“A heart of stone can still be broken.” – 3.75/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: bubble tea, tails, a basket of bones, stories and stone hearts.

An irresistible return to the captivating world of Elfhame.

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 . Revealing a deeper look into the dramatic life of Elfhame’s enigmatic high king, Cardan, his tale includes delicious details of life before The Cruel Prince, an adventure beyond The Queen of Nothing, and familiar moments from The Folk of the Air trilogy, told wholly from Cardan’s perspective.

This new installment in the Folk of the Air series is a return to the heart-racing romance, danger, humor, and drama that enchanted readers everywhere. Each chapter is paired with lavish and luminous full-color art, making this the perfect collector’s item to be enjoyed by both new audiences and old.

I was super excited to pick this up because I fell in love with this trilogy when I first read it. The world of Faerie was one of the most interesting settings I’ve read about this year, so I was more than happy to return to it! 

I could describe what this story is about by using two quotes from the book: “a heart of stone can still be broken” and “boys change and so do stories”. This novella – unlike the trilogy – is not about Jude… it’s about Cardan. If you read the series you know how poorly he treated Jude, and this novella explains some of his actions and attitudes. We are given a small window to his life and we get to see what he has been through while growing up and how much he has changed. Oh, and did I mention there are also BEAUTIFUL drawings throughout the story?

The story has its own sparkle and uniqueness, but it’s not a novella you HAVE to read (in my opinion). A few interesting things are brought up but it doesn’t add too much to the main story. I would say the coolest things about this novella were the tales and the drawings, because they brought the story to life and gave it the perfect fairytale feel.

It’s a simple book, but if you read the books from the trilogy and you liked it you will probably enjoy this too. It was entertaining!

xoxo,