Beneath the Keep, to be published 2/2/21, is a prequel to Erika Johansen's Queen of the Tearling series (three other books are in the series, The Queen of the Tearling, The Invasion of the Tearling, and The Fate of the Tearling).

This book traces the history of the Tearling as a kingdom crushed by famine, feudalism, corruption, greed, and unrest--which spurs on some citizens to attempt to shift the kingdom toward becoming a land with strong new hope and opportunity. Meanwhile the fabled True Queen is said to be poised to save them all. Is Princess Elyssa the one they've all been waiting for? Elyssa recalls that the history shared by her tutor Lady Glynn was made up of:

"...tales of good, but much more of evil, of humanity‘s vast suffering, of suffering that could have been averted at so many turns if only there had been someone of true heart, of good intent…. If only that person had stepped forward at the right moment…"

The Tearling kingdom is (literally) built upon an actual underground warren (the Creche) of tunnels housing a commercial system based on degenerate activity, the opportunity to act upon cruel whims, and insufferably atrocious exchanges of money, drugs, and paid-for rape in various forms.

"...Crèche babies, likely sold in their first weeks of life...had each learned the great lesson of the tunnels: in a world where brutality was a constant, it was infinitely better to be the one holding the whip.”

Beneath the Keep is absolutely steeped in the darkest imaginable and shockingly widespread depravity: trafficking in children and adults; vulnerable people used as slaves for sex; brutal fighting to the death; and various other horrors. There's extensive page time spent on ghastly monstrousness.

Some of the characters I loved from the rest of the series (I'm looking at you, Mace, and also the Fetch--side note, that nickname always reminds me of the very off-topic movie Mean Girls) are star players within this dystopian period of Johansen's Tearling world.

Childhood bonds and shared difficulties are heavily featured and are shown to be enormously important to shaping the book's characters and their life paths (for example, Christian and Maura; Brenna and Arlen; Aislynn and Liam); these bonds are similarly key in the final book of the series, The Fate of the Tearling (in that case, with Katie and Row and Katie and Jonathan). Another common theme between this prequel and the final book in the trilogy is the widespread suffering (and significant effect on the plot) caused by the actions of bitter, unacknowledged heirs (Row; Arlen).

I loved Aislynn's attempts to achieve upheaval in the wake of her life horrors, and her renewed, fierce desire to seek justice. Yet as in The Fate of the Tearling, populist movements are cruelly crushed, along with hope for a better world for all. Beneath the Keep sets up a scene of sweeping societal despair and its flip side: an opportunity for new beginnings to take place in The Queen of the Tearling. But the events in Beneath the Keep are almost universally bleak, with so much lost, so many horrors, so many instances of depravity and pure evil, good generally losing out to bad, and endless terrible impulses wreaking havoc on individuals and on society as a whole. A corrupt church and faulted religion are presented as contributing to broad destruction and greed.

Throughout the series there is a dark undercurrent that serves as either a motivator for warped debauchery or as inspiration for change. But in Beneath the Keep the evils are intensely detailed and constantly explored. It was really difficult to read a book with so much page time spent on abuse and violence.

I first mentioned this book (along with The Loneliest Girl in the Universe and The Unwilling) in the Bossy Bookworm Greedy Reading List Three Books I'm Reading Now, 1/28/21 Edition.

For my full review of this book on The Bossy Bookworm, or to receive all of my Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see Beneath the Keep.

I received a prepublication copy of this book courtesy of Dutton Books and NetGalley.

3.5 ⭐️

I have to say I definitely enjoyed this and found it very compelling, but it was missing a little... something for me. Getting the backstory of the Mace was interesting but I found Christian a little boring at times. While I understood the inclusion of Aislinn, it didn't feel like her story fully meshed with the rest. Following Elyssa was heartbreaking though. My biggest issue was that this felt like it was building toward something that never happened, but I guess that's the problem with prequels. This did make me super excited to re-read the Tearling series! I'm hoping to pick up the Queen of the Tearling again asap.

So now that I have this missing piece, I need to re-read the series...

Did not finish, life is too short to read books that you don't care about at all. Sorry but I kind of wish that she would never have written it because it ruins the experience I had reading the trilogy, because I keep asking myself if the other books where as bad...

I tried for a long time but ultimately dnf because this prequel is just too superfluous. We already know what happens and I don’t care anymore. If you haven’t read the series yet then give it a try and you might enjoy it!

I finished this book early in the morning and I'm still thinking about how I should review it. There's a lot of opinions going on in my head and I don't know what to make of it!

So I loved the original trilogy. The third one, in my opinion, has its faults at the end, but overall I loved the series and always recommend it. When I discovered this book had come out, I got it immediately, but didn't get around to reading it until now.

I liked how we got the story building up to Kelsea's birth and the components behind it. I knew these events were important and always wished we got more insight into it overall. This book gives me that! I always believed that Elyssa was more than the original books made her out to be. It was nice having a reason behind her elusive personality and seeing how strong she actually was. I also enjoyed getting more of Mace's backstory. His portion in particular I enjoyed reading, and I really wished we'd gotten more of him! A lot of his past was explained, but I felt like even then it could've been more.

Although I did enjoy reading everything that went on, I also wished the book had been from mainly one person's perspective. Possibly two. I guess mainly I just wanted more of the Mace? Or maybe just Mace and Elyssa. I got tired of hearing of Brenna and Arlen, and after a time Aislinn's story got a little old too. There was just too much perspective changing for me. I kept everyone straight! But know more details could have come forth if there was a more focused story.

Only had two other small issues. First, with this being a prequel story, if a main character in the book was introduced but they weren't in the main series, I figured they weren't going to make it. That's just the misfortune of prequels. I did enjoy the new characters though! The second was I felt Johansen used this book as an opportunity to change a disappointing discovery in the last book of the trilogy. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm keeping it vague. I'm fine with the change, but I needed more of a reason in the prequel for why it was made to be this person in the series. I was not given that, so was still ultimately left unsatisfied.

So overall, I still liked the writing and how gritty/real it was. I enjoyed the characters and how I gained a deeper understanding of the ones I loved in the trilogy. Plus backstories are always great! I would still suggest this book to anyone who loves the Tearling series.

This book is a prequel to the Queen of the Tearling series, but it pretty much works like an independent book.
That being said, I did read all the books in the series before picking this up.

I have to add a trigger warning here for child abuse, sexual assault, physical violence, and cruelty.

This book is about The Tearling, an idea of a utopian kingdom created by William Tear who is a firm believer in equal rights. Thousands of years later, The Tearling is a far cry from the utopia that William Tear imagined.
This is a society ruled by an autocratic Queen whose only desire is to be in power and incite fear; a society teeming with greed, selfishness, and corruption. The gap between rich and poor is huge and insurmountable. Apathy and cruelty are abundant. This is a society that is rotting from everywhere and well on verge of collapsing.

In the midst of this, rumors abound about Blue Horizon - a group of 'Robin Hoods', who believe in creating 'The Better World'. And their hope is the crown princess, who they think to be the True Queen, the one who will lead them to the Better World.

We follow a lot of characters in this book. From the ruthless Queen Arla and the crown princess and the utterly spoilt prince to the poorest of poor farmer Aislinn, I loved all the characters.

But most of all I loved Christian or Lazarus. He was my favorite character in the Queen of The Tearling series as well and I absolutely loved following his story in this book. When he was a baby, Christian was sold in the underground hovel called 'Creche'. The Creche is where the worst of the worst of depravities flourish. Children, babies, and newborns are sold into the Creche and are abused, sexually assaulted, or made to fight and kill each other. Christian was a part of one such boxing ring. Having seen and experienced the worst of humanity from a very young age, Christian never believes that he could ever break out of the Creche. We follow his story as well as the story of several others as they fight for what they believe.

This book gave me much-needed insight into several characters that I felt were missing in the original series. I loved knowing about Elyssa, the crown princess, and her beliefs, and why she was the way she was. Niya was another strong character. She is Elyssa's maid and loyal to Elyssa (not Arla), but she has her own personal motives behind this. I was completely surprised by Aislinn. She is a very poor farmer coming from a region that is suffering from the worst drought in the history of the kingdom. Even at the young age of fifteen, she stands up for what is right even in the most impossible situations and is never afraid to face her adversaries. I just loved her arc. From been scared and oppressed, she goes to become the driving force of a massive rebellion. Simply because she dared. I really loved her guts. Arlen Thorne was another very interesting character. Imagine every bad a person could have. Arlen Thorne is an embodiment of that. I had so many questions about him when I was reading Queen of The Tearling and most of my suspicions about him were cleared in this. I loved knowing about his back story as well.

This book is not for the light-hearted. The author has done such a fabulous job of weaving into her story the idea of what a dystopian world, or simply what our REAL world could look like if humans are given free rein to act on their worst, most selfish wishes. The cruelty of the rulers and the dictator is so well described, it's almost too much to digest. It was really difficult for me to read about the hideous things done to the children in Creche. But then again, this is the reason why I am so amazed by this author's work. Because this reflects the bitter truth that we might not want to face. That if left unchecked, this is exactly what humanity will come down to. In her foreword, the author warns correctly that our world - the real world is very much in danger to become like the rotten Tearling. This book is a slap to our face, a warning, that this is where we are headed, until and unless we don't take action now. This seriously shook me to the core. Because this is true. This scarily, hauntingly true.

The ending shook me. It was emotional, and I knew what was going to happen ultimately because I had read the Queen of The Tearling book and that starts off from where this one ends, but I was still shaken up by that ending.

I would end by saying that this book delivered fabulously. The characters, even the negative characters were superbly crafted. The plot was great. This was definitely a thought provoking book and I am glad to have got a chance to review it. I would like to thank the publishers for providing me with the ARC.

Makes me want to reread the series, now!