A review by abookapothecary
The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

3.25

i liked the beginning of this and the world building, as this doesn’t take place on the Isles of Elfhame. Suren, Oak, and the side characters all have extremely unique aspects that were interesting see unfold throughout the story, but I only really cared about Oak, and i wish we got more of his perspective. Surens perspective of him is too rocky that it’s hard for me to understand him as much as I want to. but with her past of being treated so poorly, i get why her perspective of him is so jaded. The middle was extremely slow paced and the chapters felt so long. they’re on a journey the majority of this book and i was hoping for a little more action. There were a couple conflict points but they were all so anti climactic in my opinion. The romance or few awkward kisses felt so forced that I just couldn’t stop wishing we got Oaks POV in this as well. I will say, Suren’s character development was pretty cool to see and I was so rooting for her by the end. I really enjoyed the first and last 10% of this. I wish i didn’t jump into this right after TFOTA, because the vibes are very different and my expectations were too high. The ending was really good and I think there’s a lot of opportunity in the sequel to make up for what lacked & answer some of the questions left in this one. 

overall: 3/5
plot: 3/5
characters: 4/5
spice: 0/5
romance: 2/5
pace: 2/5