Vicki
Written on Oct 1, 2019
Number 1 New York Times bestseller and winner of the Best YA Fantasy Category in the Goodreads Choice Awards. An intoxicating and bloodthirsty sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Cruel Prince., nominated for the CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019
'Holly Black is the Faerie Queen' - Victoria Aveyard
I have heard that for mortals, the feeling of falling in love is very like the feeling of fear.
Jude has tricked Cardan onto the throne, binding him to her for a year and a day. But the new High King does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her, even as his fascination with her remains undimmed. Meanwhile, a traitor in the court is scheming against her. Jude must fight for her life and the lives of those she loves, all while battling her own complicated feelings for Cardan. Now a year and a day seems like no time at all . . .
- ISBN10 1549149598
- ISBN13 9781549149597
- Publish Date 8 January 2019
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Little, Brownyr
- Edition Library Edition
- Format Audiobook (CD)
- Duration 10 hours and 22 minutes
- Language English
Reviews
abookishblether
Written on Aug 7, 2019
The Wicked King ★★★★☆
I read the sequel to The Cruel Prince immediately after finishing the first book in the series. I think that speaks volumes for how much I enjoyed this series as I finished both books within a few days of starting the series.
The Wicked King maintained the quality I found in the first book. The fae were still as tricky and cruel throughout the story, the plot kept on being complex and surprising, and I really enjoyed a lot of consequences from the first book coming to land in this one. Jude had gained power for herself over the course of the first book, and some of the trades she made to get herself this power helped her in the second one - but quite a few came back to bite her in the ass.
Another YA series I would highly reccomend, and the ending of the second book was fantastic!
Charli G.
Written on Apr 9, 2019
This book could not have been a more perfect sequel to The Cruel Prince. Questions were answered, more questions were raised.
You got to see what makes Jude and Cardan tick. I'll be honest, I've been shipping them since The Cruel Prince. Locke, well, I'd like to smack him because I don't think he's right for Taryn and he's such a brat.
Then again, by the end of The Wicked King, I'd rather have beaten Taryn, Madoc, and Cardan than look at them.
Cardan made me wonder what the hell he was thinking/doing, but I suppose the next book will give me the answers I need. This was another 5 star read from Holly Black and I can't wait for The Queen of Nothing to come out in January 2020. I've already pre-ordered my copy so I don't have to wait for it at the library.
Laurie
Written on Mar 24, 2019
lauriesbookshelf
Written on Mar 24, 2019
thepunktheory
Written on Feb 28, 2019
Just like with The Cruel Prince, I basically burned through this book.
Holly Black, how dare you ending The Wicked King with a cliffhanger like that? I can't wait another year for the final installment! The story is so gripping, I need to know the fate of Jude!
Politics are a tricky field to navigate and Jude certainly tries to do a good job. I love how Black depicts all the bumps in the road Jude encounters along the way. No matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to control everything and everyone.
I swear, the story got more intricate with every single page I turned. So many plot twist I didn't see coming - especially the final one!
verkaskodova
Written on Feb 28, 2019
Miluju to. Strašně to miluju.
Nečekala jsem, že hormony zmítaná teenagerka bude nakonec Cardan. Je mi jedno, že je to tvoje rodina a že Jude taky nejedná na férovku, podporovat čiré zlo JE zlo. Takže za mě thumbs up, Jude. Doufám, že ho ve trojce pěkně přidusíš.
girlinthepages
Written on Feb 20, 2019
While I enjoyed The Cruel Prince, I'll be the first to admit that I didn't really get the HYPE surrounding it- it was good but it was also full of excessively cruel bullying, confusing court politics (at least for me) and non-romances that didn't do anything for me. But oh, how I stand corrected. Once I got into The Wicked King it was compulsively readable, and it finally CLICKED for me why this series is so successful. Also, infinite bonus points to Holly Black for managing to write a super compelling, fleshed out fantasy novel in under 400 pages (they don't all have to be 700+ pages to be successful!!!)
The Wicked King picks up shortly after the events of The Cruel Prince, with Cardan on the throne as Jude's puppet, Oak hanging out in the human world eating string cheese and going to public school (as one does) and Taryn getting ready to marry her shifty fiancé (I read the novella that was from her POV and was like YAWN SAVE IT FOR SOMEONE WHO CARES TARYN). Jude is like YES I FINALLY HAVE POWER AND I LOVE IT AND WANT MORE and honestly I was cheering right along with her because we rarely get female YA protagonists who want to be powerful for the sake of being powerful and Jude is basically my Slytherin spirit animal. Yet, as one may expect after reading the first novel in the series, there is ~tension~ between Jude and Cardan and I found myself invested in it despite my best attempts, but hey kudos to Holly Black for writing a festering romance that not based on true love/perfect soul mates/etc. Sometimes you just like someone even if they're not the right person for you *shrugs*
Of course there's plenty of plotting, politics, some kidnapping to spice things up, potential war on the horizon, etc. and Jude is caught in the middle of all of it while trying to keep her tenuous grip on the throne and on Cardan all while trying to figure out what the heck she's going to do once her year long bargain with him is up. The intensifying of Jude and Cardan's relationship is simmering beneath the surface of all of the court intrigue as well, and it's a hot mess of desire and disdain, with neither of them ever really being able to clearly articulate their feelings with words, yet there are quite a few grand gestures that happen that speak volumes about Jude and Cardan's bond.
Along with the romance, there's actually still quite a bit of focus on Jude's family, which I was surprised by since after what went down in The Cruel Prince you'd think that Madoc wouldn't want anything to do with Jude ever again. Yet they continue to talk as he's still a prominent general involved in the inner workings of the court, and he still encourages her to join forces with him and use her ability to lie to her advantage- showing in his own way that he truly sees her as his daughter despite them being on opposite sides politically. Jude is also around her family quite a bit as Taryn's wedding approaches, and some uncomfortable realizations about Vivi are made as Jude sees her flippant attitude toward bringing her human girlfriend to Faerie and starts to question just how sympathetic Vivi was to Jude and Taryn's mortal status when growing up in Faerie themselves.
This is going to be really hard to discuss without spoilers, but can we also talk about that endING? Wow wow wow I literally have not been so surprised by a twist in a long time, and the cliffhanger was right up there with the one at the end of Lord of Shadows by Holly Black. I've gone down the black hole in reading theories about what the ending means and I HOPE it's really an act of love and not of extreme backstabbery.
Overall: The Wicked King amps up the stakes of The Folk of the Air series and ends with a crazy cliffhanger. Taking suggestions on how to survive until Queen of Nothing arrives next year.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
Steph L
Written on Feb 11, 2019
jesstheaudiobookworm
Written on Feb 10, 2019
I started out wondering if I should re-listen to The Cruel Prince, just to refresh my memory. Black doesn't do the best job of "recapping on the run", so it's largely left up to the listener to recall the events of the first book. There's a five month gap between installments in the story, so it doesn't pick up immediately where The Cruel Prince left off. In reality, there was a gap of about a year in between the two books.
Luckily, as the story progressed, the major plot points of The Cruel Prince returned to mind and so did all the feels. I remembered exactly why I was so enamored by The Cruel Prince last year and doubled down on it. The Wicked King had me squirming with excitement. Seriously, Holly Black needs to be a soap opera writer because she definitely brings the drama. That ending practically had me flailing around on the floor in angst and agony. I can't believe I didn't see it coming. I mean, I saw something coming (one always does with Holly Black), but not that.
The Wicked King also made gigantic strides with character development. I can see now that my few criticisms of The Cruel Prince were indeed premature. Black was obviously just setting the foundation for the series in The Cruel Prince and had always intended on "playing the long game". I see that now and I tip my hat to it.
Cardan and was still the most complex character, but The Wicked King allowed for more character growth all-around, with a few exceptions. I hereby bestow the title of the 'most improved' character to Jude. She became a more dynamic character in this installment, as we got to see more of what makes her tick. I found it interesting that Black chose to use Jude's flaws to highlight this. I found it more interesting that the more flawed Jude seem to be, the more I liked her (and related to her).
Taryn, however, was still abysmal. I keep waiting for her redeeming story line, or at least an explanation of her actions from her point-of-view, but I'm not sure we'll ever get it. Black seems content to leave her as a passive (and flat) antagonist. We all know that Locke is going to get what's coming to him, but I really want a redemption arc for Taryn. Black writes sibling bonds extremely well and I need her to make things right between Jude and Taryn. My soul needs it.
Jude has such an interesting family dynamic. It bothers me that I don't think I can get everything I want from it in the one remaining installment. I'm really hoping Black will come out with novellas exploring the various family ties. I'm sure a spinoff series would be asking for too much, but each of these characters has so much potential that I can't stand to see any of it left untapped.
Narration review: It's not surprising that Caitlin Kelly's performance was just as good as it was in The Cruel Prince. I wouldn't expect anything less from her. She has obviously found her "sweet spot" and is making herself comfortable there. I'm beyond happy to see that audiobook community is recognizing her for the talent she is and giving her due credit. In my opinion, being the voice of this series could very well define and elevate Kelly's career. Working with an author like Holly Black is a huge deal. It allows Kelly to shine on a higher level and she has definitely risen to the occasion. ♣︎