The Invasion of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling #2)–by Erika Johansen

The Invasion of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling)

Jun 9, 2015

by Erika Johansen

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 2015
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. 

This will be a difficult review for me to write.  Not because it was a difficult book to read –no, not that-it is just that I do not want to give you spoilers, and to let you know how wonderful this book was, I may end up doing just that.  I will try to let you know if anything I am writing will be a major spoiler.

I have a favorite author, Anne Bishop who wrote the Black Jewels Trilogy, and if anyone can take an unusual world and make it come to life it is her…until now.  Ms. Johansen nearly surpasses Ms. Bishop’s ability to take me from my world and transport me to another unusual, unique world and make me believe that I was actually living there. She makes me believe IN this world, the people in it and to understand the differences of it.

What we do learn in this, the second novel in the Queen of the Tearling trilogy, that this is not merely a dystopian world…it is so much more.  We see Kelsea’s world but we also get to watch a different world though the eyes and life of a new character named Lily.   A world where Tearling all started.

We are also kept on the edge of our seats by the coming war with the Red Queen, and it is closer than you think.

A relationship blossoms for Kelsea but not with whom you may hope it to be.  And you will find Kelsea going through some very unexpected and in my opinion, not very well explained, physical changes.   Then again, I have just devoured this book quickly and will have to re-read this slowly to find all the bits and pieces that I missed.  This was quite a long book at over 500 pages and it most likely that some of what confuses me or seems unexplained may just be something that I can’t at this moment recall.  

Unfortunately the book ends on a sort of cliff hanger, with so many threads to tie up.  You may even wonder, as you finish this book, just how the author is going to be able to tie all this up with just one more book in which to do it in.

Read book one before trying to read this and if you have read book one already, give it a re-read to refresh your memory.  I am very grateful that I did, because there was a lot I needed to remember before I dove into this book.


WARNING ---Some scenes may be too intense for some -scenes of spousal abuse and spousal rape.

*ARC  supplied by publisher