Who Is The Real Stolen Heir?

I recently finished reading Stolen Heir by Holly Black. This is book #1 in the Stolen Heir Duology.

*POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT* Rating: 4/5 stars

"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."

We had glimpses of Suren in the previous trilogy, but not enough for her to really make an impression on me, to be honest, so I was surprised to learn that this duology would be about her, and even more surprised when I realized that the book was in her point of view, but I don’t regret the author’s choice. Suren is brave and very resilient, but I was expecting her to be a little more badass, to be honest. She survived hell and still continues to care about others and try to help humans. The fact that she could remain empathetic after everything her parents put her through is impressive, and I loved seeing her mature and gain more confidence as their quest progressed, but at the same time, I feel that half of her personality revolved around her clinging to her human life and her past.

There were a few flashbacks of her past with Oak, when they were both children, and it helped us better understand her reaction to him when they met again and why she was so reluctant to trust him at first. I am not usually a fan of flashbacks in books, but there were not too many in this one, and I actually enjoyed seeing more of Suren and Oak as kids.

I admit that it was weird to imagine Oak as a dashing and charming young adult instead of a cute child, and I still struggle a little to picture him as a potential future love interest, because he’s Oak! Cutie pie Oak that fled into the human world and was happy to eat pizza and watch TV… Still, I have to say that the author did a great job with his character, he is cunning and hides his strengths well. He knows the game of politics and is not afraid to put himself in danger in order to protect others, which is a rare quality in the gentry faes in this world. I said that it was weird to picture him as a sexy grown-up fae, but I know that the author will have no trouble making me fall in love with him in the next book because I am already halfway there. But the hooves? Still not sure how I feel about that.

The secondary characters were quite bland though. I do not care much for Tiernan and Hyacinthe, they are not bad characters, and they have potential, but they were not developed enough and relevant enough in this book for me to really care about what happens to them in the next book. I loved being back in this world. I loved the writing, the familial angst/trauma, the riddles and twists and turns (though I guessed some). I enjoyed Wren as a narrator, though not as much as Jude.

If you’ve read The Cruel Prince before reading this book, you already know how deliciously dark and cruel (and creepy at times) Holly Black’s faes are, and I loved being back in Elfhame. There are also many magical creatures in this book, from faes to trolls, with hags and mentions of sluaghs, I just love the creepy magical world that is Elfhame.

This book has a different vibe from the Cruel Prince series though as it is more quest oriented, with traveling all throughout the book. It was still a great book, but I preferred Jude and Cardan and I was not expecting a quest vibe, so it took me a little by surprise. Maybe it’s my fault, but I’d read absolutely nothing about this book before jumping into it, except that it was about Oak and Suren. It is a very good book, but don’t go into it expecting something similar to The Cruel Prince.

Not only was the plot engaging enough to keep me hooked, but there were plot twists and betrayals! I do love plot twists, and even more when it’s coupled with betrayal and angst, and when it promises some groveling in the next book. Some twists I was kind of expecting, but others took me by surprise, and I like it when a book keeps me on my toes.

The ”romance” is where I struggled a little more. Some people say that the chemistry and sexual tension between Oak and Suren were off the chart, but to be honest, I didn’t really feel it. Sure, we could see that Suren was attracted to Oak, and that a part of her missed the little boy she met so many years ago, and we could guess that Oak had a crush on her when he was younger, and probably still has one, but that’s about it. I didn’t feel sexual tension at all, besides a few kisses that were not that spicy either, and while there is a good development in their relationship and they go from reluctant allies to kind of friends, I wouldn’t call what they have “intense chemistry”… Hopefully this aspect will get better in the next book. I honestly don’t mind if they end up together or not, but if they do, I want to feel more feelings and intensity between them than I did in this book.

This has great character development, particularly within Wren, who strangely enough I absolutely love as a character, and praise to Holly Black for creating a central female character that does not conform to the stereotypical badass 'bitch' in Fantasy stories. It was Oak that got on my 'goat' at times - sorry for the pun. I'd like to see some heroism in him, you know 'man up' instead of all this 'hoofing' around - sorry I've done it again!!

I was hoping for at least a teeny tiny glimpse of Jude and Cardan... Maybe in the next book... I thoroughly enjoyed the few mentions of them we were gifted in this book, and reading this made me realize how I missed them both.

Not quite The Cruel Prince but I enjoyed this. The ending was exciting. I await the sequel.

Check out Stolen Heir, and take on the quest of a lifetime with Suren and Oak.

Happy Reading :)