The kingdom is in shambles–the bad guys want to take advantage and win control for themselves, and the good guys are so cautious about preventing further damage that unless Kelsea can prove herself a powerful force for good, she’s in danger even from the people that should be on her side. Between the assassins, her greedy uncle who wants the throne for himself, the mysterious and dangerous Fetch who takes matters into his own hands, and the powerful Red Queen of the neighboring kingdom with her sights set on making the Tearling bow down before her, Kelsea’s chances of survival are slim. When the Queen’s Guard arrives on her nineteenth birthday at the cottage where Kelsea and her adoptive parents have been hiding on the outskirts of the Tearling kingdom, she has no choice but to go with them and rule the Tearling for as many days as she can survive.

18 years have passed between the death of her mother, the infamous Queen Elyssa, and Kelsea’s own coronation. But this book tied for the win in my Choose My Next Read interactive post for June, so I read it by request, and I’m so glad I did.Ībout the book: Kelsea, sole heir to the Tearling throne, has been raised by a foster family for most of her life. I had been putting off reading this trilogy because I wanted to have them all in matching paperbacks on my shelf before I started. Erika Johansen’s popular NA/adult fantasy trilogy starts with: The Queen of the Tearling, a beautiful book inside and out.

The tearling