This series…..wow. I cannot stop thinking about it. I first read The Queen of the Tearling in 2017 and shortly after that purchased and read the second book The Invasion of the Tearling. I immediately purchased The Fate of the Tearling and put it carefully on my shelf where it has sat for nearly two years. Thanks to September Sequels I finally made time to finish the series. I am going to try and make this as spoiler free as possible so forgive me for all the vagueness that follows.
I only partially remember the details of the first two books and I was concerned that I had them woven facts with another series that I read at the same time. So, I actually took the time to re-read the first two books. I tore through them. It helps that I am post-move and pre-work so I have nothing but time to read right now. Still, these books consumed me for the past few days.
The Queen of the Tearling jacket reads:
With the arrival of her nineteenth birthday, Princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn is ascending to her rightful place as the new Queen of the Tearling. Surrounded by enemies, including an evil sorceress possessed of dark magic, the young ruler stands little chance of success. But Kelsea possesses fearsome weapons of her own, including the Tear sapphire, a jewel of immense power and magic. As an epic war draws near, Kelsea’s quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny begins – a wondrous journey of self-discovery and a trial by fire that will make her a legend…if she can survive.
Do you want to know something odd? The first time I read this book I pictured Kelsea as being age 12-14. It is no spoiler to say that she was raised in isolation, hidden from enemies, by two caretakers. This made her seem both very young while simultaneously wise. It was only upon reading it the second time that I caught that she was nineteen. This fact made other things in the series, like her distraction regarding the attractiveness of her guard, seem less weird.
Re-reading the first two books was a joy. They are fairly fast-paced (bit of a Hobbit-like traveling part in the beginning of book one) with fantastic characters. All three books are told from shifting narratives and you can see the perspective of each character clearly. And the characters! Kelsea has a core made of pure iron. Her guards, the evil Queen, the mysterious Lily, and Father Tyler – I loved (or loathed) them all. Two of the guards, The Mace and Pen were my absolute favorites and I relished each scene they were in. I want the Mace to be my friend in real life. Or, at least, have one friend as utterly dedicated to me as the Mace is to Kelsea. I was ready for the next book. I needed to know the fate of this world that had become to important and so real to me.
Let me just disclose that one of the reasons this book landed on my TBR shelf for so long was because it did not go over well with the fans of the first two books. So, I was worried. For the first 50-75% of the book, it was amazing. Every thought was, “what are people complaining about?” Then, stuff happened. Nothing that requires trigger warnings or anything (although, please note that there is some background sexual violence in this book) Then, I got to the final quarter of the book.
The ending left me open-mouthed staring at the back cover.
I went full large-mouthed bass.
It is not a bad ending exactly. On a scale of endings it is closer to Hunger Games than say, Divergent. There is sadness, there is wonder, and there are a few, “whaaaaaaaat?” moments mixed in. Mostly, it is just a perfect series with an ending that is probably perfect for the series but isn’t what I wanted. This is the ending that makes me finally understand why people write fan fiction. I would like a go at re-writing this ending.
I will still highly recommend the entire series. It is fantasy writing in a surprising way and is packed full of fantastic characters charging through life righting wrongs. And, if you have read it or do read it, can we please talk about that ending?!?
Tell me, please!
Which series had an ending that you didn’t love but didn’t ruin the series?
I am so glad that I purchased a physical copy and finally had the opportunity to sit down and read these re-tellings. Neil Gaiman’s storytelling is always perfection but his ability to weave a short story is mesmerizing for me. Typically, I do not enjoy short stories. But, perhaps, it is Gaiman’s graphic novel work that makes these stories seem so effortlessly enjoyable. As a bonus, since I recently finished the 
Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a show stopping romance when you least expect it.
Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.
Talk about an embarrassing introduction. On her first day of law school, Kailyn ran – quite literally – into the actor she crushed on as a teenager, ending with him sprawled on top of her. Mortified to discover the Daxton Hughes was also a student in her class, her embarrassment over their meet-cute quickly turned into a friendship she never expected. Of course, she never saw his betrayal coming either…
Lilah isn’t sure what hurt worse: the day Ethan left her to focus on his hockey career, or the day he came back eight years later. He might think they can pick up just where they left off, but she’s no longer that same girl and never wants to be again.
Originally entitled Good Omens, The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Alice Nutter, Witch this book was originally published in 1990. At the time, neither Neil Gaiman nor Terry Pratchett were the major authors that they are today but it is clear from this book that both already had an excellent handle on their craft. In 1985 Neil Gaiman interviewed Terry Pratchett for an article at the beginning of Mr. Pratchett’s career. The two struck up a friendship that has spanned decades and wrote Good Omens together by sending floppy disks back and forth and collaborating over the phone. This was during the time that Gaiman was working on Sandman and I just wish I could get my hands on all those floppy disks….
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Phillippe is the story of Norris who grew up in Montreal, Canada. He and his Mom have relocated to Austin, Texas for her job after the divorce. And, of course, poor Norris now has to combat with the heat, the culture and high school. I know we have probably all read this story one-hundred times but paired with genuinely sweet friendships and a slow burning romance I found the story sweet and fun to read.
First of all, again, how fantastic is this cover? If I didn’t know better, I would have guessed it was a graphic novel. Second, this book was published by 
And I loved it. Many have labelled this a coming of age story and, while that is accurate, it is also a story of metamorphosis. That enormous moment in time between being a child and becoming an adult when you suddenly understand that your parents are people (not simply your parents) and there is far more grey in the world than there is black and white.
My favorite book of 2018 was 
In Today I Will Be Different Eleanor Flood, her famous husband, Joe, and her son Timby live in Seattle. Eleanor and Joe are New Yorkers and atheists. While Joe has found grand success as a sought-after hand surgeon in Seattle, Eleanor has been struggling to fit into their community and especially with the parents at Timby’s school. She begins the morning by setting small obtainable goals that she feels will make today different. She makes a promise to herself to shower and get dressed, to take her son Timby to school and then attend her poetry lesson, and to initiate sex with her husband. But before she can quietly change her day in these small ways her son Timby plays sick. That small change in her plans, unintended by Eleanor, alters the course of her life dramatically.