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Monday, May 19, 2014

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Good morning, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Erika Johansen's debut fantasy release, The Queen of the Tearling.

Kelsea Raleigh Glynn has been in hiding her entire life, but on her nineteenth birthday it is time for her to emerge and claim her throne. In the years since her mother's death, the Tearling has suffered greatly. Vulnerable to attack from the nearby kingdom of Mortmesne, Tearling has made a dark and tenuous alliance with the Red Queen. Kelsea's own uncle has his eyes set on the throne and has done everything in his power to take it as his own, including put a contract out for Kelsea's death. If she can live long enough to be crowned, it'll be just the beginning of the battle to take back her kingdom. 

I can't deny that I've been craving some epic fantasy and Erika Johansen's debut sure did hit the spot!

The Queen of the Tearling is the first in a new series set in a land not unlike our own. In fact, there are hints as to the beginnings of this particular world and the various settlements. Hints that I think will blossom into full blown explanations in further installments. Until then I have my own guesses but I'll have to wait and see if they're correct.

Kelsea is a great lead. A strong female leader who's been preparing for her throne all her life. Her teachers - and foster parents - have instilled great wisdom and morality in her, if she can overcome general teenage stubbornness and see it. And so we have a chance to see her grow and transform throughout the book to become someone truly wonderful.

But of course this is just the beginning of her story. The Queen of the Tearling has only a temporary resolution to events that take place in this particular part of the tale. Had the other books been available at this time I would have ripped through them all; I so badly wanted to stay in Johansen's created world longer!

Rating: 4.5/5

The Queen of the Tearling officially hits shelves on July 8. If you're a fan of epic fantasy, great world building, and wonderfully strong female leads, you won't want to miss out on this one. (Plus, apparently movie rights have been sold and Emma Watson has been tapped for the lead!)

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.


3 comments:

Tabitha (Pabkins) said...

Maggie (my local bestie who's joining me on the blog now) just finished reading this for the tour then I'm going to and then Tina and then we can all squee together when the movie comes out. I'll eat a box of popcorn in your honor my dear!

Becky LeJeune said...

Yum popcorn! I have no idea when the movie will be out but you can bet I'll be in line first thing to buy tickets when it hits theaters - but now I'm dying to read the next book!

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

I'm happy to see that this series got off to such a fantastic start!

Thanks for being a part of the tour.