The Wicked King

The Wicked King

By Holly Black
Published: Little, Brown and Company, 2019
Pages: 326
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Amazon, Goodreads

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring. The first lesson is to make yourself that strong.

About the book

Jude has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were biddable. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her, even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a faerie world.

Review

Holly Black continues the cruel, heart-wrenching world of Faerie in The Cruel Prince's follow up novel, The Wicked King. I'm shocked after finishing the end the book; it seems with Black's novels I always think things are going to go one way then I'm abruptly turned around and left second guessing everything I thought I knew.

I don't feel like I can say much without ruining The Wicked King or The Cruel Prince (click here for the review of The Cruel Prince). The characters were well-written and executed like in the first book. Jude still proves to be a solid protagonist; she's strong, intelligent but she turns hard, into someone who is OK with murder as long as she obtains her goal. However, I felt kind of lost during The Wicked King... the plot got muddled in the middle of the story.

Nonetheless, I'd still recommend reading this book if you enjoyed The Cruel Prince. I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the third novel!

RATING (out of five puppies):