Book Review | The Wicked King by Holly Black

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Hello, fellow readers! I finally read The Wicked King, one of my most anticipated books of 2019, and now I am counting down to 2020 when I can read the next book in this series!

Possible spoilers ahead if you have not read The Cruel Prince.

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Plot

The Wicked King picks up five months after the events of The Cruel Prince. Cardan is king, but Jude is the one truly calling all the shots since Cardan has sworn to obey her commands for a year and a day. Jude feels like her time is running out too quickly and begins scheming for a way to have Cardan bind himself to her longer until she can get her brother, Oak, on the throne.

Review

So. Many. Plot. Twists! The Wicked King was a roller coaster of emotions for sure. One chapter I loved Cardan and then I would go to the next chapter and hate him all over again! The politics of the faerie world are explored even more in this book as Jude finds herself juggling many schemes and responsibilities.

Holly Black does a great job of reminding readers of the important plot points in the first book through the current story. The first few chapters mentioned important things from the previous book every page or so, but not in an info-dumping way. I really appreciated this because there were a few minor things I had forgotten, like Balekin still being alive but banished.

And then..THAT ENDING. How can Holly Black leave us hanging like that!? I was screaming because I never would have guessed that ending. I thought the first few chapters were a little slow, but the plot picked up around the 10% mark.

Final Thoughts

Obviously I gave The Wicked King 5 stars. This is definitely one of my favorite fantasy series, and I can’t wait for next year so I can have The Queen of Nothing to read!

What is your favorite fantasy series? Let me know in the comments!