I have to be honest here and say that I cannot continue reading beyond half the book. The argument is no not interesting, and the writing is so difficult and entangled that almost made me quit the book after the second page. No original story, I am not dying to finish the book...

Well, at least it was short.

Two stars, barely. Arc provided by NetGalley.

I just could not get into this At. All. It is slow going to get into, first of all. The author also chose to divide the book up into different perspectives. So many!! There were at least...six, I believe. I would just get invested in one storyline before being whipped around to another. I never became invested in any characters. I wasn’t particularly impressed by the writing, either, which I felt was very distant. There was some semi-interesting world building but also not really.

The ending was so abrupt I searched online to see if I was missing part of my arc (I wasn’t). Is this a standalone with an open ending? A sequel? I won’t be checking it out.

Honestly, it’s really a one star for me, plus one star for Shakespeare.

This preview is so atmospheric and alluring and completely captivated me. I'm usually more of a character-driven reader, but everything melded together beautifully that I didn't want to distinguish the characters, setting, or plot. They all work together and build on each other.

I don't really want to give too much away because this is only an excerpt, and I don't know how everything plays out, but I am invested. I can't wait to see what happens.

What!!! I thought game of thrones was epic, but this book had me on pins and needles the whole time. I couldn't put it down.

With a family divided, the poor island of Innis Lear is at the mercy of a crazy king and his daughters. We follow many different story lines, as we try to sift through the muck and figure out who is going to be crowned the rightful heir to the thrown. The world building is grand and the characters are all so unique and full of depth. I really was kept on edge, wondering who would win in the end. George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan will love this book.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

As my eARC was only the excerpt, I don't feel comfortable writing full reviews for excerpts of books and will come back and edit this with a full review after reading the finished release.

AMAZING!
I dont even know what to say, or how to explain how much I loved it.

I really loved this story. It was clear that this is the start of a fantasy series. A lot of time spent world building and the pacing was a little slow. These characters are where the book shines. They are all complex and diverse in both race, gender identities, and mental health. I cannot wait to read more! Drunk thought to come.

This was the first piece of work that I've ever read from Tessa Gratton, and it has only made me more interested in reading more from her!

Queens of Innis Lear gets off to a slow start, with immense descriptions and extended use of prose and imagery. This might not be for everyone, but I found Gratton's prose to be so beautiful and well-written that I loved every minute of this. I loved how each character was introduced and the basic setup of the book that was so careful unveiled to the reader.

From this sample, I've also gotten a fairly good sense for the characters, and I am so intrigued to find out more about them! Each characters feels as if they are presented in such a unique manner--I can't wait to read the finished book.

Overall, this sample gets four stars from me! Can't wait for the full and final version!

This was only an excerpt, unfortunately. When downloading it, I believed I was downloading the full arc.

What I did read was excellent. Rich, intriguing writing and storytelling. Strong female characters. Creative feminist spin on the story of King Lear. I absolutely loved it, and I am really excited to read the rest of this book. I was actually disappointed that I was not informed I was only downloading a partial arc.

This was easily my most anticipated read of 2018 and I'm sorry to say that I was a bit disappointed. Literally the moment I saw this was available (even knowing it was a sample) I downloaded it, stared at my Kindle willing it to load faster, and then dropped my afternoon to get into it. And... I just couldn't. The prose felt forced and inorganic, the sentences overly complicated for the sake of themselves. I couldn't turn off the editing part of my brain since I kept mentally slashing away at all the extraneous words and clauses. If I had the whole book I probably would have finished it since some of the characters and plot threads were enough to hook me despite the voice, but I was also sort of grateful to be done with it so not sure whether I'll continue when the whole text is available. Since most of my issues were due to personal taste, I'll chock this one up to impossibly high hopes. Crawling back to my cynical shell now.

Seeing as how Tessa Gratton has been named as one of the abusers after the recent outbreak about the SLJ article, I will be giving this book a pass.

This review contains massive spoilers for the book. Please read at your own discretion.
Rating 2.5 stars


To be honest, this book is plain “meh” for me. From the description of the novel, which heralded The Queens of Innis Lear as the next Game of Thrones, I was expecting a mature fantasy novel with complex political problems and fascinating lore. Instead, I felt like I was reading a young adult fantasy novel that stuck to all the popular tropes of the genre—love triangles, helpless main female character who needs everyone to do everything for her, evil sisters, star-crossed lovers, princess in exile, etc.. Though the book does have potential, at least with its magic systems, this book reads merely like a setup for the next book in the series, which I would really be fine with or without reading.



Though the book attempts to weave complicated networks of people with strikingly different motivations, I never felt any connection to them or any urgency to discover what would happen next to them. The author desperately tries to make her main characters all complex and different, and does in fact describe her heroines as dark and curly-haired instead of the typical white and blonde female protagonists, but in spite of this, most of their development feels more like a stereotype than real character development. I was also let down that a book about three sisters vying for the role of Queen lacked feminine empowerment that went deeper than the surface.



The author does not seem to realize that slapping one sister, Princess Gaela, in chainmail and leading an army does not equal meaningful feminism. Instead, it feels like more of the familiar trope of the female warrior. The book does put a spin on it and make it better by revealing that Gaela undergoes some kind of painful, herbal, magical procedure to make her unable to bear children and more of a man. While this helps the intricacy of the stories, it is undermined by the fact that the other sisters are also seemingly plucked from the same stereotype list that renders Gaela a ferocious, angry, warrior, who is determined to be seen as powerful as any man. Regan is cunning, beautiful, and wise and Elia as pure, pretty, and innocent as any Disney fairytale.I was also befuddled that in a feminist novel, both Princesses Gaela and Regan, simply marry each other’s enemies to gain power—despite claiming that they are in actuality each other’s true consorts—pitting their husbands, territories, and people against each other. They also play favorites against their youngest sister, Elia, instead of empowering her and guiding her, even threatening to kill her if she returns to the Innis Lear before their coronations. However, I must say that I agree with Gaela and Regan in this case; I could never quite manage to Elia, though I am obviously supposed to judging from the author’s countless gushing descriptions of how stunning and precious she is.



Princess Elia is too helpless, innocent, devoted, beautiful, pure, and all around perfect for my taste. I cannot help but roll my eyes at her inability to even attempt to fight for the throne by answering her mentally diminished father’s question about whether or not she loved him the best. Yes, I understand that the question is unjust and I know that Elia’s staying quiet is purposeful in order to set her apart from her lying sisters, who do not even love their father. Nevertheless, I feel like if Elia truly cared about her father and their kingdom, she should have tried to save them from being ripped apart by the control of her two sisters, both named heirs in an upset that will clearly lead to war. The resulting chaos that ensues over her actions, or rather the complete lack thereof, feels completely preposterous and contrived to me.



As such, I could not really feel any sympathy for Elia reaping what she sows, and she already has more than enough pity for herself for the both of us. Every issue in her life is a direct result of her own poor choices. Her sisters do not love her, as she chose her father over them after her mother’s death—but she never stops whining about not fitting in with them. When her father strips her of her title, she immediately stops referring to herself as a Princess and consequently gives up on the biggest comfort of her life, Star Charting. I also have the dreaded feeling that there are only more poor decisions in her future; I believe she will attempt to rectify her current situation and exile by marrying King Morimaros, who will want to conquer her island and annex it to his kingdom. Can’t any of these women do anything without marrying a man or undermining each other? I have never read King Lear, so I cannot speak for whether this book is more or less empowering, but I was definitely disappointed with it.



From a writing standpoint, I think it would be more interesting if Gaela and Regan just made Elia the third queen of Innis Lear after they are sworn in as queens. Perhaps they could instill a voting system among them and used Elia as puppet, manipulating her for her third vote. Elia could have used her alliances with King Morimaros, the King’s fool, and Ban to gain power, to overthrow her corrupt sisters, and to take the throne. And if after claiming the throne, she is able to somehow mend things with one or two of her sisters, it’d be even better. To me, that type of storyline is more remarkable than the typical princess in exile fighting against her evil sisters story. I realize that this is probably not in line with a retelling of King Lear, but I believe it makes for a more exciting fantasy novel.



Though I am annoyed by the portrayals in what is supposed to be a feminist novel, I did enjoy other parts of the book. The standout for me is the magic systems. I thought it very original that the author included trees and wellsprings in the magic of the world, particularly on the island of Innis Lear, where the magic is rapidly dying out due to King Lear’s devotion to Star Charting and the restriction of any other religious practices. Combined with the ritualistic magic and the whispering of trees, the setting of the island of Innis Lear, filled with marshes, wind, and giant tree roots, feels like a sentient character itself.



I also enjoy Ban’s, Elia’s childhood friend and love interest, continued connection to the earth of Innis Lear and his determination to bring back the strength to these trees and the island itself, while putting Elia back on the throne somewhere along the way. I like Ban’s devotion to the old ways—the language of trees, blood magic, etc.—and how it is in stark contrast to Elia, who followed her father’s example and became a Star Charter. I cannot help but wonder what would have happened if Elia, who claims she never even wanted the throne, had simply taken Ban up on his offer and run away with him, instead of staying with a foreign leader who wants to marry her mainly for the foothold her former title will grant him in conquering Innis Lear and annexing it to his kingdom. I think Ban, as a bastard son who left home in order to make a name for himself in another kingdom—and made himself a legend in the process—is much more sympathetic and interesting than his female counterparts were and would look forward to reading more about him over the other characters.



Ultimately, The Queens of Innis Lear is really just not for me, despite the fact that I like both literature and fantasy. I found it meandering and hard to get through at some points and not unique enough to keep me glued to the pages. In addition, it just felt like a build-up novel or practice run for the next in the series, rather than its own standalone novel. I was not surprised when the book ended with a cliffhanger ending, as it was all really just staging for the next book. If you are a big fan of young adult fantasy, you might very well love this book, but if you are looking for more mature and complex writing, this might not be the one for you either.

I didn't know this was only an excerpt because it's not stated anywhere in the title or the description, so I don't feel like I can give this a full review/rating. I might pick up the book when it's released so I can give it a proper rating!

I am intrigued, but not entirely sold, on the idea of this book. Since this is only an excerpt I cannot give a definitive review but I have enjoyed it enough so far.

I picked this from the "Read Now" section on Netgalley, so thanks for that, I guess.

DNF @ 12%

"The tree was sturdy enough that it never shivered with his weight, merely chuckled at his tickling grip."

Shoot me now. The first chapter read like an prologue and was just as annoying as one. No talking and fluffy writing that tells me lots of stuff but is super forgettable and info-dump galore, I lost interest almost immediately, but pressed on until I read about a sentence per page.
The actual story starts with some naked guy running around the forest and communicating with trees. And then he's embarrassed when another guy sees him. Hmm, I wonder if he should have PUT SOME CLOTHES ON BEFORE MAKING AN ENTRANCE. And then there's this girl who likes stars and blah blah blah.
I've never read the original King Lear, but wow, this doesn't make me want to.
If you like books with very little dialogue and nature-centric/lots of description, go ahead.

While I am not a huge Shakespeare fan, I am now a fan of Tessa Grafton. She filled my head with such an awesome amazing story, that I simply must have more! Highly recommended!

I did not realize this was an excerpt but will give a full review once I read the book.

Since this wasn't the full book, I'm just going to give the rating based on the excerpt that I read. The Queens of Innis Lear started off a bit slow but, by the time this excerpt was over, I found myself desperate to find out what happens next. The characters were interesting and well-developed, although I did find Elia's sisters a bit one-dimensional. I am very intrigued by the various political plots going on and the magic system was amazing! Definitely going to be picking this one up when it's released.

I did not realize that this was only a preview and will wait until the full book is available to review

I am not posting a real review on my blog for this because I do not tend to read or review excerpts, as I rather read the whole book at once. When I requested the book it did not say that it was an excerpt and it was only after I had gotten a few chapters in that I realized and soon stopped reading. Still, I liked what I read thus far and am looking forward to the full novel. I just wish it had been more clear that this was not the whole book as it seems I'm not the only one who had the same issue.