Rating: 2.5/5 
 ***Minor spoilers*** 
 Kelsea Raleigh has been hidden away her entire life by her foster parents Carlin and Barty. She is daughter of the late Queen Elyssa, and many want her dead, especially the Regent, Kelsea's uncle. When the Elyssa's remaining Queen's Guard arrives at the Kelsea's cottage, she is required to return to the capital and take her rightful place as Queen of the Tearling. Along the way, she and her Guard must overcome assassin's sent by her uncle, and Kelsea must deal with the fact that her Guard does not respect her. When she finally arrives in the capital, she discovers her people being put in cages. After the Mort Invasion many years ago, Kelsea's mother made a treaty which stated the Tearling would give 3000 slaves per year, 250 per month, and if one of these shipments does not arrive, they have rights to invade the Tearling. Kelsea is determined to put this to an end - but when she does, how will she deal with the Queen of Mortmesne, who is eager to kill Kelsea? 
 I saw this book popping up on Goodreads last year, so when I saw this on sale at Chapters, I thought "Why not? Lets try it." This book had a pretty slow start and lots of talk on politics, but as the book went on, the story got better. It wasn't a great fantasy, but I think it was a decent start to a series, and I may try to get my hands on the next book if it happens to go on sale. 
 I would say that my biggest issue with this book was that it dragged quite a bit in places. I wish that the journey to the capital didn't take so long to happen. It was probably about a quarter into the book when we finally got there. Also, I didn't really understand the dynamic of the Queen's Guard. They're said to be loyal and the best of the best, but they really weren't. They got drunk on the ride to the capital, there was a traitor among them, and they somehow allowed her to be stabbed in the back even though she was surrounded by guards. Also, Kelsea's character seemed quite contradictory in some places. She didn't like that her mother was so focussed on appearances, yet Kelsea is constantly criticizing her own appearance as well as others. She always calls herself plain, wishes she was more beautiful, and looks down on another woman for trying to look younger and prettier. 
 Despite this book's faults, it became quite enjoyable towards the end for me. The first half was okay, but the last quarter was when I started becoming actually interested in what was happening. I found it interesting to watch Kelsea come into her own as Queen, but also make the mistakes that you would expect from someone so young being forced into a position they weren't ready for. I thought the Red Queen was an interesting villain, but there is some stuff about her that was shown but not explained, and I assume I would be able to learn more about her in the second book. 
 Overall, I thought this was a decent start to a trilogy, and the ending wasn't really a cliffhanger, but more of a sneak peek to what's coming. It didn't start of strong, but it became much better towards the end when the action was taking place. I do wish that some of the time in the book spent describing appearances of other things could have been spent explaining some of the more complicated concepts, like the sapphires or the Red Queen's powers. Regardless, I may end up picking the next book up simply from curiosity. If you're interested in this book I would say to go for it, but you will have to live through the first half which was quite boring.