The Wicked King
The Folk of the Air #1
By Holly Black
TheStory
After the utter betrayal in The Cruel Prince, Jude must now work to maintain her power as the “advisor” to High King Cardan, who is fighting her every step of the way. Cardan is bound to Jude for the length of one year (plus one day), after which he has sworn to make her pay. With war looming on the horizon, Jude and Cardan’s complicated feelings, and the court scheming, Jude must also find the traitor in the inner circle.
This book begins five months after the end of The Cruel Prince. Relationships have shifted, loyalties have changed, and challenges have arisen. While Jude is only a mortal in the land of Faerie, she is ambitious and tenacious. As much as she might value the power she worked to attain, she may be ill-equipped to actually handle the consequences of gaining that power.
Even though Cardan openly defies her at every possible turn, his feelings of hatred turn into a complex tapestry of emotions, as Jude’s feelings do for him. While navigating their new relationship and the court as King and advisor, a new threat of betrayal threatens to rip apart everything Jude worked for.
TheReview
What. A. Banger! Oh my gosh… *clears throat.* Let’s try to review this…
First, we start with the five month gap between the last book and this book. This gap in time was actually nice to establish the change in the relationships without having to drudge through it all in detail. We can just get right into the heart of the story.
This book had so much more action than the first one. It also had a greater focus on the way Faerieland works and the ins-and-outs of the court. All the details helped me get into the story so much better than the last one. I was a little confused in The Cruel Prince with some of the ways things worked. But this one detailed it a lot better.
THE. ENDING. I don’t know that I’ve ever been so shocked by an ending in a book. There were shocks all throughout the book - relationships, power shifts, deaths, murder, etc. But the ending was the most wild shock of all. What a wild ride. It THREW ME!
What amazing writing. I’m so impressed with Black’s focus, foreshadowing (not too much or too little), and storytelling. She thoroughly shocked me. I’m just dying to start the next book!
TheRating
Storyline: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
World Building: 4/5
Spice: 0/5
Writing: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
The Folk of the Air Series
The Cruel Prince
The Folk of the Air #1
The Wicked King
The Folk of the Air #2
The Queen of Nothing
The Folk of the Air #3