The Queen of Nothing (Folk of the Air, #3)

by Holly Black

GOODREADS BEST FANTASY YA 2020. The intoxicating and bloodthirsty finale to the New York Times bestselling The Cruel Prince, nominated for the CARNEGIE MEDAL, and New York Times bestseller The Wicked King, Best YA Fantasy in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2019.

After being pronounced Queen of Faerie and then abruptly exiled by the Wicked King Cardan, Jude finds herself unmoored, the queen of nothing. She spends her time with Vivi and Oak, watching reality television, and doing odd jobs, including squaring up to a cannibalistic faerie.

When her twin sister Taryn shows up asking a favour, Jude jumps at the chance to return to the Faerie world, even if it means facing Cardan, who she loves despite his betrayal. When a dark curse is unveiled, Jude must become the first mortal Queen of Faerie and break the curse, or risk upsetting the balance of the whole Faerie world.

• ISBN10: 1471407586
• ISBN13: 9781471407581
• Publish Date: 19 November 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Hot Key Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[kymmiejournals]

I didn’t like the whole series. The characters are unlikeable and I didn’t swoon over Cardan. Jude is annoying and unreliable. I know I shouldn’t compare, but what else should I do when I read this series right after reading the Throne of Glass? I have to reread this some other time but for now, I didn’t like it all.

[katie]

I'm not crying, you're crying
Five stars
Review to come (possibly)

[pagingserenity]

Immediate thoughts after reading: okay, this might be the best book in the series but my brain isn't functioning properly right now so we'll see. It's such a great ending to a great series - so great I was willing to stay up until 5AM to finish it. But it's also not a perfect ending.

[KitsuneBae]

One of the best series I've read this year. Made me forget about this covid-19 crisis

[Chelsea]

Kind of a let down for a series finale?
Nothing exciting happened. Nobody worked for anything. Jude and Cardan didn’t scam a single person? I’m disappointed.

I kept waiting for that twist to come. The one we saw in the other two books. But it never came. The things I loved about the first two books weren’t here. It felt like it was just a bunch of things thrown into a book to make the fans happy. There was enough happening to keep me reading but just barely.

[ladygrey]

I have mixed reactions to this book which, to be polite, will remain mostly hidden.

At first I worried how long she’d have to stay in exile before the story got going. But it wasn’t that long and the twist with Taryn was fun.
Then ugh! just as it seemed I was about to get the book I’ve been wanting from this series all along with Cardan and Jude working together, they’re ripped apart. They could have at least been together long enough for a little explanation and then agreeing to send her to Madoc’s camp as a spy. I wasn’t particularly happy about the whole thing.
But then there was the rescue which was fun and we wouldn’t have had that without the abrupt pulling apart so I can’t complain too much.

Then for just a bit it actually was the book I’ve wanted all along and Cardan and Jude actually talked and got to spend time together and explain everything. I swear the two best parts of this series are in the Court of Shadows in book 1 and the rose garden in book 3 when they take the time to explain everything to one another.

But then the thing happened and Jude is on her own again. Which might not have been quite so boring except the moment that Baphon’s prophecy and Grimsen’s final words came together it was obvious what was going to happen. I wasn’t even raised in fairie so there’s a part of me that wonders how Jude didn’t see it. Everything from that point on was just maneuvering.

Overall, for me, there were too many places burning through pages, waiting for the story to get going when it was clear what was going to happen (one way or another). Ok there were two places, but two still felt like too many. Especially when this book had more of the interactions I’ve been looking for all along. So it was both satisfying and disappointing. I like the trickery but I also like the character dynamics. There should have been more talking, more interplay and devious fun throughout the book.

But it wasn’t bad. I will grant that it all ends well with boons and betrayals and a clever bit of justice.

[tweetybugshouse]

For me this felt rushed and like the barebones of a story. Maybe I expected to much from this series due to all the hype. I wanted an epic battle at the end, more drama to the final ending. Maybe a sneak peek at how some of the characters survived their punishments? I do dig the last line with the pizza but we never got the reactions from those who never had pizza. So it a must read to finish out the series but it lacked depth for me.

[girlinthepages]

I always start the books in this series with a sense of skepticism. Not because they have personally done anything wrong to me, but because I'm 1) Not always a fan of fae books and 2) Always skeptical of a fantasy book that's under 400-500 pages. But Holly Black always pulls through and manages to write a tale of intrigue, action and simmering tension without all of the boring fantasy fluff, and The Queen of Nothing was no exception. It was a gripping conclusion to a trilogy that focuses on a purposely plotted narrative that gives readers the romance, magic and courtly drama they crave in a digestible, easily devoured format.

I think it's safe to say that we were ALL reeling after the cliffhanger that The Wicked King left off on. Jude was exiled from Faerie after marrying Cardan in secret (!!!) effectively making her the Queen of Faerie. It was a delicious turn of events to see Jude's cunning and power pay off in the ultimate way (she's such a Slytherin, I love it). She's kicked back into the mortal world and we were all pretty much left wondering if anything that had transpired was real or meaningful, and we all probably had a deep sense of concern as to what Cardan would be getting up to without Jude's spying presence to keep tabs on him.

It's hard to dive more into the specifics of the plot without revealing spoilers, so I'll have a spoiler specific section at the end of this review. I can say though that I enjoyed seeing Jude (and some other characters) interact in the human world. I loved seeing that Jude didn't end up changing who she was at her core in this book, that she's not a hero by any means and always followed her own moral code despite other's influences. I loved how Black continued to explore complex relationships, especially that of family and how they can hurt you yet you're still drawn to them (looking at you, Madoc and Taryn). I also love a good redemption arc and found that with a few characters in this novel.

Overall: It was a solid addition to the Folk of the Air Series, but it was more tame than I was expecting compared to the previous books and the bizarre twist at the end was a little too strange for my taste. Still an overall great book and I stan Jude + Cardan.


-Let's address the snake in the room shall we? I CANNOT with that plot point...all of this hype around the YA cover snake on 2019 books and it wasn't a metaphor, it was actually literal? I don't know whether to laugh or cry. This was going to be a 5 star read up until the snake thing and it was just so absurd that I had to knock off a star.


-I'm not sad that Taryn killed Locke because wow was he a manipulative, abusive troll but I feel like it was sort of glossed over and we could've used a LOT more details on that. Taryn and Jude seem to have a LOT more in common than they'd both like to think.


-I do love how Cardan generally cares about Jude. Like throughout the ENTIRETY of the novel, not just at the end for a HEA. He was so sincere and I was not expecting that much softness from him but I adored it, he truly grew into a king. 

-I bought the B&N exclusive edition and it had the bonus letters from Cardan to Jude while she was in exile (that his mother was intercepting) and wow they were a great little addition.


-I thought it was a little convenient that the Court of Shadows all survived, especially given the Ghost's previous betrayal (and felt Jude forgave him a little too easily).


-The fact that Jude inherited some powers from Cardan after becoming Queen and was able to call upon the land to heal her was *chef's kiss*


-We stan Grima Mog- was so fun seeing another Red Cap to rival Madoc in violence and cunning. This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[dragononabook]

2.5*

I can't seem to get along with this series. On the surface level, it seems like a great idea: human girl grows up in the land of the Fae and claws her way into power. The execution, however, leaves me feeling icky and wondering how this got publish, let alone classed as YA and amassing such a fanbase.

Queen of Nothing, however, was slightly less disturbing than the previous two books, and the plot was more memorable. There was character development, namely Cardan's and Taryn's, that could have happened far earlier in the series, but was still appreciated as I plodded my way through this book. The subterfuge and betrayal was interesting too.

What this a good series conclusion? Yes, in a way. Was this a good series? Not in my opinion.

I don't know what happened with this series... I am so disappointed with this book. Not that I loved the first two as much, but I had a good time with those. But this time... It was predictable, some twists were just ridiculous, and a lot of characters had no motivations at all.


Why did Jude go there for Taryn? Why did Madoc give up at the end? Why did she think that changing Cardan in a giant snake would be the best way to end this series? I don't understand...