There has been no lack of books designed to be the next Game of Thrones, but Queens of Innis Lear is truly the first one in the post-Martin landscape that both achieves the breadth and scope.

The story follows three heirs to a throne, each with its own different claim. The king has his preference, but the world, with some subtle magic involved and with each queen having their own motivation, the result is the typical chaos that one might expect.

There are plenty of surprises here, and a lot I really enjoyed. Some characters end up more compelling than others, and I found it difficult not to root for one specific result in a way other like stories do not, but as a full and complete concept, this was a super compelling read.

I feel like we’re currently in an epic/traditional fantasy rut, and this balances out the overcomplicated efforts with the really compelling narratives. Bump this to the top of your list.

I requested this book as soon as I saw it because:

1. The blurb makes it sound similar to Three Dark Crowns which was something I really loved

2. I studied King Lear in IB and heard that this was a retelling.

Anyway, this retelling of King Lear is infused with magic of both the stars and sky. King Lear is obsessed by what the stars say to him, leading him to require his daughters to publicly declare their love for him (among other things). His two older daughters, Gaelan and Reagan are one in mind, but his favourite, Elia surprises him with his answer. If you've watched or studied King Lear, you know how it goes.

Because this is a series, we don't get as far as say, the Storm Scene. Well, this book is really a set-up for the world, so it ends a little after the public declaration contest, which you may recognise as the start of the play. But I can see why this world and the new characters require so much word-space, so I don't mind waiting to see my favourite parts of this play retold.

As for characters, the three daughters of Lear definitely steal the show. Elia is my favourite because she's the kindest, but both Gaela and Reagan were very well-written and true to their inspiration. The book also introduces new characters, such as Ban the Fox and the Fool's daughter (who's also Elia's lady-in-waiting).

The only thing I wasn't too crazy about was the language. It's very deliberately lyrical, sometimes to its detriment because it distracted me from the story. Then again, if you know me, you know I put story first and feel that language should be used to enhance the story rather than placed in the limelight for its own sake.

Overall, though, this is definitely a book for fans of King Lear and those that like darker retellings. Even though I know the ending (or at least, I hope I know the ending), I cannot wait to see how the later books will interpret the rest of the play.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

If I had to pick on thing that made The Queens of Innis Lear one of my favorite books so far this year, it would be how it was written. Beautiful doesn’t seem like a good enough descriptor but the way Gratton wrote of these women, their struggles and their journey towards power was beautiful. Each chapter was told from a different POV and I found myself getting lost in each part. These women were complex, strong and so different from each other. I was able to get lost in this world and disappear from my life for a hours at a time. I loved every minute of this.

Love this book. Very good character development. One of my fav's of 2018. I will read more by this authos

This book was...well, not what I'd expected. The author was most definitely born to be an author. The writing is superb, the characters fleshed out, the settings described beautifully. The problem for me, had more to do with the plot. Where the book could have been incredibly impactful or a magical escape, it instead tended to wander around aimlessly. So while I mostly enjoyed the book, I finished it feeling restless.

As I can’t upload a photo, the current staff recommend “shelf talker” in store under The Queens of Innis Leah reads


“Magic, Betrayal, three very different sisters, and the arrogance of a King who dares to set is will against the gods. Try this beautiful and brutal story inspired by Shakespeares Leah”

I went into this with reservations, but now I'm glad I read it.

This is a retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear so familiarity with the story will be helpful since there are a lot of characters. I didn’t know much about King Lear so I wikied it and that helped me follow the story much easier.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF the books. The writing is beautiful - lyrical, poetic, and lush. The way Tessa Gratton describes the land and magic, it makes you feel it. Like you are there, breathing in the soil and hearing the trees.

The reason I DNFed was the pacing. It was incredibly slow with so much tension. The prologue was amazing and sucked you right into the story but after that it moved so slow. It pushed me into a horrible reading slump all month as I kept pushing myself to read. I will likely pick this up again in a few months when my schedule is less busy since I do like the premise and writing.

(I received a digital galley of the boom from NetGalley and Tor.)

The kings three daughters will battle it out to see who will be the heir. Interesting and relatable characters make this book a great fantasy read.

I'm a former scholar who focused on Early Modern literature, and Lear is one of my favorites of Shakespeare's plays. I've seen it staged multiple times, and I think that ultimately left me with too high of expectations. Ultimately, this was a DNF for me. Certain elements were too formulaic, and I felt disconnected.

This is a tough one to review because I really do think that many people will really enjoy this book.
Unfortunately I was not one of them.
I read about three quarters of The Queens of Innis Lear and honestly I couldn't read anymore; I didn't feel invested or interested in finding out what would happen next. My big problem with this book was that it was just too long and that the slow pace of the story didn't help with this. Now I haven't read or seen King Lear so I"m not sure how closely the plot followed the inspiration, but this whole book just felt like a slog; I felt like I was forever waiting for something to happen but we never quite got there. I also was having a hard time connecting with the characters (especially Ban who I took a dislike to and found myself almost dreading his sections).
However, despite all this, I really do think that The Queens of Innis Lear is going to work for many readers; I can think of several friends who would be really excited to read a fantasy novel inspired by King Lear. So if this interest you, by all means give it a go!

I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This book wasn’t exactly what I expected maybe because I didn’t read King Lear so I didn’t have the right idea what a basically retelling of the story is going to be like. Maybe it’s a retelling but if I’m correct the author took quite a few liberties with the story.

The book itself is long and for me it took me a while to really get into it but it has an enchanting writing style. It’s full of metaphors and symbolism and other poetic tools which give the narration a lyric atmosphere. It was beautiful and a really uplifting experience to read. On top of that, the author, using the writing style created colorful, lush, vivid visual pictures for the setting of the story. I loved this part of the book, it was really enjoyable.

The plot on the other hand wasn’t really my style. It was full of political intrigue, masked motives, secrets and betrayals with close to none actual action. It is a beautifully built up and complex storyline, and while I can enjoy a good mental and strategically conflict, I like it better when it is balanced out with a bit of a spark and physical action. To top it off the pace of the book was quite slow and even sluggish if you ask me.
The book is narrated from several different points of views and it helps you to gain a better understanding of things in this incredibly multilayered scheme of events. However, while most of the points of views were important for a clear storyline there were a couple of pretty useless ones as well and when a book is as long as this one I have an aversion for unnecessary chapters. For example some of the ‘past’ chapters could have been incorporated into other ones without a lengthy explanation since there were only one or two sentences that mattered from them in the end, or Aefa chapters could have been left out completely because her point of view didn’t give anything to the story at all. Don’t get me wrong I liked her painfully honest and blunt character but her chapters were ‘empty’.

All of the characters are so well rounded and fleshed out that it’s amazing. It doesn’t mean I liked all of them, because there are quite a few anti-heroes in this tale. Let’s see:
Ban The Fox: In the beginning I thought that he is going to be my favorite character in the book, however his thirst for revenge came out and it ruined his clearheaded views and his pure heart. He made a lot of horrible decisions, especially around the end of the story because of his need for acceptance, he didn’t even realized he was already accepted by the ones that really mattered.

Elia: She is the youngest princess and she grew up without ambitions or grandiose dreams. She just wanted to live a simple, humble life and in my opinion she was too soft and a bit ignorant for court life. I think she was the representation of pure love. However, when things got more complicating and life demanded her to take up the responsibility of a royal princess, she simple refused to even consider it. I hated this in her, I saw her reasons but the way she dragged out the time until she finally acted in favor of her country was a bit annoying. Still she was the best option among the sisters.

“I never do anything, it’s as you said. I’m always the buffer, the balm and comfort! A bridge, perhaps. But the bridge doesn’t soar or even move; it never even sees the end of the river. I thought the stars were enough, the choosing them for him was enough, but I’ve spent my entire life doing nothing. Studying what others do, what the stars say we should do. Reacting. Being what I’m supposed to be. I held the course, tried to be kind and listen, but did you know? Even the trees do not speak to me now. I spent myself with the silent stars and forgot the language of trees.”- Elia

Regan: The middle princess, the fanatic and the user. She is titled the cunning, manipulative and scheming one but in all honesty she rarely aced it. Yes she had a knack for manipulating men but she was basically a follower and not a leader. I hated her

Gaela: The oldest princess, the warlord and the most ruthlessly ambitious us one of them all. She is really bitter and in her grief and fear of love she created a vicious fighter and someone who is just as fanatic as her father just with different tools. I really liked to admire her power and determination, how she fought her way to the top but her methods were really wrong and somewhat childish as well. She broke when her mother died and went into a drastic direction to avoid the hurt again.

Marimaros: A neighboring king, a prospect for marriage options. In the end I think I liked his character the most. He is a great king and takes the wellbeing of his country and his people really seriously. Yes, he has ambitions and hopes to gain things from Innis Lear but in the end he makes the right choices. Among the fanatics and vicious usurpers he was a light .

There are a couple of important supportive characters as well, whom by keeping secrets enabled the catastrophe of the Lear family to play out.

This one wasn’t my favorite read of the year but it was interesting nonetheless. I’m glad that I got the opportunity to read and review it.

This book is amazing. The language is beautiful and the story is unique. The only issue I have with this book, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's very heavy. I found myself taking breaks throughout the course of reading it to read something lighter.

I was sucked into this story straight away. All the characters were wonderful and diverse, the setting and world building were rich in lore. It's a very slow novel, focusing much more on character relationships and dynamics rather than action, but there's plenty of tension and intrigue, regardless.

I love KING LEAR.

When I took Shakespeare in college, I wrote my research paper on Edmund. I argued that he had little chance to be anything but a villain given the thoughtless mistreatment of bastards at that time. He wore his illegitimacy like a scarlet letter, and even more than Hester Prynn’s, his crime was not a crime.

So of course when I heard that Tessa Gratton’s THE QUEENS OF INNIS LEAR was a fantastical retelling of KING LEAR, I leapt at the opportunity to read it for review. And when I started reading it, and the Edmund-like character, now called Ban the Fox, appeared to be less villainous and more heroic, of course I was ecstatic.

BUT.

I was 2% into it, and I should know better than to make assumptions, especially about a retelling of anything by Shakespeare.

Tackling Shakespeare is a challenging endeavor. It’s freaking Shakespeare. How do you retell a story written a master? The master?

To attempt it requires more courage than the average writer can muster. But to attempt it AND rewrite it to suit your purposes, to imagine your version of events superior?

That, friends, would be HUBRIS. #shameonme

I’ve seen several reviews where the reader has said things like, after the first couple chapters, they just couldn’t get into it, and that, to me, is baffling.

TQOIL has one of the best prologues I’ve ever read.

First line:

It begins when a wizard cleaves an island from the mainland, in response to the king destroying her temple.

What begins?

Just that easily, I was hooked.

The spectacular prologue was immediately followed by an introduction to a character and an island that were so vivid, so magical, that I wanted to jump up and down shrieking, “I want to talk to trees! I want to see a bird’s dreams! I want the wind to be my messenger!”

I want to live in this world!

Characters that I’d thought I knew and knew well became infinitely more complex. More damaged. More covetous. Anger became fury. Thoughtless remained thoughtful but became loyal and well-intentioned as well. Good became naive, became heartbroken, became a strong and worthy queen.

And a story I already loved became something so much more.

Did it hurt?

Absolutely.

Tragedy is tragedy, and Shakespearen tragedy . . . WHUH.

But Gratton so expertly crafted this expanded version that despite the respect she clearly has for this tale and its creator, she was able to give us a less bleak future. Those left standing are worthy of their survival. They’ve learned from Lear’s mistakes and don’t repeat them. They are poised to let their island heal their wounds, healing their island in return.

THE QUEENS OF INNIS LEAR more than a tragedy. It’s life lessons. How shutting yourself off from the ones who love you can be the root of your own destruction. It’s about recognizing when someone can be saved and when they can’t. It’s hard choices and unbridled hope.

It’s magic.

This was a beautifully written book full of wonderful imagery and diverse characters. But I think that was also the biggest problem with the book--too much time was spent on the imagery and various points-of-view, and not enough time was spend on really developing these characters. I had a hard time identifying with them and feeling connected to them. There were quite a few different names/places/deities/etc., and I also had a hard time keeping all of that straight. I truly wanted to enjoy this book, but there just wasn't enough "meat" for me to grab on to.

I've seen the Queens of Innis Lear described as a cross between Game of Thrones and Shakespeare's King Lear. I think the Game of Thrones comparison is over used lately and just describes a darker fantasy with a lot of death involved. This book was a DNF for me. The plot progression is really slow. I spent the first 30 pages not having a clue what was going on or who these people were supposed to be. I prefer a book that tries to hook me in at the beginning. I like world building, but it has to come at the right time. The summary sounded interesting, but the beginning of the book just failed to interest me enough to finish a book that is pushing 600 pages.

"The withering grandeur of an island that once thrived with magic. The erratic decision of a half mad king. Stars that predict the future; people that whisper with the trees. Greedy hands of enemy kingdoms, three sisters, yet only one will rise as queen."

Inspired by Shakespeare's King Lear, The Queens of Innis Lear is Tessa Gratton's debut epic adult fantasy. The Queens of Innis Lear brings to life a world that hums with ancient magic, and characters as ruthless as the tides. The author alternatives storylines between Gaela, Regan, and Elisa Lear, as well as Ban the Fox and Aefa who is Elia's lady in waiting. I would say that Ban is the wild card of this story since he really has a hand in almost everything that happens to the sisters, and the choices that are made throughout the story.


Elia. Star-blessed Priest.

My sisters hide in the shadows like serpents, waiting to strike our ailing king. I must protect my father, even if it means marrying a stranger. We all have to make sacrifices. Love and freedom will be mine.

Elia is the youngest daughter at 20. She is a priest, a prophet, and her life has been all about listening to the stars. Elia has no desire to marry. Ever. Especially when her olders sisters have contentious marriages. She is, up until a huge twist, her father's favorite who never once blamed him for her mother's death which put her in a difficult situation with her sisters. They consider her a traitor who never once stood with them but against them. But, she may be the only one who is able to save the Island of Innis Lear from years of ignorance.


Regan. Master Manipulator.

To secure my place on the throne, I must produce an heir. Countless times I have fed the island’s forests my blood. Yet, my ambition is cursed. No matter what or whom I must destroy, I will wield the magic of Innis Lear.

Regan is the middle daughter. She is married to Duke Connley, and has been studying wormwork, magic that has been banned by her father. She promised her older sister that she would bear the heirs to the crown. She is a hard knock character who you have to pity. She has had plenty of bad things happen to her. Regan is united with her older sisters in their hatred of their father. The sisters both believe that their father had something to do with their mothers shocking death. She, however, actually finds love with her husband and similar goals.


Gaela. Ruthless Commander.

I am the rightful heir of Innis Lear. No more will I wait in the shadows and watch my mother’s murderer bleed my island dry. The King’s hold on the crown must end—willingly or at the edge of my sword.

Gaela is by far the strongest personality in the book. She's the eldest sister, the apparent heir, lady warrior, & The Black Princess. She chose her husband for the sake of the throne and not because she loved him. She is more comfortable in men's clothes and leading her army than being the meek and obedient wife to her husband Duke Astore. She desires two things: to become King, and to make sure her father receives justice for her mother's death. Gaela is ruthless, dangerous, goal orientated, and a whole lot more adjectives that I'll hold onto.

Innis Lear's King believes in the power of the stars and understands that his reign is at an end. The stars proclaimed that the next to be crowned will be the one who loves him the best. With everyone's eyes on what will happen next, Grafton throws in a shocking surprise. When it is her turn to answer her father's question, Elia doesn't give the answer her father is expecting, thus leading to her banishment, her titles being stripped, the kingdom being divided in half by Regan and Gaela, and her fleeing to the Kingdom of Aremoria where she is sought after by King Morimaros.

The Queen of Innis Lear is slightly on the slower pace when it comes to storytelling. It also leaves a curious ending. Will there be a sequel? Or, will the author walk away and pretend as though she didn't leave a major quagmire behind for the characters to struggle through? I wasn't exactly a fan of the Rega or Gaela. They were incredibly intense, dark, and exceedingly dislikable as the story progresses. I also have nothing good to say about Ban who returns to his home after being away for 6 years. Ban is a powerful reminder that nobody is as they seem and anything can happen and usually will whenever he is in the picture.

There's plenty to say about the relationships that develop in this story. Between Ban and Mars (King of Aremoria); Ban and Elia, as well as the sisters love, hate relationship with each other. Talk about being toxic. One could also add Ban's relationship with his father, his brother, as well as Regan who he shows a bit of respect and admiration for. Gratton's world building is in a class all its own. I would say that the world she created was as mesmerizing as the lyrical prose and the characters she created.

I was not familiar with King Lear before I requested this title via NetGalley. Yes, I did look up King Lear via the internet. While Gratton keeps to the essence of Shakespeare’s original work, she definitely adds her own flare and fantasy elements and literary style.

The first time I read Shakespeare’s King Lear, I hadn’t slept in about three days and so simply let myself sink into the play, hoping no one asked me any specific questions after the fact. (Spoiler: they did! I did not fare well.) This experiential immersion that I let myself fall into transported me to the moor, to the blinding, and to the madness; it was all-encompassing and demanded everything that I could give.

In a similar way, I read Tessa Gratton’s The Queens of Innis Lear with the same fervor, falling to this book with the same wholehearted, yet infinitely distracted attention span. By now, of course, I know the story of Lear and know how the various players are supposed to act and who dies when, so missing out on the major arcs of plot wasn’t as critical to my understanding of the story. (Sorry,

What was critical (and beautiful and gorgeous and all-consuming) was the mood that Tessa Gratton created within this novel. From the prose to the way the novel was structured with segments from each of the main characters’ points of view to the flashbacks that elegantly contrasted past and present, it was a lush forest of despair, of loss, of love, and of passion. It was lyrical and sweeping and captured the startling landscape of rain and moors that I found in my first reading of King Lear, and I felt steeped in a little of that madness myself. (It’s also been a very hard March, so that contributes to the overall miasma of madness.)

My sole issues came from the savior queen of the story–Elia, who has to learn how to feel and look back to the earth before she can take her rightful place as the Queen of Innis Lear. I understood rationally that she was supposed to be the one that I was rooting for, but she was too passionless, too drab and grey even at the very end against the harsh backdrop of the story of Innis Lear. Her relationship with Ban, stagnant and never changing, did nothing to help her truly grow through the story; throughout, she was always the savior queen, always the chosen one as is, with no need to grow or change. In short, she didn’t capture my attention and she certainly never held it. Ultimately, I was glad she won for herself, if only because she seemed nice and practical, which while those are great qualities for a queen and person to have, don’t make for a terribly engaging character.

Instead, I found myself drawn to Regan and Gaela, Elia’s passionate and extremely flawed sisters, and to Morimaros, the King of Aremoria, who constantly bore the struggle of king and man within himself. These characters gripped me, whether it was Gaela going to drastic lengths of take control of her own future so that she could not be the wife of some king, but be the king, or Regan and her obsessive love of Connley and her persistent despair and wrath with the loss of their children. These characters loved and grew and changed and were ripped apart by their flaws. It was glorious. I cried with Regan when Connley died and cheered fiercely with Gaela when she cut down Astore, usurping his position through skill.

Overall, this was an epic read and it made me wish that I lived on a stormy, mist- and forest-filled island in the sea, rather than in the middle of the desert. It was a tragedy that made me savor every poor choice and decision as the sisters and their island marched inexorably towards their ends.

The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton was published on March 27th, 2018 by Tor. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

DNF @10%

Look, I think this just isn't my thing and after not finishing another book recently about sister princesses, it was unfairly colored. I just couldn't get behind it and I'm tired of the hothead warrior princess who doesn't want love, another princess married only to have children/benefit her kingdom, and the overly pure/innocent princess. I couldn't get into it.

It is also a slow build, leisurely paced, which just doesn't mash well with me.

I don't really want to give this a rating though because I know so many people who would love this writing style and sink into it like molasses. So, bummer for me, but this is one I might recommend to others.