bookshmooks's review against another edition
4.0
I'm LOVING this series. The twists and turns are keeping me engaged and eager for more. The blending of the past and present are really making the story take shape. I really enjoy both Kelsea and Lilly's POV.
luckyliza13's review against another edition
4.0
So I need the next one now! There better be a next one, because there are still so many stories to be told. Can't get enough!
pottedkarma's review against another edition
1.0
I had to abandon this book and it makes me so SAD. I loved the first book, I really did, but this one makes no sense. The narration in the first book stays with Kelsea, which is a yay! Because she's the main character. This one? It bounces all over to other characters and times that don't seem to have any impact on the story. It reads like a complete hot mess and I want to mourn this book it could have been. :(
jeanettesonya's review against another edition
5.0
I'm starting to think that Erika Johansen is a genius. The Queen of the Tearling was good, but this book took things to a whole new level. The world of the Tearling sucks you right it but, while the world-building is masterful, the true delight of this book are the characters. Every character grows in depth as the book progresses. Characters that are easy to despise became hard not to sympathize with. Even characters you can't help but root for are not black and white. Kelsea makes some terrible, harsh decisions, and even William Tear does some pretty terrible things for what he believes in. These characters are so real, struggling through hard decisions in such human ways, not always coming out on top.
I can't wait for the next one. I haven't loved a series like this in a long time.
I can't wait for the next one. I haven't loved a series like this in a long time.
aejohnson621's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.25
blawson06's review against another edition
5.0
I am in love with this series!!!! Kelsea's character development is fascinating, gritty, and realistic. Loved the backstory for the Tearling - I can't wait to find out how everything resolves!
stephhreads's review against another edition
4.0
Some mixed feelings, but in the end, I really enjoyed the plot and insight into the history of this world. The most interesting part of the novel is definitely Lily's story and the glimpses of the pre-Crossing world, and how that connects to the "present" day saga of Kelsea and the Tearling. It's why I kept reading, because Lily and her struggles are far more interesting than the focus on Kelsea's sexuality and her obsession with receiving male attention.
paigelm's review against another edition
3.0
I just finished reading this book, so please excuse me if my review is slightly narrow in focus, looking at the endings of the two main story lines. While I absolutely loved the ending to Kelsea's story line in this book (I eat up the sacrificial lamb stuff) what happened to Lily?
She finally gets to hear about her sister, but her sister is on another boat and she won't be able to talk to her until they land, because Mr. Tear couldn't coordinate them being on the same ship together, ans Lily is so lonely on her ship after Johnathan dies. What? Also Lily has a reasonable question about her sister being diabetic and needing insulin and Tear's answer is just "No she doesn't." And then the book ends with her pregnant naming her kid in the future. Why doesn't her sister need insulin? What happened? Why isn't that explained? That ending left me with a bad taste in my mouth even though it was only a tiny part of the book and it seems irrational, but really? What a condescending bunch of malarky served up by William Tear himself! Also also also going back in time does not mean people don't need insulin. It just means people with diabetes died. That is what that means.
One last point...technology does not make people bad, which I guess is the point of Kelsea's story, but it seems interesting that people harken back to an age that was simpler in order to prove the point that people were better off. People even without technology in the middle ages weren't necessarily better off or safer or nicer because of it. And they certainly weren't healthier and in the middle age technology world people didn't get treated for things like diabetes with insulin. They just died.
She finally gets to hear about her sister, but her sister is on another boat and she won't be able to talk to her until they land, because Mr. Tear couldn't coordinate them being on the same ship together, ans Lily is so lonely on her ship after Johnathan dies. What? Also Lily has a reasonable question about her sister being diabetic and needing insulin and Tear's answer is just "No she doesn't." And then the book ends with her pregnant naming her kid in the future. Why doesn't her sister need insulin? What happened? Why isn't that explained? That ending left me with a bad taste in my mouth even though it was only a tiny part of the book and it seems irrational, but really? What a condescending bunch of malarky served up by William Tear himself! Also also also going back in time does not mean people don't need insulin. It just means people with diabetes died. That is what that means.
One last point...technology does not make people bad, which I guess is the point of Kelsea's story, but it seems interesting that people harken back to an age that was simpler in order to prove the point that people were better off. People even without technology in the middle ages weren't necessarily better off or safer or nicer because of it. And they certainly weren't healthier and in the middle age technology world people didn't get treated for things like diabetes with insulin. They just died.
reclusivereader's review against another edition
4.0
I have a feeling I'm going to finish this series and come back and want to five star all the books that came before. Like, I haven't actually even added a point five to these fours and yet.. somehow I have that feeling. Even though I have a few friends who are side-eyeing this journey of mine and waiting for me to actually get to said final (but not final, there seems to be a book four with a 2021 release date on GR?) book because of how polarizing it is. And I mean I can maybe see why that could be; because where we were in book one vs book two? Talk about different.
I honestly don't want to say much of anything because I feel like if you're like me and you've somehow managed to avoid this series all of these years, or you like to avoid blurbs in general, you won't want any hint of this book spoiled. And I'm a big believer in no spoilers anyway but suffice it to say we get a lot more pre-Tearling history in this book and much of how this world started, and why, is explained. Beyond just the "they set out with the goal of a Utopia, leaving everything behind" — which has sorta gone wrong over the years — concept we already knew about.
"[..] it's not wise, particularly in wartime, to silence the voice of dissent."
But I will reiterate what I mentioned in book one's review : this is definitely adult content that happens to feature a nineteen year old protagonist. Do not be fooled by the "it looks like YA" covers or summary. This one, in particular, took some of book one's darker themes and went on an extended jaunt through some sketchy AF woods. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's grimdark and I do not want to scare you away from reading it but if you're looking for the more standard "heroine defeats baddies and saves kingdom" that glosses over most of the violence or horror of that kind of undertaking, as we typically have in YA (this isn't criticism!), this might not be your cup of tea. There is much more grey here, much more nuance, and a lot more time confronting the dark depths and depravities that exist in the world.
With that mostly vague disclaimer out of the way, I'm still totally enthralled with this world, with these characters, with the evolving magic element, the past that laid the foundation for this world existed in the first place, and I still have so many questions.. about so many things. For all the answers we might have been given, there are still so many yet to be revealed, and in general I just feel like this continues to go in directions I'm not quite able to predict. Or maybe my mind just isn't capable of wandering forwards or trying to speculate as I'm too captivated by the moment. Either or.
Part of me wants to hold off picking up the final book as I'm not sure I'm quite ready to leave this series yet. But the binge bish part of me? Is anxious for me to stop rambling in this review and get to it. So, I guess that's my cue.
----
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
I honestly don't want to say much of anything because I feel like if you're like me and you've somehow managed to avoid this series all of these years, or you like to avoid blurbs in general, you won't want any hint of this book spoiled. And I'm a big believer in no spoilers anyway but suffice it to say we get a lot more pre-Tearling history in this book and much of how this world started, and why, is explained. Beyond just the "they set out with the goal of a Utopia, leaving everything behind" — which has sorta gone wrong over the years — concept we already knew about.
"[..] it's not wise, particularly in wartime, to silence the voice of dissent."
But I will reiterate what I mentioned in book one's review : this is definitely adult content that happens to feature a nineteen year old protagonist. Do not be fooled by the "it looks like YA" covers or summary. This one, in particular, took some of book one's darker themes and went on an extended jaunt through some sketchy AF woods. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's grimdark and I do not want to scare you away from reading it but if you're looking for the more standard "heroine defeats baddies and saves kingdom" that glosses over most of the violence or horror of that kind of undertaking, as we typically have in YA (this isn't criticism!), this might not be your cup of tea. There is much more grey here, much more nuance, and a lot more time confronting the dark depths and depravities that exist in the world.
With that mostly vague disclaimer out of the way, I'm still totally enthralled with this world, with these characters, with the evolving magic element, the past that laid the foundation for this world existed in the first place, and I still have so many questions.. about so many things. For all the answers we might have been given, there are still so many yet to be revealed, and in general I just feel like this continues to go in directions I'm not quite able to predict. Or maybe my mind just isn't capable of wandering forwards or trying to speculate as I'm too captivated by the moment. Either or.
Part of me wants to hold off picking up the final book as I'm not sure I'm quite ready to leave this series yet. But the binge bish part of me? Is anxious for me to stop rambling in this review and get to it. So, I guess that's my cue.
----
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.