How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black

I can’t even try to describe how beautiful this book was! The artwork is just exquisite, I’m so awed by the beautiful illustrations, the golden details and the gorgeous chapter divides. And it was so wonderfully written, with the same vibe as the original trilogy, but with a sweeter touch. It was simply the perfect addition to The Folk of the Air series! 

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories is an illustrated novella that takes us back to the Elfhame universe, but this time from Cardan’s perspective and with added stories from his childhood before The Cruel Prince and all the way to adventures beyond The Queen of Nothing.

The character development that Cardan has undergone through the series is just amazing, and it’s so wonderfully described via these short stories. I loved how Holly Black managed to show that he wasn’t born cruel, but how his heart turned into stone because of the cruel things that happened to him. I really enjoyed to get the backstory to Cardan, and to understand his mixed feelings of hate, love, desire and longing, and the reasons for his actions in The Cruel Prince.

“A heart of stone can still be broken.”

All in all, this was the perfect addition to The Folk of the Air series and a book that made me so happy! Everything in this book had a beautiful fairytale kind of vibe to it and the illustrations by Rovina Cai were simply amazing and added so much to the story and to the overall luxury feeling of this book. I read it in one sitting with a goofy smile all over my face, ending it with a wish to immediately start rereading The Folk of the Air series all over again. If you enjoyed this series you will without a doubt love this book to pieces! 

Rating:
5 stars

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​Author info:
Holly Black