Reviews with content warning for Drug use - How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories

Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories, by Holly Black

17 reviews

kynthebookworm's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I think this was a great addition to this world. I love the writing and I really liked the stories told and how they tied into Cardan's own actions and development.
I also loved seeing the tidbits of them in the mortal world and the amazing little dynamic the characters all share as a family now.
I would have liked to see a bit more about Cardan and his interactions with the court and his siblings when he was younger but I do understand they more than likely weren't included for the sake of telling the overarching story across all the shorts in this book.
Overall a great read if you enjoy the original trilogy and very quick I finished it in 4 hours.

Content Warnings

raypaws's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

km_reads_and_edits's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Tonally, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories was like an eerie, grimdark fairytale. Both the story and the artwork were beautiful and unsettling and magical all at the same time. Getting immersed in this book truly felt like stepping into a land of messed-up fables (and I loved every minute of it). Also, the artwork is giving Where the Wild Things Are vibes, which was my favourite picture book as a child.

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories is book no. 3.5 in Holly Black's The Folk of the Air Series. Before reading it, you will want to have already read the following:
1. The Cruel Prince
~~1.5~~ ~~The Lost Sisters~~ (not worth reading as Taryn's POV adds very little to the story, in my opinion)
2. The Wicked King
3. The Queen of Nothing

Content Warnings

tsar's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Having a heart is terrible, but you need one anyway.”

Disregarding the massive popularity that it holds, The Folk of the Air is unfortunately not the faerie-centric fantasy series that places itself in my favor. I would say that the plot is intriguing, revolving around manipulation after manipulation and the love-hate relationship between the main characters, but its execution looks clumsy most of the time that it fails to reach the complexity to articulate a self-vengeance and power-seizing attempt motivated by years of prejudiced and vindictive treatment for being humans and half-humans in a pure faerie society.

One of those spiteful characters is the main character himself; Cardan Greenbriar, the spoiled, silver-spooned princeling who intends to make the protagonist Jude Duarte's life a living hell due to her human heritage. He serves as an adversary to her quest for power as well as the main love interest that she initially tries hard to deny—most of all, he becomes a pawn that she uses for her goal without his awareness, subjecting himself to the 'I can fix him' element as soon as he agrees for a truce with her.

As the main trilogy falls flat in capturing the intricate characterization of Jude beyond her long-time animosity against the fae court, the recent release of the series' novella happens to be the opposite of it in terms of message, purpose, and illustrating the character development of Cardan after the internal conflict between the fae courts has been resolved.

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories is a novella that projects itself as a fable. Readers are engaged to see Cardan attending to the same folktale in three different kinds of perspective, with each progressing as he slowly grows mature from the past experiences that he's witnessed over the years. Cardan goes from the petulant child who doesn't give much effort in understanding the tale to the teenager who stands in the middle ground of acknowledging and refusing to see how the tale applies to his situation, and lastly, the adult who begrudgingly empathizes with the moral of the story.

Back then, Cardan was known for his excessive bigotry in his youth, never hesitating to ridicule those who are beneath his feet since he is the princeling of the royal family—his apparent hostility with Jude since their childhood is one example, further with another case of his obvious glee on seeing how kidnapped humans are mistreated by high-class fae families. And yet, the portrayal of his emerging inquisitive attitude reflects the maturity that begins to build up in his character.

Black elaborates the progression of his character by taking Cardan out of the comfortable zone of Elfhame. Despite his protests, Cardan agreed to travel along with Jude to the mundane world where her half-sister resides with her mortal girlfriend. He is written to explore Portland city with a curious mind, albeit the occasional sarcastic remarks out of his own bewilderment and cultural shock on how foreign the mortal realm is to his customs in Elfhame. However, the change in his personality doesn't make him look feeble—he retains the trademark sardonic personality that has been exhibited since his first introduction, albeit more mellowed out and less offensive compared to his younger days. In addition, he unconsciously develops a timely sense of humor; a dry one, it's supposed to say, nonetheless, it succeeds in cracking smiles numerous times.

With a writing this nuanced and thoughtful, echoing the tone that she adopted when she co-wrote The Spiderwick Chronicles with Tony DiTerlizzi, it's baffling for me to see how Black could construct Cardan's character far better in a condensed space than her attempts on Jude in three books. Most characters in The Folk of the Air series are truly unlikable, but Cardan has passed that label into a charming, appealing character despite his flaws—his story feels much more authentic and engaging, opening to possibilities in bridging the discreet world of faeries and the massive mortal realm that he has just discovered.

For final thoughts, do I want to see more about Elfhame and the mortal realm through Cardan's eyes? Absolutely, if Holly Black decides to expand the series further. I'd love to see him exploring more of the mundane world... let's say, trying out weird jobs and foods and making a commentary channel about it.

Content Warnings

andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm really glad I managed to get my hands on this add-on from Holly Black! ^_^

These collection of "stories" are well thought off and in perfect sync with the rest of "The Folk of the Air" series!

It gives us some answers to why our "Cruel Prince" behaved as he did, without actually trying to absolve him of the things he did and said! Well done!

Without spoiling the stories, I want to say the following: we have a coursive narrative, we receive answers as to why some things/ behavior was part of Cardan's character, and more than that, we get to see his mind evolving over time and how he interprets life and himself in different stages of it!
I'm happy with the way in which fairytales were incorporated and the different ways in which they evolve..from one interpreter to another, from one conclusion to another and from one purpose to another! Really liked this clever use of ever-changing story!

I really enjoyed this short book and I'm hopefull we'll someday get one on Madoc...

I don't think it is a shock to say that we have Jude make an appearance...but, thankfully, Cardan seemed to be his own person..without the tragic truth of many heroes/ love interests - with only one character trait...to be our MC's lover...>..>

In the end, I can only say that, for me, it was cathartic to see this side of the tale, to be in Cardan's shoes for a minute and explore his view on things!

Gladly recommend to anyone who enjoyed the original series!
Enjoy

Content Warnings