Holly Black Took a Swing--Did She Miss?
A Review of "The Prisoner's Throne" by Holly Black
Spoiler-free review.
Now that I’ve completed The Stolen Heir duology, the sequels to The Cruel Prince, I can say I was underwhelmed. I’ve seen quite a few reviews making direct comparisons to TCP, but I want to be fair and judge this duology for what it is.
Though the first book was from Wren’s perspective, we switch to Oak in TPT, and Wren is barely present. I actually liked Wren and wanted to see more from her, so I was disappointed to see her lose all of the backbone she’d gained in the end of the first book and take a more passive role. It makes the ending of The Stolen Heir seem anti-climactic in retrospect.
In terms of plot, I wish I had more to say. Though readers get to see inside Oak’s head, Oak is oblivious to the scheming around him, so readers are just as confused on what’s happening as he is. It could have been a fun mystery but ended up disorienting and confusing. Oak spends most of the book talking about how secretly strategic and smart he is, but we don’t see him do much of that. Instead, he pines for Wren and contemplates his familial issues.
The romance was cute but not compelling. Wren and Oak know too little about each other and Wren wholly believes Oak could never love her back. If every character just communicated with each other, this book could have been less than 50 pages. Readers who hate the miscommunication trope, be warned!
Oak’s internal struggles and daddy issues were more interesting than the romance the book presented, but I never felt like these internal conflicts were resolved. Still, it was interesting to see the family we remember from TCP (Jude, Taryn, Vivi, Madoc, and Oriana) from Oak’s perspective.
I’m not unhappy to have read this duology, and I think it justifies its existance and contributes to the world we know and love. But it could have been more…more. I’m left wanting. This duology was kind of like your grandma’s leftover purse candy—a fun treat, but not really what you wanted.
The book ends with not-so-subtle hints towards another Jude and Cardan adventure, which Holly Black herself has confirmed. I’ll be keeping my eye out for that!
STAR RATING: ☆☆☆
