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amysofta 's review for:
The Queen of the Tearling
by Erika Johansen
I don’t remember why I put this book on my hold list at the library, the wait was so long I had forgotten. After listening to the book, though, I’m really glad I did! It was so good and kind of exactly what I was searching for recently reading-wise. The book isn’t perfect but the plot did pull me in right away and kept me wanting to know more. This title is tagged as YA on Goodreads and I’m not sure why as this is definitely an adult fiction book. Dealing with subject matter that might be a bit sensitive for younger teens to read.
So let’s start with the negative and get that business out-of-the-way. I found it truly annoying that the author felt the need to pound it into our heads every chance she got that the Kelsea was not a conventional beauty. So what. Mention her appearance one and be done with it. She also had every man Kelsea came across in the beginning of the story be described as handsome and out of her league looks wise. Enough of that shit. The only saving grace in this gripe is that this plot point diminishes near the end of the book and the author has given up her obsession with the character’s appearances.
Okay, moving onto what I enjoyed about the book. All the political and social and class commentary of society!!! This is what made this book work for me. It was a bit confusing in the beginning and it took me a bit to figure out that this is set in our world in the future in a newly discovered piece of land. I think… The author could have done a better job of setting up the world in this regards. Then again maybe I would have understood it better had I been reading it rather than listening to it. Anyway, there are bits of our world and culture that showed up at times and kept me wondering just where the Tearling was supposed to be located. Might need to get my hands on a physical copy of the book to see if there are any maps inside.
This is also, at its heart, a story of good vs evil and I always love stories like this. They give me hope that someday we can overcome the corruption in society. Inspires me to fight for the greater good and with the current direction, our country is taking this is exactly what I need to read about to keep myself from becoming too depressed.
Bottom line this story isn’t perfect but it is good. I liked the fire inside Kelsea with her strict moral code and sense of justice Kelsea is a strong female lead and a true hero. I absolutely can not wait to hear the next two books in this trilogy!
So let’s start with the negative and get that business out-of-the-way. I found it truly annoying that the author felt the need to pound it into our heads every chance she got that the Kelsea was not a conventional beauty. So what. Mention her appearance one and be done with it. She also had every man Kelsea came across in the beginning of the story be described as handsome and out of her league looks wise. Enough of that shit. The only saving grace in this gripe is that this plot point diminishes near the end of the book and the author has given up her obsession with the character’s appearances.
Okay, moving onto what I enjoyed about the book. All the political and social and class commentary of society!!! This is what made this book work for me. It was a bit confusing in the beginning and it took me a bit to figure out that this is set in our world in the future in a newly discovered piece of land. I think… The author could have done a better job of setting up the world in this regards. Then again maybe I would have understood it better had I been reading it rather than listening to it. Anyway, there are bits of our world and culture that showed up at times and kept me wondering just where the Tearling was supposed to be located. Might need to get my hands on a physical copy of the book to see if there are any maps inside.
This is also, at its heart, a story of good vs evil and I always love stories like this. They give me hope that someday we can overcome the corruption in society. Inspires me to fight for the greater good and with the current direction, our country is taking this is exactly what I need to read about to keep myself from becoming too depressed.
Bottom line this story isn’t perfect but it is good. I liked the fire inside Kelsea with her strict moral code and sense of justice Kelsea is a strong female lead and a true hero. I absolutely can not wait to hear the next two books in this trilogy!