Week 9 Reviews: The Queen of the Tearling, The Invasion of the Tearling

From Goodreads:
An untested young princess must claim her throne, learn to become a queen, and combat a malevolent sorceress in an epic battle between light and darkness in this spectacular debut—the first novel in a trilogy.

Young Kelsea Raleigh was raised in hiding after the death of her mother, Queen Elyssa, far from the intrigues of the royal Keep and in the care of two devoted servants who pledged their lives to protect her. Growing up in a cottage deep in the woods, Kelsea knows little of her kingdom's haunted past . . . or that its fate will soon rest in her hands.

Long ago, Kelsea's forefathers sailed away from a decaying world to establish a new land free of modern technology. Three hundred years later, this feudal society has divided into three fearful nations who pay duties to a fourth: the powerful Mortmesne, ruled by the cunning Red Queen. Now, on Kelsea's nineteenth birthday, the tattered remnants of the Queen's Guard—loyal soldiers who protect the throne—have appeared to escort the princess on a perilous journey to the capital to ascend to her rightful place as the new Queen of the Tearling.

Though born of royal blood and in possession of the Tear sapphire, a jewel of immense power and magic, Kelsea has never felt more uncertain of her ability to rule. But the shocking evil she discovers in the heart of her realm will precipitate an act of immense daring, throwing the entire kingdom into turmoil—and unleashing the Red Queen's vengeance. A cabal of enemies with an array of deadly weapons, from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic, plots to destroy her. But Kelsea is growing in strength and stealth, her steely resolve earning her loyal allies, including the Queen's Guard, led by the enigmatic Lazarus, and the intriguing outlaw known simply as "the Fetch."

Kelsea's quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun. Riddled with mysteries, betrayals, and treacherous battles, Kelsea's journey is a trial by fire that will either forge a legend . . . or destroy her. 

From Goodreads:
With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, a brutal ruler whose power derives from dark magic, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. And nothing can stop the invasion.

But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing, and she finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime. The fate of the Tearling —and that of Kelsea's own soul—may rest with Lily and her story, but Kelsea may not have enough time to find out.

My Review:
I was not expecting to read these books! But I bought a copy of The Queen of the Tearling, and it was just utterly fantastic, and I had to read more! I just absolutely loved reading reading these books, they were so fantastic and enjoyable, and I can't wait for the 3rd book!

Kelsea is an unusual heroine. She's plain, and a little overweight, which just made her so much more easy to relate to! Plus the fact that she loves to read, and she's so intelligent, yeah, that was so fantastic to read! She did change over the course of these books, and not always for the better. But it was so great to watch her go on this journey!

We knew that this set sometime in the future, because of the books that they had, like Lord of the Rings. What didn't make sense is that they were in a strange land that prior to their arrival, there were no humans. Which of what we know of Planet Earth, is basically impossible. But we learned how they did it, even if Kelsea didn't get that far in the memories. It makes the story of the lost ship even worse, because they didn't drown-they were either killed or arrested, left behind-they didn't make it through the portal that William Tear created with his stone.

With that, is that in the first book, I believe it mentioned that there were two waves of humanity, the Americans, and then the British who brought medical stuff that didn't make it the second time through. Which makes me wonder, did William or Jonathan Tear go back and bring some more people, or did another family that have a stone with powers come, and that's why there's two stones in Kelsea's time?

When I was about halfway through Invasion, I had a theory, and I was starting to type it into this review. But I held off, because when I got to the end, that theory proved true-that the Red Queen was the bastard child of the Beautiful Queen. And not part of the theory, but kinda connected, is that she's the one that took the painting of Lily!

Thee are still so many questions still to be answered! Like who is her father! And how did the Tear line survive to him? And why did he do that makes everyone want to make sure Kalsea doesn't know who he is! What happened to the Fathers? What does that guy plan to do now that he's released? What's up with The Fetch, and why did Kelsea's uncle think he was dead, what's the story there? And what are the limits of the magician's powers? Like could he create a army's worth of metal weapons and have them last, or is his power temporary? I needs to know!

Loved these books so, so much, they are definitely favourites of 2016, and I know the 3rd book, The Fate of the Tearling will be, as well if it comes out on its currently expected publication date!

Author: Erika Johansen
Series: The Queen of Tearling #1, 2
Read: February 21st, 21st, 2016
Source: Bought, Tuebl
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and they're 2016 Dystopia Books and Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2016 Books and The Queen of Tearling is a DAC Book and a WoW Book, and The Invasion of the Tearling is a Sophomore Challenge Book!
Publisher: Harper
Published: July 8th 2014, June 9th 2015

The Queen of the Tearling:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Invasion of the Tearling:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars