Reviews

The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

flakireads's review against another edition

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3.0

i adore this trilogy and i absolutely devoured it but i really really disliked the ending. the story had deserved a way better ending in my opinion. that's why i'm giving the last book only 3/5 stars

lindsaykosnick's review against another edition

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dark 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

3.5

anastasiarozova's review against another edition

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3.0

This book took me the longest to listen to. And if the last two times it was only because I didn't have time to fully dive in, this time it has something to do with the narrator and with the book itself. It was a bit slower. And the narrator... She was fine, nice even with narrating itself and women's voices. But males' voices, gods, kill me. Just no. I didn't like it at all and I was so disappointed, cause two previous women made an amazing job at that!

Now to the book itself. It felt disjointed, really. A lot has happened, but I can't really tell you what, cause that's how it reads. You read and you have no idea what's going on and it's so confusing... I don't know what happened. Maybe I wasn't very observant, but I can only tell you bits and pieces. And that upsets me the most, cause I liked two previous books quite a bit more than this one.

I did like that we got to see the past, how it all started, but I think there was too much of it. Even more than in the previous book, but in the Invasion at least I loved reading about Lily, I was anticipating those parts! Here I was just "meh, past". Interesting to know, I guess, but not like I was into it that much.

PEN IN THE END, AND MACE! FUCK NO. Not gonna say anything, but NO. If you've read it, you know the ending was weird. It was an interesting (although an old) idea, but it was sad and TOO easy and displeasing at the same time. Mixed feelings, my friends, mixed feelings...
Like so much was going on in the Tearling! The holy Father, Row fucking Finn, and so much more. And then
SpoilerIT SIMPLY NEVER HAPPENED. Nothing was resolved, it was just all gone. Nothing. Poof. Done, we got a resolution. Bullshit!


I did enjoy that Kelsea didn't have
Spoilerromantic relationships (real ones) with anyone in this series.
Don't think it's a big spoiler, but I'm hiding it anyway in case people avoid EVERYTHING about the book. I thought it was refreshing to see, especially in YA (technically).

Okay, looks like I hated it, ahah. I didn't. But I was generally very meh about it, only enjoying some parts of the book.
This series in its holy trinity pleased me, I would recommend it to people, especially the audio versions of the first two books. But it didn't make it to my favourites, which is sad, cause so many people love it!

Overall. *sigh* I'm glad I finished the series. That's what I feel. I'm glad I don't have to guess anymore, but honestly I'm disappointed.

lesserjoke's review against another edition

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3.0

There are a lot of scenes in this final novel of the Tearling trilogy that feel intended to be climactic but have little narrative build behind them -- either in this book or the two before it -- which rather dampens the emotional impact. (So much of the story felt missing that I literally had to check to make sure I wasn't listening to an abridged audiobook by mistake!) As in the previous volume, a series of extended historical flashbacks represents the most satisfying part of this book, as they offer an actual plot and emotional journey largely absent in the rest of the text.

The writing is strong and the worldbuilding has improved since the start of this series, so if author Erika Johansen can figure out how to better link the individual moments in her main storyline as she does in the flashbacks, she could grow to be a real powerhouse of the fantasy genre. But as written, this novel is simply too scattered to carry much weight. Like the trilogy as a whole, it's a promising but ultimately forgettable story.

taygus's review against another edition

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3.0

series was decent.

I did find the end a little disappointing.
Spoiler I kept expecting some kind of twist on how the perfect world isn't quite perfect. but turns out its a close to perfect as you'll get.


I disliked the slight preaching how this
Spoiler perfect world
has " no drugs"..but alcohol is fine you know..absolutely fine.
FYI, ALCOHOL IS A DRUG, say that altogether now.
Alcohol is a drug, and one of the most harmful to society.
Apparently brawls due to alcohol are perfectly ok.

meh..the trilogy is ok.

edit: I don't remember anything about this series, so not very memorable lol

thatonelibrarygirl's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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

3.75

I did NOT like the ending of this. And it's the last in the trilogy! Definitely had me yelling, "That's it? That's how it ends? I feel duped!" The ending wrapped things up similar to how viewers felt at the series finale of "Lost". That being said... I really did enjoy re-reading this series! The character development really made me like and dislike them, and I was hooked by the plot! I still recommend this series... with the caveat that the ending will completely anger you. 

moh's review against another edition

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4.0

I finished this last book in the series about 14 hours ago, and I'm still(!) working out how I feel about the ending. In any event, it's a great series. The 'better written, feminist Game of Thrones' descriptions are spot-on.

alienprincess666's review

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4.0

Giving this 4 stars because I LOVE this series but I absolutely HATED the ending.

creepylilbookworm's review against another edition

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4.0

“Instinct in your best adviser. Learn all the knowledge in the world, but your gut will always know best.”

⚰️ Mini Review ⚰️

Hmmm ok so this is the third book in this trilogy. I didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed the other books and while I understand what the author was trying to do with the ending it was kinda sad. I don't know. I'd still read the series. It was pretty good. Being a romance lover I was sad there was none, but it was a good read.

a_mckeever's review

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

3.0