I absolutely loved the first two books in the Tearling trilogy which follows Kelsea as she becomes queen. Although I wasn't a fan of the third book I was excited about the idea of returning to this world in a prequel novel. Unfortunately Beneath the Keep didn't really work for me. This follows characters that we had met or heard about in the trilogy. Primarily Mace (Kelsea's captain of the guard) and Elyssa (Kelsea's mother) , as well as a brand new POV Aislynn a farmer who ends up starting a revolution. I really enjoyed Aislynn's POV and wish more of the story had focused on her. I found there were multiple times with the other POV where events and character traits didn't make sense as part of the series as a whole, and some events straight up contradicted things from the original trilogy with no explanation or acknowledgement. (For example Kelsea's father is someone completely different.)
I love the idea of a socialist epic fantasy, but thought there could have been some more nuance and complexity explored.
Overall I think this may be more enjoyable as a stand alone.

Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC!

While I haven't read The Queen of Tearling series, this book was phenomenal! The beauty and brutality in this are something else! Normally prequels leave a lot to be desired, but this was amazing and made me want to read the rest of the series! I'm so invested in Lazurus and Kelsea now. I read a few pages of the Queen of Tearling and now I want to see how that girl becomes the queen they envision.

DNF @ 34%

Content warning:
Rape: female, male, child
Child sexual exploitation
Drug abuse
Overdose

I was approached by Random House to review this prequel as they'd seen my review of the first in the series on netgalley. I'd loved that book, but it's follow ups left me cold.
I was hopeful for this, but ultimately could not continue.
Scenes of rape, threats of rape or child exploitation feature in almost every chapter and it's merciless. And also bloody lazy. It seems that the only thing Johansen can conjure up for her characters to either threaten, commit or suffer is sexual assault.
She also seems to relish in repeating certain aspects of the abuse: the fact a girl working in a brothel is only 9 years old is mentioned twice within several pages, as well as the repeated recount of two characters standing as 4 Yr olds, naked and scared as they are sold on.
Johansen's obsession with the nasty and grim actually backfires in a major way. Not only will this be flung away by many unprepared for the content (it seriously needs a CW at the beginning) but it's boring AF. Any shock, hatred, or disgust you feel is diminished by the fifth occurance, and totally destroyed by the twentieth. (Bare in mind I dnf'd at 34%...just over a third through)
I get that the narrative is that it's so awful that the hero rising up to save the day becomes more effective, but Christ... There's a 1000 better ways to do it than this.
I'd like to say there's some good in this, but it's a genuine struggle to find it amongst the ick.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Uk, Transworld and Erika Johansen for my arc of Beneath the Keep in exchange for an honest review.

Published: 11th February 2021

Beneath the Keep serves as a prequel to the popular Queen of the Tearling series which I read and enjoyed a lot a few years ago.

First up I would like to give a trigger warning for this book. It is rife with child abuse of a sexual, physical and psychological nature. You should be aware of this before reading this book as it features heavily.

Beneath the Keep focuses on the events prior to The Queen of the Tearling and fills in some blanks from the series. The main featured characters are the mother and grandmother of the main character Kelsea and how events led to her eventually being smuggled into hiding which is where book one begins.

It also tells the story of another important character from the main series and provides their back story, along with several other characters and it's an interesting perspective which gives answers about some of the people in the series and their motives for later on.

I enjoyed this book even though it was a tad on the long side and it's been a while since I read the original series (May 2016) I was able to remember most of the characters and found it interesting to get their back story. It definitely veers more into the adult side of fantasy due to content but it's a sold 4* read for me.

Thanks to Netgalley, publishers and author for providing an ARC.

This book was an enticing fantasy tale with wonderous world building, attractive characters and character growth and an inspiring storyline. Well worth the read.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantem Press and the author, Erika Johansen, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Prophecy of the Tearling in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
I absolutely loved reading The Queen of the Tearling trilogy, so I was excited at the prospect of reading this book . I started reading as soon as it finished downloading ( big mistake as I had things to do. Hahaha. ) To be able to put a book down, you need to find a lull in the storyline where you feel it's ok to leave the characters and rejoin the real world. This book did not give me one. I was hooked from the opening scenes in the Creche and had to keep reading to find out where the storyline would go.
I thought the whole book was well written. The characters are well drawn and compelling. The settings were divine and highly descriptive. And yes, I read this book in one sitting. Housework can wait until tomorrow, right?
The Prophecy of the Tearling is an incredible read. If you enjoyed the Tearling Trilogy, then I think you will enjoy book too. If you haven't yet had the pleasure, this book can easily be read as a stand-alone novel.
Well worth a read.