A review by ceallaighsbooks
The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

“You can't help what you are. You can't help being charming. But look into too many other hearts, and you may lose your way back to your own… You can become the embodiment of someone's—oh, you're so young, I don't know how to say this—you can make people see you the way they want to see you. This seems harmless, but it can be dangerous to become everything a person wants. The embodiment of all their desires. And more dangerous for you to twist yourself into shapes others choose for you.”

TITLE—The Prisoner’s Throne (Book Two in The Stolen Heir duology)

AUTHOR—Holly Black

PUBLISHED—2024

PUBLISHER—Little, Brown and Company

GENRE—YA fantasy

SETTING—Faerie

MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—hag magic, a wintery ice kingdom, changelings, political intrigue, trust & loyalty, m/f romance, friends to lovers, childhood sweethearts, all kinds of different & vividly described fae creatures, beautiful & atmospheric worldbuilding, complex, interesting, & sympathetic characters, found family (Holly Black’s biggest & most consistent theme, probably), witty banter, m/m romance side characters storyline, really sweet love stories

“…Wren saw things that were far more terrifying and cruel than anything he witnessed. And perhaps somewhere inside her, she is coming to learn that she can be all the things that once scared her.”

Summary:

This is the sequel to THE STOLEN HEIR. See my review for that book here.

My thoughts:

I loved book one, THE STOLEN HEIR, *so* much & enjoyed reading from Wren’s perspective *so* much that tbh I was a little bit disappointed when I started reading book two & realized that it was going to be from Oak’s perspective. 🫣 And while it did take me a little while to get into the story, I am happy to say that I ended up loving it just as much as book one & I thought it was the perfect ending to Wren & Oak’s story. 🥹 I am just *thrilled* that Holly is currently working on more stories with these characters & this absolutely fabulous faerie world she’s created. It’s my favorite. 🥰

My favorite elements were 1) (as usual) her fantastic exploration of the found family trope as well as 2) the nature of Wren & Oak’s love for each other. The latter especially resonated with me *so* so much (& Holly writes in the interview at the back of the BN exclusive edition that it was a very personal journey for her to write their relationship as well) & I think it is actually the most substantial, inspiring, & realistic YA love story I’ve ever read. Even Hyacinthe & Tiernan’s side love-story, how that was handled both stylistically & the deeper philosophy behind it, was really perfect.

I also really liked the description & explanation for hag magic & the hag characters were all super interesting—everything about their beings, their abodes, their magic, their history, I hope we get more hags in Holly’s next books for this world!

TOTALLY kicking myself though that I didn’t jump on the Illumicrate set & book one of the FairyLoot editions of this duology when they were published last year… 🫠 If anyone has any that they’d be willing to sell me for less than they’re currently going for online I’d be very gratefullllllll… 😅🙈😂

I would recommend this book to readers who love their YA fantasy set in beautifully crafted faerie worlds featuring lovable, hilarious, & relatable characters, some excellent & wholesome romantic angst, & a healthy dose of snappy banter. Seriously these books are so, so funny. This book is best readcozily, with a mug of fennel tea & a plate of honeycakes nearby.

Final note: I do hope we haven’t seen the last of Bogdana though. 👀

“Be trapped inside with no escape
Your fate is cast in acorn shape
In the shadows, you'll dwell and wait”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CW // child abuse, torture, emotional abuse, gaslighting & manipulation, death, near drowning (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Season: Spring 🧚‍♂️🌷🐝

Music pairing: “King,” by Florence and the Machine

Further Reading—

• Holly Black’s Folk of the Air books:
  • TITHE
  • VALIANT
  • IRONSIDE
  • THE DARKEST PART OF THE FOREST
  • THE CRUEL PRINCE
  • THE WICKED KING
  • QUEEN OF NOTHING
  • HOW THE KING OF ELFHAME LEARNED TO HATE STORIES
  • THE STOLEN HEIR
  • THE PRISONER’S THRONE
• T Kingfisher’s fairy tales
  • NETTLE AND BONE
  • THE RAVEN AND THE REINDEER
  • THORNHEDGE
  • THE HALCYON FAIRY BOOK—TBR
• HONEYCOMB by Joanne Harris (Only a 3-star read for me—the philosophy was very weak—but the imagery is lovely & dark.)

Favorite Quotes—

“In the Court of Moths, Wren flinched away from the gazes of courtiers as she entered the revel on his arm, as though their very notice stung. She curled her body so that, small as she was, she appeared even smaller. Now her shoulders are back. Her demeanor is that of someone who does not consider anyone in this room—not even Bogdana—a threat. He flashes on a memory of her younger self. A little girl with a crown sewn to her skin, her wrists leashed by chains that threaded between bones and flesh. No fear in her face. That child was terrifying, but no matter how she seemed, she was also terrified.”

“It's easy to make someone look foolish if you're willing to play the fool.”

“I am a trickster, like you. I am here because it amuses me. When I am bored, I will go away.”

“I am not the person you believe me to be… That girl you knew. Inside her was always this great rage, this emptiness. And now it's all I am.”

“Hyacinthe crosses his arms. ‘Am I supposed to believe you're on Wren's side in this conflict? That escaping is somehow all for her?’

Oak wishes he could say that. Wishes he even believed in clear sides with defined borders. He had to give those up when his father crossed swords with his sister.”

“‘Why would you want me after all I have done?’ Hyacinthe asks, anguished.

‘Why does anyone want anyone else?’ Tiernan answers. ‘We do not love because people deserve it—nor would I want to be loved because I was the most deserving of some list of candidates. I want to be loved for my worst self as well as my best. I want to be forgiven my flaws.’”

“Her smile widens. ‘We hags were the first of the Folk, before those of the air alighted and claimed dominion, before those of the Undersea first surfaced from the deep. We, like the trolls and the giants, come from the earth's bones. And we have the old magic. But we do not rule. Perhaps our power makes other Folk nervous. Little wonder that the storm hag was tempted by Mab's offer, though in the end the cost was high.’”

“Oak is surprised by that story, which manages to be almost wholly accurate and yet totally wrong, but he reminds himself that this is Court, where all gossip is prized, and though faeries cannot lie, tales can still grow in the telling.”

“Even those he cared for, he hid from. Maybe that's why Wren can't love him. Maybe that is why it seems so believable that he may have enchanted everyone in his life into caring for him. After all, how can anyone love him when no one really knows him?”

“Oak feels the delirious abandon of breaking the rules. In a family of deceivers, telling the truth—out loud, where anyone could hear it—was a massive transgression.”

“Wren once described what she was afraid of, if she revealed herself to her family. How she imagined their rejecting her once they saw her true face. Oak sympathized, but until this moment he didn't understand the horror of having all the people who loved you best in the world look at you as though you were a stranger.”

“He ruined it, and he wasn't able to fix it. Some broken things stay broken.”

“Oak considers hags unfathomable beings, different from other Folk. Creators of objects, casters of curses. Part witch, part god. Solitary by nature…”

“When Oak was a child, living in the mortal world with his oldest sister, Vivi, he was super excited to show her girlfriend, Heather, magic. He took his glamour off and was crushed when she looked at him in horror, as though he wasn't the same little boy she took to the park or tickled. He thought of the news as a surprise present, but it turned out to be a jump scare.”

“You need someone's full name, their true name. Mortals don't have those. Not in the way that we do.”

“‘I was the first of the hags," Bogdana returns, her voice like the crash of waves. "The most powerful of the witches. My voice is the howl of the wind, my hair the lashing rain, my nails the hot strike of lightning that rends flesh from bone. When I gave Mab a portion of my power, it came with a price. I wanted my child to have a place among the Courtly Folk, to sit on a throne and wear a crown. But that's not what happened.’ Bogdana pauses. ‘I was tricked by a queen once. I will not be tricked again.’

‘Mab is gone,’ Oak says, trying to reason with her. Hoping that he can find the real words, the true words, ones that will be persuasive because they are right.”

"I thought love was a fascination, or a desire to be around someone, or wanting to make them happy. I believed it just happened, like a slap to the face, and left the way the sting from such a blow fades. That's why it was easy for me to believe it could be false or manipulated or influenced by magic. Until I met you, I didn't understand to feel loved, one has to feel known. And that, outside of my family, I had never really loved because I hadn't bothered to know the other person. But I know you. And you have to come back to me, Wren, because no one gets us but us. You know why you're not a monster, but I might be. I know why throwing me in your dungeon meant there was still something between us. We are messes and we are messed up and I don't want to go through this world without the one person I can't hide from and who can't hide from me.”

"It's not easy for mortals to live in this place. It's not easy for us to live in their world, either, but it's easier. I shouldn't have left her so much alone. I shouldn't have forgotten that she could lie, or that she thought of her life as brief, and would risk much for happiness.”

"And yet, there are few things I would change. For without all my mistakes, I would not have the family I do."

“I know what you think… That you're not whom I should want… It's true you inspire no safe daydream of love…”

“A nightmare, then?”

“The kind of love that comes when two people see each other clearly… Even if they're scared to believe that's possible. I adore you. I want to play games with you. I want to tell you all the truths I have to give. And if you really think you're a monster, then let's be monsters together.”

“And if I send you away even after this speech? If I don't want you?”

“Then I'll go… And adore you from afar. And compose ballads about you or something.”

“You could make me love you…”

“You? … I doubt it. You're not interested in my telling you what you want to hear. I think you might actually prefer me at my least charming.”

“What if I am too much? If I need too much?”

“I'm not good. I'm not kind. Maybe I am not even safe. But whatever you want from me, I will give you.”