Book Review: The Wicked King

***This is the second book in a series so there will be spoilers about the first book! I have warned you! Also, this will have spoilers about the second book too! I’m so in my feelings over this one that I have to talk about the ending!***

Author: Holly Black

Page Count (Hardcover): 322

Synopsis: Jude has lied and stolen her way to her position as Seneschal of the High King of Elfame and the secret ruler of his throne. But when the Queen of the Sea threatens war, Jude realizes she may have to force Cardan to lead.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

****SPOILERS AHEAD*****

Me to the end of this book

This series will be THE DEATH OF ME. WHY. CAN’T. CARDAN. AND. JUDE. BE. F*CKING. HAPPY. TOGETHER?!?!?

This book tormented my soul. Like book one, the first 150ish pages I was like hello this is boring what is going on? But this time, I knew better. I knew Holly Black would not disappoint me and SHE DID NOT!

We have a many a murders, some attempted murders, some trickery, an absolutely mind-blowing betrayal, some kidnapping, a steamy love scene that doesn’t actually tell you what happened (but I really think the steamiest ones don’t), a secret marriage and then AN EXILE. And really, most of this happens in the SECOND HALF OF THE BOOK. It is an absolute whirlwind at the end there, and it totally crushed all my hopes and dreams.

Okay, so let’s talk about that end because I need to. I was DESPERATE for Jude and Cardan to at least admit that they like each other. Because it’s clear (or so I thought) that they both do! But no, Cardan had to turn freaking Darkling on me and be FREAKING EXILE JUDE AFTER HE MARRIED HER!!! And true, their marriage was for power, not for love, but I really had my hopes set on them showing some feelings for each other. This did leave me with some questions that have yet to be answered in the third book that I am reading right now… are they actually married? Was this some kind of plan Cardan had to keep Jude safe? Was he really mad at her for killing his brother? I feel like I’m going to finish the Queen of Nothing TODAY because I need those answers.

So wow. Jude is not a hero I would usually root for, but Holly Black makes us want her to succeed despite her flaws. She is a freaking murderer. I would say she doesn’t kill people unless they try to kill her, which makes me like her better. But she is hungry for power. I was sort of relieved in a way when she was exiled because I was like thank God, now she can just rest for five minutes. But all in all, Jude is someone I respect because she does want to see the good in people. In the end, I think she wants Cardan to be a good king. She wants her sister to be happy with Locke and Locke to be good to her. But she wants power, and that corrupts Jude.

And Cardan, ugh, I also have a love/hate relationship with him. You meet his mom in this book, and after learning he was weaned by a stray cat because his mom didn’t want to bother with it… it makes a little more sense why he is the way he is. Even though Cardan is so shitty in so many ways, there is this inherent goodness to him. He hates murder and avoids it as much as possible. He saved Jude from Queen Orlagh’s clutches and saves his people from war. But then he does something like exile Jude and I’m like… what are you about man??

So, I come to the end of this review exasperated and desperately needing to finish the series to know what happens so I can’t spend anymore time on this! 4.5/5 stars from me because book one is slow but the slow burn is worth it in the end! Go read it!