Beautifully written, a very haunting tale of forbidden love, folklore and the story of three sisters trying to come to terms with the destiny expected of them and the destiny that they make for each other.

This book didn’t grab me to be fair. I read it but it was more a case of getting it finished. I have never read the king Lear Shakespeare story so had nothing to compare it too.

This was a fascinating retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear! It's not at all what I was expecting. It far exceeded my expectations. It took the characterisation from the play, keeping its moral ambiguity in check, but adding in so many elements that made this tale something so completely unique and wonderful it left me breathless.

This isn't an easy read and does need a fair amount of familiarity with the source material. Gratton's writing style is incredibly lyrical, which some readers may find off-putting, but for me worked perfectly in keeping with the style of the play itself. And, like all great fantasy authors, Gratton has really outdone herself with the world-building. I got such a sense of time and place from this that I was completely immersed.

This was a beautifully constructed book that works at just the right pace and will leave an impression for a long time to come. Rarely have I read a retelling that was so true to the source material while remaining a work of such originality. Definitely one of my top recommends of 2018.

Marketed as a King Lear retelling, it’s easy to write off this book as just another Shakespeare retelling but to do so would be doing a disservice to Tessa Gratton’s canny dissection of the heart of the narrative of King Lear and his three daughters in order to create her own unique-feeling fantasy world which very much stands on its own merit. Questions of fate and prophecy vs. forging your own path are interrogated keenly throughout the story, with a different opinion on the matter characterised by each of the king’s daughters, Gaela, Reagan, and Elia. The question of a sense of responsibility and duty to the natural world, to your kingdom, to your lord, and to your blood relations is also deeply entwined into every twist and turn of this book’s plot, proving that The Queens of Innis Lear does indeed have something to say that, for me, is sometimes brushed over in similar fantasy narratives I have read recently. I will say that, at first, it took me a while to truly get into the novel due to the frequent use of flashbacks, character-switching, and setting-switching, but I was in a much better position to appreciate the novel once I had drawn myself up a very simple family tree/relationships diagram to keep track of the cast of characters that populate The Queens of Innis Lear.

"Rain is not always a storm. The wind does not always howl. Sometimes death is quiet, or love is peaceful. There are little things."

The setting was extremely vivid, at least in terms of the natural world around the court and the magic that is derived from the very roots of the island. For lack of a better expression, this book felt earthy, any time that the natural elements were described they were depicted in such a gritty and grounded manner that I could almost feel the mud underneath my feet and smell the electric hint of thunder on the air of a muggy night. The character that seems most in touch with the natural environment, Ban aka “the Fox”, likewise seems at his most real and honest when he is immersed (quite literally) in nature. His earthiness morphs throughout the novel as he must become part-spy and is required to play a different part; with this, the idea of the honest, earthy, and natural is sharply contrasted to the more cerebral and political machinations associated with the kingdom’s courts and its nobility. It seems to be a constant warring within Ban as he is torn between his natural, instinctive urges and his sense of loyalty and duty to Morimaros of Aremoria who has always treated him as someone above his natural station as a bastard-born son of an Earl.

" ‘It’s unnatural, child against parent.’
‘Parent against child, you mean?’ "

As far as the principle characters go, I was not much a fan of Lear, but considering that his daughters are the focus of the novel, this likely comes as little surprise. Because of the play, I think the author and the reader’s natural inclination is to “side with” the youngest daughter, Elia, and to sympathise to her plight as the king’s once-favourite who then is practically disowned simply because she refuses to publically declare her love for her father. However, I appreciated that Tessa Gratton’s Lear daughters are all given equal weight in the narrative – through changing perspectives in each chapter, we are allowed to see the motivations and ambitions of all of the daughters, and thereby build up a sense of understanding of each of their characters, even if you may not necessarily wish to “side with” them or their cause. For my part, I was surprised by the extent to which I sympathised with Gaela, the militaristic-minded and hard-hearted daughter who has refused to be a servant to pre-destiny and the stars and instead grabbed the bull by the horns, striving to actively control her own fate, her own body, and her own sense of identity. Placed in direct contrast to her more sensitive, emotional, and (ultimately) easily likeable younger sister, Elia, Gaela proves an interesting exercise in characterisation that I feel showcased Tessa Gratton’s passion for the legend of King Lear.

"You won this war even before I knew there was a battle to be had."

To spare a moment of gushing, I also fell just a little bit in love with Morimaros, not only in his relationship with Elia but also in his friendship with Ban. Out of all the suitors and spouses of the various ladies of Lear, Morimaros aka Mars was the one who felt most “worthy” to me. Distrustful of prophecy and magic which is the lifeblood of King Lear and Elia’s relationship, Mars instead is painted as serious and often analytical, as a contrast to the more airy-fairy earth magic and star prophecies associated with the likes of Ban. Although he is a king of Aremoria (the neighbouring kingdom) and thereby automatically considered a key player in the grab for the Lear throne, he always seems to play down any sense of his social position unless absolutely necessary – he wears the same uniform as his soldiers and isn’t often distinguishable as the king and ruler of the same people until he puts back on his metaphorical and literal crown. I thought the exploration of his character’s feelings towards magic, prophecy, and predestiny (alongside his budding relationship with Elia) was intriguing, and (on a more shallow level) his characterisation was deeply attractive to me.

"Everyone connected to a crown played games, that was the nature of it, so Elia only needed to discern who played them for power and who played them for love."

In conclusion, The Queens of Innis Lear was a thoughtful novel that took the original setup of King Lear that readers may be familiar with and used it to explore deeply relatable ideas about, variously, the sense of loyalty, the repercussions of the loss of a family member, and taking control of your own life against circumstance and pre-destiny. It explores not only father-daughter relationships but also that of sisters/siblings, investigating the latent tension behind these relationships that may be slave to circumstance and to the past as much as to anything in the future that is foretold by the stars of your birth.

"No one thing keeps Innis Lear alive or its heart beating! That is not love! That is selfishness. That is pretending we are all only one thing. Only a star, only a woman, only a bastard. You’re more than that, and I am, too: a woman and daughter of a foreign queen and a star priest. I’m all of that. Take one piece away and the rest shifts and changes, just like… just like this island, or any land."

An epic fantasy re-telling of a Shakespearean classic

The once prosperous island of Innis Lear is falling into ruin under the rule of the star-prophecy obsessed King Lear, who has ignored the earth magic of the island since the death of his wife many years ago and is slowly descending into madness. His three daughters – ruthless, war-hungry Gaela, manipulative, cunning Reagan and innocent star-devout Elia – know that to save their island, someone must take over from the king and unite the magic of the stars and the earth. When the time comes for their father to choose an heir, Lear makes a decision that will pit families against each other and may eventually lead to war, tragedy and the undoing of Innis Lear.

This novel is a re-telling of the classic Shakespeare tragedy King Lear, which is a huge and ambitious undertaking for even the most experienced of authors. However, Tessa Gratton has chosen to not only attempt this in her debut novel but to bravely alter the plot slightly and add elements of magic to the famous tale. The result is a truly excellent adult fantasy story, with action, romance and tragedy wrapped up in an exciting plot that enthrals the reader in its twists and keeps them turning pages. The writing was beautifully descriptive, and the island of Innis Lear is presented in such a way that the reader can vividly imagine the locations and scenery where the story takes place. The magical elements of the story are well-written and come across as believable in the context of the story rather than being too fantastical.

The novel is written from the POV of a few different characters, and whilst this was a little confusing and heavy at first, I quickly found myself able to understand everyone’s roles and to follow the story efficiently. The characters are strong, multi-layered and extremely complex, and the POV style allows us to see their thoughts and understand why they make their choices. The author also uses flashbacks to further flesh out the characters, making them some of the most multidimensional that I have encountered in a single story. There are not ‘good’ and ‘bad’ people in Innis Lear – everyone’s morality has grey areas, and I found myself switching my sympathies between different characters frequently throughout the story, as their motivations and interactions were so well-explored. As is probably to be expected from Shakespeare, there is a lot of heartbreak and tragedy in the story as well, and this had an impact on me as a reader because of how attached I had become to the characters. I also liked that several of the important players in the story were women, as this is uncommon in the fantasy genre and added an extra layer of enjoyment for me.

My only issues with this story were that the ending seemed a little anti-climactic with a few questions left unanswered, and I also found the youngest sister Elia (who is a central POV character) a little dull. It is also quite a long book, and the magical fantasy elements may not be for everyone.

Overall, whilst quite a long read, this was an excellent book that I found myself drawn into, and several times I caught myself thinking about the story and the characters even when I wasn’t reading it. I sincerely hope that I get the opportunity to read more of Tessa Gratton’s work in the future, as this was a fantastic debut.

Daenerys

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

A girl whose fate lies in the maps of stars. A boy whose power stems from mud. Whilst one is always gazing skyward and the other is craning downwards, neither has noticed the destruction surrounding them. A mad king is dethroned and a kingdom is divided. Three sisters are both united and divided by what they seek to rule. And the trees whisper the name of the only one who can truly save them all.

I am so impressed with this Shakespearean retelling! [book:King Lear|12938] is a play I have read and studied multiple times but my familiarity with the basis for this novel neither hindered my reading, due to repetitiveness, nor would it make this inaccessible to those who are unfamiliar with the original.

Whilst the story-line was largely true to the particulars of King Lear, the addition of magic to this world made the story newly captivating. The court politics and family dramatics continued to intrigue, but it was the exploration into root magic and the star prophecies that made this story startlingly unique in conception and design.

I also appreciated how the darkness of raging war and the magic that entwined all was juxtaposed by the sweetness of love. The light sweepings of romance, that was diffused over the course of the novel, had bearings on and relevance to the plot, but the fantastical elements were never watered down or the focus allowed to dwell for too long on the multiple relationships, and this provided me with exactly the correct proportions that I desired.

This was both a solid retelling of a beloved classic as well as an intoxicating and unique fantasy, all on its own. I can not wait for a fuller immersion into this world, as the series progresses, as this already has the scope to continue on for tomes to come, so complex was the world and the magic system inside it.

The Queens of Innis Lear is glorious, powerful and spell-binding. It is a fairytale woven from nettles and roots, hemmed with the majestic silk of Shakespearean tragedy, sprinkled in stardust and dipped in heartsblood. It is magic and melodrama. It is a whisper in the trees and a scream to the stars.

It is also long. Grown soft on a diet of nourishing fantasy trilogies and the comfort food of long series, I had forgotten just how challenging and all-encompassing a single epic tale can be! Unable to glomm it down in one gulp (due to…you know, needing to eat and sleep and work…) I instead had to take my time and digest it in stages. Honestly this left little thought for much else and I would not have been surprised to find I called my family Elia, Mars and Ban respectively!

I never really took to the tale of King Lear and his daughters. I found the motivations behind the characters unfathomable and alien, and it made little sense to me as a story. Tessa Gratton takes the story, shakes it out, adds magic to the land and breathes life into the characters, and suddenly the tale unfolded before me naturally and terribly and with full understanding. In vivid colours she paints passion and pride, grief and rage, loneliness and sacrifice and despair.

She deftly avoids casting villains and heroes by showing us, through varying perspectives, the blindness of those who see only through their poison-tinted glasses and therefore fatally misunderstand others and the consequences of their own actions, set against those who see further and more openly but are stricken with inaction and a refusal to take responsibility for what they see. These are not pantomime evil stepsisters and innocent Cinderellas, but fully realised humans with all their flaws and beauty.

Not to say that this is realism. It isn’t. This is melodrama and the hisses and boos, cheers and tears are in full flow, not for the characters but for the actions and inactions that drive the plot at a furious pace to the stormy crescendo of a cathartic finale. The author follows many of the conventions of Shakespearean tragedy in her tale, but not all, making this less a retelling and more a unique story in its own right. Alert readers can spot the many references to the eponymous King Lear, without the smug confidence that they know the turns the story will take or where it will end.

I’m sure it’s clear that I loved this book. This is a re-reader for me, and I would expect fans of epic fantasy, fairytales, literary fiction and melodrama to all enjoy the flavours here. I see that Tessa Gratton has other novels already released and will eagerly add her backlist to my Christmas wishlist!




It begins on the day two bright hearts are born to the island, one just past dawn as a crescent moon rises, and the other when the sun is brightest, obscuring the glow of stars. Their mothers knew they would be born together, as witches and best friends often do, and though it is the first child for one and the last for the other, such does not come between them. They sit beside each other, arms stretched to touch the other’s swollen belly as they grit their teeth and tell stories of what might become of their children.

– Tessa Gratton, The Queens of Innis Lear

I received with thanks an ARC copy of The Queens of Innis Lear from HarperCollins UK & Netgalley.

This is my true and honest review of The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton. This is due to be published on 17th May 2018

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

They were not joking around with that quote.

I love Shakespeare’s plays so when I was told that we would have a full book based on King Lear I jumped at the chance to read the book. This book was amazing and it did not disappoint me at all. I would recommend looking up King Lear in Wikipedia or another site to if you have never read King Lear this does help. The three sisters are brutal and ruthless, and I could not choose which one I loved the most as the are so enjoyable to read about. They are strong feminist characters who can hold their own. The writing is so beautiful, and I could not put this down and I did not want this book to end. I will defiantly be buying this when this is released, and I know that I will be reading this again before the year ends.

Great book for fantasy lovers of YA high fantasies and Shakespeare.

I adored this book, it was absolutely beautiful and had some of the most spectacular imagery I've read in a book - it made you feel like you were there.
This is definitely one of my top books of 2018 and I'll be buying a finished copy when I can!

It was an easy book to follow, from present to past. Her descriptions of the settings were excellent. I have to admit that throughout my many years of reading this is only the second time I wanted to shake a character and I believe that Elia deserved it. She is an intelligent stubborn strong woman, so different from her sisters. I liked Regan too..

Any reader who is a lover of fantasy fiction will love this book.
Yes you could compare it to Game of Thrones but in my opinion it is much better.
I loved the way the book did not have chapters but was written from different characters perspectives.
The multi layering of characters made it an interesting and fascinating read.
It is a real saga with lots of twists and turns with lots of characters to love and hate but at the centre is the main character the island of Innis Lear.
I do not know the story of King Lear so have no preconceived ideas to base my enjoyment of the book on.
I loved it one of the best books I have read this year
Five stars all the way.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, HarperVoyager, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What to say about The Queens of Innis Lear?

This is a book based on Shakespeare's famous tragedy, King Lear, though it is not a book that is defined by that play. I must admit that I haven't an intimate knowledge of King Lear, but I know enough about the play to recognise some departures from the "source material" — and I use that term very loosely since this book is entirely its own story.

The most obvious of these departures is the fact that this book is set in the harsh, magical land of Innis Lear rather than England. Innis Lear is an island ruled by two magics: that of the earth and trees, and that of the stars. King Lear has forsaken the magic of the island in favour of that of the stars, cutting off the magical rootwater wells that give the people their connection to the earth and trees.

Lear believes in his star prophecies with a religious fervour, allowing them to guide his life and dictate how he should treat people based on the stars at their birth. A star prophecy foretold that Lear's wife would die on the day of their eldest daughters 16th birthday... and that prophecy was fulfilled.

Understandably, this had quite the impact on the king's relationship with his children.

The book follows the stories of Lear's three daughters — as well as a bastard wizard, a fool's daughter, and a king — as their mad father looks to give up his throne.

In a lot of books the antagonists are antagonistic even when we read from their point of view. We are constantly aware that they are the villain, and so we very rarely get a chance to truly see things from their perspective.

This is absolutely not the case in Innis Lear.

Every character here is the hero of their own story. Every character has their own hopes, ambitions, vulnerabilities, flaws, and personality. Tessa Gratton was able to make me feel sympathetic for all of them - even those I didn't like. This is multi-POV fantasy done right. In fact, I'd go as far to say that this is one of the best uses of multi-POV storytelling that I've ever seen, to the extent that while reading, I didn't really want to see anyone come out on top, because I knew that it would be at the expense of someone else.

This is a story about love, when you get right down to it. An exploration of love in all its forms — which are not always as happy and joyful as you might expect. Obsessive love, the loving of one thing over another, the fanatical love of religion, all-inclusive and ever expanding love, love from a position of power, and the denial of love where it should be given.

But with love comes loss. And with loss comes hurt, pain, and rage. Each of our characters deal with these emotions in their own way, and we are lucky enough to be pulled along for the ride.

In the other reviews I've seen for this book, there has a lot of praise for the prose. It is beautiful, if you are a fan of long, flowing descriptions. The author really knows how to verbally paint a scene. But what really impressed me about this book was the dialogue.

The dialogue in The Queens of Innis Lear is absolutely world class. It burns at times with emotion and passion, breathing life, fire, and personality into each of the characters.

I should mention that this is a story that takes a while to immerse yourself in. The story seems a little awkward at first as it tries to find itself. For the first third of the book, I wasn't really sure that I was enjoying myself. But at some point the current of the story was enough to sweep me off my feet, and then I was racing down the river of one of the finest explorations of character I've ever read.