Mad Soul Child
Written on Mar 28, 2021
Once upon a time there was a boy with a wicked tongue...
Before Cardan was a cruel prince or a wicked king, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone. In this sumptuously illustrated tale, Holly Black reveals a deeper look into the dramatic life of Elfhame's enigmatic high king. This tale includes delicious details of life before The Cruel Prince, an adventure beyond The Queen of Nothing, and familiar but pivotal moments from The Folk of the Air trilogy, told wholly from Cardan's perspective.
This new instalment in the Folk of the Air series is a return to the heart-racing romance, danger, humour and drama that enchanted readers everywhere.
Gold and silver foiling, gilded edges.
- Publish Date December 2020 (first published 24 November 2020)
- Publish Status Unknown
- Publish Country GB
- Edition FairyLoot Exclusive
- Format Hardcover
- Language English
- Special Exclusive Design Sprayed Edges
Reviews
Charli G.
Written on Mar 23, 2021
I appreciated that this book gave a glimpse of Cardan’s childhood. I’d long wondered about his childhood and why he is the arrogant jerk he is. Now I have a better idea. I also appreciated the glimpses we got from The Cruel Prince, which tied the books together.
This book is a super quick read! I read the book in just a couple of hours.
If you haven’t read the trilogy that comes before this book, you might be a tad confused, but it could also work as a stand alone book. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone who loved The Folk of the Air trilogy.
Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Written on Jan 1, 2021
Unfortunately, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (referred from here on out to King of Elhame because the full title is bit long) didn’t quite butter my biscuit. Holly Black is a talented author and I think I expected more than what I got.
First of all, it felt a little thrown together. Several of the short stories seemed a bit like scenes that were edited out of the original books. While they were interesting, they didn’t quite seem like full stories to me. Also, any scene involving the sexening and Carden made me dissolve into giggles. He has a tail for crying out loud! Hmm…that might say more about my maturity level than about the book itself. Luckily, I tend to skip sex scenes anyway.
Something that I found interesting (and a little bit of a bummer) was that the stories that were supposed to take place during The Cruel Prince felt a little revisionist. It was really odd because Holly Black wrote with such confidence that I did not expect her to feel the need to change anything. She is a very good writer and I truly hope she knows that.
That being said, I did really enjoy the three stories involving the troll woman. In two of them, she told Carden a different version of the same fairy tale. I liked that they changed based on both Carden’s age and what had been happening in the original series at the time. It showcased Carden’s character development. I won’t ruin anything by talking about the third of the troll woman’s stories. I will just say that I thought it was extremely clever.
The final verdict for me was: the book was not horrible, but it felt unnecessary. However, I am sure that my opinion isn’t the popular one and I would love to hear what you loved about The King of Elfhame and why. Tell me what I missed!
https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home.blog/2021/03/22/how-the-king-of-elfhame-learned-to-hate-stories-by-holly-black/