[Review] The Wicked King by Holly Black

The Wicked King by Holly Black 

Series: The Folk of the Air #2

Rating: 5 stars

Format: ARC

Goodreads Synopsis:

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.
The first lesson is to make yourself strong.
After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she 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 easy to control. 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 own 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.

What even was this book? Unputdownable is what it was. Holly Black continues to enchant with her sequel to The Cruel Prince - The Wicked King.

I didn't have a chance to review The Cruel Prince in all its glory, but the sequel follows up with so much more. Lies, deceit, treason, and conniving plots are all the more reason to be bewitched. The story takes place five months after The Cruel Prince - Jude has Cardan under her thumb, controlling him from behind the throne. But she must battle enemies on all sides - The Living Council, Balekin, imprisoned in the Tower of Woe, her former classmates, one whose mother might even be planning to take the throne, and even those she considers friends. Who is there to trust in the land of fae?


Jude must even uncover her conflicting feelings for Cardan, and this is where it gets spicy. I loved the romance between them. It smolders and continues to burn. Throughout the book they continue to dance around, playing a game of cat-and-mouse. Which is why the ending leaves me so torn! What a cliffhanger. How can I describe it without saying too much?

It occurs to me that maybe desire isn't something overindulging helps. Maybe it is not unlike mithridatism; maybe I took a killing dose when I should have been poisoning myself slowing, one kiss at a time. 

But one character who continues to surprise me is Jude's twin, Taryn. While Jude has fought to become better than the fae, Taryn has decide to absorb herself amongst them, blending in to play their games. I can never tell where her loyalties lie, and I can't tell if that makes me hate her or love her for being so conflicting. I would think she would disappear in Jude's shadow, but she plays right into her role, shifting the story in her favor.

"When I'm with him, I feel like the hero of a story. Of my story. It's when he's not there that things don't feel right."
I don't know what to say to that. I could point out that Taryn seems to be the one making up the story, casting Locke in the role of the protagonist and herself as the romantic interest who disappears when she's not on the page.

When I look at my new clothes, though, I think of all the good things that come from someone knowing you well enough to understand your hopes and fears. I may not have told Taryn all the awful things I've done and the terrible skills I've acquired, but she's dressed me as though I had. 

Madoc and Jude's relationship is also another one to discuss. Madoc is the character you love to hate - but they clearly need each other to get what they want. Throughout the story Jude is consistantly trying to decide what to do with him. Madoc's loyalties lie mainly to himself, but deep down there's also commitment and affection to his adopted daughter, Jude.

I can go on and on about the characters and how developed all their relationships are, but we'd be here forever. Holly Black fleshes out the world of Elfhame and brings it to life, introducing new characters and unpackaging old ones with such ease. Each character is fleshed out, real, and compelling. Their motivations and desires are evident, and even if they aren't revealed firsthand, the twists that come with their motivations just makes this all the more an excellent read.

The only disappointment I have with finishing The Wicked King is that I have to wait another year for the finale - The Queen of Nothing.