Holly BlackFantasy · Fiction·b. 1971
The Wicked King
Synopsis
In the second book of Holly Black's Folk of the Air trilogy, Jude Duarte has more power than any mortal has a right to hold — and keeping it may cost her everything. She has bound the mercurial Cardan to her will and rules Faerie from the shadows, but the throne is never secure. Cardan chafes against her control, the sea-folk of the Undersea press their own claims, and the more dangerous the court grows, the harder it becomes to tell an ally from a knife in the dark.
As threats close in from every side, Jude must outmaneuver enemies she can see and traitors she cannot, all while the charged, uneasy pull between her and Cardan deepens into something she can neither trust nor deny. Betrayal, when it comes, arrives from the direction she least expects.
The Wicked King is a tautly plotted, romantic, and treacherous middle volume that tightens every thread of intrigue set loose in The Cruel Prince.
How it reads
Prose complexity 4/10
Content warnings (3)
ViolenceTortureKidnapping
- I'll try to make this as coherent and comprehensible as possible... but I hold no promises for I am shooketh to the core of my bones. I am not saying this is the best thing I have ever read but I have been on a very long hiatus from reading for at least two years. Going back to reading and then reading this is just amazing. I started this book this morning promising that I will just read 4 chapters and read more at night, but then I literally couldn't put it down. I read the whole thing in one sitting .... in public (I bet it was fun for people to see my facial reactions) Filled with action and the little romance is very freaking efficient. I was never a fan of politics and strategies and all that jazz but this... I am down for this The character development tho, it's so good to see how much the characters grow end develop throughout the book which makes it even more unpredictable and interesting. What's more interesting is that generally, I love books where the male character is smart, intelligent even if it's in a menacing way. This was not the case, at least not in the beginning. I have a lot to say but also I can't put anything in words because all my mind is thinking of is: start the next book already.
- 5 stars The romance was finally starting and that jealousy scene was so hot. I mean the whole parts in this book were just so hot cause we got to see Jude was mothering so hard and Cardan being a babygirl was all I needed. It's kinda funny how quickly he changed my thoughts on him just by reading two different books. In book one, he was THE CRUEL PRINCE but in book two, he's actually WICKED. I just couldn't grasped what's on his mind. One more thing was that we got details about his freaking cute tail. Illustration of his cute tail by frostbite.studio is out on Instagram. I literally don't understand the hates on his tail. He has a tail, and he's not a human. What's the odd about having an addition body parts if you're not a human-being? It's hot that he got his tail wrapped around Jude's leg when they're kissing. Oooff.
- 4.5 🌟 The moment when you realize the meaning of the title of the next book... What just happened?! I feel betrayed my heart "You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring. The first lesson is to make yourself that strong."
- Very interesting read. Brilliant continuation of the series, I can’t wait to read the last one soon
- THIS WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN BOOK ONE!!!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO START THE THIRD!!!!!
- 3,5⭐️ Surprisingly, this one is way better than the first one.
- I'M SCREAMING!!!!