Stephanie
Written on Jan 14, 2019
As seneschal to High King Cardan, Jude must fight to keep control of the Faerie throne while her younger brother, Oak, enjoys the childhood she never knew.
- ISBN10 0316310352
- ISBN13 9780316310352
- Publish Date 8 January 2019
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Little, Brown & Company
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 336
- Language English
Reviews
Briana @ Pages Unbound
Written on Jan 9, 2019
If you like wild, plot-driven stories with plotting and twists and turns and so many moving pieces that you wonder how the political players will manager them all, this series is 100% for you, and this is the primary reason I love it. I love court intrigue, and I love when authors manage to make it genuinely complex while giving characters believable motivations and actions based on those motivations. I read The Wicked King in a single day because I just wanted to know what happened next.
The characterization is where the book fails a little, which I also suggested in my review of The Cruel Prince. I was hoping we'd get more of Cardan here, and we sort of did--but I guess the reality is that the book is from Jude's point of view and she seems to barely speak to the guy, certainly not in a meaningful capacity. Black is still playing with the idea that Fae seem are fickle and cruel and perhaps it's impossible to say they are truly kind, even when some of them have nice streaks. I appreciate what a balancing act this is, but I also think Cardan's feelings and motivations need to come more to the forefront.
Jude, on the other hand, was pretty well-developed, and it was fascinating to watch her struggle with her new role. My one issue with her is that she has this enormous blind spot where she believes that she personally must make every single decision regarding the welfare of the kingdom or everything will fall to pieces. She hoards information, does whatever she wants, and is convinced that no one can do better than she can. It's infuriating (though perhaps intentionally, as it's clear that Black wrote this as a character flaw and as a viewpoint Jude really needs to overcome).
However, Jude's belief that she is indispensable and must do everything herself also runs the plot in ways that are occasionally unconvincing. Particularly, this comes into play at the end of the book, but as I personally DO NOT think Jude must do everything herself, I think some of the drama of the ending was lost on me. I certainly didn't see the ending coming, but I don't think I was as shocked or emotionally affected by it as a lot of other readers were.
Finally, some of the side characters also got some more character development (for instance, Vivi and Nicasia). Taryn remains a flighty mystery to me. I have no idea what she's gong to do next and no idea WHY she did it, once she does. Hopefully this gets resolved in the next book, along with Cardan's motivations.
Basically, if you liked The Cruel Prince, you will be suitably pleased by this second installment. If you haven't started the series yet but like fantasy with court intrigue and a bit of darkness, I recommend this.
ellieroth
Written on Jan 8, 2019
3.
2...
thanks for coming to my tedtalk
littleread1
Written on Jan 2, 2019
So, you know things are going to be bad for a character when they try and out-maneuver a master manipulator ... and you would not be wrong thinking that, going into The Wicked King.
Getting power is one thing, keeping it, however, is entirely something else. Jude basically pulled one over on EVERYONE in Cruel Prince, and I think she might regret some of her life choices by the end of this book.
Speaking of the end ... others have said it ends in a cliffhanger, but I would say both it does and it doesn't? There is a pretty big event at the end, but at least Ms. Black doesn't leave any of the characters literally on a cliff, just maybe not knowing what to do next or how to fix things. I won't say who and I won't say what, because OBVIOUSLY SPOILER, but it was a good "gotcha" moment. I enjoy those.
A quick note on the "romance" - I don't think I want Jude and Cardan to end up together in the end? It is a relationship built on manipulation and lies, and I am tired of unhealthy romance being promoted. You can't "fix" someone else, they have to fix themselves, and honestly both Cardan and Jude need someone a bit more stable than they are. BUT that doesn't mean that I can't be convinced otherwise, and Ms. Black is just the person that could convince me. :-)
bookishzelda
Written on Jan 1, 2019
Oh my Jude. What I love most about her character is how flawed she is. There is so many times where I hardly like her and I think she brings so much down on herself. I also often feel sympathetic to her because she stuck playing in a world that humanity is a weakness. I think she wants to pretend that she doesn’t have it but she does.
As far as Cardan, I don’t think we see him as much as I would like to see him. He’s interesting in this book and again I think Jude brings so much on herself. If she really looked at Cardan and saw him as he is and not what she’s decided he will be, she could make things easier on herself. I don’t think it’s a matter of trusting as even confiding. Some of the things, I don’t think he could really use in a nefarious way but if she only gave him the information..
I still love Cardan and Jude together. I can’t decide if that’s wrong or right but Cardan can’t lie. I feel like that is so so important to remember.
The plot is cut throat and political as the first. A chess board with many moving pieces. Always interesting.
That ending!!! That ending!!! Okay so for me I loved it because there are two possibilities that I see as to why it happened. That is what I love so much about it. Maybe there are more I’m not seeing but I’m holding on to what I think because because one could be bad and one could be good. I can’t believe I have to wait so long for the next book.
cornerfolds
Written on Sep 27, 2018
This has been a really difficult review to write. I've procrastinated as long as I possibly could and I'm still not sure how to tackle this. I was a bit late jumping on The Cruel Prince bandwagon and I was utterly shocked at how much I liked it! I loved Jude, I loved Cardan, I loved the world. It quickly became one of my favorite books of 2018. Of course, we all know how that ended, so I was so excited that I got my hands on an ARC of The Wicked King and jumped into it immediately! Sadly, it just didn't strike the same chord.
The Wicked King picks up shortly after The Cruel Prince, jumping straight into Jude's life as the true ruler of Faerie. Of course, she's doing this through Cardan and they're the only ones who know. Individually I really enjoyed watching both Jude and Cardan grow into their roles. Jude remained as ruthless as ever. Although some of her softer side did peek through, she continued to do whatever it took to keep the throne safe. Cardan was even better. I loved, LOVED watching him becoming the King of Faerie, even if it was partially a sham.
As expected, the relationship between the two remained complicated and thoroughly unhealthy. Not that that's ever stopped me from sailing on a ship before. I was very excited to see the relationship between Jude and Cardan progress and I came away feeling like it was a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it was utterly tortured (which I love), but it was also not quite enough for me. I really wanted more interaction between the two of them and instead they work around each other for most of the book.
To be honest, a lot of The Wicked King just wasn't enough. For the first two thirds of the story I was bored out of my mind. While I expected the politics and conspiracy, I wasn't expecting just how bored and uninterested I would end up feeling towards it. The pace in this book is insanely slow. While some interesting stuff does happen through the first couple hundred pages, a lot of it is quiet plotting and discussions. I'm usually a plot-driven girl, and the plot just wasn't enough to grab me until the last hundred or so pages. Maybe if there had been more Cardan and Jude interaction it could have swayed me to a higher rating, but alas.
One thing I did really enjoy about this book was that the world was expanded quite a bit. Having finally read The Darkest Part of the Forest this year, I was able to pick up on what I'd call easter eggs since it isn't technically a series. I loved getting to see more of the world outside of the court, especially the underwater world.
In the end I found The Wicked King to be quite a let down after the high of The Cruel Prince. I thought it was an okay book, but there were too many issues for it to be worth as many stars. While this wasn't amazing, I'm still really excited for book three! I can't wait to see how the series continues!
Beth C.
Written on Apr 21, 2018
Leigha
Written on Apr 14, 2018
Jude balances between powerful players as she deals with her growing feelings for Cardan in this riveting second installment to The Folk of the Air series.
Jude is back, my friends, and she as intelligent, driven, and fierce as ever! She fights hard and dirty to keep her power in the Faerie court during this book, but she's not invulnerably. Various people and situations bring out her feelings of loneliness, fear, and powerlessness. Her complicated feelings for Cardan grow as she fights to keep control of all the moving pieces.
Jude is not the only one scheming. Cardan, her family, and her enemies have their own ideas. Allegiances and powers fluctuate between everyone until the climatic ending. Expect to see a lot more character development (particularly with Cardan), a lot more machinations between major players, and one MAJOR cliffhanger. I can't wait to get my greedy hands on the next book.
tl;dr A fast-paced book with smart, driven characters and a fascinating plot make this a must read.
nightingalereads
Written on Feb 4, 2018
Kait ✨
Written on Jan 23, 2018