Holly Black’s new spinoff duology, The Stolen Heir, is set eight years after the Battle of the Serpent and tells the story of Wren and Oak.
At the start, we see Wren as a child in the mortal realm living with her adoptive family. She has always felt very out of place among humans due to her bluish skin and bony frame. Wren is visited one night by Lord Jarel and Lady Nore, haunting creatures, who claim she is their daughter and the future queen of The Court of Teeth.
She is taken to The Court of Teeth, where she is abused and treated horribly, but manages to run away and lives out the next few years collecting scraps from the streets and longing for her adoptive family to take her back.
The book flashes forward to Wren being chased by the Storm Hag Bogdana. She is suddenly saved by Prince Oak, the heir of Elfhame, but also the prince to whom she had previously been arranged to be married to.
In the series The Folk of the Air, Oak is still just a boy, but in spinoff The Stolen Heir, he is now a knight. He needs Wren’s guidance to reach the Citadel and to gain control over her mother. Wren’s heart is hesitant to open back up to the boy she once knew. And she fears the consequences of returning to the place she fled as a child. As the story continues, we find out more about the twisted and horror-filled world of Elfhame.
As a fan of everything Holly Black does, I easily became very obsessed with The Stolen Heir. I fell in love with Oak, who gave off a perfect mix of Cardan and Madoc. He was super fun to figure out and see how he’s changed as an overall character.
I really liked being in Wren’s POV. It felt refreshing to be learning things in present tense. Compared to Jude who analyzes everything in her mind before it even happens. Wren felt more realistic to me because I am also not very comprehensive when it comes to big plot twists.
In summary, he whole book is about going on a journey, which sounds really boring, but it is actually what had my attention the most. There were so many things that could have been done with this world and Holly Black exceeded all my expectations. The writing was beautiful and made you want to fall in love with all folk things. Holly Black could write how much she disliked me and I would love it.
What I would’ve really liked was to see more background of Wren’s family, but I think Holly Black did tease continuing that plot in the second book. Also would’ve loved for Jude to make an appearance. But I understand that it is not her book and it’s confirmed she will definitely be in the second.
My favorite part of the whole book was the ending. I was on the edge of my bed screaming when everything finally came to an end. The fact I have to wait a whole year to get book two is insane . Overall I give it 4 stars because Jude wasn’t in it. I also think it’s necessary to read The Folk of Air before starting this duology. Without it, I would have been so confused by the side characters.