The Invasion of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling, #2)

by Erika Johansen

Review originally posted at Simply Adrift.

I remember really enjoying The Queen of the Tearling, I remember thinking it was similar to the Fire & Thorns series by Rae Carson, I  remember being incredibly confused by what time period it was set in. But it was a fun read.

When I picked up The Invasion of the Tearling I had no idea what to expect. I started reading chapter one and thinking 'Okay, this is good', the story opens up with a quick background of a character that eventually becomes the general of the Tearling army. Once I got to chapter two though I suddenly realised I could barely remember what happened in  book one. I literally could not remember what the major plot points were in The Queen of the Tearling, I couldn't remember how the book ended, and I could only vaguely remember there were two necklaces - Help!

At this point I put the book down and started to read as many reviews of The Queen of the Tearling as I could. I was hoping to find spoiler-y reviews, maybe a recap post. But I couldn't find many that gave away the major plot points... So I re-read the last few chapters of the first book and hoped for the best.

I started reading The Invasion of the Tearling again, and once I got to chapter three I was hooked! We suddenly have a POV from a completely new character and I was confused. I was so confused but so entranced that I couldn't put the book down! I didn't understand what was happening and I needed to know, so I kept reading.

The Invasion of the Tearling was a more political story that focused on Kelsea and this new character that I was so entranced by. This story was not an adventure story like the first story was, this story was deeper and revealed how the world of the Tearling came to be. It felt incredibly different to the first book, which at first I was confused about but then I fell in love with this book.

Once again, romance is not a factor in this story. It doesn't bother me because the rest of the story was so strong, the characters were interesting and I was reading chapter after chapter. I didn't need a romance to keep me hooked. I felt sad for Kelsea in this book, she felt very alone and she knew there was no one that could understand how deep that feeling ran. She still lusted after the Fletch, but he didn't make too much of an appearance in this book, this book centred around Kelsea and this mysterious new character.

Now for anyone that hasn't read the book, the next paragraph is spoilery! You have been warned.

I found Lily to be an incredibly interesting character, her story line drew me in and it's what kept me reading this book. To be honest, Kelsea's story was a lot less exciting than Lily's. The whole time all I wanted to know was who is this woman?! Why are we seeing her story? The fact that it was set back in modern times, and we got to see how the world fell to shit, was so interesting. And Lily trying to get away from her abusive husband was intense. Lily's chapters were always so dramatic, I really liked her story a lot. I still have questions as to who she is to Kelsea, I know that Lily must be Kelsea's great, great grandmother or something like that, but I want to know more!

I wonder if we'll get to find out in book three? I'm definitely hanging on the edge of my seat waiting for it!

Overall

I really enjoyed The Invasion of the Tearling, it's left me with more questions, but I am pretty excited to pick up the third book in this series!

I love that this book was a lot better than the first, I hope that means that book three is going to be an amazing finish to this series.

In my opinion, if you liked book one or even f you weren't that fussed about book one, pick up this book because this story gets more intense. And this book is a different read to the first, it's not an adventure story, it's not about Kelsea finding love, and it's not about a young girl trying to rule a country. It's about a young woman trying to fight for her country's safety, it's about a young woman coming to terms with who she is and who she is not, it's about a woman trying to make sense of things that only she can make sense of because she's the only one with the puzzle pieces.

The Invasion of the Tearling was nothing that I expected, and in a really good way.

This review was originally posted on Simply Adrift