphs, and action at every turn. While it took me about seventy-five pages to really get into the story, but once I was in, I was hooked!  Kelsea is an unlikely hero, often unsure of herself, and I found myself rooting for her with every turn of the page.

Next Stop? Book number two in the series, The Invasion of the Tearling.