This week I only have the one book to tell you about, but what a book! On my iPad it was over 900 pages, which is like reading a trilogy in one go. Here it is…
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
The book was Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire (Empire of the Vampire #01). First we have the blurb:
“From holy cup comes holy light; The faithful hands sets world aright. And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight, Mere man shall end this endless night.
It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.
Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order couldn’t stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains.
Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope:
The Holy Grail.”
I marked this as a favourite book on Goodreads and awarded it the full five stars, as did many other readers. This is what I wrote:
Well, I have just finished this huge rock of a book and I am left speechless!
Vampires, heroes, anti-heroes, comrades, lovers, enemies. Blood, rivers of blood, fountains of blood, oceans of blood…….. and yet more blood! Battles, duels, fights, wounds and death… a lot of death. Hate, love, disdain, passion and yet more dark hate. Journeys by several different modes of transport over many types of terrain!
I won’t carry that on any further. It is interesting to read the reviews on here, especially the really negative ones. The readers who hate the book often give excellent reasons why and, in some ways, I can see their points of view. Especially the ones about the attitude to women in the book.
But, I am reading, these days, for pure escapism from my difficult life and the frightening situation. And this book, and others of its kind, help me to take my mind away from the real fears that threaten to overwhelm me. That’s why I gave it five stars.
OK, like some other reviewers, there were parts of the book that raised my feminist hackles (or sharpened my fangs!), but what superb escapism! I also found myself wondering whether an important plot point could actually work…
… then I remembered that the book was about, erm, vampires!!!
Yes, I do get very immersed in a good tale 🤣😂🤣😂🤣!
Right, so now I am wondering how Kristoff is going to follow that? Are books II and III going to be huge tomes? Are they going to fulfil the promise of the series?
Well, we have reached the final day of January. It may be rather silly, but I quite enjoy watching this blog’s stats each month and seeing patterns in how many hits there are each day/month/year. As this is the start of the sixth year, there are quite a few patterns to see and one is that January is a time for hits! In fact, this January is third in the hits of all time!
Thank you all for visiting, exploring and reading.
Anyway, in this household things seem to be pretty quiet at the moment and long may that continue. Apart from reading, I spend quite a lot of time watching various programmes on Amazon Prime and Netflix on my iPad. At the moment, I am watching series 2 of The Crown. As I am far from being a fan of the monarchy, I hadn’t intended to bother with it, but I have heard so many favourable comments that I decided to have a go. And I became hooked! As the whole thing starts in the 1950s, it soon catches up with my own childhood memories and it is fascinating to see the history that I only partly remember.
Of course, I keep having to remind myself that this is a TV programme and not a factual account, but, at the same time, it is all so interesting. I wonder what the Queen thinks of it, if she has even watched it! She must have, surely?
I have really enjoyed seeing the fashion from the 50s. I have very vivid memories of my mother wearing full skirted dresses and nipped in waists. Some other aspects of the time are less positive, especially the role of women in society. Anyway, there seem to be loads of sites and videos of the costumes from The Crown and here are just two:
This week, I decided to choose one scarf and wear it with the same, but different coloured, clothing and also tie it in the same way. I just wanted to see the difference that two alternative shades of cashmere would make, if any. I have often done this the other way round: chosen an outfit and then worn it with two different scarves. Dressing with scarves opens up a range of possibilities for your wardrobe, in my opinion!
Anyway, here are the photos…
Outfits of the week 28/01/22 with Liberty’s Ianthe Star scarf
Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to take consistent photos in terms of lighting. The one on the right was taken on a sunny day, so that changes things a little. Despite that, you can see the difference that a bright cobalt jumper (John Lewis) makes as a background to the scarf, compared with a dark navy jumper (WoolOvers). The knot that I used was the cowboy cowl, which I tucked into the neckline.
Here’s the scarf in a larger image…
Ianthe Star – Liberty of London
It really is a lovely and versatile scarf with several shades of blue, pink, lilac and yellow. Ianthe is my favourite pattern of all with its Art Nouveau vibe.
I will have to decide on the colours for next week. Should I stay with the same, or change?
Welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup! I hope you are reading some great books.
I have read two really different books over the last week. They were chosen randomly from the Library Service’s ebook catalogue. This is the first one…
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton is a detective/mystery set on a 17th century Dutch ship sailing the high seas. Very different from my usual choices. This is the blurb:
“A murder on the high seas. A detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist.
It’s 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world’s greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent.
But no sooner are they out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A twice-dead leper stalks the decks. Strange symbols appear on the sails. Livestock is slaughtered.
And then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel.
Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes?
With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent can solve a mystery that connects every passenger onboard. A mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board.”
Well, that sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? I saw that the author had won a prize for his first book and that this one was his second. This is my response:
This was an intriguing and, for the most part, an interesting and enthralling tale set on the high seas. Murder and mayhem take place on a 17th century Dutch sailing ship travelling across the Indian Ocean on the way to Amsterdam. I suppose you could call it a maritime locked room mystery, with the ship itself being the locked room.
I enjoyed reading about the characters and the setting but, for me, the whole book was a little too long and I found myself losing interest at times. At one point, I even put the book aside and read something else, then returned to it later. Now, this is most probably my own issue, as other reviewers have awarded the full five stars.
Anyway, the book is certainly different and has plenty of surprises in the plot that will hold most readers’ attention.
After this, I again chose a book based on the blurb and came up with this…
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
It’s just as well that I read the blurb, because the cover used on the catalogue (not this one) was dire! Anyway, here is the blurb:
“Set in the days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.
One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time—from the actor’s early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as the Traveling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains—this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor’s first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet.”
I also saw that the book had won or been nominated for several awards. This was my review:
Well, what can I say about this book? I have just seen that several friends read this back when it was first published. I have just read it whilst in the middle (?) of a pandemic! We have no idea how our own disaster will turn out and, so far, we have not lost as many people as in the book. But, who knows?
There is certainly a poignancy about reading a book of this genre at the present time. In fact, I almost gave it a swerve, but I am glad that I didn’t. That’s because the book is soooo good! I loved how the plot moved forwards and backwards in time. How we met, left for a while, and then returned to central characters. How some of those characters also met up with each other, then left, then returned. How we, and they, found out things about their past and present lives.
Such an amazing, inventive and clever book. Don’t give it a swerve, even during our present crisis!
This was a truly excellent book and well worth reading and it was definitely interesting to read my friends’ responses, written in such different times!
I am now about to begin a new book. I think I have read everything by the author to date and this is his new book and the start of a new series – so I am pretty excited!
Welcome to a new week on my blog. I do hope that you had a great weekend.
Ours was rather up and down. The stress of these current times is really getting to Elder Son. In addition to his usual “quirks”, he seems to be developing OCD and it is getting worse as the weeks go by. He gets extremely anxious about certain rituals, despite all the support that I try to give him, then builds up into a huge meltdown. On Saturday, I simply reached my own maximum level of coping and had a really dreadful panic attack, followed by a horrible migraine with aura on Sunday.
Tough times!
Anyway, we keep trundling along. I did manage to do a few, very mundane, household tasks. One of them was buying new lightbulbs! After sorting through our box of new ones, I realised that we didn’t have enough. Then I checked online and found out that everything has changed. How did I miss this information? Perhaps this is one of those moments I keep having where my memory problems are erasing stuff from my brain? To cut a very boring story short, I ended up making a grid on the iPad of our needs for the house and garage and stocking up with the new LED bulbs. These are very expensive, but should last a long time and will, hopefully, cut down the electricity bills a little.
I admit that it must have looked very funny when I had to install some of the new bulbs in our dining room. There I was, wobbling on the step ladder with ES holding me around my rather rotund middle, whilst I reached up to each light fitment. Lovely Husband was attempting to discuss each bulb as he passed it to me and also trying to make sure that ES was bracing me properly. Despite all of the arguing, wobbling and balancing we did manage to finish the job!
Here’s a lovely photo to finish off today’s post. I have tried to find out more details about the photograph, but have not yet come across anything. If anyone contacts me with them, I will, of course, edit the page. It really is amazing, isn’t it?
OK then, that’s all for today. As usual, I am planning to post my Reading Roundup on Wednesday and Outfits of the Week on Friday, all being well.
Apologies. I haven’t been able to write an Outfits of the Week post today because I have stayed in pyjamas all week! To be honest, I have been really under the weather, both physically and mentally, and haven’t been able to raise enough energy to get dressed. So, I will have to try to pull myself together next week.
I will leave you with a lovely item that really intrigued me…
I find the whole thought of this Ancient Greek domestic arrangement from the island of Delos really amazing. Imagine the three pots simmering with wonderful stews and the frying pan sizzling something delicious. I love the decoration on what must have been a fairly mundane household object. And it’s 2,500 years old!
Have you read some good books lately? Or even great books? Well, I am pleased to be able to say that I have read some really interesting and absorbing books over the last week.
In my last Reading Roundup post, I wrote about how much I had enjoyed the first book from a series: Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen, #01 The Queen of the Tearling. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I simply had to read the rest of the series straight away. Usually, I read other books in between parts of a series, but this time I couldn’t restrain myself. I just had to find out what happened!
Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
I started to read the second book as soon as I finished the first – one of the advantages of reading ebooks. Anyway, here is the blurb for The Invasion of the Tearling:
“With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighbouring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, a brutal ruler whose power derives from dark magic, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. And nothing can stop the invasion.
But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing, and she finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime. The fate of the Tearling – and that of Kelsea’s own soul – may rest with Lily and her story, but Kelsea may not have enough time to find out.”
I found this second book as absorbing as the first! This is my response on Goodreads:
Yet again this is a kind of fantasy and science fiction mix, with more of the latter this time around. It is difficult to write about these books without giving too much away! So, apologies if this is very short.
I liked the way that the plot revealed a lot more of the back story to the events in the “Present” timeline. We also found out a lot more about some of the main characters’ histories. Parts of the book seemed to move very slowly (the reason for the loss of one star), but most of it was interesting and often really gripping.
Our heroine is growing up and changing in intriguing ways and a lot of loose ends and developments have been clearly left for the third book. I was intending to read something different first, but now I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds!
Finally, I did also enjoy the feminist slant at times!
So, after that I had to move on to the third book in the series:
The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
Here is the blurb for The Fate of the Tearling:
“In less than a year, Kelsea Glynn has transformed from a gawky teenager into a powerful monarch.
As she has come into her own as the Queen of the Tearling, the headstrong, visionary leader has also transformed her realm. In her quest to end corruption and restore justice, she has made many enemies – including the evil Red Queen, her fiercest rival, who has set her armies against the Tear.
To protect her people from a devastating invasion, Kelsea did the unthinkable – she surrendered herself and her magical sapphires to her enemy, and named the Mace, the trusted head of her personal guards, Regent in her place. But the Mace will not rest until he and his men rescue their sovereign from her prison in Mortmesne.
Now the endgame begins and the fate of Queen Kelsea – and the Tearling itself – will finally be revealed . . .”
I had to discover how the author would draw it all to a conclusion! This is my response:
Well, this book is definitely difficult to write about without spoilers! It is certainly a polarising ending to an interesting and unusual series.
I absolutely loved the whole thing, with its mix of fantasy and science fiction elements. These did jar a little at first, but by the time I arrived at this final book, I had become used to the whole idea. I don’t think I have read anything like these books before and am definitely waiting to see what the author comes up with next.
Now, I will have a rest and a long think about the impact this series had on me!
If you are considering reading the series, it would definitely be worth your time to read reviews from a range of sites. The books are “marmite” for many. There also appears to be a prequel available from the author, Beneath the Keep, so I may try that later on. I am going to return to a different book that I abandoned halfway through to read this series (something that I never, ever do!!!).
It is always an exciting time for scarfie fans when a new season’s Hermès scarves and shawls begin to appear online. This new season, Spring/Summer 2022, started to show a couple of months ago. Many of us pore over the emerging photos and check daily to see whether our favourites are in the boutiques or on the website.
So, I was thrilled when this scarf popped up on the UK Hermès site. I knew that I was getting some purple items for Christmas and then Le Premier Chant, 90cm silk carré, in violet, bleu glacier, jaune, purchase code H003799S 06, appeared and I fell down the Hermès slippery silk slope! The designers are Sophia Andreotti and Edouard Baribeaud.
Le Premier Chant by Sophia Andreotti and Edouard Baribeaud for Hermès
Description
Usually, at this point, I enjoy writing a fairly detailed impression of the scarf. This time, however, I am going to entertain and amaze you with this wonderful description, written by one of the fantastic posters on The Purse Forum: Josie Sullivan, “Living.la.vida.fifi”. (She has kindly given me her permission to post it here).
Le Premier Chant by Sophie Andreotti and Edouard Baribeaud
“Hermès wonderful carré, Le Premier Chant, (The First Song), designed by Sophia Andreotti and Edouard Baribaud for its Spring/Summer 2022 collection is not only a festival of color and beautiful patterns, but a design full of deep meaning and symbolism.
The illustration depicts a young woman in her room adorned by beautifully patterned textiles with a starry desert landscape beyond. As an inspired singer, her treasured possessions are close: her guitar, microphone, amplifier, and on a nearby table, a book entitled La Loba: the female wolf of lore; the mythical empowered female who is a wild creative force. The young singer arches her back to belt out a song filled with the force of a primordial chant. Her song rises organically as a beautiful, rhythmical tidal wave and becomes a hymn of creation, an anthem to the power of the artistic soul.
The myth and lore of the primordial chant, of a song of creation, appears in the literature and folklore of various cultures throughout the ages. Historically the Book of Genesis was sung by the ancient Hebrews; the Celts spoke of the Oran Mor, or neverending Great Melody; Australian aborigines tell of their land having been sung into being.
Perhaps one of the best known and poetic examples of the song of creation exists in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. Tolkien begins his creation myth by describing how the universe is “sung into being” by spiritual creatures named the Ainur. These creatures are invited by God to sing a great song of creation, having been provided a theme upon which they are to improvise.
The fabled God states, “Of the theme that I have declared to you, I will now that ye make in harmony together a Great Music. And since I have kindled you with the Flame Imperishable, ye shall show forth your powers in adorning this theme, each with his own thoughts and devices, if he will. But I will sit and hearken, and be glad that through you great beauty has been wakened into song.” C.S. Lewis illustrates a similar tale of song and creation in his The Magician’s Nephew, where the noble Aslan sings and the world begins to take form.
But the book displayed on the young singer’s tabletop may be more indicative of her spirit and the source of her inspiration. It is entitled La Loba, (The She-Wolf), alluding to the mythical, wild woman of the Pueblo people popularized by Clarissa Pinkola Estés in her Women Who Run With the Wolves.
According to Estés, the tale tells of a woman who lives in a remote cave waiting for wanderers and seekers to visit. She toils collecting bones and “to collect and preserve especially that which is in danger of being lost to the world.” Estés explains that “when she has assembled an entire skeleton, when the last bone is in place and the beautiful white sculpture of the creature is laid out before her, she sits by the fire and thinks about what song she will sing. And when she is sure, she stands over the criatura, raises her arms over it, and sings out. That is when the rib bones and leg bones of the wolf begin to flesh out and the creature becomes furred. La Loba sings some more, and more of the creature comes into being; its tail curls upward, shaggy and strong. And La Loba sings more and the wolf creature begins to breathe. And still La Loba sings so deeply that the floor of the desert shakes, and as she sings, the wolf opens its eyes, leaps up, and runs away down the canyon. Somewhere in its running, whether by the speed of its running, or by splashing its way into a river, or by way of a ray of sunlight or moonlight hitting it right in the side, the wolf is suddenly transformed into a laughing woman who runs free toward the horizon.
So, in essence, we are witnessing that mythical, powerful, utterly creative Wolf Woman in a young modern incarnation, bringing the universe to life and displaying the power of her song. Estés poetically states, “So it is said that if you wander the desert, and it is near sundown, and you are perhaps a little bit lost, and certainly tired, that you are lucky, for La Loba may take a liking to you and show you something – something of the Soul.
In this carré, we meet that youthful woman who runs with wolves and weaves her magical and powerful tale. The design is full of beautiful, decorative patterns evocative of Indian miniatures and the dense jungles of Rousseau in the artists’ unique style. A design not only full of harmonious patterns, symmetries, colors and textures, but also of dynamic juxtapositions, it is a fascinating pean to the creative spirit and the female force.
-Josie Sullivan
Colourways
These are the colourways for the Spring/Summer 2022 silk 90cm scarves. I have added in the codes to help those of you who wish to purchase this scarf.
The design story has finally appeared on the Hermès website!
”Sophia Andreotti and Edouard Baribeaud pay tribute to the creative energy of women, from Enheduanna, a Sumerian priestess and the earliest known poet whose name has been recorded, to painter Frida Kahlo and musician Patti Smith. As emblematic figures of their time, their view of the world and their freedom continue to inspire contemporary artists. The curtain opens and on stage a rock musician passionately sings to the world, her electric guitar propped nearby. From the microphone emerge parrots and butterflies in an eye-catching swirling motif; a wolf swiftly leaps into this scene brimming with art history references, particularly to Indian miniatures and traditional Mexican fabrics.”
Details
Here are some closeups of my scarf in a slideshow format:
How I wear the scarf
This is such a gorgeous scarf but, because I have recently purchased it, I have only managed to wear it a couple of times so far. So far, I have worn it with my purple and blue clothing, but it would also look great with white, yellow and pink.
Outfit of the day 25/12/21 with Hermès’ Le Premier Chant scarf
Outfit of the day 13/01/22 with Hermès’ Le Premier Chant scarf
Scarf ties
I have tried on this scarf in a variety of ways. At the moment, as it is so new, the silk fabric is very crisp and stiff so doesn’t fall easily into soft folds. Anyway, you can get the general idea of how it looks when worn. It would also make a lovely framed art work!
Le Premier Chant – selection of scarf ties
Background information
The subject of the scarf’s design does not need any further details, but there is some information about the designers: Sophia Andreotti and Edouard Baribeaud.
I hope readers have found this exploration of Le Premier Chant both interesting and useful. Once again, if you find any errors or have any additional information that I could add, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Love and best wishes,
Anne
💕💗💖💗💕
Updated 19/02/22 to add the Design Story from the Hermès website.
This week I have a couple of nice outfits to show you: one that I only wore indoors and the other that I actually wore outside. This is the first one, based around Hermès’ men’s 100cm wool scarf, Sweet Dreams…
Outfit of the day 11/01/22 with Hermès’ Sweet Dreams
The blues in this scarf are wonderful! And the greys, and the pattern. Also, as I wear it more and more, it continues to soften. With the scarf, I wore my newish WoolOvers cashmere/merino dark grey v-neck jumper and navy cord trousers from Lands’ End. A blue enamel and gold chain bangle by Halcyon Days completed the outfit.
The next picture shows the monsters on the scarf more clearly, although the colours appear muted. The blue shades in my photo above are closer to the real thing.
Sweet Dreams – Hermès
Now, we have the second outfit. I had to go to the opticians’ yesterday to pick up my new glasses. As I have to take any opportunity to wear some of my nicer clothes and accessories, this was the ensemble that I went out in…
Outfit of the day 13/01/22 with Hermès’ Le Premier Chant
Outfit details:
Lilac cashmere v-neck jumper – Marks and Spencer.
Navy stretch cord trousers – Lands’ End.
Silver leather wrap bracelet – Massaccesi.
Pewter leather and white shoes – Hotter.
Purple Africa leather Selene handbag – Massaccesi.
Silk 90cm scarf in purple, blue and yellow – Le Premier Chant – Hermès. Tied in an asymmetric knot using a mother of pearl scarf ring by MaiTai.
Yes, this was the first proper outing for my new scarf! I have placed the Hermès image of it below to remind you of the details (the picture in the collage is a bit too small).
Le Premier Chant – Hermès
OK, that is all for this week. I do hope that you have a nice weekend. The weather has been very sunny here for a while, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t rain. I want a nice bright day to take some more scarf photos!
I do hope that you have read some great books since I last posted. I have read two very different books and I think I have found a new author and series to enjoy!
Right, here we go…
Devil’s Fjord by David Hewson
When I saw this book, Devil’s Fjord by David Hewson, on the ebook catalogue, I was really intrigued when I read that it is set in the Faroe Islands. As I have never read a book set there before, it seemed a good idea to try this one.
Here is the blurb:
“New District Sheriff Tristan Haraldsen uncovers a series of dark secrets when he investigates the disappearance of two boys in the remote Faroe Islands. Newly-appointed District Sheriff Tristan Haraldsen and his wife Elsebeth are looking forward to a peaceful semi-retirement in the remote fishing village of Djevulsfjord on the stunningly beautiful island of Vagar. But when two boys go missing during the first whale hunt of the season, the repercussions strike at the heart of the isolated coastal community. As he pursues his investigations, Tristan discovers that the Mikkelsen brothers aren’t the first young men to have vanished on Vagar. Determined to solve the mystery of Djevulsfjord, yet encountering suspicion wherever he turns, Haraldsen comes to realize he and his wife are not living in the rural paradise they had imagined, and that the wild beauty of the region hides a far darker reality.”
I definitely found the book very unusual! The genres would be mystery/crime/Scandi Noir, I think. This is my three star response on Goodreads:
This was a very dark and bleak story set on the remote Faroe Islands. I wonder what the Faroese make of this book as it doesn’t do the locals any favours at all! The life seems to be very hard and grim and I have read about the mass killing of whales and seen photos.
I found the book quite absorbing, but there was really very little to leaven the intensity and relentlessness of the action. There were some descriptive passages describing the beauty of the scenery.
All in all, I am glad that I read the book and would try another by the same author.
Well, after that I really needed something totally different.
This is the book that I chose:
Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
I was reading something online, I can’t remember what it was, when someone mentioned this book, very favourably. When I looked it up, it seemed to be just my kind of book: Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen, #01 The Queen of the Tearling.
This is the blurb:
”Her throne awaits . . . if she can live long enough to take it.
It was on her nineteenth birthday that the soldiers came for Kelsea Glynn. They’d come to escort her back to the place of her birth – and to ensure she survives long enough to be able to take possession of what is rightfully hers.
But like many nineteen-year-olds, Kelsea is unruly, has high principles and believes she knows better than her elders. Unlike many nineteen-year-olds, she is about to inherit a kingdom that is on its knees – corrupt, debauched and dangerous.
Kelsea will either become the most fearsome ruler the kingdom has ever known . . . or be dead within the week.
Combining thrilling adventure and action, dark magic, mystery and romance, The Queen of the Tearling is the debut of a born storyteller blessed with a startling imagination.”
I was drawn into this book and read it in a couple of sessions. Well worth four stars and maybe I should have given it the full five! Anyhow, here is my review:
After reading some of the reviews on here, this book appears to have had a very opposing response amongst many Goodreaders. In my case, I read the book quickly and really enjoyed it. I didn’t look at deep meanings or try to explore below the surface, but just lost myself in the tale.
I don’t think I would classify it as Young Adult, due to some of the content, and I understand that it wasn’t really marketed as such. Anyway, it was refreshing to read a fantasy book with an interesting and strong heroine. I will enjoy seeing how the author develops her character in subsequent books.
In addition, there were hints of a science fiction element to the book, with mentions of America and Britain. These were rather jarring at first, but I then became interested to see how this will all pan out!
Now, do I go back to my reading list or go and get the next one in the series?
Former professional school librarian, now retired through chronic illness. Trying to keep cheerful by reading, drinking lots of tea, blogging my new life, and my love of bling!
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
The Librain
The Librain......retired 
[…] If you would like to read more about this scarf, here is my Scarf of the Moment post with…