Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

7 reviews

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😅

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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

callidoralblack's review against another edition

adventurous emotional

• Loveable characters? Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Gore, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infertility, War, Alcohol, Blood, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Classism, Death, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Physical abuse, Torture, and Pregnancy

may4la's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child death, Child abuse, Gore, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: War, Violence, Slavery, and Self harm

Minor: Cannibalism

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

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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

bethy_joy's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Slavery, Blood, Violence, Torture, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship, War, Dysphoria, Vomit, Grief, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Abandonment, and Cannibalism

andra_mihaela_s's review

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  

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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

samv99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Torture, Slavery, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Abandonment, Violence, and Kidnapping