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Literary Friday: The Invasion of the Tearling

Friday, December 2, 2016




About The Invasion of the Tearling

In this riveting sequel to the national bestseller The Queen of the Tearling, the evil kingdom of Mortmesne invades the Tearling, with dire consequences for Kelsea and her realm. 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. In this dazzling sequel, Erika Johansen brings back favorite characters, including the Mace and the Red Queen, and introduces unforgettable new players, adding exciting layers to her multidimensional tale of magic, mystery, and a fierce young heroine.


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Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble



About Erika Johansen

Erika Johansen grew up and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She went to Swarthmore College, earned an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and eventually became an attorney, but she never stopped writing. Follow the Tearling series on Facebook and Tumblr.


My Review:

I wouldn't have thought it possible, but I liked The Invasion of the Tearling even better than The Queen of the Tearling.  The book contains two narratives in one: the story of Queen Kelsea's kingdom as they await the impending invasion of the Tearling Kingdom by the evil Red Queen of Mortmesne and the story of  Lily, a pre-crossing woman living in a scary late twenty-first century United States.

Kelsea's powers are developing, and she keeps having visions of Lily's life during catatonic states where she sleepwalks and experiences events from Lily's life.  Lily's America is so scary to me.  A divided America has evolved into such extremes: the "occupiers" become total anarchists and only care about destroying;  the uber-conservative government builds steel walls around cities and strips women of basic civil rights.  The question is this: Why does Kelsea continue having these visions about Lily, and what is Kelsea's connection to Lily?  This question is hinted at but not fully answered in The Invasion of the Tearling, and I'm hoping that more will be revealed in The Fate of the Tearling.

Other intriguing plot points in The Invasion of the Tearling include Kelsea's relationship with her personal guard Pen and the new sadistic Holy Father who terrorizes Father Tyler.  Plus there's a very scary man named  Rowland Finn and I use the term "man" very loosely because I have no idea what he is.  But he's very powerful, and there also seems to be a connection between him and The Fetch, Kelsea's first "crush" who's wreaking havoc in the Mort as he's leading rebellion all over the kingdom.

There's a lot to love about this series, part fairytale, part dystopian, and part magical realism (Lily's storyline).  If you like any of these three genres, you'll love The Tearling.

You may read my review of The Queen of the Tearling here.

What is the latest book series you've read that you'd recommend? 


Disclosure:

I received a copy of The Invasion of the Tearling from the publisher via TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.



Until next time...

Happy reading!
Ricki Jill

5 comments

  1. I'm afraid I'm a little lost here, I haven't ever read this type of novel, these books sound like a whole new world to explore!
    Jenna

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, book 2 is rarely a better read than book 1 in any trilogy! I'm so glad you loved this middle book and I hope you enjoy the conclusion just as much.

    Thanks for being a part of the tour!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is rare, but this one is better. I can't wait to start the conclusion this week! Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Ricki Jill -

    I somehow lost you! I thought you stepped out of the blogging world, and I haven't read anything from you in a long time. I saw your comment on someone else's blog and had to find you! You've always been such a good resource for reading suggestions and I love your tone. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season.
    Linda @ A Toile Tale

    ReplyDelete
  4. I feel like it's really rare for the second book in a series to be stronger than the first. For me, the Chaos Walking series was like that. I've got these books on my wish list!

    ReplyDelete

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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