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nebraskanwriter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
In this new duology we follow Suren, the traitorous Queen of The Court of Teeth, and Prince Oak, heir to the Elfhame throne, as they try to find a way to stop Lady Nore, Suren's mother, from building an unstoppable army of monsters and conquering everything.
CW: child abuse, mental trauma, child slavery, gaslighting, descriptive scene with murder and violence; etc.
I really enjoyed the first half of this book! Suren was very interesting and just the right character to follow for a new series in this world. We get to know her a little from Jude's perspective in the final book of "The Folk of the Air" trilogy, but here...the shift in focus is monumental and very illuminating as to why Suren was treated by her parents as she was. It is sad and disheartening to read her memories, experiences and to see her response full of aggression when she feels cornered.
With her, Holly Black subverts the girl who dreams of being a princess trope and shine a light on real-life abuse and trauma abandoned children face daily. :(
As I said, her character arc through this quest story was consistent and very much a subversion for the first part of the book; later on...her interactions with Oak...although logical and born from extreme need to feel close to someone, made me loose a little bit of interest. Luckily I really like the ending and how the author choose to play the reveal of her backstory and the culmination of the fight our protagonists embarked in.
Regarding Oak...IDK...for me, he feels lacking something to equal, or even surpass Cardan. I liked that he is different and that his dangerous side lies somewhere else and with a different aspect of his personality than Cardan, but I don't think the author went fully in the direction she set out Oak to evolve...almost like she wanted to keep him half-baked; and not to transform him in a new flavour of cruelty specific to the Greenbriar family....a shame really....:(
Loved to see/ hear about some old characters that I loved in the original books!(Madoc is one of them!!!! ^^)
The atmosphere and writing is on point as usual when it comes to a dark fairytale story. Holly Black doesn't disappoint in this area! But the plot....>...>....well...I must confess that I was bored in some places...I enjoyed some aspects..like the relationship dynamic between Tiernan and Hyacinthe; Suren and those 2 and somewhat Suren and Oak...but the quest itself felt like a second thought to me..which is strange as it was ALWAYS the focus...IDK...We visit some places and we have some interactions with highly interesting characters like the Queen of Moths..Annet...and Bogdana, but they remain a backstory in what I think was a missed opportunity to complicate the story and increase the stakes.
I'm not saying this one is a complete disappointment or anything of the sorts..but those who said that expecting the same political machinations and intense interactions as with "The Fold of the Air" trilogy is a mistake where right. This is definitely darker and more sad in some aspects (mainly in terms of our MCs as individuals), but lighter when it comes to the action and actual stakes....0_0
I recommend this to anyone that enjoyed the previous series...I think they can find things to intrigue them, if not really enjoy the story; and to those readers that hated Cardan but wanted more of the world and characters!
Enjoy
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Stalking
olivialandryxo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Unfortunately, it is.
That’s not to say this book was terrible, because it wasn’t. That’s also not to say I wanted it to be exactly like TFOTA, because I knew it wouldn’t be. But, having just reread the trilogy before diving into this, I had refreshed my memory on exactly how brilliant it was and thus expected similar brilliance, even if it was a different sort… only for this to be so startlingly, disappointingly mediocre.
I do love Wren, though; I really do. She was such a compelling protagonist, very easy to root for. I love the way she was written, I love her character arc, and if she’s a little unhinged, so what? We respect that here. I want to give her a nice, hot bowl of soup, and a big, warm sweater, and an even bigger, warmer hug. She deserves all the good things.
One thing we don’t do in this house? Wren slander. I will protect my daughter. I decided to look at some other reviews after finishing the book because I felt so conflicted, and the number of people I saw calling her “boring,” “whiny,” “bland”… y’all are tasteless. This poor girl is traumatized and trying her best, and she absolutely does not deserve to be attacked for it. (If I had the spoons, I could go on a whole rant about how everyone would probably love Wren, if only she had been written as a boy, because I’ve been thinking about this and I have feelings… but, alas, I don’t have the spoons.)
I will make one (1) admission, though—her behavior did shift rather abruptly in the final few chapters. I’m here for the new Wren, no question, but I can still admit that it felt a bit too sudden.
The other characters, though? My feelings ranged from “I have none” (Hyacinthe) to “I actually can’t stand you” (Oak and Tiernan). Honestly, I feel like Oak was done so dirty. I was looking so forward to seeing what he was like now that he’d grown up, but Holly turned him into a much shallower, blonde The Cruel Prince-era Cardan, with nothing between his ears and no reason to root for him. He had a few moments where I thought he was clever or impressive, but that’s about it. If the next book is really from his perspective, that relationship’s gonna be doomed from the start.
And don’t even get me started on Tiernan. He reminded me so strongly of one of my favorite video game characters, but like… said character is what Tiernan could’ve been if he had any personality traits aside from grumpy asshole. I don’t know what his problem was with Wren or why he was so awful to her, but I do know that by the time he (finally) lightened up, it was far too little, far too late.
Now, possibly my biggest beef with this book—we didn’t get to see Jude or Cardan, not even ONCE!! I kept seeing teasers of how there were ~familiar faces~ in this book, and I was waiting the whole goddamn time to see them, BUT NO. The only ~familiar faces~ we see are antagonists, and I am. SO SALTY.
Moving on, for my own sanity.
The romance?? If you can call it that?? felt very much like secondhand Jurdan, like Holly was just trying to see exactly how many of the same stunts she could pull again and still get away with. There was no slow development of feelings, no angst or pining or attempted murder, just boom! Feelings! And it felt clumsy. Like, we know this woman can write an absolutely DELIGHTFUL slow-burn, we’ve seen it with our own eyes, but this time, she was just like… nah. And that’s truly tragic.
Seriously though. Wren and Oak have literally no chemistry. Holly seems to think that some sort-of-cute childhood flashbacks will work in place of present-day chemistry, but spoiler alert: no. They will not.
Now, for the plot… to be quite honest, it didn’t feel like there was one. There was an end goal, but the entire book was just a glorified road trip (except they don’t actually have a car). Most of it was just very boring, very typical fantasy journeying, from point A to point B to point C, which really is so disappointing. In TCP, even when there’s not really any action, there are still things happening. Here? Not so much. And any conflict the trio did find themselves in just seemed resolved far too easily.
(The spoiler tag applies to both The Queen of Nothing and The Stolen Heir. In summary, I found the reason for this book’s quest asinine—due to events from TQON—and guessed the ending’s plot twist. Details below.)
And then, moving on—the whole “Wren has Mellith’s heart inside her” thing?? Called it. I absolutely called it. I saw it coming a mile away, and I. Was. Right. The thing is, I’m not sure how to feel about it. Normally I’d scoff, say it was too predictable. But I saw a tweet recently saying that maybe a book being predictable isn’t entirely a bad thing, because that meant the author did a good job laying the groundwork, or something like that?? So I’m torn, because like. I can see where they’re coming from. But I also (usually) want a book to surprise me, to thrill and entertain me. And this one… didn’t.
So, yeah. I think I’ve said all I have to say about this book. And in doing so, I’ve realized that I really didn’t like it that much, that it was quite disappointing. Wren is basically the only reason I’m giving it 3 stars instead of something lower. I’ll read the sequel when it comes out for her and her alone, because I want to support my daughter—and hopefully, HOPEFULLY, I’ll get to see Jude and Cardan too—but my expectations are going to be a hell of a lot lower.
Representation:
- two achillean side characters
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent
Abuse: the protagonist recalls all the ways she was horribly mistreated as a child, including but not limited to being muzzled, beaten and neglected. Blood/gore/injuries: a few various instances, but the most severe is in the final third of the book, when the protagonist’s tongue is cut out on-page. Violence: pertains mostly to sword fights. Murder: committed by side characters. Includes one decapitation, if I remember correctly. Body horror: enchanted decapitated heads, human bodies flayed for experimentation. Parent death: a prominent side character’s mother was killed (poisoned) prior to the story, whilst pregnant with them.claire_fitzgibbon13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War
winterwoodbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It's really fast paced, a little to fast for me, and here and there a little flat/on the nose, but it really fits the characters.
With it's easy, but still beautiful writing it's got me out of a reading slump and I adore this World!
However, I also loved the first book in the latest triology set in this world, but the other ones... Well, we'll see!
I liked this book and am excited to see where this leads :)
Also the art in it is gorgeous.
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
krisalexcole's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
lennie_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Murder
lyla_wicks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, and Murder
dianaschmidty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death
inkdrinkers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Suren was a bridled princess, magicked to keep her head down, her sharp teeth in her mouth, and to listen to her parents - until the events of the battle of the serpent. Years later, she's merely Wren again, hiding in the forests outside her adoptive parent's home from her early years as a changeling girl. She is unknown, untethered, neither belonging to the world of Elfhame and fae, or the mortal world. But when an old foe tracks her down and an old friend kidnaps her for a quest, Wren must discover her true place in the world of magic.
God, this was incredible. I LOVED The Cruel Prince trilogy, but there were also a lot of things I didn't enjoy about it. I feel like The Stolen Heir took everything I love, turned it up a notch, and then hand-delivered me a main character that I couldn't help but adore. Wren was everything I wanted, a feral girl who simultaneously wanted to be loved while also desperate to understand herself and her power. The movement of her character through this solidified my love for her, down to her bad decisions and final stand. I feel like my love for her can just be summed up with this quote, "I'm hungry for kindness. Hungry for attention. I want and want and want."
Let's talk about OAK. I wasn't expecting to love him as much as I did, but somehow Holly Black managed to weave the image I had of a spoiled little prince out of my head and instead replace it with as charming of a fae as Cardan with all of Jude's feral and bloodthirsty qualities. He became this perfect marriage of the traits I like, while also becoming a twisted character that rooted around in my heart. I adored him, I adored the way he interacted with Wren, Tiernan, Hyacinthe, and Madoc. It just all felt so richly developed and written and I simply love the way Holly Black weaves stories together.
The moment I got an inkling where the end was headed I knew this would be one of those five star reads I wouldn't shut up about. I adored this, I think if you loved the Cruel Prince but felt like it was missing something you couldn't put your finger on, this will exceed your expectations like it did mine.
Content warnings: violence/murder (swords, blood, etc), child abuse (references prior abuse towards Wren), gore/body mutilation (on page), emotional abuse, abandonment
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Abandonment