Review--The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black

 

An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame.
 
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.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes the stunning blood-soaked conclusion to the Stolen Heir duology.

Ask and you shall receive, apparently! In Holly Black's The Prisoner's Throne, we continue Wren and Oak's story, but this time, you guessed it, Oak is at the helm! I can't help but wonder what this duology would've been like if it was dual point of view throughout. I feel like it could've been a little stronger (for me) in its storytelling.

Oak is now Wren's prisoner, by his own design. He cares for her and he fears what his family might do to her if he were to leave. But as it turns out, his family is coming to rescue him with a battalion behind them. Oak needs to make extra nice with Wren to prevent an all out war from happening. So he does what he does best and tries to charm her.

But Wren has always been wise to Oak's way, but there's so much backroom plotting going on in this one, that sometimes it's hard to tell who's plan belongs to who. Oak has his plots, Wren has her plots, and other characters have their own too. When Oak proposes marriage to Wren she accepts...but knows that there is something else happening here than a simple proposal. Wren and her entourage, including Bogdana, travel with Oak to return to Elfhame for the upcoming nuptials which still need to be blessed by the king and queen, Oak's sister, Jude.

I feel like things moved a little faster in this one. There was so much I felt like we didn't know about Oak in the first book, and this one became quite eye-opening, but alas, with Oak at the helm, Wren is practically in the shadows. I know Holly wrote the original trilogy from Jude's point of view and then we got a novella from Cardan's, but I really felt like this duology could've benefitted from a dual point of view between Wren and Oak. I feel like things would've been explained so much better and we could fully realize what was happening. Which was basically faery schemes and plots.

It also felt like in this series there wasn't much time for romance. Yes, there's still heated tension brewing between Oak and Wren and we do get to see a bit of that expand more. But, I don't know, I guess I was just expecting more. True, Oak and Wren have got a boatload of issues to work out with one another. Trust between these two was definitely hard to find, which could make for a more complicated love affair.

The pacing was once again pretty tame. There was buildup, there were sedentary moments. We had plots and schemes and some good faerie intrigue. It's about what you would expect from a Holly Black book all in all.

Things are resolved nicely with a bow and all. We know what Oak's course is at the end. And from what I heard we get a hint as to who the next book of Elfhame will be about. Which should be pretty exciting if I guessed right! Lol. Needless to say, if you are a fan of Elfhame, this is a duology you will want to read...if you haven't already. I am clearly way behind on everything! Lol.

Overall Rating 4/5 stars