The Invasion of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling #2) by Erika Johansen

Amy     

Lynnie  


fantasy


Amy's Review

Another great novel by Erika Johansen! I really enjoyed this second novel in the Queen of the Tearling trilogy. We were given answers to my questions from the first novel and I do always enjoy getting answers! So, it seems we are seeing our future as well as our past in this one…a very interesting premise. The same lovable characters from the first novel are back, picking up right where they left off. And now we have new characters from pre-Crossing! In this story, our future (Tearling’s past) is grim indeed. And, given some recent developments here in present-day America, imagining some of those conditions in our future is not too difficult. Let’s hope those aspects of humanity remain fantasy.

My one major complaint is hard to describe without giving much away. I’ll just say that if the leader of the Crossing knew what he says he always knew (near the end of the book), then why would he have returned Lily to her situation? Why put her through all of that torture? I can’t think of a single good reason. He even lost a good person in the process of the rescue. This makes no sense for the story line other than to forcefully add some extra drama. I would love to hear from other readers if they can explain any good reason other than adding drama and length to the novel.

One other comment I must make is regarding the audiobook version. While I like Davina Porter (I’ve heard her narrate the Outlander novels) I do not feel she was the right narrator for this novel. She is an older British woman. However, the heroines in this novel are young and at least one of them is American. The only accents Davina can do are European. I just found her to not have the right voice for these characters. And, the accent she chose to use for The Mace was horrid! He sounded goofy and stupid when he is intended to be tough and smart. So, I ended up leaving the audiobook and reading the book for the remainder. For that, I give Davina a C for this novel.

Can’t wait to read the last in the trilogy!

Lynnie's Review

I enjoyed spending time with Kelsea & the rest of the characters from Queen of the Tearling once again. As the main story in Invasion of the Tearling moves torward the Mortmesne invasion of the Tear, preparations for war and the attempt to save as many of the inhabitants of the Tear as possible continue. The book is best when it's focused on Kelsea & her kingdom. As Kelsea's powers grow, those closest to her become increasingly concerned about what the future holds for all of them.

There is a secondary story that Kelsea sees when she is in a fugue state- a "pre-Crossing" woman named Lily, clearly living in a frightening vision of America where the government and military are in complete control, people have few rights, women have fewer rights, and the division of wealth has become extreme. I found that as I read this portion of the story with Lily as the main character I was annoyed. I wanted to get back to the main story at hand &, even as I realized that this was an important part of the story, & I enjoyed it on its own, I found myself wishing it was a novella- separated from the main story rather than woven into it.

I'm looking forward to finishing the series and am especially glad that the book is already released so I don't have to wait a year for it!