As seen on my blog: 
 I think it's safe to say that publishing houses would, without question, reap the benefits of this piece of advice: STOP comparing books to other books. And for the love of all that is epic and beautifully narrated, STOP comparing them to fantastic, well-loved books. You unfairly set your readers up in a "there is no way you WON'T love this" mindset, and then completely obliterate their hopeful bubbles when the book ends up being sub-par, at best. 
 The Queen of the Tearling 
 was entertaining, despite being poorly developed, BUT, it was not, in this universe, or any other universe in existence, a melding of 
 The Hunger Games 
 , and 
 The Game of Thrones 
 . Let's just pretend that comparison wasn't even made, and move on... 
 I won't rehash the synopsis of 
 The Queen of the Tearling 
 , because the one that exists is already quite wordy (note: this is appropriate foreshadowing for the narrative you will find within). The book started off with a strong sense of intrigue: the entire royal guard has come to collect the new Queen at her humble forest home, so she can be returned to the castle, and claim her rightful place on the throne. What adventures lay ahead? What will we learn of this strange new land? OH the anticipation of-SQUIRREL!....Oh, where were we? Ahh, that's right, we were describing that leaf over there. Wait, that's not right, we were being given a fantastically complex breakdown of how this new world came to be. We were delving into character developments, focusing on the strength, and endurance, of our main character, and we were falling in love with this epic new series. 
 No, we weren't. I was correct the first time, we were describing that leaf over there... 
 And so it goes, through almost a third of the book. A spew of overly descriptive writing, with only a peep-hole of glimpses and explanation into the area of world-building. I had an inkling, eventually, through multiple mentions, and references to Harry Potter (!?), but it wasn't until I read professional reviews that I discovered that this book was apparently set 300 years into our future-it took place right here, in our very own backyard. It was at this point that I gave up on trying to communicate with my good friend, logic. Johansen was successful in confusing the heck out of me, and I couldn't understand why she chose this particular route for her story's backdrop-it just made no sense. WHY has society backtracked into such archaic times? WHY did some simple technologies (i.e. birth control) make it, while others didn't? The inconsistencies in this book were many, and close together. The narrative just couldn't make up it's mind, and I refused to adopt the "IT JUST WAS, okay?" theory. I wanted more explanation, I 
 craved 
 it. 
 All perplexities aside, 
 The Queen of the Tearling 
 was a good attempt at something that had far greater potential. The characters were built to be inhabited by much stronger, and better developed, personalities; the world of "New Europe," was literally 
 begging 
 for it's history to be recanted with a voice, and hand, that paid it's respect to the eager, and not-easily-fooled, minds of it's readers. I was disappointed by this book, but still read it, in it's entirety, and was entertained enough to keep turning the pages. The characters, mainly our star lead, and new Queen, Kelsea, managed to squeeze herself into some downright head-shaking moments. I definitely wanted to know how she would salvage her messes. 
 I WILL be reading the rest of this series, if only to find out if it redeems itself in it's second installment. Also, c'mon, a movie adaptation with Emily Watson playing the lead? This book is going to sell itself on that fact alone...pity. 
 Recommended for fans of: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopian, Historical Fiction, 
 The Lost Amulet Chronicles 
 by Katie Lynn Johnson.