But what she discovers in the capital will change everything, confronting her with horrors she never imagined. Kelsea will need them all to survive a cabal of enemies who will use every weapon-from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic-to prevent her from wearing the crown.ĭespite her royal blood, Kelsea feels like nothing so much as an insecure girl, a child called upon to lead a people and a kingdom about which she knows almost nothing. But though she may be inexperienced and sheltered, Kelsea is not defenseless: Around her neck hangs the Tearling sapphire, a jewel of immense magical power and accompanying her is the Queen’s Guard, a cadre of brave knights led by the enigmatic and dedicated Lazarus.

Plain and serious, a girl who loves books and learning, Kelsea bears little resemblance to her mother, the vain and frivolous Queen Elyssa. On her nineteenth birthday, Princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn, raised in exile, sets out on a perilous journey back to the castle of her birth to ascend her rightful throne. Magic, adventure, mystery, and romance combine in this epic debut in which a young princess must reclaim her dead mother’s throne, learn to be a ruler-and defeat the Red Queen, a powerful and malevolent sorceress determined to destroy her. The Tear is just as easy to get sucked into as Westeros or Hogwarts or Panem.” - USA Today

The setting, combined with Johansen’s deft hand with character and plotting, really does work. Erika Johansen’s debut novel is a genre mashup: medieval fantasy meets dystopian future.

The tearling