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cortanasreadingnook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book was incredibly mindfucking in the best way I could think of and I cannot wait to have the sequel in my hands! Holly Black’s writing was entirely different in this book in comparison to when she wrote Jude and Cardan’s story and this still had the signature short number of chapters, but the length made it feel so slow-paced. Oak has surely grown up and well into the prince of Elfhame that his sister wanted him to become and Suren’s character is incredibly complex yet loveable at the same time. I’m excited to meet Tiernan and Hyacinthe in the next book as well! The Stolen Heir will truly put you on edge because of the build-up of the tension. You simply just don’t know what’s going to happen next so the ending really fucked me up. I need The Prisoner’s Throne NOW with a judecardan cameo <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Confinement
m4rtt4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
It wasn't bad, but I can't help comparing it to the Cruel Prince trilogy and being let down by my high expectations. I was rather hooked on the story because I wanted to know how things would sort out, only to find that my first ever prediction of the ending turned out to be true — I literally guessed the plot twist far before it happened (which made my reading experience quite boring as well).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Child abuse
Moderate: Abandonment and Confinement
anastashamarie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
⚠️ Warning: this one has a lot of childhood trauma in it.
❄️ As a character study of Wren and her trauma, this is A+. As an adventure odyssey, it's enjoyable. As a romantic fantasy, I kind of wanted more.
🏰 I wish the romance burned a little slower. I LOVE friends-to-lovers, but I don't think it had the chemistry I was seeking. There was also a surprising about of plot armor, and at times, it felt like the book was rushed, not in terms of pacing (pacing was actually pretty good) but in terms of publication? Like it wasn't as polished as a lot of Holly Black's other plotlines.
🗡️ BUT I love grown-up Oak's arrogance. I double loved the exploration of Wren's trauma and character. I loved getting to see Elfhame again. And, yeah, okay, even for my complaints, I will be anxiously awaiting the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Murder, and Kidnapping
Minor: Child death, Infertility, and Suicidal thoughts
imcourtneymarie's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I thought I would love this in the way that the original trilogy captured me but it was so slow, so meh. I don’t feel much attachment to Wren or Oak nor do I feel compelled by his quest. I guessed the ✨twist✨ (I almost never do).
I also assumed this would be a standalone but with a cliffhanger ending, it couldn’t possibly be. Curious to see where the story goes based on the last 3 chapters.
It’s just fine.
I also assumed this would be a standalone but with a cliffhanger ending, it couldn’t possibly be. Curious to see where the story goes based on the last 3 chapters.
It’s just fine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Classism
kimmykelly's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Torture, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
nebraskanwriter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Violence, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, War, Body horror, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Grief
andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
3.5 stars for "The Stolen Heir"
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Child abuse, Violence, Torture, and Slavery
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Murder, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Gore, and Gaslighting
Minor: Stalking
serena_hien's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Confinement, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Death, Mental illness, Child abuse, and Blood
Minor: War
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- 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
I’ve joked that Holly Black peaked when she wrote The Folk of the Air, but I didn’t think it would actually be true.
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 the fact that all of this was for Madoc??? SERIOUSLY??? I didn’t give a crap about him before, and that hasn’t changed. Not a very compelling point for a quest AT ALL. He almost killed Jude in The Queen of Nothing!! He was the cause of most of that whole trilogy’s problems!! And I’m supposed to care now if he’s imprisoned or not? If he lives or dies? As if!!
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:
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Violence
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.laurenleigh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was so excited to learn a new book in the Elfhame world came out! I didn’t quite love it as much as the earlier books, but I still love Black’s style. I noticed this was written in present tense, which uniquely gave me a sense of urgency or closeness to the characters. I struggled to stay on top of all the secrets and deceits and storylines, but I was along for the ride quite happily. I’m really glad a different narrator was chosen, as our main character has shifted. I plan to do a deep Holly Black dive this year 🤓
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Confinement