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.Purchase From:
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Review
*I received a free advanced reader’s copy of this book from The Novl/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel will be released on January 8, 2019.*
Wow. Just wow.
Just when I thought I knew exactly what Holly Black was going to do she was like, “Lol nope.” This book was a ride, which shouldn’t have been surprising after the doozy that was The Cruel Prince, but I was still shook.
The Wicked King begins five months after the end of The Cruel Prince and Cardan is Jude’s puppet king, though everyone believes she’s simply Cardan’s seneschal. Still, though Jude has the power to command Cardan to do whatever she pleases, it is still difficult for Jude to maintain her control over the new High King. What’s worse is her year and a day of control over Cardan is coming to an end quicker than she can imagine, and Jude struggles to come up with a plan to extend her bargain with Cardan.
On top of everything else, Jude is also still reeling from her sister, Taryn’s, betrayal as well as dealing with the fallout of her own betrayal against her quasi-dad, Madoc. Thus, to say Jude may be a little in over her head is an understatement, but that’s what makes this book so fun. Jude has proved again and again that while she may be a mortal living in the world of Faerie she knows how to play the games of the fae just as well, if not better, than they do.
That said, there are a lot of forces working against Jude and the High King, some she doesn’t even know about. Though the fae can’t lie they can certainly deceive and while Jude may be able to out maneuver the best of them she may not be able to best them all.
At first this novel did start a bit slow for me, but once it picked up I couldn’t put it down. And the ending! I need book three yesterday. It was so good. Everything from Jude being the badass I came to love in book one to the continued sexual tension between her and Cardan had me turning page after to page to find out what would happen next. There were fights, kissing, betrayal, and the TWISTS! I don’t know how Black does it but she needs to teach a master class. This book was brilliant and I need everyone to read it as soon as it comes out because I’m dying to talk about it!
In sum, buy this book, read this book, and then come back here to fangirl with me because I am reeling! That is all.
Borrow or Buy: Buy!
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