Book Review :: The Wicked King, by Holly Black

The Wicked King by Holly Black
ISBN: 1471408035
Series: The Folk of the Air #2
Also in this series: The Cruel Prince, The Queen of Nothing, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories, The Stolen Heir
Published by Allen & Unwin
on 2019-01-08
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 326
Source: Allen & Unwin NZ
Find at Allen & Unwin NZ
Goodreads

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.

Last updated on 14 October 2023

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My thoughts on The Wicked King

It’s always tricky trying to come up with a good synopsis, I find, of a second book in a series (the first being The Cruel Prince). I find myself wanting to give too much away, and that’s not fair on those who want to read the book. I will say as much as I can, however, without giving any spoilers away.

I really enjoyed The Wicked King, by Holly Black. She really is, as Victoria Aveyard on the cover puts it, ‘the queen of faeries’. The world Black has created just keeps getting better, as each book seems to add another layer of intricacies and hidden places not yet discovered. And you guys, the book has a map. And you know how much I love a good book map.

In The Wicked King, Jude navigates her way through the tensions of commanding Cardan, the now High King, trying to figure out her feelings for said king, keeping her brother Oak safe, marrying off her sister to a mortal, and avoiding war at all costs with the Undersea. It’s an ever-tangled twist of storylines and problems needing to be solved, but Jude manages to get her head around them…most of them. She’s headstrong, but even the strong have weaknesses, and Jude’s isn’t a weakness that is easily mended.

Despite the fact that I gave The Wicked King one less star than I gave The Cruel Prince, it was still a really enjoyable read, and I highly recommend these stories if you’re one for a bit of fantasy and faeries.

Have you read The Wicked King yet? What about The Cruel Prince?

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I received this book from Allen and Unwin NZ in exchange for a review. This does not affect my review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.