The blurb on this story was intriguing but the story itself fell on its face. It was a complete mess of mixed stories that left you hanging. In fact, I wondered if something happened to my copy because the way the story ended was like someone tore out the second half. Confusing and muddled mess.

I was given this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t see this was only a preview before I requested it.
So far it seems intriguing, but I only read a couple of chapters. I won’t leave a full review until I’ve read the whole book.
I’m looking forward to reviewing the book when it’s closer to its final stage.

It's impossible for me, make a review on 190 pages. The book it's composed minimum by 576 (Amazon). It's impossible. I will read this few pages but I don't write a review on a book incomplete.

Great beginning to the novel. I was very disappointed when I hit the end of the excerpt so I know I was pretty involved in the story. I never had the opportunity to read King Lear so after doing some research, I jumped head first into this imaginative retelling and enjoyed the rich descriptions and interesting characters. I plan on reading the second half of the book when it's released.

I did not know this was an excerpt and not the full book. I am curious to read the full book. So far I'm enjoying it, and I'm definitely going to read the full book once it is published.

Not a full copy of the book, why would you not even post a warning about this? Unable to read and review properly because book is not completed. Only half of this was sent to me, so not able to give a review.

I did not realize this was only an excerpt of the novel when I first downloaded it. I feel I cannot give a full review without having read the complete novel. At the moment I like it, as King Lear is one of my favorite Shakespeare. I like the unique magic system and the characters are quite intriguing.

When I requested this, I didn't expect it to be an excerpt. As a result, I'm not going to review this book, I started to read it and I read 30 pages out of 190 pages. The premise is rather well done but since I do not have the complete book I do not I have no time to read this extract and I prefer to have the complete book before giving my opinion.

Oh my gosh, this book is amazing. I didn't think it was going to be as good as it was. If this is an excerpt then I can not wait for the full book. This book if full of magic and mythology that is seeped throughout the book. I did not understand all the magic and myth at first but soon was able to put it all together. The betrayal of the youngest princess was shocking as was the madness of the King. The two elder sisters are hatching a plan and trying to implement it into the kingdom. Personally, their original plan sounds like the best one except it keeps the youngest sister out of anything but being a star priest. Which by the end of the book you will wonder if she will continue to be a star priest. She has discovered her strength and just when you start to find out her plan the book ends.

This book will be one that I will buy in full once it is published. I highly recommend it if you like fantasy novels. Plus, the characters are so well written I have already got a crush on "the fox" and can not wait to see what he is up to. I am rooting for the youngest sister and feel that the eldest sister is in the wrong and will cause great upheaval to the kingdom, but you don't get to find out if that happens or not.

The Queens of Innis Lear is a wonderful, beautifully written novel.

What most impressed me about this novel was the writing. Gratton’s writing is descriptive, mesmerizing, and magical. I felt like I was reading an old fairy tale.

When I saw how many different POV chapters there were in this book, I got worried that I wouldn’t like it. I tend to like one character’s chapter more than the others and that decreases my enjoyment of the book because I’m just rushing to get back to the POV I like. However, in The Queens of Innis Lear I enjoyed all the POVs. I empathize with and like all three of the sisters, Elia, Regan, and Gaela.

I also really enjoyed the mystery surrounding the world and the king. I felt so much anticipation while I was reading.

It’s hard to write a review based on only 193 pages, so once this book comes out I will definitely be purchasing a complete copy and writing a more in-depth review!

As soon as I read the summary for the Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton, I knew I wanted to read this book. When I started this one, I had high hopes and for some reason, it just didn’t grab me as much as I had hoped it would - I will say I liked the story but didn’t love it.

This book had some really solid character development in Elia, Gaela, and Reagan and I enjoyed the chapters from Ban’s point of view. There just seemed to be a lot of points of view and just when I was getting pulled into one piece of the story, the chapter ended, and I had to shift again to another perspective.

I love fantasy and I thought for sure I would love this book but for me, the story seemed to drag at times and I didn’t really latch onto any of the daughters to support throughout – I suppose if I had to choose I would pick Elia because she is the only one who didn’t appear to have ulterior motives to her actions. I did appreciate the backstories with them though as it helped to explain Gaela and Reagan’s feelings toward each other and Elia. I also liked getting the background on Ban and Elia’s friendship and was really hoping we’d get a bit more with these two.

In the end, I found this one to be just ok. I’m sure this is a case of “it’s not you, it’s me” as I’ve seen a lot of people raving about this book, but it just wasn’t what I wanted it to be and seemed to drag at times. I most likely won’t pick up the next book but don’t let my notes deter you if you are at all interested.

Shakespeare, plus fantasy, plus a Game-of-Thrones-style take on one of history’s greatest- and most tragic- plays? Good god, this book this book this book had a lot to live up to, but it passed with flying colours. Unique, exciting and brutal, Tessa Gratton has done an amazing job putting her on twist on this, and I’m now officially a convert.
I’m normally a little nervous about Shakespeare adaptations, which is entirely unjustified- because how many have there been?!- but in this case the nerves were about how Gratton was going to translate the brutality, bleakness and nihilism of King Lear into something more modern and fantastical.
She does it almost with the first line, setting the scene and taking us through the story of the island of Lear, a magical place cut off from the mainland where the inhabitants worship the earth and the trees speak to each other. Where the King, Lear, has turned to the stars for answers and is slowly going insane, as his three daughters vie for the throne. Gratton builds a world that feels rich, lived-in and oh-so detailed, from the earth-worship to the complex politics that define relations between the countries inhabiting it.
What I loved about this adaption- beyond the world-building- was the fact that Gratton takes her time setting the scene, too. The entirety of this book just about takes us past the first scene of King Lear, but that doesn’t matter, because we learn so much more about the characters living there. Now, the focus of the book is on the minor players that don’t get a voice in King Lear: the women, and Edmund the bastard. Gaela (Goneril), Regan and Elia (Cordelia) all get backstories, motivations and lives that make them feel like believable characters, and make them so much more than the stereotypes that they are in Shakespeare.
Now, I felt sympathy for Gaela and Regan- and though that sympathy does swing from sister to sister, there’s no denying that they’re badass, strong-willed women moulded by an unkind world and a tyrannical father who might have had something to do with their mother’s death. I really liked that the focus shifted to the women, and to Ban, or Edmund: it made for a far more interesting, nuanced exploration of what it meant to be an outsider- and how the different characters reacted to it. Elia felt a little less well-formed, though- a little blander than her siblings- but still, the relationship with her sisters was now something interesting, rich and endlessly fascinating. More please!
The way that Gratton twisted the Lear myth was interesting, too: though some quotes were a little too on-the-nose for me, and too cribbed from the play for something so determined to strike its own tone, I loved the new takes on it, the new characters, and the way that Ban was transformed into a layered man with split loyalties, whose connection to the ancient magics makes him a far more subtle and dangerous force than in the play. I’ll be interested to see if the ending remains the same, though!
So, overall? I loved it! The sweeping  descriptions of the island, the rich background to the characters’ stories; the new takes on the myth that made it so much more interesting. Gratton has an eye for what makes a good story, and a touch for the little details that really seals the deal: I’m looking forward to the next installment!

When I requested this, it did not say it was an excerpt. I am highly disappointed as this is the third time this has happened on NetGalley, and I've learned it is no fun for me. As such, I will be unable to review this. I hope to get my hands on a full copy soon as it does sound fantastic.

The premise of this book was intriguing but not enough to keep me engaged the whole way through.

I would buy and read this book although it’s hard to give it a solid star rating at this point because it’s only an excerpt. I love the whole concept of Lear and his daughters

I’m so sorry, but when I requested this it was lead to believe that this was the full copy, but upon picking up last night, I soon realized that it is only a partial. When I requested this the Preview Excerpt was not there. I’m so sorry, but I don’t review partials on my blog or goodreads, but I will say that I did enjoy what I was able to read, and I’m looking forward to the finished copy!

This excerpt makes me want more, more, more! I love the writing, the concept and the nods to Shakespeare.

I had a feeling this book was going to be good and even though this is just an excerpt of the first portion, I'm dying to read the rest! (I didn't know that when I initially requested that it was an excerpt, unfortunately, or I probably wouldn't have asked for it -- not a big fan of only reading part of a story) At this point the story is moving a bit slow, setting up this fantasy world and everything for the rest of the book so I won't mark it down for that. Part of the hype surrounding this book definitely upped my expectations so at this point I'm giving it my starting 3 stars and will see how it plays out in the rest of the book!

The mislabeling of this ARC from a full novel to a Preview Excerpt is a disappointment and kind of upsetting, as I would not have requested it if that was clear upfront. Since there was no indication this was not the full story, it's a huge bummer to suddenly have only 1/4 of the novel in my hands. With this, seeing as I've only had access to not even half the book, I am only going to give this a mini-review.

The premise is intriguing and the execution seems interesting, for the most part, with the exception of the slow pace. The writing is a bit too flowery, but sets up an atmosphere of magic and darkness. The shifts in POV are somewhat abrupt, but that might be because I only had access to an excerpt instead of the full novel.

This book .. oh this book. It weaves itself almost like a Rothfuss novel or any other epic fantasy. The world is enchanting, the characters full of depth and intrigue, and the plot builds subtly, and powerfully, like a great book should. I wanted to read slowly and to savor this book, but I was so drawn in I couldn’t resist devouring it. I thoroughly enjoy when a writer tells the story from multiple points of view. The plot does leap around a little timeline wise, but it all blends to make sense in the end. I can’t wait for this book to grace my shelves and to re-immerse myself in such a diversely unique world.