The Fate of the Tearling is the third of the fantasy trilogy by Erika Johansen so do not read this without first reading the other two. It is unpredictable with storylines and time strands which come and go and inter-link, at times incorporating fantasy, sci-fi, time-travel and magic. This trilogy is a very different sort of fantasy tale and in that difference lies its awkwardness. There are gaps in the storyline, the timeline, and some thinly sketched characters turn out to be pivotal. Sometimes I had the feeling the author should have written one long book rather than two, or two rather than a trilogy – are authors encouraged to write trilogies with film rights in mind? The first book was the best, the second was intriguing but left me with many questions, the third has left me undecided. I struggled with the first half and would have appreciated a list of characters from the previous two books, but then in the second half the story came alive for me and I finished it one Saturday afternoon.
At the end of the second book, Queen Kelsea surrendered herself to the Red Queen in order to save her kingdom. The third book opens as Kelsea is imprisoned in a Mort dungeon, while her right-hand man, the Mace, has returned to Tearling to run the country. Kelsea is still having visions, now of a teenager called Katie who lives in the Town, the first settlement when the ship arrived at the island. Meanwhile in New London, the Mace is facing an attack by the Church. There are many new characters added here, some of which seem to go nowhere while others turn out to be key to the ending. Katie’s storyline connects with that of New Town now in the time of the Kelsea. Both struggle as William Tear’s vision of an ideal world, the society he wanted to create, fractures amidst suspicion, fear, jealousy, avarice and the rise of religion.
This trilogy will reward re-reading. I finished it with the feeling that I needed to read all three, back-to-back, to understand them better. But some things will remain unexplained.

Read my reviews of the other Tearling books:-
BENEATH THE KEEP #PREQUELTEARLING
THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING #1TEARLING
THE INVASION OF THE TEARLING #2TEARLING

If you like this, try:-
‘The Bear and the Nightingale’ by Katherine Arden #1WINTERNIGHT
‘The Magician King’ by Lev Grossman #2THEMAGICIANS
‘Gregor the Overlander’ by Suzanne Collins #1UNDERLANDCHRONICLES

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE FATE OF THE TEARLING by Erika Johansen via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-2k6

The action starts on page one of The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen, continuing straight on from the end of the first book in the trilogy. So read The Queen of the Tearling before you open this book. At the end of The Queen of the Tearling, the neighbouring countries Tearling and Mort were on the verge of war. But author Johansen throws in a curve ball, Queen Kelsea is having visions, of a woman called Lily in what looks very like 21^st century New York, with a twist. So, is this where we learn the Tearling’s Pre-Crossing history, things hinted at in book one? Yes, and no.
I was left with unanswered questions – is Kelsea related to Lily? Who is Jonathan Tearling? Was there more than one ship to cross the ocean, and cross from where to where? This has left me ready, now, to read book three. I will have to wait.
Kelsea is not just having visions of Lily, but of moments in history such as the sinking of a Crossing vessel and the drowning of its passengers. And she seems able to hurt the evil and heal the sick. Is it magic, or the power of her sapphires? And where did they come from? Is it the sapphires doing the magic, or is she channelling her own magic through the jewels?
Kelsea is no longer a teenager girl, she is the Queen and must handle power while learning to be a woman and a leader. How should she wield her power, and who can she trust?
Meanwhile, the Mort army advances.

Read my reviews of the other Tearling books:-
BENEATH THE KEEP #PREQUELTEARLING
THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING #1TEARLING
THE FATE OF THE TEARLING #3TEARLING

If you like this, try:-
‘The Last of Us’ by Rob Ewing
‘La Belle Sauvage’ by Philip Pullman #1BOOKOFDUST
‘Divergent’ by Veronica Roth #1DIVERGENT

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE INVASION OF THE TEARLING by Erika Johansen via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1Ht