As in all of Black’s books about the world of Faerie, beauty and cruelty exist side by side, and neither is ever completely what it seems. Oak’s unworldly allure-his golden curls and amber, foxlike eyes-makes her doubt the sincerity of his affection. Although she longs to return to her human family, her pale blue skin and sharply pointed teeth are constant reminders that she can never rejoin the mortal world. Wren is the rightful claimant to a throne she is too frightened to command. The Court of Teeth-her former prison-is the last place Wren wants to return to, but if she’s ever going to stop living on the run, she must confront her past and embrace her power, no matter how monstrous it makes her feel.īlack centers The Stolen Heir, the first book in a planned duology, on the scars of childhood trauma. Wren crosses paths with Oak when he rescues her from a kidnapping attempt, then conscripts her into joining his plans. To carry it out successfully, however, he needs Wren’s insider knowledge of the citadel. He has hatched a dangerous plan that involves infiltrating the Court of Teeth. While his sister, Jude, and her husband (the central couple of Black’s previous trilogy) rule Elfhame, Oak has been trying to put a stop to Lady Nore’s growing power and the threat it poses. She’s lived in isolation in the woods ever since, hiding from humans and faeries alike.Ī charismatic and beguiling young man, Oak has spent much of his adolescence in the cutthroat Faerie court learning to combat the many assassination attempts on his life.

There, she endured years of humiliation and abuse before finally making her escape. She spent a blissful childhood among humans until her vicious faerie parents, Lord Jarel and Lady Nore, stole her away to the Ice Needle Citadel in the Court of Teeth. Wren grew up a changeling, a faerie left in the care of a mortal family when she was just a toddler. The Stolen Heir follows Wren, the exiled queen of the Court of Teeth, and Prince Oak, the heir to Elfhame and Wren’s former betrothed. Author Holly Black returns to the world of Faerie with this highly anticipated spinoff from her bestselling Folk of the Air trilogy.

The stolen heir by holly black