Rating: 92% | A- | ★★★★★ Warnings: + Violence + Sexual content and sexual assault + Profanity Synopsis (from Goodreads): Kelsea Glynn is the Queen of the Tearling. Despite her youth, she has quickly asserted herself as a fair, just and powerful ruler. However, power is a double-edged sword, and small actions can have grave consequences. In trying to do what is right - stopping a vile trade in humankind - Kelsea has crossed the Red Queen, a ruthless monarch whose rule is bound with dark magic and the spilling of blood. The Red Queen's armies are poised to invade the Tearling, and it seems nothing can stop them. Yet there was a time before the Crossing, and there Kelsea finds a strange and possibly dangerous ally, someone who might hold the key to the fate of the Tearling, and indeed to Kelsea's own soul. But time is running out... Spoiler-Free Section I enjoyed this book a little better than The Queen of the Tearling. I thought the pacing of the plot was steadier and I found the character development more well-rounded. That being said, I wasn't sold on some of the plot details and the ending. Kelsea goes through a huge, if strange arc in this book. There's almost too much going on. Without spoiling anything, the Tear jewel becomes vital to the plot—even more than it had been in last novel—and it overcomplicates things with magic. Of course, the second book in a trilogy is much like the middle child: ignored, and perpetually in a state of awkwardness. It's understandable that the magic in this world would not yet be fleshed out because Johansen is saving it for the last book, but I'm starting to feel as though the Tear jewel is too much of an ex machina to ignore. The characters in this book go through great development. Last novel had been mostly in Kelsea's POV, but this novel has a more expanded cast. Some characters were more pleasant to experience than others, though I feel that most of the new POVs were unneeded. And, as I mentioned before, I'm still not sold on the ending. It felt tacked-on rather than thought out, and while it makes sense somewhat logically, it isn't a great bridge to the next book. (Click "Read More" for spoilers.) Plot (26/30)
Beginning (9/10) The beginning was boring. It sounds crude and childish to say that, but simply put: I was bored. I understand the necessity of slowly easing the reader back into the state of affairs in the Tearling, but starting the book with a minor character and action so far away from the capital seems like a poor way to hold their interest. (It reminds me of Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows; I couldn't get through the first chapter for ages because of minor character narration like this.) And then Johansen takes us into a whole new world. And the excitement of it all almost makes me want to eat my words about how boring the beginning is. (Almost.) Let's get the niceties out of the way: I don't like the modern-day angle. I'll discuss this more in depth when the plot gets to it, but while I enjoy reading about Lily's life—it's an important story to tell—the shift in time between Kelsea and Lily is wildly confusing. Having to wrap my mind around the fact that the Tearling is in the future but also not in the future was . . . challenging, to say the least. Right away, I felt so sorry for Lily. Sorry, then angry. Lines like the ones below made my skin crawl: Greg wanted children in the same way he had wanted a new BMW, the same way he wanted Lily to wear her diamond-studded watch. I didn't want to experience the confusion of having two protagonists, but I was hooked on Lily's story with grotesque interest. And then, in a flash, it was back to Kelsea and everyone else in the Keep. I found Aisa's plotline quite extraneous. I understand why it is included, but she is so tangential to the main plot that the only thing connecting her to it is her relationship with the Mace. Every time her POV is included, it is only because she is hiding in the shadows or training. Speaking of Aisa, Andalie continues to be a treasure in this novel. She is a true friend to Kelsea, the only one who can provide womanly advice. And her story about how she escaped from Mortmense . . . I can't speak personally on the matter of the portrayal of rape in books. What I can say is that the criticisms that are given to rape depictions in male authors' works such as Game of Thrones cannot be applied to the Tearling series. Not just because Erika Johansen is a woman, but because she does not write her rape scenes in a lecherous or overly explicit manner. When Aisa and Andalie talk about their rapes, they never describe them. They speak of them in resigned but angry tones. And when these tales reach Kelsea, she is there to assure them that it was not their fault, and that she will make the world a safer place for women. That is what is so special about this series. That unabashedly feminist angle to it. Andalie’s voice was rising, and Kelsea realized, horrified, that Andalie seemed to be trying to justify herself, to ward off some inevitable condemnation. “No fifteen-year-old can make good decisions, Andalie. I can barely make easy decisions for my own life now.” This book is very, very gory. As I re-flip through the pages to write this review, that is the only thought I have. Even now, I wince at the castration of Father Seth. It is so awful that I find I cannot put it into words, my reaction. Only Johansen's words, I feel, will suffice: Anders moved in swiftly and his hands worked with almost surgical precision, so fast that Seth barely had time to make a sound before the deed was done. But Tyler and Wyde screamed together, their voices joining a chorus of cries that echoed back and forth between the stone walls of the chapel. Tyler looked down, unable to watch, and found Wyde’s hand in his, their fingers clasped in the uncon- scious manner of children. Everything Johansen depicts, she depicts for a reason. To have a character mention "Seth was castrated" has a very different impact than watching Seth be castrated. While I hate rereading it, while I hate even writing about it, I have to admit that it is a powerful scene. Back at the Keep: Kelsea makes a new-ish friend(-ish). The appearance of the mysterious magic man is dramatic irony at its finest. The reader knows that he is the cause of much suffering in Mortmense; Kelsea only knows him as an intruder who wishes to make a bargain with her. (Chills ran down my arms when I read that scene in her bedroom, aching to tell Kelsea that it was all a trap.) Then, from Kelsea to Lily. Poor, brave Lily. To have an abusive husband and at the same time, to be willing to harbor a member of the resistance in her own home. I still can't read the rape scene without feeling ill and looking away. Nothing I say here will ever encapsulate the horror I felt as I read it. Onto lighter fare: while I don't enjoy the modern-day angle, I enjoyed Johansen clarifying the pre- and post-Crossing lore of the Tearling. That remains the main mystery in this book, not Kelsea's dilemma with the Red Queen. And, of course, one cannot help feeling sorrowful for the loss of William Tear's dream. “Picture a world where there are no rich and poor. No luxury, but everyone is fed and clothed and educated and cared for. God controls nothing. Books aren’t forbidden. Women aren’t the lower class. The color of your skin, the circumstances of your birth, these things don’t matter. Kindness and humanity are everything. There are no guns, no surveillance, no drugs, no debt, and greed holds no sway at all.” Middle (8/10) The middle of the story is a little less engaging than the first third. I'm unsure of what the POV of Andalie's daughter contributes to the story, although I enjoy the reference to the abuse that Andalie mentioned in the first book. Johansen really doesn't shy away from abuse and rape, and manages to treat both topics with earnest and not-glorified attention. It does a service to her writing. Additionally, I'm ambivalent about the relationship between Kelsea and Pen. It certainly isn't the conventional YA love story between a young girl and her dashing male counterpart. It threw me for a loop. However, I really enjoyed reading about Kelsea coming into her own and acknowledging her sexuality. And, of course, there is the matter of the mystery man that emerges from Kelsea's fireplace. Johansen masterfully incorporates dramatic irony into her story by showing her readers the two sides of the coin: the Mort queen, having already made a deal with the mystery man and suffering from the consequences, juxtaposed with the wily but naive Kelsea. I was so anxious reading the interactions between the mystery man and Kelsea, and even more so when he began to give her advice. End (9/10) We return to Lily's in this last part. Again, extremely hard to read about her being repeatedly raped at the hands of her husband. But justice is served—in a way. Her husband is executed at the hands of her bodyguard and an end is brought to Lily's torture. And even though she is captured by the government, William and Jonathan come to triumphantly break her out. Reading all of this—Lily's escape, Jonathan's death, William's time travel (!) was mind-blowing. Realizing that Lily was one of the first settlers of the Tear was even more so. But back with Kelsea . . . The setting of this ending is as intricate as it gets. Johansen's writing is so vivid and I can practically hear the Mort Queen's soldiers and horses scratching at the doors of the Keep. I feel Kelsea's anxiety as if it were my own. And when I read of the kingdom's impending doom, I anticipated Kelsea's sacrifice. I do love this one quote, though. An attempt by Arliss to lighten the mood: Arliss sat back, crossing his arms over his chest, and eyed her speculatively. "So you're going to die tomorrow?" "I think so." "Then what in the happy Christ are you doing sitting here talking to me? You should be out getting drunk." The actual sacrifice, however, was slightly anticlimactic. Watching Kelsea hand herself over through the eyes of Andalie's daughter seemed like a disservice to the characters who actually had a stake in the situation—the Mace, Pen, and Kelsea. I know that Johansen made a strategic move to tell the scene from that specific POV to avoid bias through other POVs, but it made me feel detached from the scene. Additionally, to have the solution be to just trick the Mort Queen into wearing the Tearling was also a strange choice. And to portray everything that came after Kelsea's capture—the Mace scrambling to clean things up, Pen's frenetic mourning—also made the novel feel longer than it needed to be. These events cut the dramatic cliffhanger that the book could have had. Characters (28/30) Development (15/15) Kelsea's development was excellent in this book. There was always the possibility of her becoming dangerous; that was an evident fact even in the last book. But in this book, the reader sees the full extent of Kelsea's abilities and how the Tear jewel truly affects her. The pure terror that she unleashes at Thorne's execution and the subsequent questioning of her abilities truly shows the thin line that Kelsea walks between might and morality. I also enjoyed the Mace's development. In this book, it becomes clear that he isn't just focused on being a Queen's Guard; he's focused on protecting the country. And if protecting the country means overruling Kelsea, what has to be done will be done. Lure (13/15) I truly believe the addition of Aisa's POV took up too much time in the story. I wasn't really interested in her story, and I didn't particularly care for her judgment on other characters' decisions. I don't think it really added anything to the overall arc. Writing (20/20) Descriptions (10/10) and Flow (10/10) As always, Johansen's writing is flawless. I have no complaints. Her little cultural tidbits at the start of each chapter remain the absolute best part of this reading experience and a 101 course in worldbuilding by themselves. Closure/Set-Up (18/20) Logic (9/10) Kelsea's decision to sacrifice herself was logical. However, the way in which Johansen chose to address that decision was unsatisfying for me. (I wrote about it in the "Plot" section.) That was the only qualm I had about the logicality of the novel's ending. Lure/Closure (9/10) Again, the extra scenes after Kelsea's capture felt unnecessary and contributed to the loss of momentum and drama at the very end of the novel. Thanks for reading!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |