#BigBendCCBookChallengeBookTalk | From: Amanda Miller | Book Title: The Queen of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen

"Kelsea Raleigh Glynn is 19 years old and uncrowned queen of the Tearling.
She is an orphan raised in isolation, a lover of books, and social justice.
Around her neck sits the royal jewel that marks her as the heir-apparent,
known as the Tearling Sapphire. On her 19th birthday, a group nine
armored knights arrive at her guardians' cottage to escort her to New
London and her throne. Once there, Kelsea must depose of her uncle,
the regent, and begin the process of bringing her kingdom
back from the brink of destruction. This formidable task takes on new
meaning for her when she realizes that the kingdom's enemies are both
within and without the borders.  kingdom's enemies are both within and
without the borders. Slave traders who have profited from the dubious
truce her mother agreed to and the Red Queen of Mortmesne, a
seemingly immortal sorceress. As Kelsea discovers the magic that lays
within her and the sapphire she wears she begins to question what events
in the past led them to this self-destructive road. She seeks answers
to the beginning of the Tearling history, the crossing from the old world
to the new one. And what went wrong with the founder's dream of a
"better world." I listened to the unabridged audiobook read by
Katherine Kellgren. This is an unforgettable tale, both written
and narrated, of destiny, magic, and the fight against malevolent
forces bent on dominating the world.

As the first book in this trilogy wrapped up questions remained... what is the
crossing? What were the original settlers running from?
What happened to the dream? "