Happy Literary Friday, My Lovelies! In spite of all the Christmas activities and obligations, I did read a book this week, and I found it hard to put down. It's Book # 3 in the Tearling Series, and I highly recommend it: You should add it to your Christmas list!
About The Fate of the Tearling
Publisher: Harper (November 29, 2016)
"Katniss Everdeen, you have competition."Entertainment Weekly The thrilling conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Tearling trilogy. In less than a year, Kelsea Glynn has transformed from a gawky teenager into a powerful monarch. As she has come into her own as the Queen of the Tearling, the headstrong, visionary leader has also transformed her realm. In her quest to end corruption and restore justice, she has made many enemies including the evil Red Queen, her fiercest rival, who has set her armies against the Tear. To protect her people from a devastating invasion, Kelsea did the unthinkable: She gave herself and her magical sapphires to her enemy and named the Mace, the trusted head of her personal guards, regent in her place. But the Mace will not rest until he and his men rescue their sovereign, imprisoned in Mortmesne. Now, as the suspenseful endgame begins, the fate of Queen Kelsea and the Tearling itself will finally be revealed.
Purchase Links
HarperCollins | Amazon| Barnes & Noble
My Review
Wow.
There are so many unexpected twists in The Fate of the Tearling, the final installment of the Tearling Trilogy that I literally gasped out loud and had to go back and re-read sections. It is so rare that a series actually improves as it progresses from book one to two to three, but this trilogy accomplishes that and more.
Queen Kelsea is one of my very favorite characters ever. She is very introspective: She is her own worst critic, yet she tries very hard to be empathetic even toward her enemies. Yet her empathy doesn't weaken her nor does it weaken her quest for justice. She makes extremely tough decisions (one which blew my mind), and at the end of the book when she must make one crucial choice that will determine the fate of the Tearing, she must base her decision on not only what, but when: when as in when in time.
The villains are very complicated, well-drown and not flat at all. The Red Queen's identity (revealed in book two, The Invasion of the Tearling) and her childhood shape her into the despot she becomes. She is actually my second favorite of all the characters! I also enjoyed the heroics of one of the young women named Aisa who trains with the Queen's Guard and again, Father Tyler is a standout among the secondary characters.
One of the themes of this series is the longing for "a better world." That is William Tear's original goal for the original pilgrims who cross God's Ocean in search of utopia. As humans we typically make the same mistakes throughout history. The main reason for this is because history has never been taught to children the way it should be. There's always an agenda, and primary history sources are rarely used.
My only cringe-worthy moments while reading the series is Kelsea's disdain for "God's Church" or the Christian Church. As a Christian, I would have liked to have seen the church portrayed in a more positive light, but at least Father Tyler's character is brave, righteous, and heroic. And in the end, there is a remnant of the church left that is {hopefully} less corrupt.
Warning! Spoilers ahead!
I still have many question that aren't answered in The Fate of the Tearling. They include questions about time travel, how William Tear's ancestors received the original sapphire in the past. What were those vampiric children that Rowland Finn foster, and how did he gain all his black magic and knowledge of the occult? Through library books? Why would the pilgrims have brought books on the occult with them when they had limited space and no printing press? Did Kelsea ever know that she killed Jonathan Tear, or was it really Lily?
End of Spoilers
This is a fantastic fantasy series, but I wouldn't exactly call it a young adult series due to language, violence, sex, and other mature situations. I definitely wouldn't recommend it to younger teens.
Below is a trailer for The Fate of the Tearling:
You read so many unusual books! I haven't taken time to read anything lately, I must amend this immediately!
ReplyDeleteYou know you've got me excited for the series! And I agree, it's very rare for a series to start off strong and just get stronger.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being on this tour!