Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by crisis_dilemma
The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black
4.0
I loved the original trilogy (The Cruel Prince) and I was very excited when I learned Holly Black was writing a duology about two characters from that trilogy, Oak and Wren. They were far enough from the main narrative that a duology about them would feel like it’s completely its own story. And I loved this duology, but I can’t give it more than a 4 star rating and here’s why, completely spoiler free.
The first book, The Stolen Heir, did a great job accomplishing this. It was from Wren’s point a view, the character we knew little about her, she had a complicated backstory we knew little about when we were first introduced to her; she was the perfect perspective to follow.
This book switched to Oak’s perspective, and, while I hate to admit it, it was to the detriment of the narrative. There were several plot points that didn’t come together until the end, that I think would have been better viewing from Wren’s viewpoint as things are happening to her rather than reading as Oak tries to piece together why she’s doing what she’s doing. Another reason Wren would have been the better character to follow the viewpoint of is because Oak is heavily connected to the characters in the original trilogy, that following his perspective makes it impossible to separate the two series. This was a good book, but not a good conclusion to the duology, but a good wrap up to the lose ends of the original trilogy with the set up to a possible side story of the two former main characters.
All in all, I liked the duology, but I wish it was entirely from Wren’s perspective
The first book, The Stolen Heir, did a great job accomplishing this. It was from Wren’s point a view, the character we knew little about her, she had a complicated backstory we knew little about when we were first introduced to her; she was the perfect perspective to follow.
This book switched to Oak’s perspective, and, while I hate to admit it, it was to the detriment of the narrative. There were several plot points that didn’t come together until the end, that I think would have been better viewing from Wren’s viewpoint as things are happening to her rather than reading as Oak tries to piece together why she’s doing what she’s doing. Another reason Wren would have been the better character to follow the viewpoint of is because Oak is heavily connected to the characters in the original trilogy, that following his perspective makes it impossible to separate the two series. This was a good book, but not a good conclusion to the duology, but a good wrap up to the lose ends of the original trilogy with the set up to a possible side story of the two former main characters.
All in all, I liked the duology, but I wish it was entirely from Wren’s perspective