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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
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
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
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
3.5 stars
oh man now i really want to reread the cruel prince
oh man now i really want to reread the cruel prince
medium-paced
DNF at 55% this whole duloagy fell so flat for me - which is strange as I loved the cruel prince but I just wasn’t invested in the story or what’s going on in any capacity - the beginning of this got me for part of the time hence the 2⭐️ not a 1⭐️
This duology just didn't hit the same as The Cruel Prince. The best part about it was the Jude/Cardan cameos!
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a disappointment. Took notes while reading—they’re a bit disjointed but reflect how I feel. All I need to say before pasting my notes is this was an incredible letdown from the trilogy snd the standalone. Holly Black lost my trust with this duology.
I was on ch.18 when I realized Wren and Oak are just two normal people acting like they’re in their angsty teenage emo phases, but failing at it miserably because neither knows how to be an emo. I’m a monster. No one really knows me. Blah, blah, boring, lazy, unimaginative blah. It’d be one thing if no one truly understood poor killing machine Oak, but his dad is a redcap, his twin sisters have killed—Jude more than once—his uncle/brother in law has killed, his spy friends have killed, Wren has killed, literally everyone except Vivi, Heather, & Leander has killed (I wouldn’t put it past Oriana.)
I was on ch.18 when I realized Wren and Oak are just two normal people acting like they’re in their angsty teenage emo phases, but failing at it miserably because neither knows how to be an emo. I’m a monster. No one really knows me. Blah, blah, boring, lazy, unimaginative blah. It’d be one thing if no one truly understood poor killing machine Oak, but his dad is a redcap, his twin sisters have killed—Jude more than once—his uncle/brother in law has killed, his spy friends have killed, Wren has killed, literally everyone except Vivi, Heather, & Leander has killed (I wouldn’t put it past Oriana.)
“What if I am too much? If I need too much?”
“If you really think you’re a monster, then let’s be monsters together.” 🤢
The Betrayal (from book 1)
What betrayal? I get that Oak kept Wren’s true identity a secret from her, but 1: he realistically could not have told her and taken her with them to the court of teeth, and 2: he tried to get her not to go with him once he knew. He wanted to leave her behind once they got to Undry Market. Wren wouldn’t accept no as an answer. Now, yes, he did take the bridle back when she tried to leave with it, but she could’ve just left. She decided to go back to camp. Oak taking it so seriously as a betrayal once again speaks to his insecurities and flaws, and I think that is much more interesting instead of just leaving it at he loves her and it was an epic betrayal and he was completely in the wrong for it.
-What is the love based on? I get having a childhood infatuation, but realistically there is nothing between Oak and Wren. I suppose this can be the same argument for Cardan and Jude, but for some reason that relationship worked for me. This one falls short in that I am unable to tell what is driving Oak so hard in his infatuation. It very much feels like a lot of modern stories where all the substance between them is is that the other one is pretty. I finished Wren‘s novel yesterday and I cannot for the life of me see what she likes in Oak, and all Oak’s story so far has been platitudes of descriptions that actually mean nothing when you take a second to actually think about what he’s saying.
Overall, I don’t see how either of them is in love besides a childhood crush, and while I understand Jude and Cardan were toxic for each other, Wren is abusive towards Oak even if she doesn’t intend to be. “Have you ever wondered if anyone truly loved you?”
There can be no basis for a relationship when she thinks the very act of him existing is him deceiving people. He doesn’t even have to say anything, just smile, and she thinks he’s pulling a fast one on everybody. In her book, Wren assumed every other word out of Oak’s mouth was him using his power, and yet, in his book we learned he hasn’t used it since he was a child. She asks him to use his power on her so she can see what it’s like, and then gets physical with him (because that’s what throwing a teacup at somebody is, violence) when he does exactly what he tells her he’s going to do and exactly what she asked for. The constant undermining his truthfulness, even though he is incapable of lying. The constant jabs at him having lovers and taking up more lovers and what not— that is not a healthy nor respectful way to talk to somebody.
As for Oak, his character is extremely interesting. I think it speaks to something that he is dealing with his family’s actions, everything they did for his gain if you will, and yet he takes on the responsibility for it. I think this is an extremely interesting plot, and I’m only halfway through the book right now, but I really hope Holly dives into that because I believe it is his driving factor. Thinking he has to repay people for doing stuff for him that he never asked for. That he owes Jude and his dad for the things they did by their own choice without consulting him when he was a child. I also believe it speaks into his insecurity, along with who his biological family is (love-talkers), and again compound the fact that he and Wren are truly not good for each other in a way that Jude and Cardan were able to overcome. Oak, who has not used his powers since he was a child, already questions the truth of who he is, and if he is genuine, and then you have Wren who does not believe a word out of his mouth, let alone thinks that him just standing around is him trying to deceive people. This is not something they can fix in the space of the story unless there is a 20 year jump where it shows both of them putting in the work to heal themselves, but also showing Wren healing her prejudices against him.
I am poison Oak thinks about himself. Wren believes it in every internal and external accusation she holds against him. The former can be fixed with therapy, the latter would be emotional abuse in an actual relationship. Not to mention how Wren, the moment she got angry at Oak, took his secret childhood insecurity (making Jude smack herself) and turned it back on him. She held it over his head and taunted him with it. This is not a healthy relationship.
Even to the last chapter does Wren gaslight and use abusive language. ‘What if I don’t want you’ paired with the accusation “you could make me want you.’
If I didn’t know any better, I would say Oak was under a sleep the way he talks about loving and wanting and desiring Wren despite there being ZERO substance to their relationship. They knew each other for a total of a week growing up. There’s nothing there except thinking each other attractive.
Ch.25 he feels a longing for her so sharp it is almost pain—you can’t convince me he’s not under a spell, curse, or geas of some sort.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting
Tagged domestic violence as Wren & Oak are the main couple. For context, Oak has his insecurities, but without knowing them, Wren constantly questions him (verbally and internally) about his magic to the point Oak doubts his mom even loves him and that Jude will kill him. Whole unsure if Wren means to be verbally/emotionally abusive and gaslight Oak, she still continuously makes him question his reality, worth, and love/friendships.