The Queen of the Tearling

Title: The Queen of the Tearling

Series: The Queen of the Tearling - book 1

Author: Erika Johansen

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Paranormal, Dystopia

Number of Pages: 434

Publication Date: 2014

Publisher: Bantam Press

Summary: It was on her nineteenth birthday that the soldiers came for Kelsea Glynn. They came to escort her back to the place of her birth - to ensure she takes possession of what is rightfully hers. But like many nineteen-year-olds, Kelsea is unruly, has high principals and believes she knows better than her elders. Unlike many nineteen year olds, she is about to inherit a kingdom that is on its knees - corrupt, debauched and dangerous. Kelsea will either become the most fearsome ruler the kingdom has ever known...or be dead within the week.

For the month of June by TBR Challenge was to read a book by a new to me author. So I went looking for an author I had never heard of and I didn't read any reviews, I simply picked the book up based entirely on its summary.

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen was a new and refreshing read and is filled with a good dose of realism. The story follows the journey of Kelsea as she becomes the Queen of the Tearling, a dangerous and difficult role as Kelsea is forced to fight for the lives of her people as well as herself.

When and where this book is set I'm not really sure. It is a dystopian world but whether it is set in our world or another I'm not 100% on. But this is one of the reasons I loved it. There is a small amount of paranormal to this book, and I suspect the second book will contain more, but is otherwise set in a medieval type setting.

Another thing I loved about this book was the lack of romance. Yes, that's right, lack of romance! While there is a handsome guy Kelsea likes, her thoughts and feelings and their interactions are only seen in a mere 20-30 pages throughout the entire book.

The main thing I loved about this book was that we got to see the political side of being a Queen, politics being a subject most authors seem to gloss over if possible, because lets face it, politics can go very wrong. But Johansen found a balancing point and managed to write a good deal of detail without causing anyone to drown.

I did have a few small issues with the book though. I felt there were a few incidents and details of the story that didn't seem to match as seemlessly as they could have. However, thankfully these details were usually a part of the back story and easy to overlook.

I look forward to picking up the next book in the series, The Invasion of the Tearling and I hope I can give the second book a 5 star rating as well.