The Wicked King by Holly Black / Review

Synopsis:

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.
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Two words to summarize The Wicked King: More Betrayals. Betrayals all around!

I managed to get an e-ARC of this coveted sequel to The Cruel Prince, which I absolutely loved.

And wow, Holly Black is definitely here to make our hearts stop.

Jude Duarte has crowned Cardan as King of Faerie to secure her little brother's future seat as king. Not only does Jude try to navigate the messy politics of Faerie but being at constant odds with Cardan, makes for some great reading. To add to Jude's stress, her twin sister Taryn and Locke are due to be married, and this betrayal is what I felt hurt Jude the most. Dealing with the nuisance of Locke, and Madoc, Jude the mortal has to face herself with Balekin and the Nicasia's kingdom, The Undersea. (Hence why the cover is the crown drowning beneath the water.)

The Wicked King keeps a fast pace from start to finish. It left me emotionally drained as not only is Jude trying to keep Cardan in line, but also battle her feelings for him. I absolutely love these two together, even if it means a betrayal or two between them. There is so much tension between these two that Holly gave us another steamy scene that I wished she could've expanded more! What a tease.

Main reason why I loved The Cruel Prince, is reminded me of again in The Wicked King: Jude. Her immense resilience to be more than the powerful faeries is what drew me to her. She isn't like other YA characters, she strong on her own and she isn't afraid to play the game. Her vulnerability to being a human in this immortal world, gives her incredible strength that author convey so perfectly in this book.

The ending is one hell of a cliffhanger! I was surprised that I had guessed a part of it right, but the rest left me in absolute shock. The readers are definitely going to be crying and shouting just a I was. The third book, Queen of Nothing, is aptly titled if that can give you any guesses. I want to write so much more, but I'll end up rambling and spoil everything even more.

Once again, Holly Black gave a plot with rich details and made her main characters much more diverse with huge plot twists and I hope we can get through 2019 fast to read the last book of this amazing series!!!

D.

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