#tcp mention

[unhealthy-obessions]

Before I ever read Tithe by Holly Black I was dead set on the fact that Roiben was FINE. He always was to me, ESPECIALLY when he was willing to basically wage war when Kaye got seriously hurt by the Undersea, LIKE BOOM SHAKALAKAAA I instantly loved him

and yk that one epilogue or wtv in one of the Folk of the Air’s books, when it was written in Kaye’s pov and it showed an interaction between them?OH MY FUCKING GOD I WAS HOOKED. kill me now cuz I loved him alreadyyy.

Legit, months later I realized him and Kaye have their own series but I was already binging different series so I put off reading them.

Two YEARS after reading tcp, I’ve finally read the Modern Faerie’sTale and AGGHHH I LOVE THEM SMM they’re genuinely amazing and can do no wrong and I love HIMM SMMM

[clarissaweasley-10]

OMG GUYS I JUST REALISED- In the first book, Cardan had been reading 'Alice in Wonderland' when he wrote Jude's name over and over again in a piece of paper.

But what is Alice in Wonderland about? A young girl, in a 'wonderland' surrounded by people who arent like her, having to make her way through by herself. does that ring a bell about someone we might know??

HE WROTE NAME OVER AND OVER AGAIN CUZ THE BOOK REMINDED HIM OF HER AHHHHHHHHHHHH

[roseadleyn]

i can't stop thinking about how in the end of the queen of nothing, jude says that neither her nor cardan know how to be happy. they don't know how to live without lying and scheming and fighting and plotting: with each other and with other people

so now imagine jude and cardan after the dust has settled. they wouldn't know what 2 do with each other. like just imagine them now getting to know each other. it's like they've never met because ofc they still bicker and everything, but they are married and they just fought and almost died for each other. and yet jude can't say what's cardan's favorite color and cardan doesn't know her favorite snacks

with the court of shadows as matchmakers it starts turning into a whole ass romcom. one night jude wakes up and cardan is just pacing the room nervously and she immediately panics and thinks something is wrong but no. cardan is taking her to one of the places he used to hide in as a little kid and he's. stressed, to say the least

it's one of the rare times jude gets to see elfhame without some pressing responsibility on her mind. she worries about the state of the palace in the hours they're gone and cardan tries ( as well as he can ) to reassure her that the court of shadows is there and she can let the court go for like,, 2 hours. and then jude is a little quiet and she's just staring around her like yeah this land that she has given her life and body for is so beautiful. she knows about cardan's mother, so she tells him about her own.

anyway i'll go more into depth later but like. it's a very rocky journey. jude sleeps fitfully and has nightmares; cardan tries to avoid sleep by getting drunk. jude's from the human lands and tells cardan to sober up. they both kinda just hold each other during a really bad night. cardan finds out balekin made jude kiss him and is so ashamed and shocked and horrified he can barely look her in the eyes except mutter apologies

cardan also persuades jude to drink btw. she's a very clingy drunk ( not weepy, she's not emotional or anything but she refuses to let go of him )

[bubblesandpages]

Love the centuries long female literary tradition of writing men who fall for women who hate their guts.

[sunshinelivesforever]

Jude Duarte would win the Hunger Games.

[judesidepiece]

Idk what is going to happen in the Prisoner's Throne between Jurdan and Suren, but if they don't end up accepting her into their cute growing Duarte/Greenbriar found family, I think that would really be a shame because all things considered, Wren has so much to relate with both Jude ad Cardan on a personal level. Like they would vibe together, i just know it. They just need to give each other a chance :(

[ivycrestfell]

i like how prince dain and prince balekin just casually go to madocs house in the first book. like that’s funny to me. i wonder if they ever peered at jude and came to the conclusion that she was madocs spy (dain), while balekin came to the conclusion she was just better than cardan at everything.

also makes dains and balekins weird relationships w her a lot worse seeing as they would’ve known her since she were a child. not sure if they care abt that tho since they’re old as fuck and never age, maybe they’re used to seeing future lovers grow up ? (🤮)

anyway cardan on top for not being a pred like his brothers #bestgreenbriar

random note: I find it majorly funny that jude mentions having spoken w balekin before (in early tcp), but never brings it up again. like girl what did u even talk abt w that old fuck!

ALSO how she’s totally wooed and shocked that dain (the crown prince) would call upon her, but doesn’t gaf abt balekin whatsoever. doesn’t reminisce on past convos. willingly goes into his house to fuck shit up. gosh i love her

but she was probably living rent free in balekins mind if u think abt it. dude used her to ridicule cardan, all while technically putting her on a pedestal. And dain did the same. they all technically acknowledged her cunning and strengths and whatnot. Jude was on ALL the greenbriar princes minds (i know a baddie when i read one)

[thejudeduarte]

Is noone gonna talk about the fact that in tcp, in that scene where Jude gets poisoned by the faerie fruit, they see 7 shooting stars and Jude describes that at as dozen deaths. I haven't heard anyone mention that that could have been foreshadowing what was to come later during the coronation as 6 Fae died then (Elowyn, Eldred, Dain, Rhyia, Caelia and Taniot) and also Valerian earlier on which makes 7 deaths like prophecied.

I thought it was really clever, nothing a reader would have really paid attention too.

[madockisser]

if you’ve noticed from reading the modern faerie tales or the darkest part of the forest, redcaps are pretty much stereotyped as being sorta dumb and murderous. if i recall correctly, someone in tmft outright mentions that redcaps weren’t known for being strategists or smart at all.

now looking at madoc in tcp, he sees his daughters are heavily discriminated against for simply being human. i think in his own way he related to this.

in, i believe the prisoners throne- madoc says that he allowed the greenbriar line to pretty much treat him like garbage, and i can totally imagine them doing so, chalking him up to a “dumb, uncivilized redcap” and walking his ass like a dog. “making” him leave his wife at home for ages on end, fighting the wars that the privileged high court started. i can picture him blaming the royal family in part for Eva leaving. that would make it easier than feeling completely to blame for the death of his wife, though imo, out of character. (Just bc he seems to shoulder the weight of raising his wife’s affair babies pretty well.)

obviously he intended to help oak by getting him the throne, and by becoming regent, (in his eyes this was not done to hurt oak but to give him the gift of power, ignorant to how this would negatively affect him) but also to crown his human daughters as princesses, so they’d no longer be treated so poorly. (they probably would be treated poorly- but in his mind, his position as grand general protected them (to an extent), so he’d prob also think that them being princesses would pretty much make everyone finally treat them well)

he truly thought his daughters were being treated well, which makes me so sad, but also irritates me sm bc HOW DO U NOT NOTICE. Madoc cannot lie, so when he says “i didn’t know” when Jude calls him out for allowing ppl working for him to hurt her, he truly didn’t.

Edit; bro didn’t notice his daughter was missing a finger #fatheroftheyear (or ig he was too busy to care, i can imagine he just came back from war and Jude’s finger had already been long gone by then)

Then Jude replies “you didn’t want to know.” UGH. Heartbreak. can totally picture him neglecting Eva in the same way. Just pretending to not notice their pains from being human.

makes me want to sympathize with him maybe feeling similarly and also ignoring it? atleast he ignored it until he realized the greenbriars were treating him like garbage and he took matters into his own hands. maybe this was also his way of paying his daughters back. no more allowing bullshit to happen to him AND his children.?

anyway i just think that madoc related to the mistreatment (atleast in his own way- bc there’s no chance that anyone was pushing his big green ass into rivers) and rly tried to have them be treated well, but he sorta failed horribly.

all he could really do to protect them was teach them how to protect themselves, and jude did it so well, that she did it better than him LOL.

almost makes me feel bad for him. like how many times does this guy try and FAIL MISERABLY at getting what he wants LMAOO. and it’s sad bc they are usually to benefit his family, but he was born in bloodshed so bro knows no other way except thru violence and atrocities to get what he wants. hate to love that moron

Sorry for the madoc glaze, probably reaching but wtv 💔 it’s all i do atp. Anyway happy late Father’s Day! had to post something abt my fav dilf- also feel free to add your thoughts 🫶

[vampsb4tramps]

The more I reread TCP, the more I understand Eva. Madoc robbed her girls of a childhood. He was dutiful but questionable. He did the basics of what a father should do. He just looks like a great dad cause his competition is Eldred, Dain, and all the other absent fathers of Elfhame. It’s also their culture. But he learned with Eva that humans need more reassurance. I think him reading to the girls at night and making other memories are things he’s doing because for a moment he truly thought he lost his wife and child. Would he have been so doting if Eva never left?

Doubt it. She had an affair under his nose and had the time to switch her body for a pregnant human to die in her place. That’s a meticulous plan that takes time and could have easily gone to shit. When you read the shit Jude and Taryn went through-the humiliation, pain , and loss of self. Especially in Taryns case because who knows how she further debased herself to keep up appearances as Lockes wife and hosting revels. Taryn crashed out behind the scenes. Jude is Queen yay I’m happy she got what she wanted, but it’s an eternity of violence and unease (I’m sure Valerians ghost is smug). Jude will never know a day of peace. Her being the first human high queen puts an even bigger target.

From the snippets I’ve seen of The Stolen Heir (I still need to read the duology) shit is more stressful than ever. I’m glad Holly Black didn’t write the political conflicts to end after the original trilogy. Oak mentions all the conspiracies he’s secretly exposed, and honestly, I’m surprised they’re hasn’t been a full on revolt of lower courts wanting to leave the High Court. Especially given how exiled fairies and other courts speak of the High Court in The Modern Faerie Tales trilogy.

Vivi is enjoying the life Eva would have wanted for them. A life where they don’t have to look over their shoulder. A life where they don’t have to salt every fucking thing they eat or worry about being glamoured to kill themselves. While Jude, who was always easily paranoid and stressed, now in a position where she must wear hidden knives in her clothing and take poison everyday. Is that living? And Taryn has her estate and son, but look at the shit she went through to get there. The girls have found their own happiness but at what cost. I know I’m rambling. But reading the series again as an adult versus when I was a teenager has me hung up on the tragedy of the Duarte girls journeys. And I’ve also come to appreciate Madocs character as a fantastic antagonistic.

[lqveharrington]

hii!! I recently read your cardan x reader fanfics, and I LOVE it😛 Is it okay to request? One of the fics included reader getting jealous because Cardan kept mentioning Jude. What about one where Cardan is the one who is jealous because he saw reader laughing with someone else(maybe Locke to be more interesting HEHE)? And like, Cardan wants to do something with her, but she says no because she's gonna be with Locke. I really love your writing!♡

Jealously & Love | C.G.

summary: Cardan finds himself jealous at his father's summer ball when he found you dancing with someone other than him.

pairing: cardan greenbriar x fae!reader

includes: established relationship, fluff, angst, suggestive for like five seconds, cursing, the inner circle being terrible "friends," drinking, knives, Cardan being insecure :(, reader is a great girlfriend, typical things you would find in TCP series

a/n: lowk lost the plot toward the end, but i fixed it, dw :)

Ever since Cardan confessed his undying love, he became completely bewitched by your presence. Well, more than he was before. It was almost like a puppy and it's mother. If you were together, Cardan had his tail or hand wrapped around any part of your body. And if you weren't with him, one of the High King's guards would be sent to follow you around—as if you were already royalty.

Most of the kingdom was shocked at how much affection the young prince was showing publicly—and you couldn't lie, you were just as surprised. Sure, you found it quite endearing, but sometimes it would get a little out of control. Especially when he got jealous over the smallest things.

Just the other day, Nicasia gave you a piece of parchment because you forgot to bring extra. Cardan saw the exchange and he whisked you away to the astronomy tower for the next hour. When the two of you returned to your lessons, your face was a shade of bright red and Cardan wore a smirk that told the entire story.

Tonight was no different. Or so you thought.

The High King always held a start of summer ball. Your parents had told you it was to maintain social status, but Cardan said it was so his father could watch people make fools of themselves. You believed the latter.

Like always, you arrived at the palace with you family, dazzled by the summer decorations they adorned the place with. Your family stood in front of the High King and his family, bowing and curtseying in respect before your eyes found Cardan's.

He was lazily perched in his own throne, red wine in one hand and the other hand tracing circles into the arm of the throne as he kept his eyes trained on you, watching your cheeks flush red at his movements.

It had been less than a minute since you left the presence of the High King when you found Cardan by your side, his lips finding yours in an instant. You grinned into the kiss before pulling away, taking his hand and leaving your family—although they knew you were going to leave them the second you found Cardan or the inner circle.

At some point in the night, you left to grab a glass of red wine for yourself, planting a quick kiss to Cardan’s lips before leaving his arms for the table across the room.

What Cardan didn't expect was to find you dancing with Locke five minutes later. He trusted you with all his heart, but seeing you dance with someone else—Locke of all people—had his heart tightening in doubt.

He wasn't one for confidence when it came to you sometimes.

“Aw, are you feeling jealous, my prince?” Valerian teased and chuckled when he saw what Cardan was staring at, rolling his eyes when he glared daggers into his skull. If Valerian knew any better, he would have stopped, but he loved to rile the dear prince up. “You’re a baby, Cardan.”

“He just misses his princess.” Nicasia drawled and swirled her wine glass, catching Cardan's furious eyes. Her own gaze darkened, scoffing as she spoke. “Don’t look at me, look at your princess.”

The way Nicasia spoke about you made his tail swish vigoursly behind him. Cardan whipped his head back over to you and a small frown tugged on his lips when he saw you laugh at something Locke said, your grin wide at whatever the idiot whispered to you. You laughter caused the doubt to flare and spread across his chest.

“I hate him.”

“We know you do.”

Nicasia and Valerian glanced at one another, lips curled up into one of evil mischief. If they could get the prince to throw a temper tantrum, who knows how much trouble Cardan would get with his older brother when he got home.

“Why don’t you grab her from Locke?" Nicasia murmured softly, doing her best to replicate a voice of sympathy. Although it didn't matter much when Cardan looked like he was going to murder the boy in the next minute. "Move now lover-boy, before Locke takes her all for himself.”

Cardan was barely listening to anything Nicasia was saying—his gaze purely locked onto your figure. He hated the way you smiled up at Locke; he hated the way you laughed at whatever he told you; he hated seeing you with Locke.

The doubt spread doubled and covered Cardan's entire body, the air shifting completely. It almost seemed like the room knew what was brewing underneath Cardan's mind as a clear path was made, leading him straight to you and Locke.

“Oh, shit!” Valerian laughed and pulled Nicasia out of the way when Cardan shoved his wine glass in her hands, his eyes flaring more and more with anger each step he took.

Just as those on the dance floor switched partners, Cardan snuck between you and your next partner, pulling you into the center of the dancers before Locke or anyone could steal you back.

“Cardan!” You smile happily and try pulling him in for a small kiss. When he refused, you frowned and caught the look in his eyes, a look that made your heartache. You spoke softly, “What’s wrong?”

“What were you and Locke laughing about?” He asked.

Your frown deepens, “He was telling me a joke. I didn’t think it was a big deal—“

“You looked too happy with him.” Cardan interrupted—hating that your face fell in disappoint. He felt his eyes glaze over for a second, his voice quiet so only you could hear. “You said you were coming to the garden with me.”

You creased your brows in disbelief, “I’m not done dancing with Locke.” You say and give him a firm stare, your hand tightening in his. “Cardan, what's—.”

He scoffed and spun you out of his arms, watching your eyes widen in confusion as you landed back into Locke's arms. Cardan may have not liked Locke at the moment, but he had to ensure you were with safe in someone's arms on that dance floor—even if that someone was Locke. He narrowed his eyes at you before shaking his head and storming out of the great hall.

You felt a mixture of anger and confusion pounding in the back of your head at what Cardan did. And you weren't just going to leave it at that. You pulled away from Locke and pushed through the suddenly overwhelming crowd of dancers, not bothering to excuse yourself because you weren't really sorry.

When you made it out of the dance floor, you found Valerian and Nicasia cackling over themselves. It was a surprise that their wine wasn't spilling on the floor on how hard they were shaking with laughter. As you watched the two in confusion, it suddenly clicked on who was behind all the anger in Cardan's actions.

“What did you two do?” You ask in disappointment.

Nicasia sighed in amusement and raised a brow, “Cardan’s the one who did what he wanted to. What I said was merely a suggestion.”

You glare at her and Valerian—watching them roll their eyes at you with zero care. You smooth your hair out in an effort to calm yourself down and take steps to the palace gardens where you knew Cardan would be.

Just before you left, you saw Locke make his way to Nicasia and Valerian with a smug look on his face.

That bastard.

You pull yourself away from punching the living-shit out of Locke and run through the corridors, dress bunched up underneath your fingers as you enter the gardens. You did a quick scan of the greenery, frowning when you realized he had gone further into the garden.

“Cardan!” You call out almost desperately, eyes flickering with every sound you heard.

Truly, the only things you heard where the birds perched in the trees, the muffled music from the palace, and the patterns of the winds. You nearly ripped the fabric off your dress from how hard you were tugging on it before you heard rustling from the right, causing your head to whip over.

“Cardan?” You ask into the night sky, hoping it was him. And then you saw a tail swish behind a tree. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding and rounded the tree. “My love…”

You found him leaning against the trunk of a tree, eyes sharp and defensive—closed off even. Like he didn't want anyone to know what he was truly feeling. But the way he avoided your gaze said more than a thousand words.

“What?” He muttered and looked down at his boots, kicking the dirt under his feet with a small pout on his face.

You hesitate approaching closer before sighing, clasping your hands together to stop fidgeting. If you were going to talk to Cardan, at least one of you had to be emotionally available at the moment.

“Were you jealous?” You ask quietly as the winds calmed. When he didn’t answer, you pursed your lips and looked over at the stone bench beside him. “Okay... Then I'll sit here until you're ready to talk.”

Cardan huffed and glanced at you, still unmoved from his position. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew that you would die on that bench rather than leave with no explanation from him. He grunted and sat beside you, his tail instantly wrapping around your waist possessively.

You let the air around the two of you settle before leaning your head on his shoulder, allowing him to relax and feel more comfortable again. His breathing slowed until it matched yours, his hand lacing with yours as you felt for his pulse.

You look up at him, cheek pressed against his shoulder. “Are you ready?”

Cardan nodded ever so slightly, clicking his tongue when the words felt foreign to say out loud. “I was frustrated… And—" He cut himself off and looked down at his hands. "Jealous.”

“I saw.” You say tentatively.

He spoke quietly—like if he spoke any louder the protective barrier around the both of you would shatter completely. “I… I was scared that you would leave me for him. I know you said you would never do anything of the sort but it’s just…”

You patiently wait for him to finish, tucking your legs underneath yourself and playing with his golden rings that adorned his fingers.

“You looked like you were having so much fun with Locke. You looked... carefree.”

Cardan's frown deepened the longer he thought about you and Locke together without him. The images filled his head until he heard you hum, breaking him free of his own self torment.

You hum and adorn yourself with his jewelry you pulled off, the rings sizes too big for your fingers. “And you thought I was going to leave you because he told me half-hearted jokes?”

He shrugged, “A little.”

You sit up properly and face him with a soft smile, cradling his face in your hands. Your thumbs wiped his unshed tears, your heart breaking at how he felt about his own self-worth. His jealously wasn't new, but the doubt eating away at his heart was new. It was a terrible virus caused by three people you both thought you could trust.

The inner circle be damned.

“Cardan..." You whisper and meet his gaze, the warmth in your eyes caused his eyes to soften as well. "I love you with all my heart, and I would never—not in a million years—trade you for someone like Locke or Valerian or anyone.”

You lean closer and plant a kiss to his lips, letting him pull you so close that your chests were touching. You moved your hands to the back of his neck, fingers messing with the strands of his black hair before you pulled away for a breath.

“I only want you.” You say breathlessly, the gold rims in his black eyes shining from the moonlight.

Cardan stared at you like you just hung up all the stars in the dark sky, lighting up his entire world before he pulled you into his arms. He held you tightly as he buried his head into your shoulder, breathing you in because you were his entire life.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, voice muffled from your skin and clothing. "It just— It hurt me to see you having fun with someone other than me."

"I know." You whisper back and hold him closer, your eyes wet with tears you knew would fall sooner rather than later. God, you would do anything for this man. "But I'm yours—completely and utterly yours."

Cardan pulled back and took your face in his hands this time, pouring all his love and emotion into a kiss. He smiled when you returned the kiss with the same effort, pulling away and whispering the three words he would never get tired of saying to you and only you.

"I love you."

You rest your forehead on his, eyes closed and simply existing with him. "I love you too."

©lqveharrington - all rights reserved. do not copy, translate or share my work on other media platforms

[chaiichait]

A lil cardan appreciation :). Okay but Jude keeps mentioning cardan in TCP when he doesn't really need to be mentioned, BUT GIRL REMEMBERS HIM ANYWAY!

I drew this in a plane where for the first time in my life I wasn't retching during a flight.

[saelterlude]

Happy first anniversary to the Link Click Musical!! To celebrate, here is a list of all the specials official recordings that they have given us!

Kay so starting with

Chinese Musical Promo Special Livestream: (I forgot the name of the event hehe)

Faith of Friendship by Wang Minhui and Cai Qi

Words Can't Convey My Love by Shu Rongbo and Wu Yihan (they play these two songs straight, but no worries its not the case for the other proper specials held by encore musical)

100th Performances Countdown Specials: (Yes, this week was a blessing)

Words Cant Convey My Love with LG-CXS swap (roles not character if that makes sense) by WMH, Bai Zhuoming and Wu Hanglu (dont you love seeing wmh cocky confidence slowly and surely crumbles lol, bzm got the rights to get mad at him in the end)

Words Cant Convey My Love with LG->CXS->the girl and QL-> LG by Du Guangyi, Wang Yifei, and Qian Anqi (lets be real wyf took us all by surprise with that entrance and the oh~. its also the source of shy lg in cxs jacket. dont forget the failed streamer disaster lmao)

Faith of Friendship with a push up bet for every ball missed by Teng Chunpeng and DGY (aksnsjks the stupid star formation is great, and the multiple failed shots plss. i love their goofy asses so much)

Forget About It with LG->CXS->QL->LG by WYH, Ding Xingchen and Deng Xialin (i love dxc's twin sister, shes pretty shes great. wyh being a hyper orange cat on stage is also great, dont forget the meme that came from it)

Forget About It with various dialects by Guo Hongxu, Ji Xiaokun and Cai Lu (its the closest thing we've got to how the actual performance goes! special mention go cl needing to read the lyrics off her phone)

As The Saying Goes with CXS as Chen Xiao and everyone else as CX's mom by CQ WMH, DXL, Zhang Jiahao and Zhu Jiayan (chickenchickenchicken, peak comedy, i love wmh going all asian mom lmaooo, yess scold cq into a chokehold!)

Valentine Special:

Words Cant Convey My Love with LG->the girl QL->LG and CXS as CX by DGY, TCP and WHL (dgy wjth the high pitched voice, the almost kiss, the fckin succulent, the fake retching, its perfect)

200th Performances Special:

Words Cant Convey My Love with CXS->Liu Meng, LG taking the confessing role and QL->LG by WMH, GHX and DXL (i love how cheeky ghx looks, and how everyone burst out laughing when he enters. ghx is just terrorizing wmh this whole performance)

300th Performances Special:

Trump Card with CXS and LG hanging by TCP, DGY, WHL, ZJY and Zhou Bo (dgy core strength took me by surprise, its a mess)

1 Year Anniversary Special:

This 15 minutes video contains: (watch me struggle to describe this loveable mess here)

Words Can't Convey My Love by ZJH, Guo Zheyan, and DXL with mahjong cameos (shiguang is in the walls. i promise, it makes sense, its chaos, i love it) by GHX, BZM, ZHB, YHL

Faith of Friendship (doubled! theres too many of them!! and zhb is so tiny wtf. none of them can shoot, wheres basketball god when you need him) by GHX, BZM, ZHB, YHL

Back to The Past by CQ and WMH with WMH belting it whilst a group of raincoat wearing menaces (GHX, ZHB, YHL, CQ) does some cult ritual nonsense. (i am not joking, wmh is singing this angsty song on the verge of tears and getting bullied)

Also, Dive Back in Time with everyone!! (its very cramped lmao)

Bonus! If you prefer it to Weibo, here is a YouTube playlist for the specials posted by niebo! Happy 1st anniversary Link Click Musical! I know I haven't keep up with the clip list but damn I gotta do something.

[deathsweetblossoms]

The Prisoners Throne thoughts

Spoilers beneath cut! Heads up for a critical review but a positive Jurdan review 😂

Also did anyone catch the Roiben and Kaye mention? It was subtle but it was there..

I’m a little all over the place with my initial thoughts on the whole thing, but here are my main takeaways:

The pacing was weak, especially in the build up (or lack of build up) to Oak’s discovery of The Ghost being the main poisoner of his mother. In the span of two chapters, Oak goes from incandescent rage towards Ghost and his sisters/family, to then processing all of that because of the Ghost’s death?

My issue here is we never really saw Oak talking to his family despite his POV lamenting that they avoid uncomfortable topics. He’s right. They do. And so I would’ve liked for a genuine heart to heart.

On the topic of the Ghost’s death — what the fuck? Also incredibly weak. We didn’t spend enough time getting to know Garrett for that death to be impactful in any way (unless you are me and you’ve been crushing on the Ghost for years). The attitude around the entire thing was so blasé that I genuinely thought he was going to be brought back to life in a few pages.. I just don’t understand what Holly was trying to do here.

Overall this probably needed to be a trilogy so she could develop more of these ideas, because even the romance with Oak and Suren felt a little off kilter to me.

Otherwise, every Jurdan scene was incredible. Cardan, despite his few appearances, carried this whole book on his back for me. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE OAK. The tragedy of his upbringing, the way he was supposed to have a happy childhood but was turned into a monster by Madoc is so bittersweet.

I think the abdication of being heir was solved a little too easily? But it did leave the door open for some speculation about a Jurdan baby 👀

I was right about the political problem being about the Undersea and I’m really wondering if she’s going to write that from Jurdan POV or from Nicasia.. so that’s exciting!

I wish we had more *Elfhame* in this book. Where was the magic of TCP? I just felt something was lacking and I can’t put my finger on what.

Suren having a rebirth moment like Cardan only adds to my criticism that Oak/Suren has too many similarities to Jurdan that I wish had been avoided — BUT. I love the imagery of it and I’m happy our monster girl got the happy ending she deserves.

A lot of these Cardan moments had me going absolutely insane — him protecting Jude? Him playing with Leander? Oak pointing out that Cardan is brave and picked up a sword to fight in the end as well? Omg!!

How do I feel? Weird. I’m NGL, I feel kind of strange about this book. Perhaps I need to reread the duology or the entire series.

Some other odd things I noticed:

Lady Asha is still alive and kicking it at court? Lol.

Oak thought Taryn was the kind hearted sister who wanted a gentler world

The amount of dead deer imagery (the deer heart in the Citadel, the dead deer on Madoc’s clothes) that made Oak feel ill at ease was equal parts cute and sad LOL. My sweet hoof boy 🥹

The removal of Valerian’s curse and the confirmation that there was, in fact, a curse. What does this mean for Jude going forward?

[cromulentreader]

Small theory on Oriana's wings in The Prisoner's Throne. Oriana didn't have them in TCP and expressed longing for them.

In TWK Jude mentioned a trinket made by Grimsen which allows the wearer to summon wings and fly.

Now in TPT Oriana's wings are described as "petallike wings" which doesn't exclude the trinket being the same. Even if it's not the same trinket, it could have still been something Jude had given to Oriana at some point.

[ezziefae]

About Cardan's bedroom in TCP. By the end of the book Jude mentions something about Cardan being surprisingly comfortable sleeping in the lair of spies that for a second she thought he looked like preferred it over his prince bedroom. I guess he really did not like that bedroom

Cardan endured a lot of abuse at Hollow Hall, which makes it likely that he would have no problem sleeping or living anywhere else. In case its been forgotten, Hollow Hall is where Cardan faced physical abuse by his older brother, the only person who supposedly "cared for him enough," and its where he found his ex-lover sleeping with another man in his OWN bedroom on the floor. Therefore, Hollow Hall holds a lot of painful memories for him. It's also important to note that Cardan used to sleep on the floor when he was younger, which may be why he had no problem sleeping on the floor at the Court of Shadows. He didn't grow up accustomed to sleeping on elegant beds with stuffed pillows and warm heavy blankets.

Moreover, although he did not seem to enjoy living in Hollow Hall, it was his only option at the time. He made do with what he had, as he was deprived of many things.