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thevanessa'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? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Definitely not the same as the Cruel Prince, but it still had that fairytale essence that I love. But with that being said, I really did miss my conniving little Queen, Jude, though. I felt like it really lacked that element of gray, that Jude always gave; the one that always kept you on your toes and on the edge of your seat in suspense, questioning where it would lead and how it would end, so I didn’t read it as quickly as I did with the Folk of the Air trilogy. I do really love Oak and Wren though, enough so that I’m gonna ignore the fact that I figured out the whole plot in the first few chapters😅
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Slavery, Physical abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Murder, Torture, Child abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use
isfantasi's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Child abuse, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Gore, Drug use, Torture, Confinement, War, Slavery, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Cannibalism, and Child death
kayanoelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-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
4.5
This was surprisingly good!!!
When I started the book, I was a little shocked by how dark the themes were, it definitely took me on an emotional rollercoaster. Let me tell you, I suffered with them. Everyone is just miserable all the time tbh and I almost started crying like 5 times because everything was so unfair haha.
Wren is an incredible protagonist, I felt like everything she did or thought was SO in character for how she grew up and everything that happened to her.
And Oak… dude, are all the characters in Holly Black’s books destined to despise themselves? ‘Cause it does feel that way.
I don’t know why but this book really took me by surprise, I couldn’t put it down and I love the complexity of the characters, how everyone is morally gray and the fact that I can understand why they all did what they did even though it’s all messy now. How they’re all struggling with themselves while also trying to be a decent person.
And the fantasy setting was lovely as always. (Lovely is probably the wrong word but you know what I mean.)
My only point of criticism is that the story was too fast paced sometimes, they were in one place and then somewhere else two pages later. And the conversations were too short and people kept getting interrupted. But maybe that’s just my personal issue because I do love my dialogue in books. And Oak and Wren and Tiernan and Hyacinth felt like my personal travel buddies haha.
Idk I just want y’all to give this a chance if you’re still considering.
When I started the book, I was a little shocked by how dark the themes were, it definitely took me on an emotional rollercoaster. Let me tell you, I suffered with them. Everyone is just miserable all the time tbh and I almost started crying like 5 times because everything was so unfair haha.
Wren is an incredible protagonist, I felt like everything she did or thought was SO in character for how she grew up and everything that happened to her.
And Oak… dude, are all the characters in Holly Black’s books destined to despise themselves? ‘Cause it does feel that way.
I don’t know why but this book really took me by surprise, I couldn’t put it down and I love the complexity of the characters, how everyone is morally gray and the fact that I can understand why they all did what they did even though it’s all messy now. How they’re all struggling with themselves while also trying to be a decent person.
And the fantasy setting was lovely as always. (Lovely is probably the wrong word but you know what I mean.)
My only point of criticism is that the story was too fast paced sometimes, they were in one place and then somewhere else two pages later. And the conversations were too short and people kept getting interrupted. But maybe that’s just my personal issue because I do love my dialogue in books. And Oak and Wren and Tiernan and Hyacinth felt like my personal travel buddies haha.
Idk I just want y’all to give this a chance if you’re still considering.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: War and Rape
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