Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: January 3, 2023
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Dark Fantasy
Return to the opulent world of Elfhame, filled with intrigue,
betrayal, and dangerous desires, with this first book of a captivating
new duology from the #1 New York Times bestselling author 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.
The Stolen Heir is the first installment in author Holly Black's The Stolen Heir duology. 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. This story starts as Oak seeks Wren out along with his knight, Tiernan, and a disgraced follower of Madoc’s, Hyacinthe, to ask for her help.
Lady Nore, Suren/Wren’s mother, is planning an attack on Elfhame, and, in order to stop it, they need her help to command her to surrender (a power which Jude granted her in The Queen of Nothing). 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/Wren 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/Wren’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.
Oak is often the target of assassination attempts, as well as false flattery and disingenuous relationships, and he doesn’t know which of those is more annoying. He hopes that Suren/Wren is the answer to what he is searching for. In many ways Suren/Wren reminded me of Jude, specifically her distrust of the Folk who hurt her badly, Oak in particular, as well as her constant need to outwit those around her and be accepted by them, at last. This journey is mind blowing.
The ending to the story is incredible and you will have no choice into following Suren/Wren into her next journey. So, apparently, my sources are now saying that book 2, which will be the finale, will feature Oak's narrative. If you are searching for Jude or Cardan, don't. This book is all about Oak and Suren/Wren and their fight to defeat the Queen of Teeth who is as villainous as ever.
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