The Stolen Heir: A Novel of Elfhame, The No 1 Sunday Times Bestseller 2023 (The stolen heir duology, 1)

Meine Tochter liebt sie, hat mittlerweile alle Teile gelesen

I love Holly Black's writing style. The Elfhame series is my top fantasy read. But I must say the spin off did not beat Jude's books. I had all the feelings for Cardan throughout the series - anger, pity, joy, shock, sadness, love. The plot twists had me with jaw dropped. But Stolen Heir.... hmm... I don't feel much for Oak. In fact, I don't truly care about his character. The story still deserves 4 stars for the magnificent world building, intense action scenes, and Wren's character development. I'll read the book 2 for sure because this one ended with a cliffhanger.

I loved cruel prince series so damn much!!Time for Oak's story!!

El libro es precioso. Me llegó sin ningún daño y la combinación de colores de la portada resultan muy agradables.En cuanto a su contenido, Holly Black tiene un talente inigualable a la hora de escribir sobre faes y sus mundos. Su forma de escribir proporciona una experiencia inmersiva y sus personajes están muy bien desarrollados. Sus libros son normalmente una mezcla de fantasía con temas políticos, estando el romance presente también. Si buscas simplemente un romance en un ambiente de fantasía, ni estos libros ni el príncipe cruel son para ti. El romance no es la trama principal de estos libros.

Holly Black's books are just so readable. The characters are so well formed and the plots are always full of secrets and surprises. I just can't articulate how much I love reading her books.

Sehr gut!

It was interesting to find out what happened to them when they grew up, but personaly it was more interesting the cruel prince trilogy.

I can't express just how much I love Holly Black's writing!The Stolen Heir managed to completely exceed my expectations. From the beginning, the writing style managed to fully get me immersed in the story and with its progression, it became harder and harder to put down, even though it got past midnight and everyone in the house was asleep xD. I just had to stay up and finish the story, and I was not disappointed.Holly Black has a knack for making the reader want more. And with such an ending, I desperately await the release of the second book of the duology, which is due May :,). Nevertheless, I have preordered it, and once I have it in my hands, I will devour it in one sitting.This might sound a bit exaggerated but I promise you, you will not regret deciding to join Suren and Oak on their story!! Just buy the book already.. that is, if you've read The Folk of Air Trilogy (which is necessary to understand the plot of this duology), and if not, then what are you still waiting for?? You're definitely missing out on a lot!

*4,5*Favorite character: SurenThree words: enchanting / gruesome / captivatingFavorite quote: It is hard to explain the savagery of hope."Sometimes life gives us the terrible gift of our own wishes come true."Eight years after the Battle of the Serpent, Lady Nore of the Court of Teeth has reclaimed the Ice Needle Citadel and created a new court. After stealing an ancient artifact, she gained the dangerous power of creating some kind of new life; Monsters made of sticks and snow and body parts of the dead. Suren, the only child of Lady Nore and the only one with the power to control her, fled to the human world to hide from the folk.After years of torment in the Court of Teeth, Suren wants nothing to do with the folk and takes revenge on them in her own way. She spies on those making bargains with humans, to undo the spells and free everyone ensnared by their spells. Suren feels lonely, living alone and feral in the woods, with no one to talk to, but hopes she was forgotten by the folk. Her hopes scatter when one night the storm hag Bogdana hunts her down and Suren barely gets saved by prince Oak. Years after she last met him, he has become charming yet manipulative and urges Suren to help him on a mission that will lead them to Lady Nore, the mother Suren never wanted to see again. Oak needs her, as she is Lady Nore's only vulnerability, and Oak is Suren's best chance to survive the storm hag, so she agrees, fully aware that it's not only Lady Nore and the storm hag that she needs to keep an eye on."My sister thinks that she’s the only one who can take poison, but I am poison. Poison in my blood. I poison everything I touch."I absolutely adored The Stole Heir and the story was as enchanting as I imagined but also more gruesome and dark. Suren is an amazingly written main character and you can really witness how living feral in the woods changed her, starting with her voice and the way she struggles to speak after being mute for so long. Her way of acting and thinking was sometimes almost animalic, always suspicious, only focused on surviving and acting on instinct. She trusts absolutely no one and after learning her devastating backstory, you aren't surprised. You know beforehand that some of her decisions are wrong, but it suits her character and her way of actingI really loved the contrast between her character and Oak's. Oak is the complete opposite of her, charming, alluringc and manipulative, his talents always work best when he is around people.You witness Suren's and Oak's journey to the Court of Teeth as they make their way through different courts like the Court of Moth and dangerous places like the Forest of Stone. Meanwhile, Suren and Oak work on their relationship, Suren in particular has problems to trust Oak after he betrayed her once, especially since she suspects he'll do it again.I don't want to spoil too much of the story but I absolutely loved this book and can't wait for the next one!

Es war nicht neu

Honestly, I’ve just finished this book and I really loved being back here in this world. It’s also such an interesting twist of events that Oak is now at the ends of his teens and so is Suren. The last time we met them, they were children. For me, I personally found Tiernan’s and Oak’s friendship one of the best parts! I hope with the second book we get to see more of that.I’m also sorry for Tiernan and Hyacinthe but I’m leaving it up to you readers to understand why.

I was beyond excited to finally go back to this universe. As a big fan of her work, I had high expectations. Suren is a totally different main character, if you try to compare her to Jude. I have read The Folk of the Air and the Magisterium series, so far Holly's writing style is one of my favorites. Oak is a character full of charisma, which is dangerous, since it's clear the reader cannot fully trust him. It was quite nice to see him all grown up and I loved how his character was build throughout the book. Tiernan and Hyacinthe are both great characters and I'm looking forward to reading more about their past together. I must admit that in my heart I was hopping things would not end up that awful between Wren and Oak. I am well aware of the fact he deceived her during the whole book, but I was so caught up in the construction of their relationship! Even though their ending was like killing the fantasy that they would be fine, I was positively impressed by how things turned out and I won't deny that I do love a girl boss taking the power to herself ending. When coming to Lady Nore's death, it's needed to say I expected more, even though Wren was the one who ended her, I would have preferred I happened differently. I had a delightful reading experience and cannot wait to see what the sequel and unfortunately last book holds.

Despite having some similarities, I found that The Stolen Heir was a much darker book than any of the other Folk of the Air books that Holly Black has written.However, I LOVED Wren as a narrator. She had a turbulent upbringing and I love watching her character arc.Next, we have Oak Greenbriar, the charming, flirtatious Prince of Elfhame, but we all know that his backstory is shrouded in tragedy. His hairy goat hooves were icky for me, though. JUST SAYIN'! Whatever floats your goat.Finally, WTF was that ending?!?!? No spoilers, my lips are sealed.Do I recommend this book? YES! 4.5 stars. Despite the goat hooves and a polarising ending, Holly Black is a master. I'm looking forward to book two from Oak's perspective.A few trigger warnings: Kidnapping, parental abuse, physical abuse, gore, violence, drugging, murder, blood, mention of animal death, suicide mentioned in the past, mention of death in childbirth, PTSD depictions, spiders, captivity & GOAT HOOVES!