On her nineteenth birthday a company of soldiers arrive on their doorstep to take her away - away from everything she has known and loved (and often hated) - to take up her proper role as Queen of the Tearling. Proof of her heritage is in the sapphire necklace she has always worn around her neck and the burn on her arm, received when she was sent into exile eighteen years before.
Her arrival in New London, the country's capitol, is not a given as she and her company of Queen's Guards are being pursued by both agents of her uncle, who has been acting as Regent in her absence, and soldiers of the Red Queen, the ancient witch-like ruler of the country just to the north. But nothing could prepare her for what awaits her when she first enters the city and the decision she makes seemingly spontaneously will guide her actions and those of her kingdom for the rest of the book.
This book is set in the future (one review said the 24th century) but it is a time remarkably similar to medieval times. Originally intended as a Utopian society, the residents of the kingdom are now poor and enslaved while the upper class is rich and corrupt. It is up to Kelsea to deal with all of these issues as well as the Red Queen who longs for even more power.
I remembered reading the reviews for this book and thinking that it was one I would enjoy. When it came in, however, and we cataloged it as "Science Fiction", I almost passed it by. I'm glad that I didn't. While there are elements of magic and sorcery in it they are treated as something completely natural and not sensational. One of the Queen's Guards has exceptional eyesight, the dashing outlaw who comes to Kelsea's aid must only be thirty - or is he older? The Red Queen is over 100 years old. All of the fantasy elements only make the book more enjoyable.
This is the first in a trilogy and I am eagerly awaiting books 2 and 3. Oh, and by the way, Emma Watson of "Harry Potter" fame is set to star in the movie version of the book.
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