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The Queen of the Tearling is the debut novel of Erika Johansen. William Tear left a debilitated country and ventured across the water with a large population of people to create the colonial Kingdom of the Tear. It is set several centuries in the future in the Kingdom of Tear and is the first novel of a fantasy trilogy. The other books in the trilogy are The Invasion of the Tearling (2015) and The Fate of the Tearling (2016)

Style
Queen of the Tearling is written in third person point of view from a variety of perspectives, predominantly Kelsea’s.

Synopsis
Princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn, raised in exile, sets out on a journey back to the castle of the Kingdom of Tear in order to ascend her rightful throne. Raised outside of court-life, Kelsea is a plain and serious girl who loves books and learning; incidentally nothing like her mother, the vain-frivolous Queen Elyssa. Though her upbringing may leave Kelsea vulnerable, she is not defenseless: around her neck hangs the Tearling sapphire, a jewel of immense magical power; and accompanying her is the Queen’s guard, brave knights led by the enigmatic and dedicated Lazarus. Kelsea will need all of them to survive the numerous enemies who will stop at nothing to stop her from wearing the crown.

Despite her royal blood, Kelsea feels isolated and alone in a kingdom she knows little about. Her strong moral compass leads her to making a decision that will throw Kelsea’s kingdom into tumult, unleashing the tyrannical ruler of the neighbouring Mortmesne: The Red Queen, a sorceress capable of the darkest magic. Kelsea, now, will discover whom she can trust.

Plot
Having been raised by Barty and Carlin, a wish of her deceased mother to Kelsea would receive an education fitting for her future role as queen. Queen Elyssa, Kelsea’s mother, dies at the age of 28, and Kelsea does not know the identity of her father. When Kelsea turns 19, the queen’s guard arrives to escort her back to the Keep, her new home. Kelsea opens a secret passage from Carlin, discovering a twin to the sapphire necklace she has worn since birth. The next morning, she awakes to the necklace glowing in a way it has never done before.

On the way to New London, the team is attacked by ‘Mort Hawks’. Kelsea and Lazarus get separated from the others; he fights to protect her but relies on the aid of a rescuing group to save them from the attack. They are held prisoner by their saviours, introducing the Fetch and his men. Lazarus is chained and blindfolded while Kelsea is allowed more freedom. She experiences a connection with the Fetch, despite him being an infamous criminal. One night, Kelsea drinks mead and plays poker for the first time with men. The Fetch asks her about her politics after her eventual coronation; her speech impresses him and he allows Kelsea and Lazarus to leave and escorts them to the path to New London. He tells them the best way to travel and asks Kelsea to wait to take off Lazarus’s blindfold until he is gone. The Fetch shows Kelsea he has the second sapphire necklace Carlin gifted her. He promises to return it should she become a worthy ruler. Lazarus is in disbelief when Kelsea says that the Fetch showed her his face; it’s a mystery to everyone in the kingdom as he is a nefarious criminal. Kelsea names Lazarus captain of the queen’s guard.

As they arrive in New London, Kelsea is shocked to discover a peace treaty resulted in 250 human slaves being sent to Mortmesne each month. Kelsea orders the cages opened, the people returned to their families, the cages burned, and all shipments stopped permanently. This action earns her the loyalty of the Tearling, her people. The Fetch observes all anonymously. Kelsea is attacked by her Uncle Thomas’ men at her coronation. She’s injured but her guard prevails. She is then crowned by Priest Tyler. Lazarus confiscates Thomas’ belongings and frees his women. Kelsea gives her uncle a week to vacate the keep. She allows many of his mistreated women to stay employed in the palace. The holy father asks Priest Tyler to be a spy if he is chosen as the queen’s faith counsel. Thorne solicits Javel, a gate guard, to allow someone to pass through the gates without being asked questions; in return Javel will get his wife, Allie, back from Mortmesne. The Red Queen is wondering why her shipment is late; possesses a magical fountain of youth but is having headaches. Thomas appeals to Kelsea to let him stay as Royal Advisor in exchange for information he possesses about the Red Queen and her mother. Kelsea refuses and sends him away.

Someone sneaks through the castle’s passageways to steal Kelsea’s necklace and kidnap or kill her while she’s bathing. Her necklace somehow kills him and saves her life. Lazarus suspects this is an inside job; a guard suggests the gatekeeper has to be in on it. Because of Lazarus’s busy schedule, he cannot be her personal guard and assigns Pen to the job. Kelsea begins to train in swordsmanship and needs to get in shape to be effective. Lazarus surprises Kelsea by bringing Carlin’s book collection into the palace for her. Kelsea has a vision of the Red Queen’s modern city, palace and army encampment. She realizes the Mort army is mobilized. Kelsea plans to evacuate the border villages and have armies secure the border and the Mort road.

Thomas and a few men are travelling to Mortmesne, the Fetch encounters them, murdering all of Thomas’s men and promises Thomas a quick death for information. Thomas agrees if Fetch will reveal his face, Thomas is shocked to see someone whom he thought was long dead leaving him to tell the Fetch everything he can think of. It’s unclear whether he tells the Fetch the identity of Kelsea’s father, a fact he has long kept from the Red Queen, The Tearling and the Mort.

Kelsea has a vision of Caden waking Tearling women and children in the middle of the night to ship to Mortmesne. When she wakes Andalie, another of Thomas’ women, confirms this and Kelsea convinces Lazarus and Pen to lead the charge with her. Andalie cuts her hair to disguise herself as a soldier member of Kelsea’s guard. Kelsea’s necklace leads her in the right direction. After several days, the guard spots the cages along the path, Kelsea’s guard is surprised that she was correct and plan a raid on the party before they connect with Mort soldiers. Kelsea puts the second necklace on and the power manifests into fire, it kills Kelsea’s enemies with a thought. To douse the fire Kelsea makes it rain. The storm is seen by The Red Queen in the neighboring country, resulting in her sacrificing a slave boy to summon a creature for answers about Kelsea. The creature warns The Red Queen that if she harms the Tearling Queen or invades the Tear she will experience his wrath. Kelsea rocks between semi-conscious and conscious before forcing herself awake. They tell her how everything happened; one of the Caden rides up on their party and tells Kelsea that they will no longer be after her life, he says he has Kelsea to thank for his son’s life. When they return Kelsea addresses her people and announces that she will go by Gynn instead of Raleigh, in honor of her adoptive parents. She wins the approval of her people.

Film Version
The film rights to The Queen of the Tearling have been acquired, however no production movements have been made as of yet.