The Wicked King
Author: Holly Black
Published by: Hot Key Books
Pages: 325
Format: Hardback
My Rating ★★★★★
‘You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again.’
Jude has tricked Cardan onto the throne; binding him 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, and also battle her own complicated feelings for Cardan. Now a year and a day seems like no time at all…
My thoughts:
The Wicked Kingis an intoxicating and bloodthirsty sequel to The Cruel Prince, a book I read and reviewed last year – and loved! This book picks up where the last left off. Jude has negotiated herself into a position of power and she fully intends to exploit it.
Continuing on from The Cruel Prince, in this book the stakes are higher. The game is deadlier and the enemies are hungrier. But this doesn’t hold Jude back; in fact as a result she has become fiercer than ever. Jude has been deeply betrayed, but instead of destroying her, her difficult past has shaped her into a new, improved young woman with so much more strength and determination. She is a fish out of water in a world full of monsters - but this time, she’s determined to seize the same power, and it is fascinating to witness her doing so.
As Jude navigates through a world full of antiheroes, court intrigue, power plays and political unrest, the expansive magical universe creates an incredibly compelling setting for a story filled with dark folklore, fascinating characters, and a thrilling plot that has the power to disturb you and also enchant you along the way. The plot is suspenseful and really compelling, full of twists, surprises, violence, murder, death, torture and the threat of war. Within the first few pages, I was immediately pulled back in to this incredibly vivid fantasy world that Holly Black first created in The Cruel Prince.
Jude is an intriguing and complex lead character. Her narrative voice is so strong, shaping and characterizing the world around her. The intensity of her narration perfectly counteracts the desperation we see within her as she clings to power, to not give up the few gains she has made.
I think something so engrossing about this book is how it plays with the dynamic of humans fighting for whatever power they can take. The idea of fairies not being able to lie as humans can, but still being so much more dominant in many other ways is really intriguing. The dynamic between Jude and Cardan is complicated and unpredictable and I like that they are both powerful people and clearly both a little morally questionable. Jude is determined to cling on to the little influence she has over Cardan for as long as she possibly can.
I also feel that the side characters here are particularly great. I like the relationship between the Bomb & the Roach; the backstory we got for them here was excellent, and I was pleased to learn more about them in this sequel.
The Wicked King also features a series of very interesting villains; Orlagh, the Queen of the Undersea was by far my favourite. In fact, I loved that this book explored more of her world, as I pretty much love anything with mermaids! Plus, of course there’s Cardan, the (sort of) love interest, who I find both incredibly compelling and very strange.
I love Holly Black’s writing and this book was seriously hard to pull myself away from. I read it in two sittings and loved every second. On the other hand, she’s also evil. Whilst it’s not right to call the ending a cliffhanger exactly, it is so wonderfully evil in the way it leaves us desperate for more.
Overall, I thought this sequel was pretty spectacular. As much as I loved The Cruel Prince, I may have enjoyed this one even more than the first book - Just a little!
The Wicked King is undoubtedly one of the most notable fantasy books I’ve read in a while. I really am dying to know what happens next.
Overall reaction:
Published by: Hot Key Books
Pages: 325
Format: Hardback
My Rating ★★★★★
‘You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again.’
Jude has tricked Cardan onto the throne; binding him 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, and also battle her own complicated feelings for Cardan. Now a year and a day seems like no time at all…
My thoughts:
The Wicked Kingis an intoxicating and bloodthirsty sequel to The Cruel Prince, a book I read and reviewed last year – and loved! This book picks up where the last left off. Jude has negotiated herself into a position of power and she fully intends to exploit it.
Continuing on from The Cruel Prince, in this book the stakes are higher. The game is deadlier and the enemies are hungrier. But this doesn’t hold Jude back; in fact as a result she has become fiercer than ever. Jude has been deeply betrayed, but instead of destroying her, her difficult past has shaped her into a new, improved young woman with so much more strength and determination. She is a fish out of water in a world full of monsters - but this time, she’s determined to seize the same power, and it is fascinating to witness her doing so.
As Jude navigates through a world full of antiheroes, court intrigue, power plays and political unrest, the expansive magical universe creates an incredibly compelling setting for a story filled with dark folklore, fascinating characters, and a thrilling plot that has the power to disturb you and also enchant you along the way. The plot is suspenseful and really compelling, full of twists, surprises, violence, murder, death, torture and the threat of war. Within the first few pages, I was immediately pulled back in to this incredibly vivid fantasy world that Holly Black first created in The Cruel Prince.
Jude is an intriguing and complex lead character. Her narrative voice is so strong, shaping and characterizing the world around her. The intensity of her narration perfectly counteracts the desperation we see within her as she clings to power, to not give up the few gains she has made.
I think something so engrossing about this book is how it plays with the dynamic of humans fighting for whatever power they can take. The idea of fairies not being able to lie as humans can, but still being so much more dominant in many other ways is really intriguing. The dynamic between Jude and Cardan is complicated and unpredictable and I like that they are both powerful people and clearly both a little morally questionable. Jude is determined to cling on to the little influence she has over Cardan for as long as she possibly can.
I also feel that the side characters here are particularly great. I like the relationship between the Bomb & the Roach; the backstory we got for them here was excellent, and I was pleased to learn more about them in this sequel.
The Wicked King also features a series of very interesting villains; Orlagh, the Queen of the Undersea was by far my favourite. In fact, I loved that this book explored more of her world, as I pretty much love anything with mermaids! Plus, of course there’s Cardan, the (sort of) love interest, who I find both incredibly compelling and very strange.
I love Holly Black’s writing and this book was seriously hard to pull myself away from. I read it in two sittings and loved every second. On the other hand, she’s also evil. Whilst it’s not right to call the ending a cliffhanger exactly, it is so wonderfully evil in the way it leaves us desperate for more.
Overall, I thought this sequel was pretty spectacular. As much as I loved The Cruel Prince, I may have enjoyed this one even more than the first book - Just a little!
The Wicked King is undoubtedly one of the most notable fantasy books I’ve read in a while. I really am dying to know what happens next.
Overall reaction:
