The Wicked King by Holly Black

|Synopsis|

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 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.

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|Review|

As someone who reads a lot YA Fantasy, Jude is hands down one of my favorite main female characters. She knows how to go after what she wants, even if she isn’t quite sure how to get it or who to trust. The Wicked King was a highly anticipated release that did not disappoint.

Jude is back more badass than ever. There was a ton of character development in this book. It was interesting to see how Jude stepped up in certain situations. We left off with Jude tricking Cardan into becoming High King and her puppet for a year and a day. Fast forward to the revelry of Cardan being crowned, she’s now ruling the Fae without them even knowing it. Jude has to make some tough decisions not only with the kingdom, but with some feelings she seems to be having for a certain wicked king.

Cardan is unreal. He’s the guy your parents warn you about, the one that treats you worse because he likes you. He also had some amazing development with himself and how he treats Jude. You see him start to enjoy being High King and stepping up to situations when Jude otherwise occupied.

Overall it was an interesting story from start to finish. It had me totally enthralled and I ended up finishing it in one sitting (or listening). I’m not sure if I’m ready for this series to end but excited to see what Holly has up her sleeve next for our favorite villains (yes I consider them all villains, aren’t we all in someone’s stories?).