[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?

[Review] Ironside (Modern Faerie Tales #3) by Holly Black

Ironside by Holly Black

Series: Modern Faerie Tales #3

Rating: 5 stars

Published: April 24th 2007

Goodreads Synopsis:

In the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben's coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing -- her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now Kaye can't see or speak to Roiben unless she can find the one thing she knows doesn't exist: a faerie who can tell a lie.

Miserable and convinced she belongs nowhere, Kaye decides to tell her mother the truth -- that she is a changeling left in place of the human daughter stolen long ago. Her mother's shock and horror sends Kaye back to the world of Faerie to find her human counterpart and return her to Ironside. But once back in the faerie courts, Kaye finds herself a pawn in the games of Silarial, queen of the Seelie Court. Silarial wants Roiben's throne, and she will use Kaye, and any means necessary, to get it. In this game of wits and weapons, can a pixie outplay a queen?

Holly Black spins a seductive tale at once achingly real and chillingly enchanted, set in a dangerous world where pleasure mingles with pain and nothing is exactly as it appears.

A culmination of our Modern Faerie Tale. It was some ride.

I can say the same things I've said before - love the romance, the prose, the way Holly Black makes these books addictive, but I'll say a couple of other things too.

Kaye Fierch drunkenly declares her love for Roiben, the new king of the Night Court, and he sets her up on this seemingly impossible task for her to become his consort - find a faerie that can tell a lie. In the midst of this, the war with Silarial and the Bright Court is growing in tension and animosity, and Roiben must find a way to appease his sister Ethine and quell the fighting.

[Review] Valiant (Modern Faerie Tales #2) by Holly Black

Valiant by Holly Black

Series: Modern Faerie Tales #2

Rating: 4.5 stars

Published: May 31st 2002

Goodreads Synopsis:

When seventeen-year-old Valerie runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system.

But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. And when one talks Val into tracking down the lair of a mysterious creature with whom they are all involved, Val finds herself torn between her newfound affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.

Just as good, if not better than Tithe.

I was worried that because this wasn't directly connected to Kaye and Roiben's story that I wouldn't like it as much, but I loved it!

[Review] Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales #1) by Holly Black

Tithe by Holly Black

Series: Modern Faerie Tales #1

Rating: 4 stars

Published: 2002

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms - a struggle that could very well mean her death.

I love how Holly Black writes fae - it's just so immersive and beautiful. Plus there's a ton of complexities to uncover about the courts and their inner workings so each plot twist was carefully hidden and well done.

It also takes place in NJ/NY so I totally love the urban vibes. The Cruel Prince started me on this fae-train so now I can't stop reading about faeries.

[Review] The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Series: Magisterium  #1
Version: ARC

Release Date: September 9, 2014

Goodreads synopsis:
Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.

Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail.

All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him.
So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing.

Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.
The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .


Not going to lie- I went into this book expecting another version of Harry Potter. There's a lot of similarities between the two books that I got just from reading the blurb and looking at the cover- three main protagonists, a magic world, a boy who doesn't fit in. So when I read the haunting and creepy prologue I was pleasantly shocked- this world was definitely a lot grimmer and distinct.

The Iron Trial reads like a set up for the series- it helps establish the world and characters. As a result, the pacing was pretty slow through out most of the book. Parts of the story seemed tedious to me-  there was a portion of the book where the characters were sorting sand by different colors which I thought took up way too many pages. I would find myself putting the book down while reading  because there seemed to be so many scenes where there was no plot development and my attention span could not take it. There's not much action in The Iron Trial- especially in the middle of the book. However there were so many mysteries that were present in the book- the elements, Callum's parents, the Enemy of Death, etc. that were setups for so many different situations and conflicts and I'm kind of upset that most of them were not acted upon for most of the book.  However the ending of the book really kicked up the pacing when the twist was revealed. I totally did not see it coming and it made me devour the rest of the book.

While there was a lack of action, there was great world development. I really loved the magic system that The Iron Trial has-

"Fire wants to burn.

Water wants to flow.

Air wants to rise.

Earth wants to bind.

Chaos wants to devour."

and how the use of elements can affect a magic user. I got to really know the characters- especially Callum, who I just adore. Even though he's the main character, he still has an underdog type vibe to him which really made me root for him through out the whole book. Even with Callum's friends Tamara and Aaron, their characters are really fleshed out already. At first Tamara really reminded me  of Hermione due to their intelligence and drive, but as I read on a lot more differences began to be apparent between the two characters.

Overall it was an ok read. It was a nice middle grade book with magical elements that will (hopefully!) led on to be an epic series. The Iron Trail, being the first one, was a bit lacking in pacing and plot but provided a good base for the series.

Happy New Year!

We wish you a happy and healthy year, and may all your dreams come true in 2015!

In 2015, we hope to improve upon this blog! But we need your help and input - complete our End of the Year Survey here.

In 2015, we will be attending BookCon again and possibly BEA in the spring, as well as other bookish events.

In 2015, we hope to read and review many amazing new books! And to kick that off...

Our first read of 2015 is...

Alice:

The Kiss of Deception by Mary Pearson

Yiling:

The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare



xoxo