fantasy
This prequel to The Queen of the Tearling trilogy follows
Kelsea’s mother, Elyssa, when she was the princess under Queen Arla’s rule. It
also includes many other characters from the trilogy and fills in their
backstories.
Beneath the Keep was grittier and darker than I remember the
trilogy being. But, then again, I do recall saying that I didn’t think the
trilogy was really for young adults due to the adult themes. So perhaps I had
just forgotten the level of pain and cruelty inflicted on the characters in the
trilogy. I did go back and read summaries as well as my reviews of the trilogy
before starting this novel because I had already long forgotten all the
characters and stories. This helped remind me of those characters Erika Johansen had introduced previously. But I think I would have enjoyed this more
if I’d read it closer to the trilogy (which I finished 4 years ago).
This novel was full of conflict and good vs. evil. The
characters jumped from the page and the story never lost momentum between the
differing characters’ points of view. It was full of tension and action and bravery. I really enjoyed it but would have enjoyed it
much more if I’d read it closer to the trilogy. If you read the trilogy, you
should definitely give this one a try. Just be ready for the brutality contained within.
I appreciated the author’s note at the end about the value
of resistance and how our current world is in a time of trials that are different, yet
similar, to the Tearling world. I wish
we had more brave people in leadership positions too.
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