Etiqueta: Holly Black

Book Review: The Wicked King by Holly Black

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“Mortal girls do not become queens of Faerieland.”

In Holly Black’s The Wicked King, Jude has to deal with the repercussions of putting her sworn enemy on the throne, all while having him under his command. In this thrilling second installment of the Folk of the Air series, Jude Duarte has to immerse herself in the political world of Faerie as the High King’s seneschal and true ruler behind the throne. Filled with betrayal and plot twists, The Wicked King is bound to blow you away if you enjoyed The Cruel Prince. Now, seeing as this is the second book in a series, I’m going to jump right into spoilers because I have many things to discuss and freak out about. 

As I mentioned before, The Wicked King is filled with betrayal, and boy was it shocking. From Taryn to Madoc to Cardan, Jude really went through some rough patches with everyone betraying her left and right. All these plot twists made the book feel dense, and it took me a while to finish it. However, this didn’t take off from my enjoyment of it in the slightest. The Wicked King follows Jude as she’s bound to Cardan, the new High King of Faerie: something that has made her life a lot more interesting as she’s immersed into Faerie politics. Meetings with Madoc were tense after her choosing her sworn enemy over her father figure. Madoc was a character that had me on edge the whole time, since I considered him to be the most obvious person to betray Jude. Nicasia’s warning didn’t help matters much, seeing as anyone was perfectly capable of committing treason. 

Something that I just have to discuss are the scenes that occurred in the Undersea. It was infuriating to read about the abuse Jude had to endure, but despite the horrible treatment, she still pretended to be under their influence and control. This showed how driven her character is, and how far she’s willing to go in order to deceive the faeries. She almost seems unstoppable, as if she will do everything it takes to keep her secrets in the dark. 

Now, something that had me cursing Cardan’s name was that final betrayal in the ending. I’m hoping that the reason behind him banishing her is the fact that he doesn’t know how to handle his feelings for her, and not because this was his plan all along. I’ve been looking up theories on Tumblr, and all of them seem possible, so who knows what might happen in Queen of Nothing. 

What are your thoughts on this book? What are some of your theories? 

 

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black | Book Review

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black | Book Review

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«If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.»

—Holly Black, The Cruel Prince

    Set in the beautiful and dark world of Faerieland, Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince follows the story of Jude, a seventeen year old girl who is sick of the bad treatment she receives because she’s mortal. But, how did a mere mortal girl wind up in Faerie? When she was seven years old, Jude’s parents were both murdered by a faerie who then took her and her two sisters to the dangerous land that awaited them. Jude’s oldest sister is a faerie, and also the reason why they were taken to Faerieland. Fast forward ten years, and Jude has grown accustomed to the whimsical reality that now surrounds her, as well as the cruelty she has to endure. This drives her to crave power over those who have wronged her, these people being Cardan, the youngest and cruelest of the princes of Faerie, and his group of wicked friends. Fast-paced and action-packed, The Cruel Prince has some twists and turns that will have you in awe of what Jude is willing to do for some power.

       It’s no secret that The Cruel Prince is one of the most popular young adult novels out there, which made me feel a bit nervous going in because I feared I wouldn’t enjoy it. However, I now understand why there is such a big hype surrounding this series. The writing is whimsical and fitting of a book set in Faerie. It is fast paced but not rushed, so all the events flow nicely throughout the novel. I have to admit that I felt the book was a bit slow during the first half. However, once you hit that halfway point, The Cruel Prince becomes impossible to put down. The dialogue is cleverly phrased, which helps create foreshadowing and hints at plot twists that occur further in the novel. This really helped the plot twists make sense, and not seem like something that popped out of thin air with no previous hints. Something that truly charmed me were the morally gray characters, specifically Jude. Jude is set up to be an untrustworthy and unlikeable narrator: she’s power hungry, she manipulates, and she lies. Yet, she manages to be so clever when making her way through Faerie that you can’t help but enjoy her character. As someone who enjoys reading from unreliable narrators, I can truly say that Jude is one of my new favorites. Overall, The Cruel Prince is a beautifully structured story with characters that you can’t help but enjoy reading about. If you’re skeptical because of the hype, as I initially was, I’d tell you to give it a chance because it truly is worth the read. Plus, there is some fabulous fan art out there for these books that you don’t want to miss out on.