After parents were murdered by their mum’s first husband, the father of their half-sister Vivi, human twins Taryn and Jude were taken to Faerie. Here, they are brought up by their parents’ killer. Taryn tries her best to fit in, whereas Jude, who wants to be a knight, is always in trouble. Jude is approached by one of the High King’s sons because she can lie – a quality the fae do not possess – to be in his league of spies.
Then the High King is murdered, along with most of his children and Jude’s stepfather is trying to take power and become the regent for her stepbrother Oak. Jude conspires with the King’s remaining son, her arch-nemesis, Cardan, to get Oak out of Faerie where he can have a normal youth.
This is one of my favourite modern fairytales. Holly Black is a master of this genre. So why didn’t I give this book 5 stars… I’m not sure; I did certainly enjoy this more than some other books that I’ve rated with 4 stars, but a wee bit less than my 5 star reads.
All in all, I DO recommend this book, and everything else Holly Black has written!
Read for the Read Between the Lines Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 10: Rivals/Enemies to Lovers Plot
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
