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The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2)

Holly Black

Start date: January 1, 2019

Finish date: January 31, 2019

Discussion: Book of the Month

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What Members Thought

Jan 10, 2019 Vanessa Gayle ⚔️ Fangirl Faction rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-ebook-read, reviewed, romance, audio, favorites, fantasy, reread, own-physical-read, young-adult

04/27/2024: Reread. (Audiobook.)
12/17/2022: Reread! (Audiobook.)
07/14/2021: Reread! (Audiobook.)
11/1/2020: Reread! (Audiobook.)
09/09/2020: Reread! (Audiobook.)
06/05/2019: Read for the fourth time!
01/20/2019: Read for the third time!!
01/11/2019: Read for the second time! Yes, I read this book twice in two days. I am besotted with this series!

This review MAY contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Reading this is like having a revelry taking place in your soul. The emotions are bouncing off of eac 04/27/2024: Reread. (Audiobook.)
12/17/2022: Reread! (Audiobook.)
07/14/2021: Reread! (Audiobook.)
11/1/2020: Reread! (Audiobook.)
09/09/2020: Reread! (Audiobook.)
06/05/2019: Read for the fourth time!
01/20/2019: Read for the third time!!
01/11/2019: Read for the second time! Yes, I read this book twice in two days. I am besotted with this series!

This review MAY contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Reading this is like having a revelry taking place in your soul. The emotions are bouncing off of each other like they are in a pinball machine, dancing, frolicking, and rioting inside your heart. It's a bloody beautiful feeling. I like that this book is different from most young adult books. It is darker and rawer and oh so perfect.

This series is truly a masterpiece. The story of Jude, Cardan, Taryn...this is what a story about the fae should be like. Exactly this. All of the cruelty, all of the debauchery, all of the stomach curdling wickedness...all of it! It is all woven into not only the characters and the plot but into the world building as well. I love how Black weaves the wickedness and the whimsy into something that is both and neither at the same time. The story is full of small details that really bring the world to life. Things like how many of the clothes are made from plantlife or from insects, the descriptions of the strange creatures in faerie and the odd physical characteristics that many fae have, and the customs of faerie. Everything is described so vividly that you can imagine yourself in the story without hesitance. It is a world that reader is both in awe of and frightened of at the same time.

The plot of this book is phenomenal! All of the characters, ALL of them, are plotting and scheming for power, love, honor...just wow! The political intrigue is off the charts! So many shocking things happen in this book that your mind may straight up deny what is happening. And that staggering ending has all of my nerves in a bundle. I keep asking myself of Cardan, "to what point and purpose?" I am just reeling from it, okay?

The character development in this book is so impressive. I love how the character progressions affect the plot and really propel the story. First of all, Jude is such perfection. She is the antihero dreams are made of. She uses her tragic past to make herself into a force to be reckoned with. I love her strength, her honor for her family (even when she is at odds with some of them), her unwillingness to back down or be made less, her resourcefulness, and her drive. I am team Jude all day long until the day the Earth stops turning or until stars crash into this little rock and we blink out of existence. And Cardan...what words could really do him justice? None. But I love him, oh how I adore him. He is so complicated that I can only guess at his motives. He hasn't had a painless existence, and pain can shape a person in ways that can surprise us. It can make us terrible, or it can make us great. Who knows which way Cardan's pain has shaped him? Perhaps both? The side characters also really make this book shine. I loved all of the tension coming from different angles.

The romance in this book is pure bliss. It had my mortal heart rampaging like mad. It seriously has one of THE BEST enemies-to-lovers romance that I have read. It is hot, it is messy, it is full of angst and hatred, and it is full of truth. It is the best kind of slow-burn romance too. I loved every bloody moment that Jude and Cardan spent together.

In conclusion, the hype about this book, about this series, it totally justified. This series is beyond anything I could have wished for in a book series. These books burn brighter than the sun and they will leave a light inside your heart. And this is Holly Black we are talking about, so yeah, this fire will leave scars as well. But ones that you'll beg for with reckless abandon. And this is one book series worth begging for.

More reviews on my blog: Novel Nerd Faction ...more

42 likes · Like · see review

Sep 07, 2018 Jenn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: signed-copies, books-i-own, do-you-believe-in-magic, fey, read-in-2019, young-adult, fantasy, cover-love, 5-star-reads, read-in-2023

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to.

Wow. What a ride. I read this book pretty much in one sitting, just stopping long enough to get dinner. Holly Black is a political genius because that's what this book was - a power struggle mixed with family drama and confusing feelings.

After the crazy ass ending of The Cruel Prince, I expected nothing less than spectacular from Black and that's just what I got here. Having tricked Cardan onto the throne, Jude now thinks she holds al Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to.

Wow. What a ride. I read this book pretty much in one sitting, just stopping long enough to get dinner. Holly Black is a political genius because that's what this book was - a power struggle mixed with family drama and confusing feelings.

After the crazy ass ending of The Cruel Prince, I expected nothing less than spectacular from Black and that's just what I got here. Having tricked Cardan onto the throne, Jude now thinks she holds all the power. I mean, Cardan must do what she commands for an entire year so what could go wrong? Well, a lot actually.

While there were only a couple of things that really surprised me, I found this book to be easy to predict - but not in a bad way. I felt like I knew these characters so well that few things surprised me and when they did, they were good ones. But what I absolutely loved about this book was seeing the character growth in both Jude and Cardan. While I also loved the first book, Jude was a tad whiny and woe is me. But not here. Here was see a more confident and smart Jude. One who can go toe to toe mentally with Madoc and stand up to those who tormented her in the past. Then there was Cardan who went from villainous playboy to High King. Here is another character who became smarter and wiser - but still managed to keep that charm that interested me from the first book. I loved watching him come to terms with his new role.

But can we just talk about how horrible Jude's sisters are? And for different reasons. Vivi does not understand why her mortal girlfriend would freak out over finding out she's been living with magical creatures. She also doesn't seem to understand why it's wrong to use magical powers on said girlfriend without her knowledge. Then there's Taryn. Effing Taryn. Talk about one of the most useless and horrible characters. Completely nonredeemable.

The ending was FANTASTIC and had me freaking out but also super excited for what this will bring for the next book! How am I supposed to wait for another year??? ...more

17 likes · Like · see review

Feb 02, 2019 Colleen Scidmore rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: currently-in-computer-mobi-file, currently-on-my-kindle-fire, currently-on-google-drive, currently-on-my-computer

5/20/20

How could I forget that ending! My god Holly Black is good at pulling the rug out from underneath you!
Full review to come.

5/25

“The High King is tied to the land and to his subjects. A king is a living symbol, a beating heart, a star upon which Elhame’s future is written. Surely you have noticed that since his reign began, the isles are different. Storms some in faster. Colors are a bit more vivid, smells are sharper. Things have been seen in the forests. Ancient things, long thought gone ...more

17 likes · Like · see review

Jan 28, 2019 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I loved every part of this book. From the dark and twisted minds of the Fae to how hard Jude had to scheme and trick her way to the top. Jude is the reason Cardan is High King and she gets to rule through him. He gets to play while Jude rules the kingdom behind the scenes. She is so busy making sure no one is trying to one up her. She doesn't realize that she was going to have to watch those who know her best. The one person she thought she could trust has betrayed her yet again.

(view spoiler) ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 24, 2019 Keri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, series-in-progress, uno-challenge-2019

5 stars, this book was great! There were so many good things: politics, hate to love characters, betrayals, plot twists, great satisfying moments and so much more! The only character I just simply hate is Taryn(well maybe Locke too, but at least he knows who he is and what he’s about) because she’s just weak and does whatever anyone tells her with no real loyalty. But with the exception of her, I even enjoy the villain characters. I especially love Jude and her progression in this book. I also r ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 15, 2019 Tbirdplanstoread rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-hard-back

OMG....the end of this book 😱 I cannot WAIT for QoN to come out next month!!!!

3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 15, 2019 Elizabeth Aguilar rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-wands, 2019

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 21, 2019 Megan rated it really liked it

The Cruel Prince was one of my absolute favourite books of last year so I was beyond excited for The Wicked King.

While I enjoyed it immensely it did suffer a little from "middle book syndrome" with not a whole lot of action. The book involved a LOT of politics and sexual tension - two of my least favourite themes of this series - so for me, it fell a little short. I just feel like it was lacking some of the atmosphere and the magic of the first book.

The last third of the book was amazing as alw ...more

1 like · Like · see review