A review by kintara81
Beneath the Keep by Erika Johansen

adventurous emotional hopeful tense fast-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

 The story of a decadent kingdom descended into darkness, alliances forged under fire, and a battle over a prophecy that will change the course of history.

The Tearling has reverted to feudalism, a far cry from the utopia it was founded to be. As the gap between rich and poor widens and famine threatens the land, sparking unrest, rumors of a prophecy begin to spread: a great hope, a True Queen who will rise up and save the kingdom.

But rumors will not help Lazarus, a man raised to kill in the brutal clandestine underworld of the Creche, nor Aislinn, a farm girl who must reckon with her own role in the growing rebellion. In the Keep, the crown princess, Elyssa, finds herself torn between duty to the throne and the lure of the Blue Horizon, a group of fierce idealists who promise radical change . . . but Elyssa must choose quickly, before a nefarious witch and her shadowy master use dark magic to decide for her. It is only a matter of time before all three will be called into the service of something bigger than they have ever imagined: a fight for a better world.

I enjoyed this start to the Tearling series. It has helped me to build a knowledge for how the series is going to start and the events which have led to future events. I enjoyed the writing style and the emotive style of writing which Erika uses. The characters all have depth and of course I have favorites and these are the characters that I am rooting for. Even the characters which are the ‘villians’ you have some feelings for and can understand their motives and why they are doing what they are doing. Everyone has motives for their actions and the action scenes are so believable and there were instances that I was on the edge of my seat because I didn't know what was going to happen. I am now putting the rest of the Tearling series on my immediate TBR.