How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories Review

Summary

Before the adventures of Jude, Cardan was a wicked fae boy with a heart of stone. In this amazingly gorgeous collection of illustrations and short stories, we get to see Cardan before he knew Jude and a small glimpse into their future after the Folk of Air series ended.

My Thoughts

Let me start this review by saying that this book is the most gorgeous book I have ever owned! The illustrations in this book are spectacular and I loved the way that artist captured one of my favorite couples in fantasy. I also loved her illustrations for the magical creatures, they were of all different styles and it added a very fun and storybook-like element to the stories.

I honestly didn’t know what I expected when I heard that this book was coming out. I just thought it was going to be a small collection of stories from the trilogy, but I had no idea it was going to be like this. It was such a great surprise and I loved it. The writing style of the book is very different from the trilogy and it was lovely. It reminded me of a storybook from when I was a child and it was beautiful. It was a fairytale book (get it, a fae tale?)

Not only was the writing style different, but it was told in Cardan’s point of view and it was glorious. It was so great to see his point of view and it was everything I hoped for and more. Not only was it in his point of view, but we got to see and read scenes that we didn’t get to in the trilogy and we saw Cardan’s relationship with Nicasia in a way that I didn’t expect. It gave a depth to Cardan that I didn’t think of before and I loved it.

I also loved that the author included more of Cardan’s back story because though we got bits and pieces in the trilogy, it was lovely to get more! It was also told in such a unique way that made it seem as though we were getting something completely brand new. However, I wish we were given just a little bit more about Cardan and Jude because seeing into their life as king and queen was everything! I just wanted more and more. Sorry I’m a greedy two year old that is never satisfied.

Overall, this book was a gorgeous collection of short stories that every fan of the Folk of Air series will love.