While I am not a huge Shakespeare fan, I am now a fan of Tessa Grafton. She filled my head with such an awesome amazing story, that I simply must have more! Highly recommended!

I did not realize this was an excerpt but will give a full review once I read the book.

I found this book SUPER interesting and it actually kind of confused me. In the little under 200 LONG pages, I realized that basically nothing had happened. It has taken me DAYS to get through those pages which is way longer than normal. Normally, I would give up on a book in that situation but I am weirdly enjoying it. If the writing wasn't as good as it was, I would have bailed.

Now I haven't read the full story but this perspective is coming from someone who enjoys worldbuilding, character development and detailed fantasies/historical fiction-ey books. That in mind...I could see other readers really turned off well before this point because (as stated above) nothing has really happened. While the writing is beautiful and the author clearly put a lot of thought into this whole thing...it can be too much. Now I don't know if some of these small details will show up later on but there's no way that they all will. Despite being well written, the book is a little bit "information overload-ey" and definitely would need some serious editing before final release.

Despite having so many different POVs and time periods, the characters are all pretty distinctive so I was able to easily tell them apart and keep their plots, roles and characteristics sorted (which can sometimes be a hot mess in writing this detailed). I think I'd have to say my favourite character is Gaele despite my feeling that she is going to be the "bad guy." I also really enjoy Mar and Fox and am really curious to see how they follow along and fit in with the Lear sisters.

I do hope the remainder of the book has more Lear. I feel like his character hasn't really been fleshed out the way it's needed to. He's just perpetually mentioned from other POVs about being crazy since his wife died and then disowning his youngest daughter...that's it. If I'm supposed to sympathize with him (as I assume I am supposed to)...I need more than what was given in this excerpt.

Really excited to read and see the final product

Since this wasn't the full book, I'm just going to give the rating based on the excerpt that I read. The Queens of Innis Lear started off a bit slow but, by the time this excerpt was over, I found myself desperate to find out what happens next. The characters were interesting and well-developed, although I did find Elia's sisters a bit one-dimensional. I am very intrigued by the various political plots going on and the magic system was amazing! Definitely going to be picking this one up when it's released.

I did not realize that this was only a preview and will wait until the full book is available to review

I am not posting a real review on my blog for this because I do not tend to read or review excerpts, as I rather read the whole book at once. When I requested the book it did not say that it was an excerpt and it was only after I had gotten a few chapters in that I realized and soon stopped reading. Still, I liked what I read thus far and am looking forward to the full novel. I just wish it had been more clear that this was not the whole book as it seems I'm not the only one who had the same issue.

I was unaware this was a preview excerpt, so I will not write a review but will give this a 3-star rating as I am anticipating the book but cannot provide an in-depth, critical, or constructive review.

I enjoyed the parts of this I read, but I stopped a few chapters in because it was only a preview excerpt and I don't want to get to end of it, super invested, and then have none left. Anyway, WOULD READ WHOLE THING, 100% planning to read/discuss when it comes out properly!

THE QUEENS OF INNIS LEAR is an intricate fantasy that takes the Shakespearean play, King Lear, and expands upon it crafting together an intense tale of magic, power, and those willing to shed blood and bonds for a crown that could control everything. Recommended for those whom love fantasy, history, politics, and a striking defiance that is indomitable.
-pooled ink Reviews

This book was NOT my cup of tea. That doesn't mean it doesn't have any good aspects, or that no one would like it, so I'll mention those things first. I think the writing style is good, though overly descriptive, and it's interesting to have a King Lear retelling. The princesses are biracial, and especially with Gaela, there's a lot of commentary on her being the "black princess," so the inclusion of diversity is cool. The issue for me was that I don't really like ANY of the characters. Elia and Ban are the most likable but even with them, I don't really feel any connection. This was only a sampler galley and I had no sense of loss upon finishing it while not getting the full story. The only thing I regret not being able to read is the murder. And it says something about the characters when you're looking forward to reading them all dying. And now onto what I think is the biggest flaw: nothing happened. I understand that it's a retelling of King Lear and the whole first act is basically like here are the characters and these are the plots, but slow going non action for one hour of a play is much different than slow going non action for half of a book. The most interesting thing in this sampler was Lear disinheriting Elia. The slow moving pace works for a play but not for a book. It just left me uninterested, and coupled with the (for me) non likable characters, this was just a flop. The writing style was nice and you can see that Gratton has a good grasp of literary language and sentence structure, but I thought it was too descriptive. I really don't need a long paragraph describing what the courtyard of a castle looks like. It just exacerbated the I-don't-care feelings I was getting from the main aspects of the book, being storytelling and characters. I was super excited to read this so this was a giant let down for me. I'm giving it 2 stars for the diversity and interesting magic concept. That's not to say others would not like this book, but to me it was just a bore.

Despite the title it took me a while to realise this was a beautiful retelling of King Lear.  I was swept away by the idea of working with nature, talking to it and asking for help in the things we do.  
Theres alot of characters at the start of the book that the narrative switches between, and it took me a minute to sort the family tree, and surrounding connections out - but from the sampler I already feel like I know them well. 

The King who believes in the stars, and refutes earth magic.

The Eldest daughter, Gaela, is a warrior, soldier and believes she should be the next King. 

The middle child, Regan,  Girly and wanting a family, who sides with her older sister, somthing tells me she is not as unassuming as we currently see her. 

Elia, the youngest, who has shunned magic and works with the stars like her father, clearly his favorite daughter. 

Ban, the Fox, who is Elias child hood friend, and magic wielder.

All of these characters along with others make up the cast list for what looks to be an enthralling story of the fight for both the Crown and a Kings Love. What will happen once the kingdom is divided? Will the Banished Elia make it back?

I hold Gratton to a near impossibly high standard so I fell into Innis Lear hopeful but unsure, excited but worried that my expectations were setting me up for disappointment. I should not have worried; this is Gratton, after all. While this is as devastating and intense as the play upon which it is based, there are some differences that make it more tragic and then again, a very tiny bit more hopeful (and I mean tiny). The last few pages left me in tears, as one might expect, but I didn't realize how much I was shaking as well. This is one of the bard's most disturbing tragedies for obvious reasons, and fills readers with so much trepidation over the very fabric of family as blood as well as an institution, over trust in love and loyalty, and the idea of self and selfhood, of destiny, of duty - and Gratton captures all of it with just enough difference (oh, Ban - I am shaking my head over this boy as I type) to make it her own. Extraordinarily well done.

The Queens of Innis Lear is a fantasy re-telling of Shakespeare's King Lear with the three daughters preparing for war to win the throne instead of waiting for their father to choose an heir "when prophecies align and a poison ritual can be enacted". I was fortunate to read a sampler, and all it did was make me crave more. Well-written and filled with characters and intrigue. I can't wait until March when this novel comes out so I can read what happens next.

The fact that this was just was an excerpt was a huge let down, but what I read so far is amazing, and I can not wait to read the whole book.
I did receive this excerpt from NetGalley, for my honest review. These thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wish I'd been made aware this was a preview before downloading and starting the book, as I make a point not to read previews or excerpts because they can diminish the full impact of the completed story. I will, instead, wait for the novel to be released in order to form my full opinions on the story. This is why, despite being forced to give this a star rating, I would rather not give this an actual star rating as I believe it is unfair to the story to try to judge it based on one small portion.

With that out of the wait, what I read of this preview intrigued me and I am cautiously optimistic I shall enjoy this book.

I am sorry but I do not read or review excerpts. I did not see the information in my initial look at this title. If I had seen it I would not have asked for it.

An interesting beginning, will definitely be on the lookout for this!

I am sorry to say that I ended up DNFing this work. While there was a story there the writing was so passionless and the characters so dry that I couldn't have cared less about them. Even now, after putting the book down only moments ago, I couldn't tell you a single character's name. There was a lot of potential in this book but I just don't feel that it was done justice.

The Queen of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton (Excerpt Preview)

2.75 / 5 🌟

Just a heads up. I read this book because it was available to download and I wasn't even interested in the premise but since it was included in my approved list, I decided to give it a go.

This book was a torture for me to read and it wasn't even the full book.

I didn't click at all with the writing. I found it to be very descriptive to the point where it was just boring.

Barely nothing happens in the excerpt and it was almost 200 pages of the book.

The multiple point of views was just unnecessary and didn't contribute much with the story.

However, I did enjoy the world building in a way but it wasn't enough for me to get hooked into the story.

And also points for the diversity this book has.

All in all, I am still considering if I want to continue this story only because of the hours I committed reading the first 100+ pages.

I can't wait for the full book! I really wish this would have been more than just a preview excerpt.