The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

Summary from Goodreads:

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.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black returns to the opulent world of Elfhame in the first book in a thrilling new duology, following Jude's brother Oak, and the changeling queen, Suren.

Review:

I lucked into a free Barnes and Noble gift card that someone did not want….My husband and I split it and I ended up purchasing this book. I have loved Holly Black since I was an actual teenager. And her latest series is probably my favorite. However, I have to admit it took me a little longer than expected to remember who all the key players were when I started the book. I even went online to look up a series recap. Not that you necessarily need to remember much about the previous trilogy to enjoy this book…but I wanted to remember things. I loved that trilogy so much, I wanted to remember why.

I didn’t immediately love this book. It kind of slowly earned my respect. I liked slowly getting to know Suren. She’s not exactly the typical main character -someone who chooses a life of exile in the woods…watching the human family she wishes she could go back to. I immediately felt bad for her, but I didn’t immediately love her. That okay though because I grew to love her once I saw how strong, resilient, and incredibly intelligent she was.

Oak on the other hand? He’s also not the typical love interest…He never tells the full truth and always seems to tricking Suren, and I never really grew to love him. Maybe part of this is because I keep seeing him as the child from the original books. But, also his character is maybe too flawed for me. And I tend to love flawed characters, so I’m not sure what this says. It’s definitely another character-driven story. But, it starts as a quest-type story. Quest tropes aren’t my favorite, so that’s also part of the reason it took me a little while to get into it. But, I’m glad I did not give up on this one. When the book picks up on the world building and character development, and dark twisty suspense plot elements, it’s un-putdown-able. And the ending? It definitely leaves you wanting more. I cannot wait for book 2.

All in all, it took me a while to get into my groove, reading this. But, when I did, I really did. I give this a 9/10.