The Wicked King by Holly Black

The Wicked King (Folk of the Air, #2)

by Holly Black

Second in the bestselling Folk of the Air trilogy. This novel and the sequel The Queen of Nothing - are the winners of/won the Goodreads YA Best Fantasy in 2019 and 2020.

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 . . .

Reviewed by Emma (SCR) on

5 of 5 stars

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This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews Erm. Well. Huh. I am struggling to put into words how I feel. Holly has completely outdone her self in this book. The Cruel Prince was one of my favourite books last year but The Wicked King is on another level!

After the way The Cruel Prince ended, I thought that Holly couldn't shock me again. Well, clearly I was wrong about that! This book has everything you need. It's got betrayal, new alliances, love, hate and a good old wedding.

I love the relationship between Jude and Cardan. The love/hate thing they have going on is so intense. I could quote so many many lines from Cardan that made me just fall deeper and deeper for him. He is everything you think he is but also nothing like you think he is. He is a very complex character.

This book is full of characters who are torn. They are fighting not only with each other but with themselves. It makes for very interesting reading but makes it very difficult to predict what will happen next.

Although I have just finished this book and I only recently read The Cruel Prince I feel like I need to reread the series again. I feel like there are intricacies I likely missed the first time around. I think this is one of those stories that you would learn something new everytime you read it.

This story was epic and I have so many theories and thoughts on the ending that my mind has been whirring for days! I don't know how I am going to wait a whole year for The Queen of Nothing!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 22 January, 2019: Finished reading
  • 22 January, 2019: Reviewed