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

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.

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level1055's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I have never before held something so beautiful in my hands!
It feels like a gift from Holly Black!
🙏

Content Warnings

limitlessreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This bonus book is apart of my favourite trilogy...no shock that I loved it as much as the other books. The illustrations were beautiful!

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erovelo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny sad tense 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

4.5

Content Warnings

bookcrushin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.5

This was an interesting way to tell a short story but also get a glimpse into the mind of Cardan. I liked how it weaved the present with the past and how stories help Cardan grow.

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plumpaperbacks's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad 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

I was excited for more content in the Folk of the Air world, and this little novella collection certainly delivered. Cardan is one of my favorite lovable dumbasses, so I devoured these stories in just a few hours. Also, the entire book is absolutely gorgeous. Rovina Cai’s illustrations are stunning, and I think her portrayal of Cardan is among the best I’ve seen.

Now for some thoughts regarding each novella.

The King of Elfhame Visits the Mortal World: 4 stars. Fun, but not really substantial.
The Prince of Elfhame is Rude: 4 stars. My criticism here is the same as it is for the previous novella.
The Prince of Elfhame Hates (Almost) Everything and Everyone: 4.5 stars. It was interesting to see how Cardan and Nicasia met.
The Prince of Elfhame Gets a Moth Drunk: 3.5 stars. Though it wasn’t as interesting as the title suggests, I did like seeing Cardan’s softer side. (He just won’t admit he has one.)
The Prince of Elfhame is Mildly Inconvenienced: 3 stars. This was kind of pointless, but seeing Jude and Taryn from Cardan’s perspective is definitely interesting.
The Prince of Elfhame Gets Wet: 3 stars. Again, this was kind of pointless, but I enjoyed seeing his crush on Jude develop.
The Prince of Elfhame is Given Two Stories: 4 stars. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to but I kind of like Aslog. (Note: This doesn’t last.)
The Prince of Elfhame Learns to Hate Stories: 4 stars. The best word to describe Cardan is “fool”, as evidenced by this story. I love him anyway.
The Prince of Elfhame Stomps Around: 4 stars. Alternate title: The Prince of Elfhame Has a Crush on a Mortal. We love to see it. At least, I do.
The King of Elfhame Tries to Do One Good Thing: 5 stars. YESSS JURDAN CONTENT. Also, I love seeing Cardan in the mortal world, 10/10 would read more. This is one of my favorite stories.
The King of Elfhame Gets What He Deserves: 5 stars. Cardan really is a dumbass, but it’s fine. He means well—most of the time—and he’s entertaining regardless. This is my other favorite story. (Yes, my favorites are the ones that involve Jude and Cardan. I’m a simple lesbian that just loves to see her favorite heteros together.)

Some of these made me laugh, and others really made me pity Cardan. It’s a super short book, easy to speed through, and if you’re a fan of this series, I can’t recommend it enough. Cardan might hate stories, but I love them.

Content Warnings

typedtruths's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

➸ Trigger warnings for

Spoiler

child abuse & neglect, parental abandonment, cheating, alcohol consumption & abuse, recreational drug use (including forced & coerced use), whipping mentioned, mind control & forced slavery (sc), murder & death mentioned, and bullying

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