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Series · romantic fantasy

The Stolen Heir

by Holly Black

The Stolen Heir series by Holly Black has 2 books and is best read in publication order, starting with The Stolen Heir (2023).

Books
2 books
First published
2023
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: The Stolen Heir (2023) — then read straight through in publication order.

Cover of The Stolen Heir, the first book in The Stolen Heir

Reading order

The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.

  1. The Stolen Heir

    Novel

    View book

  2. The Prisoner's Throne

    Novel

    View book

About The Stolen Heir

Suren is the lost queen of the Court of Teeth, raised in hiding after being stolen away as a child, and has spent her whole life trying to disappear rather than claim a throne that nearly destroyed her. Oak, once the small boy in The Cruel Prince, is grown now -- charming, watched by every faction in Elfhame, and sent to find Suren and enlist her help on a dangerous mission neither of them fully trusts the other about. What starts as a wary, transactional alliance becomes something far more complicated as old secrets about both their pasts come due.

Set in the same Elfhame as The Folk of the Air trilogy, this duology shifts focus to the next generation of that world's political mess, following two characters shaped by trauma and manipulation on opposite sides of a decision that will determine who holds real power in Faerie. Holly Black keeps the enemies-to-lovers tension and court-politics intrigue that made the original trilogy a hit, filtered through two narrators whose damage runs in very different directions.

For Cruel Prince readers who want to stay in Elfhame with new leads and a fresh romantic entanglement, this is the direct continuation.

How to read this series

Read The Folk of the Air trilogy (The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King, The Queen of Nothing) first -- The Stolen Heir is set after those events and features Oak, a character readers meet as a child there, now grown. Within this duology, read The Stolen Heir then The Prisoner's Throne in publication order; it's one continuous story split across two books.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in The Stolen Heir duology?

Two: The Stolen Heir (2023) and The Prisoner's Throne (2024), a complete duology.

What order should I read The Stolen Heir in?

Read The Folk of the Air trilogy first, then The Stolen Heir followed by The Prisoner's Throne.

Is The Stolen Heir connected to The Cruel Prince?

Yes, it's set in the same Elfhame, following Oak (a child character from The Cruel Prince trilogy, now grown) and a new lead, Suren.

Is The Stolen Heir duology finished?

Yes, it concludes with The Prisoner's Throne.

Do I need to read The Cruel Prince trilogy first?

Yes, strongly recommended -- The Stolen Heir assumes familiarity with Elfhame's politics and Oak's backstory from the original trilogy.

Reading order last verified .