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mrs_ailurophile's reviews
583 reviews
The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
3.0
Okay. I had to re-read (or rather skim because I'm impatient as always) the first two books to refresh my mind.
Wow. Just wow. I legit had to take a day to process this. (I'm posting this on the 11th.) I liked it. I could not stop reading once I picked it up.
However. I am still indecisive about how I feel on the ending. Without giving too much away, I will say I understand why Johansen finished it the way she did. But I just don't know.
Kelsea's decisions were made in haste and in the moment. She herself even acknowledges that fact. Even Katie's decisions weren't always made with careful thought, especially later in the book.
So I get it. I totally get it. But what I'm struggling with is the last sentence of the book. It was left open! There was no real conclusion, at least one that was satisfactory for me. I don't like that. I'm not saying I don't appreciate open-ended conclusions, because I do. I just don't like the way this trilogy was concluded. Nah. Not a fan.
Also, I wasn't sure if I was doing the math wrong, but something that nagged me just a bit was whether or not Johansen was not paying attention to the math. In the second book, they mention the ages of Jonathon Tear. In the third, they mention it again but a red flag told me it wasn't correct. I have no idea if my hunch is correct and I have no desire to go look at the moment. Maybe when I re-read the series I will check on that.
Otherwise, a thrilling conclusion (up until the last page or so) to a creative debut. Topics like politics, bribing, human trafficking, sexual freedom, religion, class, and the age old question of "can humanity live in a perfect society"....they mimic the major social and political topics of reality. I appreciate that. It was clever and well-done.
So THREE AND A HALF STARS for this novel. I would give it four but the last few pages (really the last sentence) and whether the math was correct, bug me to no end.
Wow. Just wow. I legit had to take a day to process this. (I'm posting this on the 11th.) I liked it. I could not stop reading once I picked it up.
However. I am still indecisive about how I feel on the ending. Without giving too much away, I will say I understand why Johansen finished it the way she did. But I just don't know.
Kelsea's decisions were made in haste and in the moment. She herself even acknowledges that fact. Even Katie's decisions weren't always made with careful thought, especially later in the book.
So I get it. I totally get it. But what I'm struggling with is the last sentence of the book. It was left open! There was no real conclusion, at least one that was satisfactory for me. I don't like that. I'm not saying I don't appreciate open-ended conclusions, because I do. I just don't like the way this trilogy was concluded. Nah. Not a fan.
Also, I wasn't sure if I was doing the math wrong, but something that nagged me just a bit was whether or not Johansen was not paying attention to the math. In the second book, they mention the ages of Jonathon Tear. In the third, they mention it again but a red flag told me it wasn't correct. I have no idea if my hunch is correct and I have no desire to go look at the moment. Maybe when I re-read the series I will check on that.
Otherwise, a thrilling conclusion (up until the last page or so) to a creative debut. Topics like politics, bribing, human trafficking, sexual freedom, religion, class, and the age old question of "can humanity live in a perfect society"....they mimic the major social and political topics of reality. I appreciate that. It was clever and well-done.
So THREE AND A HALF STARS for this novel. I would give it four but the last few pages (really the last sentence) and whether the math was correct, bug me to no end.