The Fate of the Tearling came out a few months ago, and I was finally able to pick it up recently and finish the series! (It was actually my first finished book of 2017.)

The Fate of the Tearling is the third and last book in the The Queen of The Tearling series by Erika Johansen. The Queen of the Tearling and The Invasion of the Tearling are the other two books in the series.

Let me start by saying, overall, I really did like this series. The first book immediately had me hooked, and I remember quickly reading through the second. However...I was not a fan of the third book.

This is where the talk will include SPOILERS. If you have read the book, go on ahead. If you haven't and you don't want to be spoiled, don't keep reading! You've been warned. :)

Things I liked:

I have always been a fan of Kelsea. Since the beginning, she has been a strong, and most importantly, smart character. I'm not saying she never made bad decisions, because she did, but it was what was right for her at the time. I just really enjoyed having a realistic female protagonist, especially in a book that wasn't dominated by romance.

The world. One of the reasons why I picked this book up in the first place. The world of the Tearling is so cool. If you haven't read the books, and are reading my review for some reason, the world is a sort of dystopian. Basically, with a bit of magic, a group of people left 'our' world because it was really shitty, and started a new one. They wanted to set up a utopia, but obviously that didn't work out. I also really liked the flashbacks to the beginning of society through the various characters throughout the series. It gave you an insight to the past and you got emotionally connected to those characters too.


Things I did not like: 

I thought the reveal of who Kelsea's father was was kind of dumb. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if it was just left open-ended. Giving us a random guard who never even knew that Kelsea was his kid kind of took the mystery and appeal out of it. I figured it wasn't Mace, but anyone else would have been a better choice.

The ending. I'm sorry, I'm sure there are people out there who loved it, but I just didn't at all. I felt like it took away from the whole series for me, and I'm still trying to separate out the things I loved about these books. I just felt like it wasn't a good ending for this world, or the characters. I'm all for resolution of conflict, but to make it so it didn't happen at all, it just seems dumb to me. That said, I still loved the series, but I'm going to have to pretend that ending didn't happen.

Also, if you are a fan of the series, there is a movie currently in pre-production with Emma Watson set to star. Pretty good news for all of us who liked the series!

Have you read The Queen of the Tearling series? What did you think of the ending?? Let me know!