An Imprisoned Prince. A Vengeful Queen. And A Battle That Will Determine The Future Of Elfhame.

I recently finished reading The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black. This is book #2 in the Stolen Heir duology. Check out my review for the Stolen Heir here --> https://thebooklover45.wixsite.com/the-book-lover/post/who-is-the-real-stolen-heir

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT

  Rating: 4/5 stars

"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.



With a new war looming on the horizon and treachery lurking in every corner, neither Oak’s guile nor his wit will be enough to keep everyone he loves alive. It’s just a question of whom he will doom."

After what happened in The Stolen Heir, Oak is now imprisoned and waiting for whatever Wren plans to do with him. Soon he's visited by a snake from the palace that tells him in three days he will be rescued, that's when he starts making his plan so there's no bloodshed. Part of this last-minute plan is saying he and Wren are engaged, and that's how they end up going to the palace, while Wren still doesn't trust him and he senses something is also wrong with her.

The only reason this isn't a five-star book is because it was slow at first and I wasn't in the mood to read fantasy right now but still pushed through to read this. But the romance crumbs were amazing, this is definitely similar to the Jude/Cardan boy obsessed x grumpy girl, but Oak/Wren is also very different because Wren is more damaged and she feels too much, way more than Jude used to show in her books. 

Jude/Cardan is the fans' favorite ship and I LOVE THEM, however, I felt differently about Oak and Wren as characters who are relatable differently because of their flaws. Oak feels the need to repay what his family has done to protect him, and Wren loves too much, too deeply, even when it's not reciprocated by her family. I love Jude and Cardan with my whole heart and every snippet of them had me in a chokehold. In all honesty, the four stars are for Jude and Cardan.

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I thought I would going into it. I had high expectations, and this book was mediocre in the face of them. It just didn't measure up to The Cruel Prince at all, which, fair enough, I appreciate is hard to do, but still.

There's drama involving Jude and Cardan helping Nicasia at the end, and I think they might get a novella about this and I hope so because I want to see Jude getting pregnant in a future book. Please Holly, please!

Check out The Prisoners's Throne, and discover what happens when the prince is imprisoned.

Happy Reading :)