Review: The Queen of the Tearling

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all having a good day. I just want to take a second to say thank you to everybody who took the time to follow me and/or send me encouraging messages already. Even though my blog is only hours old and probably not all that interesting yet. Haha. To be honest, I was quite stunned and they all made me smile.

Now moving on to my first book review…
Title: The Queen of the Tearling

Author: Erika Johansen

Genre: Fantasy

Length: 464 Pages (PB)

Publication Date: July 8, 2014

Goodreads Rating: 4.01

My Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Synopsis:

Magic, adventure, mystery, and romance combine in this epic debut in which a young princess must reclaim her dead mother’s throne, learn to be a ruler — and defeat The Red Queen, a powerful and malevolent sorceress determined to destroy her.

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Favourite Character: Lazarus (The Mace)

Favourite Quote: “She shivered, suddenly freezing, and a small, selfish, part of her wondered when this scene would end so she could put some clothes on.” – pg. 266

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My Thoughts:

As you can probably guess from the fact that I own two copies, I loved this book. It was initially a cover buy, my fiancé and I were both drawn to it each time we went to the bookstore, and we purchased it just after Christmas. I picked it up, on a whim soon after and from the title of the first chapter (The Tenth Horse) I was hooked.

One of the little things that made this book extra special for me was that the author included excerpts from fictional historical/cultural texts at the beginning of each chapter. Maybe it’s just the history major in me, but I thought that those really helped draw the reader in, and add another dimension to the story.

Prior to reading the book, I of course checked out the reviews on Goodreads, and at the time at least, there were quite a few negative ones being showcased. So, when I began reading I was expecting to  see many of the things that people were complaining about. Namely, plot holes and poor characterization. However, I didn’t. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

I was totally swept up in the story, while some people have called it slow, I actually found Johansen’s writing style enthralling. I couldn’t put it down. It is quite fast paced, and there are a number of exciting incidents that make you want to keep reading.

I also loved the characters, especially the Mace. His retorts made me smile on numerous occasions, and I definitely want to know more about his backstory in the second and third books. I also enjoyed Kelsea, and didn’t find her to be annoying or “mary-sueish” at all. I thought for a girl that had to deal with what she had to, she was quite brave and interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing how she grows. The antagonist, The Red Queen was also very intriguing. Creepy, but intriguing. Haha.

Maybe it’s not for everyone, I don’t know, I can only speak for myself, but I would definitely recommend it. Especially if you like fantasy with a unique setting, royal intrigue, and memorable characters.

To finish, all, I can say is, for a book to get a 5 star rating for me, it has to have a little something extra, the ability to make me feel almost a part of the story. And The Queen of the Tearling did that, and then some.

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Has anyone else read it? What did you think? And also how did I do for my first review?

I hope you enjoyed it. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Liss