#Review - The Wicked King by Holly Black #YALit #Fantasy

Series: The Folk of the Air # 2
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
Release Date: January 8, 2019
Publisher: Little, Brown BYR
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

The enchanting and bloodthirsty sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince.

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

 

“Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to.” 

 

The Wicked King is the second installment in author Holly Black's The Folk of Air series. This book picks up 5 months after the events of The Cruel Prince. Protagonist Jude Duarte is now seneschal to the High King Cardan whom she forced into the throne of Elfheim. But, things are far, far, far, from over. There are underlying political maneuvering going on that will find Jude and really put a damper on her future plans for her brother Oak. 

Jude is determined to protect her brother, Oak who is living in the mortal world with her sister Vivienne. As seneschal (right hand woman) to King Cardan, she believes that by controlling Jude, she can control what happens to Oak. But, in reality, Jude can't trust anyone, or anything in fairy. She has too many enemies including Balekin who is still living and scheming from his prison cell. But, Madoc, her "father" has finally come around to understanding that Jude is not someone to take lightly, or underestimate.

To make matters worse,  the Queen of the Sea is threatening to attack land and worse of all, Jude may be the one thing that will be the deciding factor to whether or not Cardan and the Queen go to war. I've said this before, but Holly Black is a twisted genius. She lures you into her evil web, then laughs when you think that things are going to go the way you believe. The book will take you for a wild ride, and you won't be able to put it down or guess in what direction the story will end up. 

Can I be honest for a moment? I loathe Taryn, Jude's twin sister. Honestly, I won't bother reading The Lost Sisters because I just don't care about Taryn, or her feelings. I do not care what anyone says about how she has her own way of coping or surviving in Faerie. The bottom line is only one of the sisters has double crossed and betrayed her sister, and it wasn't Jude. I pray that Jude stabs her several dozen times and she doesn't return.

That also goes for Locke as well. Locke deserves all the pain and suffering that is coming for him. There are others, of course, including Madoc, the man who killed Jude's mother, and brought Jude and Taryn to Faerie. He absolutely needs to have his comeuppance. But, at least I can understand Madoc and his machinations. He is trying to protect his family and doesn't understand why Jude is so hesitant about joining his side.

So much happens to Jude because she is absolutely blindsided by people she has no business trusting. Her relationship with Cardan is a total mess. Come on folks, be real. This relationship is toxic. These two shouldn't be in the same room together let alone falling in love with each other, or having feelings that may complicate Jude's plans. Would if be fair to call it beautifully tragic? In some ways, I am not mad at what happens at the end of this book. One could say that if you follow the story closely, you will see it coming.

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