The Invasion of the Tearling

In this second book in the trilogy, Kelsea has taken the throne of the Tear but now must face the ramifications of her choice to end the shipment of slaves to the neighbouring kingdom of Mortmesne. As Kelsea faces the reality of the invasion of her land, she is left with nothing but bad choices. As she grapples with what to do she is repeatedly pulled into visions of the life of Lily, a woman who lived in pre-Crossing America. What do these visions mean for Kelsea and how can she possibly preserve her smaller and weaker kingdom from the Red Queen and the massive army of Mortmesne?

It's been a couple years since I read the first book in this trilogy but I fell back into the world of the Tearling easily. Kelsea's journey is compelling as show more she struggles to understand her magic, grapples with the impossible choices that face her as a leader, and fights always to become anything like her mother. Intercut with this are the flashes into Lily's world - a dark but believable dystopia which feels slightly reminiscent of the world in Margaret Atwood's [The Handmaid's Tale]. It is fascinating to see the roots of this medieval-ish fantasy world come from a dark near-future world. The narrative is compelling throughout and I look forward to seeing the resolution of the plot in the final novel. show less

I rarely buy a new release, but the library wait was so long and after finishing the first book I just couldn’t wait.

I actually liked the second book in the series even more than the first. Instead of playing it safe and giving us more of the same, Johansen added in a huge twist to the book. We pick up where we left off with Kelsea, but we also flashback, throughout the book, to a time before the Crossing. We have a chance to see what America had become and why people longed for a new world. It gave a lot more context and depth to the book.

The supporting characters keep things interesting. There’s Mace, the head of the queen’s guard, the local priests, the young children living in the Keep, a thief named Fetch whose face no one show more has seen, the Red Queen and her devious ways, and more. Along the way Kelsea is trying to figure out who she is as a ruler and a woman.

Each chapter starts with a small passage from a history book. It took me a minute to realize who the author was and who they were written about, but I loved the element that those lines added to the story.

BOTTOM LINE: A fast read that left me eagerly awaiting the final book in the trilogy. The books aren’t perfect and there are certainly pieces that remind me of other books, but they are entertaining and very engrossing reads.

“Anger clouded judgment, precipitated bad decisions. Anger was the indulgence of a child, not a queen.”

“The Queen had not thought of her soldiers, only a principal, and principal was cold comfort to men who are going to die.”

“Corruption begins with a single moment of weakness.”

“It's a real thing, glory. But it pales in comparison to what we sacrifice for it. Home, family, long lives filled with quiet. These are real things too, and when we seek glory, we give them up.” show less

Queen Kelsea Glynn has now asserted herself as Queen of the Tearling. However, some of her first actions, which have gained her the respect of her people, have firmly upset the Queen of Mortmesne and have fueled an impending war with the much larger and well armored Mort army. As war approaches, Queen Kelsea develops a more mysterious connection to her sapphires. She has now been having intense visions of a woman named Lily Mayhew who lived in Pre-Crossing America, Kelsea has also found other powers that her stones carry and has come face-to-face with a dark being with promises that are too good to be true. Queen Kelsea must use everything she knows and place her faith in those she trusts to have a chance against the Mort Queen.

As soon show more as I began reading the second installment, The Invasion of the Tearling, I was first very happy that Kelsea is still very much herself, although the stones have seemed to grant Kelsea her wish of beauty. Kelsea is still strong-willed, hot-tempered and intelligent, continually fighting for what is right for her people. The second thing that I was very happy for was Lilly's point of view through Kelsea's visions. At first, I was a little confused about why we were suddenly in America with money and technology and doctors, but when I learned that we were finally seeing what Pre-Crossing was like and the time leading up to the Crossing, many questions from the previous book were answered for me and pieces started to fit into place about why things are they way they are in the Tearling. Another facet that I was very glad that this book began to answer was the mystery of the Mort Queen and her source of power, with the introduction of a new and mysterious dark force, the Red Queen is de-mystified slightly. The intensity and fast pace is kept up throughout the book with growing religious tensions, Kelsea's advance into womanhood and the inevitable invasion of the Mort Army. I do really wish that Kelsea would not have been granted her ideal of beauty with the stones, however, she did learn that this is not what made her a good queen. Overall, this installment was exciting and intense, answering many questions left from the first book, but opening up some others to be answered in the third. show less

Lange hat mich kein Buch mehr so gefesselt, dass aus “noch ’ne halbe Stunde lesen” locker zwei oder auch vier Stunden wurden - im Urlaub geht das ja zum Glück.

“The Invasion of the Tearling” (dt. “Die Königin der Schatten - Verflucht”) ist der zweite Band der Tearling-Saga - und wie es mit Reihen so ist, ist es auch hier empfehlenswert, die Bände in der Reihenfolge zu lesen.

Die Geschichte beginnt mit da, wo der erste Band aufhört - mit der Vorbereitung auf die zu erwartende Invasion durch das Nachbarkönigreich Mort. Kelsea wächst in diesem Band immer mehr in ihre Rolle als Königin hinein, verändert sich aber auch deutlich und man merkt, dass sie durchaus auch mit ihrer Rolle als Königin hadert.

Die dystopischen show more Elemente kommen in der Parallelhandlung zum tragen, durch die die Gesellschaft beschrieben wird, aus der die ersten Tearling-Siedler aufgebrochen sind. Und ich fand es durchaus beklemmend, dass die dargestellten Gesellschaftsstrukturen aus aktueller Sicht gar nicht mehr so undenkbar sind. Insbesondere dieser Handlungsstrang machte dann auch deutlich, dass es sich bei dieser Reihe auf keinen Fall um ein Jugendbuch handelt - aber auch im Tearling-Erzählstrang werden unter dem Druck der bevorstehenden Invasion die Sitten rauer.

Wer also Spaß an einer klassischen Fantasy-Geschichte hat, gleichzeitig aber auch kein Problem damit hat, dass diese Geschichte in unserer Zukunft beginnt und sich auch durch dystopische Elemente nicht abschrecken lässt, der wird mit dieser Reihe sein Vergnügen haben. show less

If the first book in the series is about Kelsea growing into her leadership role, The Invasion of the Tearling is about the history of the Tearling. As Kelsea learned during her childhood, to understand the present, one must first understand the past. She does so through the mysterious flashbacks to Lily and life before the Crossing.

Admittedly, it is an odd juxtaposition. Kelsea’s life is so intense that it is easy to get caught up in the action and adventure that tends to surround her. The shifts to Lily’s life are unpredictable and jarring. They disrupt the flow of Kelsea’s story. Lily is not Kelsea, and the difference is disconcerting. It is not the story one expects, and therefore the switches are almost unwelcome.

However, show more once you make the connection between Lily and Kelsea, the story takes on a completely different dimension. Suddenly, the story becomes larger than Lily or Kelsea as individuals. The story, after all, is about the Tearling and not the queen. The connection between the two women allows readers to realize this for the first time.

The rest of the story is about Kelsea’s attempts to find a solution to the pending invasion. While one admires her fierce concern for her country and people, Kelsea’s is very much a story about cause and effect, and this second novel is the exploration of those effects that she caused during the first book. Her choices are difficult, and it would be easy to call Kelsea impetuous or rash. Yet, Ms. Johansen ensures that Kelsea remains a sympathetic character with readers able to see how she is forced to make difficult decisions and live with the consequences. She is flawed, but that is what makes her such a strong character. She does not shy away from her flaws but recognizes them and strives to improve.

While The Invasion of the Tearling is not quite the sequel one expects, it remains an intriguing story. There are layers to it that enhance a reader’s enjoyment, as Ms. Johansen takes the time to fully develop her world and her characters. Even the purely evil characters have their hidden weaknesses that make them more a product of their circumstances than purely evil. It is a nuanced story, one that reveals different secrets upon additional reads. The intensity of the story ensures readers cannot turn the pages fast enough, and the ending will leave readers clamoring for the finale. Given how far Kelsea has come and the secrets remaining as well as those already revealed, it is sure to be one amazing ending. show less

Time and Flesh, they work wonders on a novel, don't they?

Enough of being cryptic. I really enjoyed this second novel; but to be honest, I wasn't sure I would. At least, this was true during the first third of it. The introduction of Lily was rather a vindication of my many suspicions that these books were, indeed, science fiction. Of course, magic is still a primary focus, but by the end I felt joyous that I got two quite different novels in one package, Kelsea and Lily tied in each other's orbits and endlessly circling each other delightfully. The viewshifts were slightly abrupt and made me wonder if I had fallen into a completely different novel, but hell, that's all right. It didn't take too long before I regained my patience and show more started enjoying the future of the past. The dance between the queen and the housewife grew organically and became ultimately and satisfyingly clear by the end. I can't give that part more praise, and don't mistake me on this. It is high praise.

As for the additional viewpoint characters, I tend to only tolerate the extras. The novel added two more, in addition to Lily, to the list. I'm suspending judgement as long as the little knife-girl and the deceptive-jailor have increased parts to play in the next novel, but they really didn't have much to do with the core of this book, except to prop up the recurring themes and main characters. They weren't uninteresting. They grew on me as the novel progressed, but neither of them had more than an oblique touch on the main plot.

The plot was a straight line, but there was a ton of consequence and a lot of character building. Many questions that were teased at in the first novel were answered in this one; happily and at length. As for how the book made me feel, I felt the populace's terror, but more importantly, I felt the interpersonal horror more. I was rooting for Lily almost the entire time, and like her, I thought her situation was hopeless. I suppose there's a lot to be said about hitting the reader close to home. Men can be such pricks.

After reading this novel, I'm sitting with this bittersweet empty spot in my heart that can't be filled until I get to the third book. Snatching it up is not going to be a difficult decision at all. I was moved. show less

I enjoyed the sequel as much as I did the original. Watching Kelsea change and grow was both terrifying and intriguing. The slips between her time and the past were written in such a way that what could have been a jarring transition was really very smoothly done. I have grown to love this world and it's inhabitants (the lovable ones, at least). Something that I really appreciate is that, while many of the antagonists are completely irredeemable and slimy, the primary baddie (The Red Queen) has moments where she is not only human, but relatable. For me, that ratchets up the conflict. I look forward to reading the final book in this trilogy.