I always find it so difficult to summarise my feelings for books I adore. The words never feel quite right and I hate not doing an excellent book justice in my review. But this book deserves to be talked about.

Summary
The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen is a Young Adult fantasy novel following Kelsea, the 19 year old new queen to the kingdom Tearling. She takes over the throne after both her mother and uncle’s tumultuous reigns and has the heavy burden of restoring Tearling to it’s former pride after decades of dismal leadership while the threat of war looms over the kingdom and Kelsea’s life is being threatened by enemies across the continent.

This book was an excellent political fantasy. We see the manuvering of Kelsea in taking control and gaining complete power within her Kingdom while various groups plot for her demise. The book uses multiple POVs to its advantage as we learn the motives and goings on of several people within Tearling plotting against Kelsea. I appreciated the level of detail Johansen went into on the power structures within Tearling. We understand how Tearling functions thoroughly from its church to its soldiers. Everyone’s motivations are clearly laid out to us so I was easily invested in the plot

I rarely find competent monarchs Young Adult fiction. Most stories either focus heavily on the gaining of the throne and don’t bother with the the after effect of a tyrannical dictator and the shifting of power structures or the plot is heavily romance based with very little politics. What made Kelsea such a compelling leader was her knowledge on how to tackle the extremly unstable political and economic landscape of Tearling and her willingness to accept help from those who know more than her. She has a drive to earn her Crown and the respect of the people around her.

I found Kelsea such a compelling character. Throughout the novel we follow Kelsea as she adjusts to her life as Queen. Her resignation to a life with very little freedom and numerous threats to her safety mixed with her determination to be a good queen made her such a likable protagonist.

I loved the exploration of Kelsea’s relationship with her adopted mother. This book really dives into the conflicting emotions Kelsea has towards her mother figure. The resentment at the distance of their relationship but the love that continues despite the hurt Kelsea felt towards the isolation forced upon her as a child and the lack of positive female relationships in Kelsea’s life. While the relationship is explored only through Kelsea in this book I appreciated the growth and understanding Kelsea gains for her adoptive mother in this book.

Kelsea’s interactions with her Queen’s Guard and specifically her head guard the Mace were a gift. While I mourn the lack of female friendships in the book their dynamic is fun and very heartfelt at times. Their (platonic) relationship is one I can’t wait to see developed in the next installments.

The only thing I didn’t like about the story was the mostly one-sided romance between Kelsea and a character called the Fetch. Kelsea’s childish crush was very annoying to read. This point links well with my impatience with the constant reference to Kelsea’s beauty, or lack thereof of throughout the story. Predominantly in the first half of the book, Kelsea bemoans and sighs dejectedly about her plain appearance. Often. While understandable in a teen, Lord knows I have my insecurities, the consistent repetition of this point became almost intolerable and this aspect was maximized tenfold in every scene with Kelsea and the Fetch.

This book was fan-freaking-tastic. I would recommend it to all young adult fantasy lovers but be forewarned this book has many mixed reviews so maybe check a few of those out just in case. I cannot wait to get started on the next book in the series.