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'm very disappointed that this was originally mislabeled. I wouldn't have downloaded the book had I known it was only an excerpt - I'd rather read the whole book as it was intended. I have to include a rating, but it is for the false advertising of this listing, not the actual book, which I am still interested in reading.

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.

Now that is what I call high quality fantasy.
The Queens of Innis Lear is a re-telling of King Lear; a really good, detailed, fun re-telling of King Lear. We have the old king dying and going a little bonkers. His daughters are all very different. Gaela, the oldest, is a fierce warrior and wants the throne to be the most powerful. Regan, the second, is the nurturing mother type and wants the throne for her future children. Elia, the youngest, values the religion of the time (the stars and constellations), but she had time with the old religion of the earth. Nothing is as easy or as simple as it sounds when there's a crown around.
From the first few pages, this book knocked my socks off. The writing is purposeful and powerful. It's poetic at appropriate moments with real feeling and emotion. I was easily sucked in the characters and the story of Innis Lear. I sure hope this spells a series because I NEED to know what's going to happen in with the characters and the cray-cray King Lear.
You're gonna want to read this one!

Did not realize this was a preview, so I may wait until I can get my hands on the full novel (rather than having to wait two months for the rest of it).

The Queen of Innis Lear is one of my most anticipated reads of 2018 and this sampler is just enough to whet my appetite. King Lear is my favourite Shakespeare play, and I love the exploration and the added depth to the characterisation in this book. Edmund has always been an intriguing figure with his Machievallian ways, and I am happy to see this book expand on his character without declawing him. Similarly, I love the sibling dynamics and the feminist twist to the roles that Elia's sisters play within this book. The Queen of Innis Lear is also rich in its own mythology and world building, and I can't wait to discover more of this universe. The prologue of this book contained some of the most arresting and magical writing I've read this year.

First of all, let me thank Netgalley and Tor for the chance to read and review this book: The Queens of Innis Lear pre-release. As always, these thoughts are my own. This review is spoiler-free; no main plot points are revealed.

I give this story 4 stars.

Synopsis:

A kingdom at risk, a crown divided, a family drenched in blood.

The erratic decisions of a prophecy-obsessed king have drained Innis Lear of its wild magic, leaving behind a trail of barren crops and despondent subjects. Enemy nations circle the once-bountiful isle, sensing its growing vulnerability, hungry to control the ideal port for all trade routes.

The king's three daughters—battle-hungry Gaela, master manipulator Regan, and restrained, starblessed Elia—know the realm's only chance of resurrection is to crown a new sovereign, proving a strong hand can resurrect magic and defend itself. But their father will not choose an heir until the longest night of the year, when prophecies align and a poison ritual can be enacted.

Refusing to leave their future in the hands of blind faith, the daughters of Innis Lear prepare for war—but regardless of who wins the crown, the shores of Innis will weep the blood of a house divided.

Full disclosure: I am not as familiar with the story of King Lear as I ought to be, nor have I read Three Dark Crowns (which some people believe this book to be too similar). I think probably if you liked Three Dark Crowns, you will also like this story. I also have neither read nor seen Game of Thrones (seriously, if I'm gonna read it, I'm gonna have access to the entire series, people. Not this waiting for years stuff).

BUT if you like Shakespeare + Game of Thrones + Three Dark Crowns,  you'll probably like this too.

Prose Pros:
I liked this book, I really did. Let me just start with that: I did like it. I gave it four stars and I'd like to have it on my shelf and NOT just because it's so pretty.

The world is dark and beautiful, the magic is fantastic (although perhaps a bit soft as far as rules go) and the characters are well-fleshed out, even if they are borrowed from the Bard. The writing is lyrical and there aren't too many complaints I can make.

But...
. . . guys, it's slow. It's a long book at over 570 pages and it moves like a snail. There are a few too many point of view characters, and while they're clearly delineated, I would have liked to see this story from just three or four characters viewpoints. In being pretty, it's a bit superfluous.



Character Pros:
Elia is a good narrator. She's sweet and loyal and diligent. She's lost a lot as the story starts and more when it finishes. She feels like a real heroine.

However...
She doesn't do a lot. She's not really that proactive. She sits around, comforts lear, studies star charts, and out of nowhere decides to have a backbone and make a decision that ruins everything for her. It didn't seem realistic to me.

And:
There's not a conclusion. It doesn't have a Denouement/ falling action. I'm not familiar enough with the original story to automatically know what's coming next. So I feel like the Ending of this book may well just have been the middle of an epic story split in two. 580 pages as book one and more as book two, maybe? I'm assuming here that there will be a book two.

Conclusion:
While I liked this book and definitely recommend it, you might wait a few months until the second one is announced, or go read King Lear first.

I did not realize this was a sampler as it wasn't written anywhere and I'm not interested in samplers at the moment. I will read and review the book when it comes out.

This book has a very intriguing premise, and the writing is absolutely gorgeous. I'm a sucker for retellings, and this one checks off alllll of my boxes!

Four stars for now (since this was just a sample), but I will be posting a full review once I have a chance to read the full book.

Frustrated to see that this is just a sampler and not the full book. I know myself well enough to know that reading the partial book now would probably annoy me more then anything, so I'll wait to read it until it is actually published.

It was very disappointing seeing that this is only a sampler, not the full book like I expected. But, from what I've read, the book is very good. I'm excited to read the full novel.

That being said, i was disappointed, but I still read some of it (I am awaiting the full book to buy anyhow) and I was intrigued. I need to own this book NOW

Unfortunately, as excited as I was about the premise of this book, I decided not to finish it. I don't make these decisions lightly, and have my reasons for not completing "The Queens of Innis Lear".

The book was very nicely written. The voice was pleasant; however, it was a bit too flowery for my tastes. Much of the book consisted of descriptions rather than getting to the heart of the story. I closed this book for good at the halfway mark, and the author had not yet even reached the main plot of the book. I still had no real idea of what the story was supposed to be about. This isn't a good sign, for the reader to be confused and floating in this constant state up build-up for over half of the book.

So the build-up was long with no real delivery. I tried so hard to power through this because I was so interested in the concept of this story, but found myself agitated and anxious for the book to be over. These are the reasons why I could not finish the book, although I'm sorry to say it.

I didn't realise this was a sampler, but it's made me want to read the full book even more.

From what I read of the sampler I enjoyed the writing style and the introduction of the characters has me intrigued.