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clockworkbee · 1 month

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When they propose marriage, and that's the response they get. My beloved boys 😭🤌🏼

—The Wicked King, chapter 29

—The Prisoner's Throne, chapter 12

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starlight-hope · 9 months

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Sometimes I'm concerned over how fiction holds more power over my heart than I ever will.

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duarteegreenbriar · 1 year

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I suddenly thought of this line from The Stolen Heir, where Oak says that the Folk adore Cardan and are terrified of Jude. This is exactly what Jude and Cardan had wished for years ago— Cardan always wanted to be loved and accepted, and Jude always wanted to be respected and feared, not live in fear.

The fact that they finally have this and so much more now is 🫶🏻🥹

#tfota #cardan greenbriar #jude duarte #jurdan #judecardan #the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #queen of nothing #tcp #twk #qon #tqon #the folk of the air #oak greenbriar #the stolen heir #tsh #novels of elfhame

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justsimpleaestetic · 8 months

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#the wicked king #cruel prince #queen of nothing #the folk of the air #jude x cardan #cardanandjude #jude duarte #cardan #high king cardan #prince cardan #fantasy book #book #books #reading #fantasy novels #romance #fantasy romance

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woniiewoo · 6 months

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i literally cannot breathe after this series.

#romance novels #reading #cardan greenbriar #the folk of the air #jude duarte #prince cardan #the cruel prince #bookish #readers of tumblr

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manikas-whims · 1 month

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one of my favourite random things in any piece of media is Snakes 🐍 speaking with a "hiss" in every word they utter..😆

The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black

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critical-quoter · 5 months

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'Because they could kill you! 'They better,' I say to her. 'Because anything less than that isn't going to work.'

The Cruel Prince - Holly Black

#book #books #booklr #book lover #book quotes #reading #quote #lit #literature #novel #the cruel prince #holly black #the folk of the air

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elliepassmore · 2 months

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The Prisoner's Throne review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: scheming, court intrigue, faeries, morally gray characters

Stolen Heir review

First, I want to say I called it regarding Oak being exactly the kind of person you would think he would be after being raised by Madoc, Oriana, Jude, Cardan, and Taryn (and the Court of Shadows). How any of his family members were surprised by that I have no idea. I'm also happy to say that Taryn actually does seem to have gotten herself together and is much more tolerable in this book than in TFOTA (of course, that was also 8 years ago and Oak's POV is not Jude's, but still).

I enjoyed Stolen Heir but I think I like this one better. I did miss Wren's POV, though like with Oak's in book 1 having her narrate would obviously give some things away. The first book was quest-based and so we got to see a lot of new people and places, and much of the plot centered around the details of the quest. This one, on the other hand, is more along the lines of what we saw in TFOTA, where it is court against court and scheming abounds among those who want power. Questing plots are fun, but I do think I prefer this kind of intrigue.

I was so excited to see Jude and Cardan! I found it interesting to see them through someone else's eyes, since in previous books we've only ever seen them through their own, but Oak is Jude's younger beloved younger brother and Cardan's nephew and BIL, so he has a very different view of them than they do of themselves. That being said, they are more or less exactly as we remember and I enjoyed getting to see their interactions and reading their sass.

Oak is a trickster and a liar. He is, as mentioned, exactly the kind of person you would expect considering his family and the people he grew up around. He's good at scheming and seeing what people want, but he's also incredibly loyal and would do anything for his family. Unlike his father and sister, Oak still doesn't have ambitions for the throne. But that doesn't mean he isn't still involved in court intrigue, and this book shows us just how involved he is and the manipulations he's willing to use to protect the throne. It was interesting to get inside Oak's head since he's a child in TFOTA and Wren is technically a newcomer. Oak does feel like he needs to live up to what his family needs and the sacrifices they've made for him (though let's be honest, Jude's queenly ambitions only started with Oak, she sustained them on her own), and that creates an interesting dynamic. Related to this and to his scheming, Oak has so many layers and masks to portray the things he wants people to see that he also feels like people don't really know him, and it was interesting to see how that plays out.

Oak and Wren spend a lot of time separated in this book, but it's clear Wren is trying to get a grasp on what's going on and what exactly she wants. There are enemies closing in on all sides, and she struggles to find a workaround for all the people demanding things from her, and who have the power to make those things happen. While I know it would probably spoil some of what she's planning, I would've liked to have Wren's POV in this book alongside Oak's. I feel like we are missing part of the story by not having it, and I'd like to know more of her thought processes and how she decided what was a strategic decision vs not. That being said, we do get to see how Wren behaves when she feels she's been betrayed, and we also get to see how far she'll go for those she's loyal to. She and Oak have that in common, and the two are seemingly willing to rend anything, including themselves, apart in order to save those they love.

I enjoyed following the schemes of this book and learning who the new enemies were. Bogdana is obviously a major player, but there are people in the background that get revealed as the book progresses. In TFOTA, the game is putting someone on the throne and keeping them there. In this book, it's about determining who is out for the throne and what (and who) they have on their side, all while trying to balance competing priorities.

I'm particularly interested in the setup at the end of the book that seems to promise at least one more book set in Elfhame/involving the Greenbriar-Duarte clan. Holly Black had an interview that basically said as much, so I'm super interested to see where that goes (here's hoping it's Jude and Cardan again!).

Overall I enjoyed this book and seeing how Wren and Oak's story ended. It was interesting being inside Oak's head, though I did miss Wren's POV as well. I'm looking forward to future books set in this world!