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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
i actually really liked this book being told in oaks perspective i found it very interesting and entertaining i loved the ending it summed it up perfectly and i loved getting to see more of jude and cardan becuase i love them
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was not expecting Oak's POV. I absolutely love him.
The book starts with an understandable but absolutely wild personality shift in Wren. Given the way The Stolen Heir ended, that feels entirely justified and even Oak understood where it was coming from. That said, as the story went on,I started to feel incredibly frustrated by the communication barriers between Wren and Oak, and Wren's personality shift started to feel like it couldn't be explained away by just the betrayal she suffered at the end of book 1. Which turned out to be entirely correct, and things made much more sense once it was revealed that Bogdana had Bex hostage, but even the resolution of that felt... odd. Wren did not seem relieved in the way I would have expected her to after Oak's counter-kidnapping, and even if she doesn't trust that Oak is on her side, I felt like with everything she knew about him she should have at least trusted he wouldn't hurt Bex. And by the end of that encounter I think she did (she told Bex to trust him, after all) but we didn't really get to see that shift either. The whole thing just felt odd to me.
I loved both main characters, both separately and together, but even so I foundthe ending really disappointing. I don't have any objection to the general shape of it, but the entire scene just lacked impact. There was no real emotional release, just... "oh hey I guess we're in love now, cool." I felt they deserved something a bit more... charged.
Finally getting to see Jude and Cardan again was great though!
The book starts with an understandable but absolutely wild personality shift in Wren. Given the way The Stolen Heir ended, that feels entirely justified and even Oak understood where it was coming from. That said, as the story went on,
I loved both main characters, both separately and together, but even so I found
Finally getting to see Jude and Cardan again was great though!
I loved this continuation of the series so much, Holly Black really cooked with this one, and did a great job of building on the existing world and characters while also making a new story that was engaging and enticing. I think a lot of times it’s tough to make a spinoff like this so big props!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
tense
medium-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
I enjoyed this one more than the first one! So much action, pining, and secret plots! I loved the character growth through this book and the continued connections to the cruel prince series. I hope Holly Black continues to make more series in this world.
Absolutely cried reading this. <3 There are so many good quotes about love and trust and grappling with the monstrous parts of ourselves... incredible. I can see why my friend asked me to include quotes from this book when I was writing their wedding ceremony. <3
i’m going to faint, i’m going to move to elfhame and i quite like oaks perspective but never as much as jude’s (obviously). CARDAN GREENBRIAR THE MAN YOU ARE omg i love him. i love jude most tho (obviously)
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“I know what it is to want something so much that you would rather have the shadow of it than nothing, even if that means you will never have the real thing. And love is not that.”
😭😭 T________T THE HAPPY ENDING MY BABY WREN DESERVES.
i cant believe that i almost abandoned reading this book just because im busy. THINKING WHAT I WOULD’VE MISSED..
man, i love tiernan and hyancinthe ❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
I loved it just like I loved all the books in this series. It ties up both characters' stories, but now I wonder about Jude and Cardan.