“‘Once upon a time, there was a boy with a wicked tongue. Before he was a cruel prince or a wicked king, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone.’ The No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black takes a deeper look into the dramatic life of Elfhame’s enigmatic High King, Cardan, told wholly from his perspective. This new instalment in the Folk of the Air series is a return to the heart-racing romance, dangerous, humour and drama that have enchanted readers everywhere. With lavish and luminous full-colour art, this is the perfect collector’s item, to be enjoyed by audiences both old and new. An irresistible return to the captivating world of Elfhame.”
What is the book about?
This book is written in the third person, solely from Cardan’s perspective. We get to see inside the head of the boy who somehow managed to worm his way into not just Jude’s heart, but every readers’. This book gives us the opportunity to truly understand why Cardan is as cruel as he is and how hard it was for him as a child. Before he was a cruel prince or a wicked king, Cardan was just a boy, alone and misunderstood. This is another irresistible, captivating book ready to transport you back into the magical world of Elfhame, for more adventures with Cardan and Jude. Dive back into the Faerie Court and have a deeper look into the dramatic, royal life of Prince Cardan. Full of gorgeous, detailed full-colour illustrations and scenes, not just from Cardan’s past, but, from his time with Jude after being married. Fascinating adventures, thrilling romance, humour, danger and drama all wrapped up into one incredible novel set in the wonderful world of Faerieland.
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
As soon as I finished The Queen of Nothing, I immediately went to inform one of my friends, who had been the one to recommend the books to me, and, when she informed me that this wonderful book existed, I begged her to lend it to me so I could finally get a glimpse into the thoughts of Cardan, who I had been wanting to know more about ever since the end of the first book (The Cruel Prince). As soon as I got my hands on this book, I started to read and finished it with a couple days, regretting my fast-pace, but also extremely glad and satisfied with the amazing read. The book was so amazing and filled with so much information and so may stories that I didn’t know were missing in my life until I started to read. From the very beginning of the book I already knew that this was going to be an incredible book and was sure I would love every second of it. The very first page already had me gripping the book so tight, as if it might fly away along with its amazing short stories, and I didn’t want to let it go until I had finished it and was longing to re-read it. Every short story was fast-paced and amazingly written and I knew that my immediate love of the book was not misplaced. Soon I was reaching the end and missing the characters that I had grown to love and who will always be a part of me.
Who was your favourite character and why?
It was not a surprise that, when I reached the book’s end and I looked at this question, that Cardan was my favourite character. For a little while, at the start of The Cruel Prince, I had been really angry at Cardan and at how cruel he was to Jude. Then, later on in the first book, when I discovered that Cardan was acting wicked because he loved Jude, I was a bit annoyed at Cardan because I wanted him to show Jude how he felt in a way that was actually kind and romantic. Slowly, I began to warm up to the strange prince and I started to really see how much he loved Jude and that he could be kind and romantic (especially near the end of The Queen of Nothing), however I never truly understood his spiteful attitude to the person he loved. As soon as I finished How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories all of that changed. Instantly, I understood why he had acted that way and all I wanted to do was become a fictional character and give Cardan a hug – one of the things he never received as a child, or an adult. I always felt sorry for the way Jude was raised, and how she was treated, but I didn’t know how much worse it could have been. Jude had her sisters, people who loved her and cared for her, but Cardan never had anyone; he was left to fend for himself and was cared for by a cat, instead of his mother and father. He used his cruelty to protect his heart because it was the only way he knew how. He hurt others because it was the only way he could be in control, making them feel insignificant made him feel more powerful. He lived his life in fear, in pain, in shame, in fury, and he knew there was no way of escaping it. But, the thing that made me truly love him was how, once he became king, he did not rule by cruelty and he was not a tyrant, like Balekin or Dain would have been. He no longer felt as vulnerable as he felt when he was the youngest most insignificant member of his family; therefore he had little need to carry on being cruel. He no longer needed to shield his heart from everything and everyone because he had Jude by his side and his heart was hers now, even if he wasn’t sure if she wanted it. He wasn’t afraid anymore and I really liked how, in The Queen of Nothing, he was the first one to express and admit to his emotions, even though he didn’t think they would be returned. He started off being cruel to her because it was the only thing he knew how to do, as no one had ever shown any love to him. But finally he had someone who understood him and who returned his feelings. He didn’t have to hide behind a cruel mask. Cardan’s story broke my heart and there is so much I loved about him.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
My favourite part of the book was…everything! I just can’t choose between all the amazing stories in there because every single one of them was different and special in a completely different and perfect way. There isn’t a single part I didn’t enjoy and I wouldn’t change anything for the world. All the stories are a part of Cardan and I can’t choose between them because choosing just one, would be like saying the other are less significant, and without one of them, Cardan wouldn’t be the character I read about in The Folk of the Air trilogy. At the beginning, when he is merely a young innocent child, he was treated liked he was nothing and that led to the making of the cruel mask he wears to protect himself. As he grew older and started to make friends, he was let down over and over and hurt more times than I can count. He became cruel because of the people he was surrounded with and the horrible way he was treated. The stories of after he married Jude showed him as a changed person and how, once he had a little bit of love in his life, he was able to pull down the walls he had built for himself brick by brick, and allowed himself to feel other things that weren’t just hate, fear and loneliness. Every part was amazing and I loved every single story about Cardan and how he grew to hate stories, everyone and everything.
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, the book was incredible and nothing – absolutely nothing – could possibly be added or changed to make the book any better than it is, because I think it is physically impossible for this book to be any more extraordinary than it is right now. The first thing that I loved about the book was the gorgeous, detailed, full-colour illustrations. I think that it is a terrible tragedy that most books for teenagers and young adults don’t have any illustrations, as if it’s only children who enjoy looking at drawings. I know that too many drawings would completely ruin the magic of using your imagination to create the characters of the book in your own unique way, but I will always enjoy a book with little pictures at the start or end of a chapter. They are a special little extra that I will always love and cherish about my childhood books and is probably the reason why those books are sitting in my attic, despite the complaints of my mother of how we should sell them as they are just gathering dust. I really enjoyed the illustrations in How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories and this will always be the first thing I say about the book when someone asks me about it. Another thing that I loved about the book was how the book went both ways. It was stories about how Cardan learned to hate and stories about how he learned to hate stories. I really liked that and thought that it was really clever. Every short story in the book had a meaning and made Cardan the character that I grew to love when reading the three books in the series, all of them were special and I really loved them. The last thing that I would like to mention about why I loved the book was because I got to understand why Cardan was the way he was. Cardan never had anyone to care for him and was left to fend himself even as a baby. The cruelty people showed him is what he used to build the mask he wore to protect himself because it was the only way he knew to keep himself from breaking any more. Even though he loved Jude, he was cruel to her because no one had ever showed him how to love and it was the only thing he knew how to do. He hated himself for being cruel to her and he hated himself for loving her. I liked how we got to see why he was cruel and also how he changed once he knew that there was someone out there who cared about him. All he ever wanted was for Jude to return the feelings he had for her, all he ever wanted was to not be alone, and I think that is the most honest thing about him (even though he is a faerie and they can’t physically lie) because that is something that I think every longs for. The book was unbelievable and I loved the opportunity to finally read something in Cardan’s perspective and to get to see into his mind.
Would you recommend this book?
I definitely recommend reading this book, obviously after reading The Folk of the Air series. I particularly recommend it for readers over 14 who enjoy romance, adventure, action and fantasy. It is a story that is missing from everyone’s lives and I’m sure anyone who reads it will enjoy.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
A tragic story that is sure to bring tears to the every reader’s eyes and that will break even a heart of stone.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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