P is for Prisoner

I’m doing folklore and book review posts to reach and please a larger audience. Previous years have shown select interest in both and to minimise blogging throughout the year, I’m focusing my efforts on April.

Focusing on an A to Z of my TBR (to be read) list, each letter will have books starting with that letter on my list, a book I’ve read and reviewed (with the review!) and one of my books matching the letter with a link about more info about the book.

I chose the books this year quite randomly from my Goodreads Want to Read page. Some are quite creatively added to letters.

If you’d rather check out my folklore post for today, go here.

You can read reviews for from previous years for this letter here, here and here, and my year-end reviews here, here, here, here and, most recently, here and here.

My TBR

About the Book I’ve Read

The Stolen Heir (The Stolen Heir Duology #1) by Holly Black

A runaway queen. A reluctant prince. And a quest that may destroy them both.

Eight years have passed since the Battle of the Serpent. But in the icy north, Lady Nore of the Court of Teeth has reclaimed the Ice Needle Citadel. There, she is using an ancient relic to create monsters of stick and snow who will do her bidding and exact her revenge.

Suren, child queen of the Court of Teeth, and the one person with power over her mother, fled to the human world. There, she lives feral in the woods. Lonely, and still haunted by the merciless torments she endured in the Court of Teeth, she bides her time by releasing mortals from foolish bargains. She believes herself forgotten until the storm hag, Bogdana chases her through the night streets. Suren is saved by none other than Prince Oak, heir to Elfhame, to whom she was once promised in marriage and who she has resented for years.

Now seventeen, Oak is charming, beautiful, and manipulative. He’s on a mission that will lead him into the north, and he wants Suren’s help. But if she agrees, it will mean guarding her heart against the boy she once knew and a prince she cannot trust, as well as confronting all the horrors she thought she left behind.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black returns to the opulent world of Elfhame in the first book in a thrilling new duology, following Jude’s brother Oak, and the changeling queen, Suren.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

A sequel to the Cruel Prince trilogy, featuring Wren and Oak who were merely children when the previous story had taken place. Now Wren is a teenager living in the woods, scavenging for food, living alone, with even less contact with others than when she’d been a prisoner in the Court of Teeth.

Her story is quite tragic. Even when it seems a romance might be budding between her and Prince Oak once he rescues (kidnaps?) her from her life in the Mortal Realm. Most of the book is about getting to the Court of Teeth and freeing Madoc (Oak’s father) and subduing the queen who calls herself Wren’s mother, yet never acted as one.

There’s a lot of magic, secrets, and tragedy. It’s compelling, even if it seems that Wren is mostly a pawn in the games of others.

About the Book I’ve Read

The Prisoner’s Throne (The Stolen Heir Duology #) by Holly Black

An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame.
 
Prince Oak is paying for his betrayal. Imprisoned in the icy north and bound to the will of a monstrous new queen, he must rely on charm and calculation to survive. With High King Cardan and High Queen Jude willing to use any means necessary to retrieve their stolen heir, Oak will have to decide whether to attempt regaining the trust of the girl he’s always loved or to remain loyal to Elfhame and hand over the means to end her reign—even if it means ending Wren, too.


Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

Told from Oak’s POV, the story shows how Wren suffers silently whatever is eating her up (magical and otherwise) and he tries his best to unravel all the mysteries and conspiracies while keeping himself and all those he loves alive.

In some ways this book is much better than the previous one, perhaps because the romance is better structured and Oak truly feels what he says he does and makes all the sacrifices necessary to have love in his life?

I enjoyed all of the magic, secrets and tragedy woven through this book. It’s compelling. And both Wren and Oak who are so used to being merely pawns, break free and become their true selves.

My Book

How You Remind Me (Irascible Immortals #2)

Remember that you can request all of my books from your local library!

I hope you enjoyed this. For more books I’ve read and reviewed, check out either my Pinterest board about reviews or my Goodreads profile. Alternatively, you can check out my reviews on BookBub. Have you read any of the books? Loved or hated any of them?

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*FYI, my reviews are my honest opinion and if something bothers me, I tell it straight. How else will anything change? My opinions are based on being a voracious reader and book buyer, not an attack on the author.*