This was a great prequel. I'm not a huge re-reader but I may have to go read this series over again as I remember it wrapped up well and I started it too long ago to remember the beginning (where this book ends).

I loved this so much. It was absolutely heartbreaking. Make sure to read the acknowledgments!

Too much detail on the depravity of the underworld for me, but I imagine this is a nice set up for the rest of the series.

I read this book with no clue and information about the plot. I went in blind and hope for the best which I was glad I wasnt disappointed.

To the readers of the trilogy for sure you’re familiar with the writing style of the author but still fair warning because this book is not for the faintest of heart. There are child abuse, rape, molestation and drug abuse involved. There are also gruesome fight scene that is well written it makes you paint a clear image.

This story is about Kelsea’s mother Elyssa Raleigh where she met Gareth who disguised himself as a Guard in the Keep but he is part of a rebellion which they called themselves Blue Horizon they’re against the throne and they proclaim a prophecy that Elyssa is the True Queen in which she would finally end the nightmare that is happening in the Creche and the famine and drought that is spreading across her Kingdom. Carol one of the Guard in the Keep met and eventually recruited (long story cut short) an underground boxing fighter in the tunnels of the Creche named Christian also known as Lazarus and also Mace (i know so many names) and alongside with other Guards and Elyssa’s close handmaid I forgot her name they would play a big role in the story. Aislinn is a Tennant in one of Lady Andrew’s lands and reading her rebel against the the noble was thrilling. It’s the constant battle of Elyssa’s obligation to the throne or her heart’s desire to do the right thing.

The tone and ambience of the setting gives me the Game of Thrones vibes. I have read this weeks ago and it took some days to pinpoint what is the word I’m looking for that is holding me back to give this book a solid 5 stars because there are moments where I gasped out loud, paused for a few minutes to regain my bearings and be sad like ache in my heart sad. But still I give it a four because there is a shadow of a doubt that is truly holding me back but nonetheless this is a brilliant, gut wrenching and engaging book. I may check the trilogy out to see if Kelsea is the True Queen.

If the purpose of the book was to make me flinch, well, then, I did, multiple times. Half the book reads like a grotesque catalogue of Tearling's social evils. It might have been written in good faith - the author mentions her political views in the afterword - but it comes across as something added for shock value alone. There's a whole arc that is in the book just to show how horrible everything is, and there's so much senseless cruelty that it's, frankly, disturbing.

I also have major reservations about plot developments that change things for the original series, particularly when it doesn't make any sense for the characters not to know of it later on. More so when the choice not to introduce Dramatic Birth Secrets, Destiny, Noble Sacrifices by Parents, etc was one of the things that made the first three books so appealing. 

I'm honestly mad that I finished this book because I want to keep reading it! I loved getting to be back in this world and this remains one of my favorite series ever. I hope there will be more to come! *fingers crossed*

Let me start this review by saying that I read and enjoyed the Queen of the Tearling trilogy. That was a dark series, and as such, I expected this prequel to be dark as well. And it was.

That makes sense, if you consider that the book largely follows Lazarus/Mace. We see Kelsea's mother Elyssa's point of view sometimes, as well as that of other characters. Elyssa's motivations were an enigma in the trilogy, and this book clears up some of that.

This book has violence and trauma. Avoid if these are triggering.

The best part of this book was learning more about the backstories of Lazarus, as well as some other characters who show up in the series. We get to learn who Kelsea's father is. Although that honestly raises more questions for me; perhaps Johansen has other prequels in the works. I also expected to learn more about the events in the kingdom while Kelsea was hidden, but again, that may wait for another story as well.

I'm in the minority that I liked the ending of the trilogy. However, knowing how it ends makes me wonder why this book can have quotes from history books written after the trilogy's end. To me, that timeline has ended, and so this bothered me if I thought on it too hard.

I recommend reading this book if you liked the series, and only after reading the series.

I received an electronic advanced review copy for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

TW: human trafficking, rape, pedophilia, drugs, violence, deaths of family members, children fighting, starvation

Beneath the Keep is a very dark book, some of the scenes in it angered and disgusted me, but it's part of what the author has been denouncing in her books. I advise you to read it after the original trilogy so that you will appreciate more what the author did with this prequel.

This prequel is an exploration of some of the characters' pasts and events that were mentioned in the original trilogy and, as such, doesn't have a purpose plotwise (though we do learn a few things that Kelsea never came to know). It's above all to enlighten and give more depth to the history of the Tearling. But what an incredible job the author did! I loved Mace even more. His life was sad and cruel. We also get to know more about the Fetch's part in restoring peace in the world with the Blue Horizon:

Spoiler

despite the fact that we learned he was one of the few who ruined William Tear's utopia and that I came to dislike him because of that, I'm now seeing more of the person who wants to make amends for his mistakes. It was nice to appreciate him again. We understand why he hates the Church so much: he had been one of the victims of its propaganda, and we can clealy feel that.

We are also seeing other characters I despise with passion: Thorne, Lady Andrews and the Church in general. There's a satisfaction, though, when you know what will happen to them. It was the only consolation I had.

Each time I see glimpses of the Tearling of the past I feel nostalgia. Erika Johansen has a way of making me care about her characters that I always feel dread, doom and sadness. I feel for their victories and their failures. It's almost a burden because we know the future, and nothing will change it.

Contrary to some other prequels I've read [*coughs* the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes *coughs*] it's as if I never left the world. The characters are true to themselves, the events fit the atmosphere that emanated from the original trilogy and there's still this balance between good and evil. The writing is also on point with interesting, daring themes that I've rarely seen.

Also, this prequel gives more meaning to the ending of The Fate of the Tearling in my opinion:

Spoiler

Even if Kelsea is the only one remembering her Guard and the feudal Tearling, it nevertheless gives another chance to other characters who went through horrible things. In that regard, it's sad but worth it.

Erika Johansen didn't disappoint. If you loved the other three books, you should love this one too!