Reviews

The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

eireen's review against another edition

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3.0

“There's a better world out there, so close we can almost touch it.”

Baca buku kedua dari seri The Queen of the Tearling ini sebenarnya butuh usaha lebih. Aku pertama kali baca buku pertamanya itu bulan April 2016 lalu. Dan aku ingat banget sebenarnya ide cerita buku pertamanya bagus tapi entah kenapa masih belum tertarik banget untuk baca lanjutannya. Alhasil sekarang, 3 tahun kemudian, aku baru mulai penasaran dengan kelanjutannya dan memutuskan untuk menyelesaikan seri ini.

Yang aku alamin sepanjang buku ini mungkin hampir sama seperti orang lain. BINGGUNG. Ini buku sebenarnya genrenya apa sih? Yang aku ingat di buku pertama genrenya itu medieval fantasy. Middle age dengan sentuhan magic. Tapi dibuku kedua ini (di dunia Lily Mayhew) kelihatannya lebih ke futuristic. Lily sendiri lahirnya di tahun 2058, hidup di jaman penuh teknologi modern dan pemberontakan. Sontak berasa seperti culture shock. Jadi selama ini aku mengira Queen Kelsea dkk hidup di Middle Age itu salah donk? Karena Erika Johansen ini menggambarkan seolah-olah Kelsea dan Lily hidup di dunia parallel. Anyway itu semua nanti akan terjawab di akhir buku kedua ini.
“The problems of the past.
How the problems of the past, uncorrected, inevitably became the problems of the future.”

Aku merasa buku kedua ini lebih menitikberatkan masalah women oppression. Baik di dunia Lily maupun Kelsea, nampaknya selalu ada masalah ini.

Contoh, di dunianya pada tahun 2083, Lily dan teman-teman sesama wanitanya masih dianggap lebih rendah daripada pria dan sudah seharusnya mereka tunduk pada suami. Lily dianggap gagal sebagai wanita hanya karena ia belum memiliki anak dan harus rela dipukuli dan dikasari.

Di dunia Kelsea sendiri juga tidak jauh berbeda. Kelsea diharapkan untuk segera punya keturunan di usianya yang baru 19 tahun. Bahkan ia ditawari “reward” oleh raja dari kerajaan lain yaitu menjadi istri utamanya (dari 24 istri lainnya!) untuk membentuk aliansi dan Kelsea harus rela kehilangan posisinya sebagai Queen of Tearling. Seriously, how could you call that a reward??

description

Memang sepanjang buku ini kelihatan ada hubungan antara Kelsea dan Lily, tapi semua ini baru akan mulai jelas ketika sudah memasuki 3 chapter akhir. Barulah jelas bahwa memang Kelsea adalah keturunan dari Lily dan vision yang didapat Kelsea selama ini adalah masa sebelum crossing. Dan ternyata crossing yang dimaksud selama ini adalah melewati ruang waktu.

Jadi memang benar Lily hidup di jaman modern dan akhirnya ikut menyebrangi ruang waktu bersama William Tear (yang adalah raja pertama kerajaan Tearling) ke masa lalu, masa dimana Kelsea dan para pendahulunya hidup. Disitu pula lah terungkap salah satu kekuatan terbesar kalung sapphire yang dimiliki Kelsea adalah untuk menyebrang ke masa lalu.

Harus aku akui cara bercerita Erika Johansen ini cukup pintar. Dia bisa membuat pembacanya bingung dan sibuk menebak-nebak dan baru pada akhirnya terjawab di akhir cerita. Itu pula lah yang membuat aku merasa harus menyelesaikan buku ini karena pasti belum puas kalau belum mendapat jawaban yang jelas.

Tapi tetap saja, diakhir buku kedua ini ada cliffhanger yang menyebalkan dan masih ada beberapa hal yang masih belum jelas. Siapa sih sebenarnya Fetch? Terus Rowland Finn itu siapa? Penghianatan macam apa yang dia lakukan sampai dia mendapat hukuman (atau kutukan) yang berat? Bagaimana dengan nasib Kelsea dan kerajaannya? Akan jadi ratu macam apa dia diakhir cerita nanti?

Karena hal-hal yang belum terjawab inilah, aku jadi semakin penasaran dan memutuskan untuk langsung lanjut baca buku terakhirnya. (Pinter juga triknya si Erika ini.) Semoga buku terakhirnya nanti memang bisa menjawab semua pertanyaan dari buku-buku sebelumnya dan cerita ini bisa ditutup dengan ending yang sempurna ya.
“When it fails, they do call it madness, Lazarus. But when it succeeds, they call it genius.”

janeymacd's review against another edition

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4.0

4 Stars

I really enjoyed The Invasion of the Tearling, the second instalment of the series written by Erika Johansen. It’s an exciting and strong return to this world and it surpasses the previous novel, The Queen of the Tearling, in many ways. Johansen has built on everything that was created in the first novel giving us strong rounded characters with motivations that are believable. The plot is teased out and expanded with a flow and tempo that keeps the reader engaged.


Our main character, Kelsea, has grown up. We see her making the decisions of a ruler in a thoughtful and fair manner. The supporting cast each have distinct characters with motivations and agendas of their own. The Red Queen is not merely the evil protagonist; she has fears, desires, sorrows and weaknesses. She is in a much more precarious position that she allows people to believe.


We are introduced to a new cast of characters through a series of flash backs that Kelsea experiences. We are taken back to the time just before the crossing. Johansen’s prose really shines in this dystopian world, so much so that I wished I was reading a novel based solely in this futuristic dystopian America rather that the novel based in the medieval Tearling society.
The two story lines are woven together and both plots unfold simultaneously. They complement each other and work to answer many questions that we were left with at the end of the previous novel.


This story touches on areas that are a lot darker and grittier than we previously experienced. There are elements of terrorism, religious intolerance, domestic abuse, rape, child trafficking and self harm. Most of these points work to move the story forward, they are shown in the light they should be, as things that are bad and should not happen. However in my opinion, Johansen’s use of self-harm was questionable.

Spoiler Kelsea continually cuts herself in order to control and master her magical powers. It is never questioned or cautioned by the other characters who discover it. It is portrayed as a tool or method that helps Kelsea.
I believe this is a dangerous message to send out into the world and would have preferred if Johansen could have cautioned against self harm in some way in the novel.


I was slightly disappointed by Kelsea’s change in appearance and by her weight loss. One of the things I really respected about The Queen of the Tearling was that it had strong hero who was not traditionally beautiful or skinny.

Spoiler As The Invasion of the Tearling progresses, Kelsea slowly begins to lose weight, her face changes to become beautiful until she eventually resembles Lily, the woman from the flashbacks.
Although the change seems to have some greater purpose to the overall story and is not merely due to Kelsea’s need to be beautiful, I still wish that Kelsea did not have to become beautiful and skinny in order to progress the story. Now we have yet another story that tells young women that they must become skinny and beautiful in order to progress though life.


The sapphires are a key part of this story. They fuels Kelsea’s change in appearance. They are responsible for the flash backs. They give Kelsea her magical abilities. They allow the crossing to happen. They are the Red Queen’s main motivation. However, we never get any explanation as to why they are magical and why they are so powerful. Some explanation about the magical system would have gone a long way to help the reader believe that these sapphires could actually exist. I would have appreciated a little more knowledge in this area.


Overall the Invasion of the Tearling was a fantastic read. It punches well above its weight. It exceeded many expectations and has left me anticipating the next instalment of this series.

kimberly88's review

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4.0

Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperCollins for the digital review copy!

I really enjoyed the second book of the Tearling series. The story takes a dark and twisty turn and is a nice blend of fantasy and dystopia. Some questions are answered about the history of the Tearling and how those magical sapphires work. There's a little romance, but the story mostly focuses on Kelsea's determination to save her kingdom. The tension builds with each chapter and it all ends with a couple cliffhangers! I definitely look forward to the next book to find out what happens next (I just don't want to wait for it!) and maybe learn the answer to the question...who is Kelsea's father??

If you were fascinated by the world of the Tearling from the first book, then I recommend grabbing the next installment this June!

sandygx260's review

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4.0

Ah hell, after a three hour ride from the shore, now is not the time to review this book, but I will. This book is far stronger than the first book. It is more nuanced, more introspective, and generally superior to "Queen."

I rated Queen of the Tearling only two stars, since I found the plot thin and the character development lacking. But— and this is crucial—I sensed a big reveal in the second book. The story left me curious enough to see what happened next in the series.

The reveal came in the form of hallucinations suffered by Queen Kelsea. The way Johansen set up the reveal worked for me, although the tidy chronological order was a little pat.If she had mixed up the blasts from the past, I would have slapped five stars on this story, because it would have worked. I also didn't understand why Kelsea's appearance changed. This is explained, but it is a bit flimsy.

I don't want to trip into spoiler territory, but if you thought the first book lame, this one grows muscles. There's a few silly details, like Kelsea saying "fuck" too many times, which seems odd given the courtly timeframe. Johansen seems to think having her main character say "fuck" is a sign of rebellion. Hell, if that's the case, I must be an absolute anarchist!

The ending is a kick in the head. There's plenty of revealing details, enough to ensure I will read book three. Will Johansen pull out all the stops? I hope so—Kelsea deserves a grand ending.



indigo28's review

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4.0

Rating: 4.5

New characters, mystery, love, trauma, twists, and hope. So much has happened in this second book. I would say this book is probably for more mature audiences as there are some descriptive scenes that involve non-consent and violence.

The sapphires and the crossing have an interesting development that us readers gain insight of and we are left with a cliff hanger of what is to happen next. There were some questions that were answered from the first book, but there is a main old question that is still not answered. I am intrigued where this story will go next. Looking forward to the next book!

izzyjunghans's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN. ITS SOOO GOD. Every single character is fascinating and the whole plot is just so intricate and finely thought out, it’s actually baffling. I literally have no clue what to expect next, but also I have so many questions.

so mf good holy hell THE PLOT TWISTS SRE CRAZY WDYM WILLIAM TEAR DID THAT 

bethsponz's review against another edition

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4.0

The pre- crossing story intermixed with the book at first confused me. It all connected near the middle and I found the last half exciting. I couldn't put it down! Looking forward to reading last book of Trilogy.

hannahc270's review against another edition

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adventurous

4.0

ansl's review against another edition

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2.0

Snel gelezen vanaf p 300 .
Wat was me dat?

jennijennijenni's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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