Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
I was both a fan and a hater of this book. You can be both!
This had the same general flavor of the first one (e.g., badass lead, interesting side characters -- I love Lazarus and Aisa!) while adding new dishes (e.g., more info on "pre" Tearling world). I'm invested in the mysteries of the characters' backstories, and the series has a lot of patience in rolling out info on said mysteries. I was never upset when the book switched perspectives (either in worlds, or to go to different characters in the Tearling) because I genuinely liked all the characters we heard from. So, it has a lot of qualities of a good sequel: clearly building on what we just read, but adding new elements to keep it fresh (and you had to have the "old" elements in order to appreciate the new stuff the sequel offers). So, rewarding and fun to discuss!
The main gripe I had with the first book remained, though: there is a lot of telling and very little showing (e.g., reporting that something had happened and not describing that thing happening in an immersive way; e.g., "the army had reached XYZ location" rather than painting a picture of said army rolling up). For me, this style of storytelling makes the writing just feel so long; it's like I'm reading a book report summary, but that summary is just the whole dang book, page after page. But, then, it will describe a rape scene in relatively high detail. C'est la vie.
I did listen to the vast majority of this on audiobook while multitasking (driving, jogging, "cleaning"), and this may have been a big part of the book dragging for me. When I finally switched to reading it for the last 100 pages or so, it went by much quicker -- but this is, I think, because there's a lot of the page that you ... don't ... have to actually ... read? Bleh.
Side note that I wish Kelsea didn't hadn't lost weight and gotten stereotypically pretty!! It was cool that she was overweight and "plain" throughout the first book.
This had the same general flavor of the first one (e.g., badass lead, interesting side characters -- I love Lazarus and Aisa!) while adding new dishes (e.g., more info on "pre" Tearling world). I'm invested in the mysteries of the characters' backstories, and the series has a lot of patience in rolling out info on said mysteries. I was never upset when the book switched perspectives (either in worlds, or to go to different characters in the Tearling) because I genuinely liked all the characters we heard from. So, it has a lot of qualities of a good sequel: clearly building on what we just read, but adding new elements to keep it fresh (and you had to have the "old" elements in order to appreciate the new stuff the sequel offers). So, rewarding and fun to discuss!
The main gripe I had with the first book remained, though: there is a lot of telling and very little showing (e.g., reporting that something had happened and not describing that thing happening in an immersive way; e.g., "the army had reached XYZ location" rather than painting a picture of said army rolling up). For me, this style of storytelling makes the writing just feel so long; it's like I'm reading a book report summary, but that summary is just the whole dang book, page after page. But, then, it will describe a rape scene in relatively high detail. C'est la vie.
I did listen to the vast majority of this on audiobook while multitasking (driving, jogging, "cleaning"), and this may have been a big part of the book dragging for me. When I finally switched to reading it for the last 100 pages or so, it went by much quicker -- but this is, I think, because there's a lot of the page that you ... don't ... have to actually ... read? Bleh.
Side note that I wish Kelsea didn't hadn't lost weight and gotten stereotypically pretty!! It was cool that she was overweight and "plain" throughout the first book.
I FREAKING LOVED THAT BOOK! It had everything: bad-ass female characters, a gripping story, new mysteries, beautiful writing and a powerful ending. I can't wait for the last book in this trilogy.
Completely engaging, I was utterly transfixed as I listened to this audiobook. Johansen has crafted an incredibly nuanced and unique work of fiction here, blending dystopian and fantasy together surprisingly seamlessly.
In this sequel, we have a dual narration dominating the scenes, though we are privy to several others dotting the pages here and there. Lily Mayhew (née Freeman) of the pre-Crossing United States era, and Kelsea Glynn of the Tearling, centuries from Lily. Lily exists in a reality not too far off our future now, and lives under an oppressive government in the northeastern United States. Kelsea experiences fugue states where her mind visits Lily's life and witnesses the time and events building up to what will be known as The Crossing.
Miraculously, holding these two realities together is simply the unknown. As the story builds and grows, with the scope of the novel expanding, Kelsea's people's history and Lily's future head towards a meeting—for which no accounting exists in Kelsea's time. I was just fully captivated by these two stories headed towards each other. But just as captivating as the anticipation of that collision, were the individual stories of both Lily and Kelsea, and also of the secondary characters like Father Tyler, the Mace, and Aisa—one of Andalie's children.
After really being impressed with this sequel, as they can often fall victim to the second book syndrome, I must say that I am really looking forward to the third book, [b:The Fate of the Tearling|22698569|The Fate of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling, #3)|Erika Johansen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1457023801s/22698569.jpg|42216233]. Johansen's worlds, her characters and their stories, and the suspenseful mystery surrounding the Crossing and the early history of the Tear have me enthralled.
In this sequel, we have a dual narration dominating the scenes, though we are privy to several others dotting the pages here and there. Lily Mayhew (née Freeman) of the pre-Crossing United States era, and Kelsea Glynn of the Tearling, centuries from Lily. Lily exists in a reality not too far off our future now, and lives under an oppressive government in the northeastern United States. Kelsea experiences fugue states where her mind visits Lily's life and witnesses the time and events building up to what will be known as The Crossing.
Miraculously, holding these two realities together is simply the unknown. As the story builds and grows, with the scope of the novel expanding, Kelsea's people's history and Lily's future head towards a meeting—for which no accounting exists in Kelsea's time. I was just fully captivated by these two stories headed towards each other. But just as captivating as the anticipation of that collision, were the individual stories of both Lily and Kelsea, and also of the secondary characters like Father Tyler, the Mace, and Aisa—one of Andalie's children.
After really being impressed with this sequel, as they can often fall victim to the second book syndrome, I must say that I am really looking forward to the third book, [b:The Fate of the Tearling|22698569|The Fate of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling, #3)|Erika Johansen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1457023801s/22698569.jpg|42216233]. Johansen's worlds, her characters and their stories, and the suspenseful mystery surrounding the Crossing and the early history of the Tear have me enthralled.
No big deal, it's fine, it's just that I am DEAD from how good this series is. I didn't love this one as much as the first one, but I also loved it enough to give it five stars, so do with that what you will. I loved learning more about the pre-crossing and am very very interested to see how all of the magic and many threads tie together in the third installment. The urgency of the plot line and the overlapping, yet also distinct, narrative voices of Lily and Kelsea made me excited not only about the final book in the series but also for everything that Erika Johansen publishes after.
3.5 stars
It was an interesting book to say the least. In all honesty I didn't fully remember what happened in the first book other than Kelsea becoming queen, shutting down the slave trade to the Mort, and the war being imminent at the end.
I really enjoyed reading Kelsea's character development in this sequel, she went in a much different direction than what I anticipated. I didn't expect her to be so cold and brutal, she seemed more like the Red Queen than the actually Red Queen.
I felt like Kelsea's romance with Pen was so unnecessary and just pure fan service; hello some of us don't care about romance if the plot is strong enough without it.
But let me tell you what completely redeemed this book for me: LILY. I cannot say how much I loved the Lily chapters, they were so much more interesting and fun to read than Kelsea's. I want a whole series dedicated just to Lily! Her story had so much more to it, even though it was hard to read at times there was so much more depth. Lily's character development was so quick but it made so much sense for her to switch sides so easily. And her sister being alive in the end? Amazing. I just loved how her past story perfectly intertwined with Kelsea's present.
Overall, this book was good and the redeeming quality was the Pre-Crossing chapters that invoked Lily. The history of this world Johanssen created is so cool and different and I would love to know more about it and how magic fits in. Kelsea is still a badass but her plot was just boring this time.
It was an interesting book to say the least. In all honesty I didn't fully remember what happened in the first book other than Kelsea becoming queen, shutting down the slave trade to the Mort, and the war being imminent at the end.
I really enjoyed reading Kelsea's character development in this sequel, she went in a much different direction than what I anticipated. I didn't expect her to be so cold and brutal, she seemed more like the Red Queen than the actually Red Queen.
I felt like Kelsea's romance with Pen was so unnecessary and just pure fan service; hello some of us don't care about romance if the plot is strong enough without it.
But let me tell you what completely redeemed this book for me: LILY. I cannot say how much I loved the Lily chapters, they were so much more interesting and fun to read than Kelsea's. I want a whole series dedicated just to Lily! Her story had so much more to it, even though it was hard to read at times there was so much more depth. Lily's character development was so quick but it made so much sense for her to switch sides so easily. And her sister being alive in the end? Amazing. I just loved how her past story perfectly intertwined with Kelsea's present.
Overall, this book was good and the redeeming quality was the Pre-Crossing chapters that invoked Lily. The history of this world Johanssen created is so cool and different and I would love to know more about it and how magic fits in. Kelsea is still a badass but her plot was just boring this time.