Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
A hard one to rate. Infinitely readable but all the "trigger content" (and I hate that phrase) seemed so on purpose and for their own sake, it made for some uncomfortable moments. And I swung between enjoying the "dystopian flashbacks" and being annoyed by them. And GOD the deus-ex-machina qualities of the sapphires is irritating. It left me feeling unsettled. But I will definitely finish off the series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
On my reread of this series in an attempt to finally finish it, I realized that this is a 5 star series for me across the board. I did find faults in the individual books, but the overall story was amazing. The ending of the series also left me completely gagged.
Because I did my reread back to back, these reviews are going to be done a bit different. I am going to give the Pros and Cons for the overall series with a small blurb at the end regarding the individual books.
PROS:
đź’™Expert world building
🩸The villains all had depth
đź’™The window into the US these people had escaped from was eerie.
🩸If you don’t learn from the past, you are bound to repeat it. But with magic.
đź’™ It might have been flawed, but I love a matriarchy.
🩸The Mace is a sweet little cinnamon roll that deserves all the love and affection.
💙World’s best foster parents
CONS:
🩸Whoever decided not to teach the history of the old world needs to have the hairs on their toes, inside their nose, and all their other sensitive bits plucked out with dull tweezers one at a time.
đź’™The flashback format sometimes felt like it interrupted the pacing of the story.
🩸I was so conflicted about the series ending. I am still both exceedingly happy for everyone else while being beyond upset for Kelsea.
THOUGHTS ON BOOK TWO:
KELSEA RALEIGH GLYNN GET BACK IN YOUR ROOM RIGHT NOW!
This book was a slog in comparison to the rest of the trilogy and definitely suffered from the middle child slump, BUT it did provide a lot of necessary information about the past and the Red Queen. The series still remained a five star for me despite the fact this book would have gotten a lower rating on its own merit.
đź’Žđź’Žđź’Žđź’Žđź’Ž out of five fake Tear sapphires that will most definitely break under too much pressure
Because I did my reread back to back, these reviews are going to be done a bit different. I am going to give the Pros and Cons for the overall series with a small blurb at the end regarding the individual books.
PROS:
đź’™Expert world building
🩸The villains all had depth
đź’™The window into the US these people had escaped from was eerie.
🩸If you don’t learn from the past, you are bound to repeat it. But with magic.
đź’™ It might have been flawed, but I love a matriarchy.
🩸The Mace is a sweet little cinnamon roll that deserves all the love and affection.
💙World’s best foster parents
CONS:
🩸Whoever decided not to teach the history of the old world needs to have the hairs on their toes, inside their nose, and all their other sensitive bits plucked out with dull tweezers one at a time.
đź’™The flashback format sometimes felt like it interrupted the pacing of the story.
🩸I was so conflicted about the series ending. I am still both exceedingly happy for everyone else while being beyond upset for Kelsea.
THOUGHTS ON BOOK TWO:
KELSEA RALEIGH GLYNN GET BACK IN YOUR ROOM RIGHT NOW!
This book was a slog in comparison to the rest of the trilogy and definitely suffered from the middle child slump, BUT it did provide a lot of necessary information about the past and the Red Queen. The series still remained a five star for me despite the fact this book would have gotten a lower rating on its own merit.
đź’Žđź’Žđź’Žđź’Žđź’Ž out of five fake Tear sapphires that will most definitely break under too much pressure
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Sexual harassment
“Kelsea wondered suddenly whether humanity ever actually changed. Did people grow and learn at all as the centuries passed? Or was humanity merely like the tide, enlightenment advancing and then retreating as circumstances shifted?”
I feel so detached from this story and the characters. This series has some great thoughts and important messages, but the way it's told is so.. I don't know, dry and uninteresting. The storyline of this one actually dregged even more than in the first book, I was bore for the most part, only the very ending got more captivating. Overall, I think I liked book one a bit more.
“This, I think, is the crux of evil in this world, Majesty: those who feel entitled to whatever they want, whatever they can grab. Such people never ask themselves if they have the right. They consider no cost to anyone but themselves.”
I also honestly don't get why there have to be so many POVs. If the story was told only from Kelsea alone, then I think I would've connected to her at least a little (tiny) bit more. I love multiple POVs in high fantasy, but I do have to care for all the main characters then to love the book. And here I just did not. I am mildly curious about what's going to happen with Kelsea, even though I have to say I have a bit of a like-hate relationship with her. I found some of her behavior, especially here, annoying and overall couldn't connect with her much.
As for other characters (some of them with their own POVs): I liked father Tyler in this one somewhat, but was honestly bored with Lili's chapters, so much so that I plainly skipped long passegas of it. I also honestly don't get the appeal of the Fetch, both for Kelsea and the readers. The only thing interesting about him, to me, is his unknown identity. Otherwise he's as interesting as a piece of dry earth. Mace is pretty great character as well, and Pen had a few nice moments.
But.. I just don't feel strongly toward any of the characters, I can mildly like some of them or mildly dislike the other, but nothing more.
“When it fails, they do call it madness, Lazarus. But when it succeeds, they call it genius.”
The writing is, as always, great: eloquent and clever. The world building still aggravates me, but at least it's a little bit more explained here, though not by much.
Will continue with the last book to see how it all ends.
“If we could be better people,” she would say, “if we could care about each other as much as we do about ourselves, think about it, Lily! Think what the world would be!”
“Always, we think we know what courage means. If I were called upon, we say, I would answer the call. I would not hesitate. Until the moment is upon us, and then we realize that the demands of true courage are very different from what we had envisioned, long ago on that bright morning when we felt brave.”
- Father Tyler
I feel so detached from this story and the characters. This series has some great thoughts and important messages, but the way it's told is so.. I don't know, dry and uninteresting. The storyline of this one actually dregged even more than in the first book, I was bore for the most part, only the very ending got more captivating. Overall, I think I liked book one a bit more.
“This, I think, is the crux of evil in this world, Majesty: those who feel entitled to whatever they want, whatever they can grab. Such people never ask themselves if they have the right. They consider no cost to anyone but themselves.”
I also honestly don't get why there have to be so many POVs. If the story was told only from Kelsea alone, then I think I would've connected to her at least a little (tiny) bit more. I love multiple POVs in high fantasy, but I do have to care for all the main characters then to love the book. And here I just did not. I am mildly curious about what's going to happen with Kelsea, even though I have to say I have a bit of a like-hate relationship with her. I found some of her behavior, especially here, annoying and overall couldn't connect with her much.
As for other characters (some of them with their own POVs): I liked father Tyler in this one somewhat, but was honestly bored with Lili's chapters, so much so that I plainly skipped long passegas of it. I also honestly don't get the appeal of the Fetch, both for Kelsea and the readers. The only thing interesting about him, to me, is his unknown identity. Otherwise he's as interesting as a piece of dry earth. Mace is pretty great character as well, and Pen had a few nice moments.
But.. I just don't feel strongly toward any of the characters, I can mildly like some of them or mildly dislike the other, but nothing more.
“When it fails, they do call it madness, Lazarus. But when it succeeds, they call it genius.”
The writing is, as always, great: eloquent and clever. The world building still aggravates me, but at least it's a little bit more explained here, though not by much.
Will continue with the last book to see how it all ends.
Spoiler
Also because now I NEED to know who the hell is/was Kelsea's father. And who the Fetch is.“If we could be better people,” she would say, “if we could care about each other as much as we do about ourselves, think about it, Lily! Think what the world would be!”
“Always, we think we know what courage means. If I were called upon, we say, I would answer the call. I would not hesitate. Until the moment is upon us, and then we realize that the demands of true courage are very different from what we had envisioned, long ago on that bright morning when we felt brave.”
- Father Tyler
I completely fell in love with The Queen of The Tearling and so I had such high hopes for this book.
While I still loved this book, I still liked the first book better.
I was not as interested in the flashback/ visions as I was in Kelsea's story.
However, I still found it really interesting and enjoyable. Character development was good and we get to find out more about her sapphires.
There are also revivals of characters from the last book as well as new ones.
Overall, I did really enjoy this book and the world it is set in.
Really looking forward to the third book!!
While I still loved this book, I still liked the first book better.
I was not as interested in the flashback/ visions as I was in Kelsea's story.
However, I still found it really interesting and enjoyable. Character development was good and we get to find out more about her sapphires.
There are also revivals of characters from the last book as well as new ones.
Overall, I did really enjoy this book and the world it is set in.
Really looking forward to the third book!!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Really rough at times and very brutal but also far more feminist than Hunger Games and similar series. A lot of the themes resonate today. I look forward to book three.
I don't think I can put in words how much I love this book, this series. It can only be done by interpretative dance.