Series: The Folk of the Air #2
on January 8, 2019
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 338
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
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.
Last year, Holly Black impressed me with her release of The Cruel Prince, a return to the dark and dangerous world of fey . . . where the only thing you can know to be true about a person is that they will betray you if it suits them. It’s rare for a second book to impress me this much, but The Wicked King is even better than TCP.
In my review of The Cruel Prince, I discussed the twisted, dysfunctional world that Holly Black builds in The Folk of the Air series. TWK returns us to this world with a vengeance—the underwater kind, as the Queen of the Undersea makes her gambit.
What makes this book even better than TCP is how Holly Black takes the foundation she laid in book one and (1) peels back the layers to the characters and (2) pushes the characters beyond their limits. In TCP, I thought that I knew and loved the darkness and vulnerabilities that the cruelty of the fey brought out in Jude and Cardan and everyone else around them, except for dear, sweet Oak who has been carefully sheltered. TWK showed me that there is more to these characters. Even those we never thought could be a threat. (Be especially wary of these types of personalities should you ever find yourself lost in Jude’s world.)
The storytelling is phenomenal. I am impressed with how much Holly Black can express in a brief passage. How each encounter builds on top of the other, reveals something about Jude or the world that pushes the plot forward to the breaking point. Because such is the nature of the fey. Nothing ever goes the way you hope it will. Every good decision feels wrong and bad decisions feel like the right thing to do.
Just when I thought I knew where it might be heading, TWK took me in a different direction, pushing everyone who cares closer and closer to a bad ending. I confess that this ending was somewhat spoiled by my knowledge of the title of book 3, though nothing outside of what I would have expected with the middle book in a trilogy.
The Wicked King was everything I wanted and more from the second installment in The Folk of the Air series. I feel fortunate that the publication date for book 3 was pushed up to November 2019.
Additional thoughts
I purchased the Barnes & Noble edition of The Wicked King because (1) that black cover and (2) the bonus content. This installment contains deleted scenes from TWK that include third person insight into Madoc and Cardan’s perspectives. From Jude’s perspective, we get insight into assassination attempts on Cardan’s life, which Holly Black cut in order to focus on the Undersea threat. I won’t speak further on these scenes because of potential spoilers, but while I agree that it was the right decision to focus on Jude’s perspective, I love the insight that these scenes give us into Madoc and Cardan’s thoughts. They make me anticipate even more how Holly Black will conclude this trilogy!
Content
Some language
Lesbian relationship
Sex Scene (explicit)
Treachery
Violence
Fey cruelty and demeaning treatment of humans
Chat With Me
Have you read The Cruel Prince or The Wicked King? Or any other Holly Black book? What’re your thoughts?
Books to Read After TCP
If like me, you’re looking for books to fill the void until the release of book 3, check out my list of 33 books to read after The Cruel Prince.
Dani @ Perspective of a Writer says
I haven’t read this yet but I love that Holly totally kicked your expectations to the curb and showed you so much more about the characters! Honestly these feel like the fey to me and I love that. Can’t wait to get to the next book now. ❤️
Crystal says
I agree that these are the type of fey I’m more familiar with (and love to read about). It wasn’t until I was in high school that I started finding books that romanticized paranormal/fantasy creatures. I hope you enjoy The Wicked King, Dani!
Melliane says
I hear so many good things about this author and I need to try her books one day
Crystal says
I’ve enjoyed a few of her other books. I hope you enjoy, Melliane!
Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer says
Well, I am impressed. Both books sounds wonderful, and it sounds like this exceeded the first. Wonderful thoughts!
Crystal says
It’s always great when the second book exceeds the first, especially when the first was good too! 🙂