Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - The Invasion of the Tearling

the changes it brought to our Queen of the Tearling made it difficult for me to continue rooting for her. <\spoiler>

In addition, the dual narrative starring Lily, while a relevant glimpse into the Old World, felt like it slowed the pace of the book dramatically.

Overall, I would still recommend those that enjoyed the first book give this one a try with the caveat that it is quite different from the first entry in the series.

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yusrababamia11's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Brutal. Heartbreaking. Top notch stuff. Seeing an unhinged kelsea made me so happy lol. I think it needs specific trigger warninga tho like some of was extremely hard to get through

Also when she slapped the church guy i was so hapoy like omg i too would hit anyone who tried to hurt father tyler.

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aklovekorn's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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discoverelysian's review

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Be sure to check out the content warnings! It might not look like it you might want to proceed with caution

I certainly did not love the first book but since I joined a challenge to finish the dusty pile of my physical books, I feel obligated to see the end of Kelsea’s story.

And here we are, halfway to the end.

There was not much development between both of my feelings towards this trilogy and Kelsea’s characterization. You could argue with me that her character indeed developed, she has changed, and bla bla bla. But for me, she’s the same old Kelsea who still worrying about her look.

I thought that is the worst thing that could happen but no, this book is getting weirder as Kelsea’s fugues took her three centuries backward—pre-Crossing era—into the life of Lily Mayhew. I get why Lily is important but the fact remains that I got bored every time I need to go to the past instead of focusing on what’s happening in the present time.

I know Lazarus would agree with me.

This book is not all bad. We have Aisa—Andalie’s daugther—who is more fitted to be Queen. She’s brave, smart, and logical. I’m proud of what she accomplished and looking forward to her story in the final book!

There is also Father Tyler. He is under so much pressure, has seen the worst but his faith and courage save him.

I also wanted to mention Ewen because he deserves the world and Pen, my heart goes out to you, my friend. Both of them are good men and I hope they survived this bleak and dangerous world.

As the story progressed, the mystery around Kelsea’s father certainly got more of my attention. I have some theories but I doubt I can guess it right. I’m afraid when it will be revealed, the truth will shock me senseless.

So many secrets were slowly being unveiled yet there are so many more hidden. I just wish all the answers and the truth will be laid out in the final book.

The Invasion of the Tearling was not as good as I wanted it to be. Nothing impressive with the characters, especially Kelsea. I felt nothing towards her except frustration towards her silliness sometimes. The blending of dystopia, fantasy, and time turner were not seamless and it often left me bored.

The mystery, the unanswered questions are the things that kept me going. I will finish this series with a disappointing ending in mind. Just in case it’s true then the fall would not hurt as much.

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juliana_caterin's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

4,75

I loved this book so much that I cannot believe it. It wasn't as great as the first book but still got 4.75 stars out of me, almost 5.
At times it felt slow, so be prepared to have to push through it, but it's worth it. As a little critique, it doesn't have the stronger plot of all times, since most of the time we spent with a problem that doesn't seem to be solved. And when we aren't talking and not doing anything about that problem, we spent it on "flashbacks" that had nothing to do directly with the story. That was annoying.
I loved how we got to see other characters' stories, and I want to hug Ewen so much, and I need more of Hall. I didn't love Kelsea as much as in the first book, she was kind of annoying throughout the entire book. And I love Penn. I love him, and Maze. But I have a bad feeling.
Basically, I loved every character!
It's heavily character-based, so don't expect the best magic system or plot. It's all about the characters.
Also, there was a twist at the end that... I didn't see it coming. That was expecting and I don't have a clue about how this is going to go from now on. No clue.

FINALLY, THERE IS A BUNCH OF TW! LOOK IT UP BEFORE READING! There are a lot of mess-up things, and I am not sure if all of that was necessary or just for shock effect, I hope that in the next book we can see the characters healing and making progress after all of this.

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jenny_bean_reads's review

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.75

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