The Prisoner's Throne

Did I almost put this book straight onto my bookshelf after buying it, conveniently forgetting that I hadn’t actually read it yet? Maybe… Good thing I do an annual check of my Goodreads/LibraryThing TBR, or I’m not sure I would have actually remembered to read the conclusion of the Stolen Heir duology! Holly Black has been one of my favourite YA mythic fiction authors since I was a teenager, and even though her stories have gotten a little bit lighter (no, it’s not that my reading level has improved or matured lol) I still come back to them for their inventive narratives, intriguing characters, and luscious worldbuilding. This tale felt particularly helter skelter, as we are taken on a skirling whirlwind of an adventure show more alongside Prince Oak and Queen Suren (Wren) as they navigate the impending conflict between their two kingdoms and try to find their own place in the ever-dramatic intrigues at the fey court. We begin our tale with an insider look at the Ice Needle Citadel where Wren is just beginning her rule as newly minted Queen, sitting in the depths of the palace with Oak as he schemes to find a way to escape from her dungeons without actually triggering the war that his violence-prone sister, the High Queen Jude, seems eager to engage in. It takes all of Oak’s scheming to get himself free and back safe (ish) to his home court, in a dramatic narrative that has so many details, twists, and betrayals that we are left gasping at the danger and groaning at events when they inevitably go awry until the bitter end. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Black’s complex political intrigues and attention to detail might be better suited for longer and more adult narratives, and Oak and Wren’s tale is no different, but that won’t stop me from coming back to her for more of her highly entertaining stories! show less

A solid end for the story at hand, Oak is paying for his betrayal and so is Wren. Somehow he has to try to ensure that Wren won't kill him or get killed herself because his sister and brother-in-law get sufficiently annoyed at her for imprisoning him. He wants her to trust him but his betrayal has hurt her and she really wants to see him pay. for everything he has done. So it comes to her as a surprise when he offers to marry her. She suspects he has ulterior motives but Oak really wants to be a better man for her.
It was sweet in parts and breathtaking in others, and it was interesting to see Oak grow up.

Prisoners Throne is a brilliant work of dark fantasy. Everything about this book was great: the characters, the story, the setting, even the dialogue is standout.

In this novel, after Oak's betrayal in the last book, Oak finds himself imprisoned by Queen Suren. Oak has to figure out how to rectify the situation and stop a war between ElfHame and the Court of Teeth.

I loved everything about this book, the banter was witty and funny. The main characters and supporting cast are memorable and affable, in particular, I found Wren's struggles and longing to be loved made her very empathetic. The cameos with Jude and Cardan are well-written, true to their characters, and bring back everything I loved about them in the Cruel Prince Trilogy. show more There's not a thing about this book I would change.

If you liked the Cruel Prince trilogy this duology is a must-read. Both books compliment each other and the two different perspectives really keep things interesting. I loved getting a look into how Oak felt firsthand and seeing how Wren had grown and changed from the first book in the duology through his eyes. show less

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.6 stars) Back in Elfhame… again 👑 but this time, stuck in Oak’s head for 350 pages—and honestly, I missed Wren’s voice. 🥲

🗝️ Summary:
In this sequel to The Stolen Heir, Prince Oak finds himself imprisoned in the Sadel Citadel—held captive by Queen Suren, the girl he once betrayed. As political tensions rise and Oak grapples with the weight of his choices, he’s forced to confront who he truly is, who he wants to be, and whether Wren will ever forgive him.

🖤 The premise? Great. I really like Black’s magic system and her attention to detail and creativity and in world building. There were definitely moments of tension and beauty, and the Jude/Cardan content? YES. So fun! 🙌

But halfway show more through, I was begging for more than Oak’s inner monologue. He constantly thinks about what he should say… and then doesn’t say it. Repeatedly. I get that it’s part of his character arc, but it got frustrating. 😤

I also think this duology leans way more on the younger side of YA. It lacked the sharpness, danger, and complexity I felt from The Cruel Prince series.

👑 Final Thoughts:
I wanted to love this more than I did. It was entertaining, the themes of power, identity, and love were clear—but I needed more perspective and emotional depth to really connect. I’ll always love being in this world, but I wasn’t fully swept away. Still, I’m grateful for another visit to Elfhame 🖤 show less

An overall good Elfhame story with a nice ending. I love Oak. He is the sweetest, most good-hearted Folk. He is the opposite of Cardan, whom I also love. I enjoyed getting to see Oak's point of view, because I felt like it put puzzle pieces into their places and helped me understand his character more. Despite loving her character, I appreciate Jude being put in her place a bit by Oak pulling the wool off her eyes and forcing her to realize he is the same as the rest of his family, and no amount of sheltering of a kid can keep them from experiencing the tough parts of life. The way that the duology has a theme of the manipulated/abused vs the manipulator, and a constant search to reveal/prove one's true identity, made for an interesting show more reading. And I liked the way everything turns out well enough.

First off, the beginning was rough. I understand that Wren was betrayed and has the past of an abuse victim, but her unwillingness to extend kindness, humanity, forgiveness, understanding, etc. was very difficult to handle. I almost didn't want to keep reading because the story seemed so void of hope.

I definitely had a problem with the way Cardan was portrayed in this. He was made out to be an absolute whiny chump. Every bit of character development we saw in the Folk of the Air series seemed to just slip away. Also, did Holly Black just forget he was well on his way to becoming the most powerful creature in Elfhame?? Why did we not see Cardan use the Land as a weapon again? We kept getting this impression that Wren &/or Bogdana were the most powerful beings, and meanwhile, Cardan seemed helpless even though we know from previous experience that he is not. And it doesn't even feel like an, "I can't be bothered simply because I'm lazy." He always had an override for when himself, his land, or his wife were being threatened. Also, the lack of relationship between Cardan & Oak was incredibly disappointing. Which brings me to the way that everything in this book was written with this layer of impenatrable mystery that was frustrating. And most of it could have been solved with simple communication (like, why did Cardan & Oak never even hint at their true thoughts toward one another?). We keep getting inner dialogue from Oak that says he doesn't know how to convince the people he loves that he is telling the truth, but if he just stopped the act that he's built up for years, it would have been immediately easy, and there was no reason for him to not shatter the illusion because it was no longer working for him.

The characters (or Holly Black?) ignored a lot of the simple solutions. It bugged me and made me worried and tense the whole time. If anything had ended worse than it did, I definitely would have docked the rating down to 3.5⭐️, but thankfully it was tied up rather nicely.

Also, the switch from first-person present to third-person present seemed arbitrary and was jarring as the reader. I didn't feel quite as close to Oak as to Wren, which made me miss her perspective more than I should have.

In addition, there were a few times that some of the Elfhame Folk referenced Cardan letting his wife rule in his place, but it came across as sexist. This was unfortunate because none of the Folk of the Air books had even a whiff of issues between gender. And to be fair, the seemingly sexist opinions likely had motivations that were actually racist (mortal Jude vs. immortal Folk/Cardan), focused on tradition/classism (Jude being queen regent vs. Cardan being king by blood), or spiteful toward a lazy/cowardly king. But Holly Black does not flesh out these nuances when the comments about Jude & Cardan happen, despite the lengths she goes to to describe other interactions, which does nothing to alleviate the inklings of sexism.

Lastly, the lack of Oak & Wren scenes throughout made the book have a different feel & genre than the first. The Stolen Heir borders on romantasy, but this one has so little interaction between the two of them that it ends up not being able to quite be considered that.

I give Barrett Leddy 2.5/5⭐️ for this narration. He voiced it like a children's book and made it unfortunately difficult to take Oak seriously, which should not be. The cadence he used for Oak was different than the way the words were written. I also did not like many of his voices. For example, Wren, while she now is formidable and a near-queen, is suppose to be softspoken with a raspy voice. And she's one of the main characters! show less

It took a few chapters to get up to speed, but then it was fun to follow Oak and Wren as they do a dance that's part romance, part high court intrigue, and a bit of treachery. I'd be happy to have both of them come on my next quest.

So the last book ending left me in a quandary, I KNEW what the characters should be doing, but of course I’m not them so they had to figure it out. They do, and it’s best that way, but still. I did very much enjoy this one, and seeing Carden recognize what Oak was up to was interesting (I’m liking him more and more - maybe I should reread the first books with this perspective?). Elfhame is settled, and I don’t want anything to go wrong for the characters, but I’d like to see them again, so…