Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - The Stolen Heir

⚠️ 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.

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nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

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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

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andra_mihaela_s's review

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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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laurenleigh's review against another edition

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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 🤓

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winterwoodbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

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

This is the definition of a perfectly good YA Fantasy book. (And *really* YA)

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.

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saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

First of all, y'all need to get over the hooves. Y'all are willingly reading the monsterfucker books and are upset when there is the absolute lightest of monsterfucking!

Second of all, The Stolen Heir is really not a repeat of Folk of the Air. It's way less focused on the court intrigue and follows a completely new character in Suren who is very much not Jude, though both of them are stabby but in different ways. Jude was calculating and vicious while Suren is simply feral and I love her for that! I also loved her dynamic with Oak, they've got kind of an angsty childhood friends to lovers thing going on that was the highlight of the book.

It also still has the dark folkloric fantasy world building where the fae are untrustworthy and wicked creatures. Though I found the plot not as interesting as FotA, this is more journey based and a bit slower and I wish it was a little more memorable. Overall this is another enjoyable romp through the world of Elfhame! I had a great time with The Stolen Heir and I'm very excited for the The Prisoner's Throne!

TWs: violence, trauma, gore, child abuse, abandonment, torture, kidnapping, death.

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