The Stolen Heir by Holly Black is the spinoff duology to The Folk of the Air Series. It takes place eight years after the events in The Queen of Nothing and follows Wren and Oak on their quest. Wren is the exiled Queen of The Court of Teeth who has had to fend for herself for the past four years and fights to remain hidden from her abusive parents, and Oak is the prince of the High Court of Elfhame who needs Wren’s help.

Wren grew up in the mortal world with a mortal family, but her biological parents Lady Nore and Lord Jarel take her back because she is now to be queen, their queen to rule. They used her to stay in power; made her life hell until she managed to escape. Oak is a prince and lives in a lavish palace, but power comes at a cost, and it may be his life. Since he was a child, he’s had to dodge assassination attempts in his life hoping to end the royal lineage. With Wren gone Lady Nore’s power has grown, and Oak has a plan to stop her, but he needs to infiltrate The Court of Teeth with Wren’s help.

This book centers around childhood trauma and Wren’s healing process. Her mortal family didn’t want her after they saw her proper form (pale, blue skin and sharp teeth,) and her parents only wanted her for her title and power yet made her powerless. Throughout the book, she slowly starts to overcome her fear of herself and power and comes to terms with it. 

Just like in The Folk of the Air Series the writing style gives it this royale elegance that I absolutely love because it just adds to the fantasy world of Elfhame and its beauty. In addition to the writing style, you also have amazing character development in Wren that is clear and builds naturally throughout the book. 

The only thing that I was disappointed about was that we didn’t get more of Jude and Cardan (The OG couple of The Folk of the Air Series). I know that this book wasn’t centered around them, but since Oak is Jude’s brother, I was hoping there would be more scenes with them.

Trigger warnings: violence, blood, child abuse, abuse

I do not recommend reading this book if you have not read The Folk of the Air Series because there are many references to those books, especially the events that happened in The Queen of Nothing. Overall This was an incredible read, but not my favorite in the Novels of Elfhame. 4/5 read.