Review of: The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
Genre: Sci-fi, Fantasy
The Invasion of the Tearling is the second book in Erika Johansen’s ‘Queen of the Tearling’ series. I reviewed the first book, The Queen of the Tearling, here. Since this is the second book in a series, I can’t guarantee that there won’t be any spoilers for the first book in it–not on purpose, but just because of the way the stories work together. I apologize in advance, but consider this my warning. 😉
When Kelsea Glynn stopped the slave shipments to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, she turned the attention of The Red Queen irrevocably towards her recently acquired kingdom. Now the army of Mortmesne is on the march towards the Tearling, in numbers far beyond anything the Tearling army can reasonably match. Kelsea has grown into her role as queen, but even she is floundering over the solution to such inevitable destruction. Distracting her further is a strange connection she appears to have formed to the past, and an unknown woman named Lily in the time before The Crossing. As the tension ratchets up in Kelsea’s own time, Lily’s past gradually begins to make sense, and the two stories build together, leading to a stunning conclusion.
After reading The Queen of the Tearling, I had high hopes for The Invasion of the Tearling. It took a while, because even though I went on the waitlist, pretty much as soon as my library got the book, it took a few months for it to get to me. It was worth the wait though. I was riveted. Kelsea is just such a strong character. Even in this book, where we came face to face with more of her faults and weaknesses, she truly is a better character because of them.
The Invasion of the Tearling really begins to delve more into the mysterious aspects of these kingdoms. The strange magic that Kelsea’s sapphires seem to produce, the Fetch, and the magic of the Red Queen all get a little more explanation and attention in this book. Plus, there are some exciting revelations about the history of the Tearling.
The worst part about this book is that the next one probably won’t be published for a while, since The Invasion only came out in June. Yes, feel my pain. This is the second series that I’ve recently found myself in the uncomfortable position of having to WAIT for books to be published. It’s not cool. THIS is why I like to wait and read books after they’ve been out for years. At least then I don’t know what I’m missing! Delayed gratification sucks.
Just kidding, kind of.
Regardless of all that, I highly recommend this series so far. Read it, and then you can commiserate with me over the misery of waiting for the next book to be published.
I loved it: 5 out of 5 stars
We Peas Read 
I just read this one and was so disappointed. I feel like the author took everything I loved about Kelsea in the first book and turned it on its head. I did find Lily’s story fascinating (and scary) and I thought the end when the two Queens confronted each other was great- so even though this book let me down, I cannot wait to read the next in the series!
Have you read the Cainsville series by Kelley Armstrong? I think you’d greatly enjoy them.
Aw, I’m sorry you were disappointed by this one! I hate being disappointed by characters in sequels. I did think things got a little weird with Kelsea towards the end, but I was impressed with how she pulled out of her funk.
I’ll look up the Cainsville series! Thanks for the recommendation!