Blurb
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.
Rating
Review
I’ve been with this series since Tithe, so I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, while Wren is a great addition to Holly’s girls and was easily one of the most intriguing, I did find myself getting bored with the story.
This is a pretty straight story, Oak recruits Wren to travel across Elfhame with his friends to complete a mission. It’s not very original, which may be why I started getting bored but at the same time Holly kept trying to infodump what had happened in Elfhame in the last 8 years, which I didn’t really care for.
The ending was good though, I loved the turn of events as Wren found the truth about herself and it did set up a lot of new storylines to explore that I’m going to be excited for when I buy the next book. I’m hoping for some more character development with Oak, as he seems just a little too close to being a cardboard cutout of Cardan, without the spice.
Vee_Bookish 
I haven’t had much interest in this one since reading Holly’s folk of the air but can totally see where this new series just feels like a rehash of the previous! It also is a strange choice to have a lot of info dumps on covering those extra years, so can completely understand where it feels unnecessary. Great review Vee!
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Oh no, I loved The Folk of the Air trilogy but I don’t know how I feel about baby Oak turning into another Carden 🫢 thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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