1533 Kindle pages over 8 days… only to leave me thinking- ‘I should have quit while I was ahead’ and yet something made me keep reading, something made me interested enough…so it couldn’t have all been bad… and it wasn’t… Even though my ratings for each book gradually lowered, I still believe the series is solid… for a reader who isn’t as fussy and impatient as me.
So… if you haven’t read the series yet, you best stop reading now because there will (probably) be SPOILERS… I simply can’t share my thoughts here without including some things from the story so consider yourselves warned!
The Queen of the Tearling was a 4 star read for me. It started strong, it kept my interest and there was tons happening. The intrigue excited me… Kelsea, her step-parents, her mother… What the hell was going on there, you know? The whole people trafficking treaty… My, that was some serious business and issue for a young Queen to sort out. However, there were some awkward moments… I get it, and I remember being 19… hormones galore, eh?! So, while I liked Kelsea’s stubbornness to prove herself (which she did well) I found her ‘weak’ moments, while human, quite out of place? And then there was the scene where the dark thing visits the Red Queen, her nipples were mentioned 2-3 times and I was like- well, what does that have to do with anything? I don’t bloody well care about her nipples! I get it, Dark Thing is hot times infinity and he’s seductive but the description of the scene, of the Red Queen feeling the effects of a carmer could have been delivered in more ways that just mentioning nipples. Just felt awkward.
I actually did enjoy this book a lot… I enjoyed the Queen’s Guard members… Mace, my all time favorite! Forever and ever and ever! What a strong, intriguing character! Naturally I was excited to start reading book 2 straight away…
The Invasion of the Tearling is when things got meh for me pretty quick. Why? Because… Lily’s chapters felt like a major distraction for me. I wanted to just read about the Glynn Queen, her Guards, the Red Queen and Thorne, the likes… Noooo… let’s go back in time… domestic violence, disgusting rape scene which made no bloody sense to me, no clues as to who these people are and how they are connected to the Glynn Queen until later on- all of this made me restless and moody. Yes, yes, impatient me… but seriously… I was bamboozled… there was tons about to happen in the Tear and yet we’re hopping around in some other timeline? The fact that while we’re getting acquainted with the history before the Crossing and the birthstory of Tear, Kelsea really had no role in Book 2. Yeah, she overturns the NEAR invasion but for most of the time she was aimlessly wandering around her castle stuck in her visions… After all my moaning here I have to admit, Lily’s world was crazy. I liked the whole dystopianness (?) of it and yet, I just didn’t care.. I wanted to go back to the Queen’s Guard, to the warfront and to the ‘current’ issues at hand in Tear. My rating: 3 stars
The Fate of the Tearling was meant to be the saving grace of the series for me. And you wanna know what ruined it all for me? The freaking ending! I physically made myself stay awake long into the night (on a work night, mind) to come to the awesome finale only to be rewarded a long round-about way with the plot progression, a twist regarding Kelsea’s mother (which in the grand scheme of things was totally pointless) and an ending that made me look at my husband and say: “1500 something pages for an ending like this? You’ve got to me f*cking kidding me!” and here’s my disclaimer- this storyline and its progression simply wasn’t my cup of tea. End of. It left me totally unsatisfied and rather than feeling like every character came a full circle, I was thrown for one of those endings that’s probably meant to be cool and modern and fresh and unique and different. Yes, it totally fits the book and the alternate timeline thing, but jaysus! So, that leaves me with why I rated 2 stars to the final book… in one word? It felt anticlimactic! There were probably many ways Kelsea’s story could have ended but that conclusion was just balls! I expected a powerful action scene in between the Red Queen and the Queen of Spades, with or without Row’s sapphire influence. After 1400 something pages I had the impression the Red Queen was a force to be reckoned with only to have her succumb like a weakling. One could argue: ‘What about her childhood? That explains…” Yeah, sure… For me? No! I felt cheated… it didn’t feel like a plot twist, I simply felt cheated out of some epic scenes.
***
It has only been a week since I finished the last page of the story and if I think of each book individually I can’t really remember much about any of them which makes me think the storyline was stretched to the very last… a lot of inbetween padding that could have probably been wrapped up a bit more efficiently… but that’s just me, hey!
So, there you have it… I’m Queen Fussypussy the Freaking Third! Overall rating for the series: 3 stars.
That’s a lot of reading in 8 days, I would offer you the highest of praise however I feel that needs to be reserved for “Queen Fussypussy the freaking third” that name is just awesome!😀😂👍
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Thank you… The Queen also send regards! 😀
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We need to get that name to stick now!😂
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Ha, that will be a mouthful… even a task and a half to type every time though 😀
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I have the first here and have not managed to pick it up yet, so I skipped ahead with your spoilers warning, but I cheated and saw a final 3 star. Kind of bummed.. sigh. Well, I guess time will tell. Maybe I will just shelve this for a bit longer to read some others.
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😊 well… you may well love the series more than I did… i think La La had issues with book 2 as well but then liked book 3. have a go anyway and I’d be interested in your thoughts 😊
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Eventually 😉 It will be a bit longer before I finish this dwindling stack of ARCs and Review copies and then I am eyeballing a few on my shelf. But I will definitely review them when I do! 🖒
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Damn, that is a heck of a lot of reading in 8 days for a sub-par ending 😦 I know that feeling (most of Stephen King’s epics leave me feeling hard done by). Queen Fussypussy … that needs to be tattooed onto you and worn with pride. Either that or it would be one heck of a blog name 😉
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Indeed! I felt totally… grumpy… with that ending… ah well- win some, lose some ☺
Ha! yeah, that would be a helluva tat, that! 😁 as for the blog name? I think it would attract the wrong crowd 😁
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Ha! Yes, it just might. Didn’t think of that 😳
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I bow to Queen Fussypussy the Freaking Third and her royal review! It’s never a good sign when an author needs to mention nipples. I’m leery of nipples xD You’ve put so much time in those books to be rewarded with a yikes ending, I’d ask for a refund!
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Thank you! 😀
I know right? Some people hate the word ‘moist’, I hate the word ‘nipple(s)’… it’s just so… alien or something! 😀 Hahaha…
Ah, you know, win some and lose some… just the preference thing here really… I need to go check out other reviews for the books just to see how differently everyone else felt about them. 🙂
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Moist is not my favorite either, haha. It’s too dirty for my sweet mouth and mind!
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oh gosh I’m so glad I gave up on this after the first one- cos if you found the second one meh, I can’t imagine how bored I’d have been with it. Plus I really really hate anti-climactic endings!! Thanks for the heads up with this one! Great review!
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Thanks 🙂 Hehehe.. yeah… the whole scifi aspect that was introduced in book 2 and 3 was like an excuse to go off on a historical tangent and I just did not care, you know, especially in so much detail? 😀 Sounds awful but… anyway that was my grievance! 😀 I better go read some stellar reviews for the book just to make myself feel bad about the whinging! LOL
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You’re welcome! 🙂 ahh that sounds really really annoying. haha definitely not. Makes sense!! Ah I did too- I get that!!
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I loved the first book. Haven’t read the second yet. Sounds like I might be disappointed how the series ends but I’ll stick it out.. I always finish what I start ha.
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Definitely stick it out, you may well love it! 🙂 Actually, I think you will love it- it has good story telling but for me it the net was cast too wide… 🙂
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I don’t mind nipples or moist, but I hate the word “tits”, ha ha! 😂 The dystopic storyline in Invasion reminded me of a pulp fiction book, just violent to be violent. Yeah, the second book was blergh. All I wanted was the High Fantasy elements, too.
I didn’t hate the ending, and I have a feeling when I reread the books I will like it more. The author said in a really early review (I think it might have been before book one was even published) that first and foremost she was making a social statement with these books. I think she was concentrating on getting her statment made at the end more than looking at it storywise. Thinking about both would have been better for sure. I was just glad all the pre-crossing story was over. Ha!
You were a trooper read all three back to back! I hope I can do that when I reread them. I will probably be doing that next year. 😜
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I am going to make sure I come back and read this review again before I reread so I have your points fresh in my mind. You picked up on some things that I didn’t. 🙂
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oh gosh yes, tits is an awkward one!
My, you’re a brave one to be re reading them 😀 then again- I think if i re-read the series I may like it a tad more? Knowing that the Lily chapters are relevant sooner, might take away the confusion and impatience level 🙂
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I’m impressed that you completed 3 books within 8 days even if the series got a lower grade with each book you went through. Can’t imagine how fast you could go with a 5-star series. :O
– Lashaan
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Yeah, I was hoping the 3rd book was going to get better again but the freaking ending and some chapters I didn’t really read with total full attention made it quicker…
Ha, 5 star reads… you know, with these I tend to take more pause because i don’t want them to end 😀
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So, Boss…do you recommend? Lol.
I have the first one and the second I think from Amazon putting them on sale…should I read in 2017? I trust your judgment! 🤔😳(That’s the dead stare emoji, waiting for your answer)
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I think you, everyone, should definitely read this series… I didn’t like some aspects to the story but i can still appreciate how they were necessary and would be a bookish wet dream for other readers… 🙂 Defo give it a go! 🙂
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i absolutely hated the ending, i finished the final book in three days and the whole series in under a month. I now have a deep hatred for the author. I came online hoping someone would have an alternate ending. I was so dissapointed i almost cried, Kelsea was such a bold character…there was so much going for her and the gaurds…truly dissapointed 😥
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PS. I’m going to completely discard the ending for my peice of mind…Elyssa died like she should have…there was no lilly or katie rubbish…Pen stays with Kelsea because he was her first true friend…Kelsea defeats the mort and the holy father becuase shes a force not to be reconed with
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AAAh! yes, the ending was total disappointment and I hear you… it’s good to chat to people who are of the same mind.. it felt like it was all for nothing… all the emotions and relationships and struggles… all for nothing with an ending like this!
I like your version though 🙂
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Funnily enough your bad review made me more curious about these books than I normally would be. Oh, now I’m intrigued enough to read them myself!
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hahah, that has happened to me, too. The not so favourable reviews can really intrigue me sometimes, as well! I hope you enjoy the series when you read them 🙂
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I have rather lax standards so I might. I’ll give you an update. 🙂
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