In this return to the world of Elfhame (Folk of the Air trilogy), Holly Black takes us deeper into the story of characters Wren and Oak as they determine whether they can trust each other as they attempt to save Madoc.
As a child, Wren read lots of fairy tales. That’s why, when the monsters came, she knew it was because she had been wicked.
In The Stolen Heir, the first book in Holly Black's Stolen Heir duology, the story returns to the world of Elfhame. (It's important to first read the Folk of the Air trilogy--see link below in order to understand the plot and character development).
Suren (Wren), changeling child queen of the Court of Teeth, is forced to band together with the charming, untrustworthy Oak (fae brother of Jude), to try to save Madoc from Lady Nore's Ice Needle Citadel.
Wren and Oak were once betrothed, and Wren isn't sure how much of Oak's appealing vulnerability and honesty is real--or if she's being played for a fool. But Wren isn't content to let her fate be shaped by a beautiful, magical prince. She's going to need to wrest control of her own destiny.
I didn't feel drawn in by Wren, who feels lost throughout much of the story, and I didn't feel as though Oak was as fully developed as I wanted him to be.
I loved the return of the storm hag Bogdana!
I listened to this as an audiobook.
Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book?
Click here for my review of Black's The Queen of Nothing; I mentioned the great Folk of the Air trilogy in the Greedy Reading List Six Royally Magical Young Adult Series.