Holly Black

Fantasy. As seneschal to High King Cardan, Jude must fight to keep control of the Faerie throne while her younger brother, Oak, enjoys the childhood she never knew

The Wicked King

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 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.

The Folk of the Air #2

Hazzel

“Kiss me again,” he says, drunk and foolish. “Kiss me until I am sick of it.”

“If you’re the sickness, I suppose you can’t also be the cure.”

He drifts off to sleep, but I am wide awake.”

“He looks up at me with his night-colored eyes, beautiful and terrible all at once. “For a moment,” he says, “I wondered if it wasn’t you shooting bolts at me.”

I make a face at him. “And what made you decide it wasn’t?”

Spectacular! Give me 14 of them right now. 🍽️

Ivory Flores

“Kiss me again,” he says, drunk and foolish. “Kiss me until I am sick of it.” 

Edna Aviles

This is what power feels like, pure unfettered power. It's great. 

rose.

If you're the sickness, I suppose you can't also be the cure.

"I wondered if it wasn't you shooting bolts at me."

I have heard that for mortals, the feeling of falling in love is very like the feeling of fear.

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

Paige Leitner

"Wait," I say, pitching my voice loud enough to carry. The imps hesitate. Cardan's expression is unreadable. 

I reach down and catch hold of my hem, then pull the dress I am wearing over my head. It's a simple thing- comes off just as simply. I stand in the middle of the party in my underwear, daring them to say something. Daring Cardan to speak. 

"Now I am ready to put on my new gown," I say. There are a few cheers, as though they don't understand the game is humiliation. Locke, surprisingly, appears delighted. 

Cardan steps close to me, his gaze devouring. I am not sure I can bear his cutting me down again. Luckily, he seems at a loss for words. 

"I hate you," I whisper before he can speak.

"Say it again," he says as the imps comb my hair and place the ugly, stinking crown on my head. His voice is low. The words are for me alone.

THE LAYERS TO THIS,,,,, It never clicked in my head that his mother stayed in that room omg

Kaitlyn

“I hope you aren't going to ask me for your rooms in the palace. I'm afraid I've set them on fire."

He refuses to allow himself all the thoughts that follow, refuses to remember how Jude's breath hitched when he touched her, as though with desire. Or the way she closed her eyes tight, as though she couldn't bear to see who made her feel that way.

I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN BC SPOILERS BUT I DIDNT KNOW IT WOULD HAPPEN HEREEEEEE

"Hear my judgment," Cardan says, authority ringing in his voice. I exile Jude Duarte to the mortal world. Until and unless she is pardoned by the crovwn, let her not step one foot in Faerie or forfeit her life."

"Will you Alood the land now?" Cardan asks Orlagh with perfect calm, as though he didn't just cause a fourth island to rise from the sea.

OEHSAODJWODNAKDK I know everything is going to go downhill from here,,,,

I have found something far more blasphenmous than spreading out on the bed of the High King, far more blasphemous than sneaking Car- dan's signet onto my finger, or even sitting on the throne itself. I haye become the Queen of Faerie.

I FLINCHED WHATTTTTT OSHAISNWDOWJDIWNDKSN

"Marry me," he says. "Become the Queen of Elfhame."

"But how did she make you agree?" I demand. "She has no power. She could pretend to be me, but she couldn't force you—“ He puts his head in his long-fingered hands. "She didnt have to command me, Jude. She didn't have to use any magic. I trust you. I trusted you."

"You should go.” “ Why?" I ask, annoyed. For one, this is my room. For another, I am trying to keep him alive. He looks at me solemnly. “Because I am going to retch.”

IN A WORLD WHERE NO ONE IS ON HER SIDE HE WILL ALWAYS BE THERE 😭😭

"Jude Duarte, you will leave the High King's side," Balekin says. At that tone, Cardan's focus narrows. I can see him straining to concentrate. "She will not," he says.

Ohhhhhhh he is quite well-versed with flattery tehehehe

"Sweet Jude. You are my dearest punishment."

I know he’s drunk out of his mind and doing this at an inappropriate time but I find this endearing.

"Yes, my sweet villain, my darling god. I will be as sober as a stone carving, just as soon as I can." And with that, he kisses me on the mouth.

This is really sad. She has to doubt her twin sister in her trust because her fuckass twin would choose a man over her sister

But if I say all that, will she believe me?

୨ৎ : 'perhaps i cannot be glamoured, but that doesnt mean i cannot be broken.'

no because i truly thought this would be the book were jude and carden would fall in love and be HAPPY. then carden had to go be a dumb king and EXILE his queen. my heart broke for jude my poor baby

*** updated: this book is just everything, the politic aspect to it, the betrayal, the friendships, the judecarden crumbs. i completely forgot about one of the betrayals and when it happened i wanted to sob. the ending of course hurt my heart but i know itll be okay in the end which gives me some relief. ***

୨ৎ : 'perhaps i cannot be glamoured, but that doesnt mean i cannot be broken.'

— ☆ 5/5 (was 4/5)

no because i truly thought this would be the book were jude and carden would fall in love and be HAPPY. then carden had to go be a dumb king and EXILE his queen. my heart broke for jude my poor baby

*** updated: this book is just everything, the politic aspect to it, the betrayal, the friendships, the judecarden crumbs. i completely forgot about one of the betrayals and when it happened i wanted to sob. the ending of course hurt my heart but i know itll be okay in the end which gives me some relief. ***

rain

these books are so addictive and have me SO conflicted like i just want everyone to get along but ofc theyre not gonna bc they’re all toxic and traumatised. deceiving each other constantly but like duh that makes sense its set in faerie where folk are fucked up. i really wanna know how this series ends 

Nia Singh 

i'm starting to think i don't enjoy the "enemies" part of "enemies to lovers" 

Jordan Chan 

Like the first book the first half of this novel falls a bit flat for me, only really ramping up in the second half. But i truly believe that is because I am not particularly accustomed to fantasy novels, and even though i say it “fell flat” I still enjoyed it. So I think i’m just wording it wrong what I do mean is that it’s good not great. The second half made me stay up a good 2 hours after because I was so invested.

Jude oh Jude… Top 10 rage baiter of all time with an overcommitment to the bit. Micro-dosing on poison? iconic. Any other insane thing she does in this book, totally justified I actually have an insane thing she can do in the next one; beat locke and tyran up for the level disrespect they had in this book. Locke having absolutely no character development and still acting like a fool this entire book doing the absolute worse. And tyran, still taking worst sister of the year award, what the hell. I felt sorry for her in like the first half up until she basically choses her parents murderer before her sister. Yeah pack it up. Like I dont even feel that bad in the first place because she can easily back out of what made her so miserable in this book. She has options she just choses to pick the wrong ones. And then shes always on some lame shit on how she just mirrors the worst parts of jude or something that doesnt justify anything. Also, vivi what the hell? why is she like a sucky girlfriend.

But anyway,  i liked the family dynamic created between jude, vivi, and everybody who still lives under madocs estate. Its interesting to see like that resentment coming from the events of the last book mixed with that love or atleast understanding of each other and why they made their decisions still clear.

Now for the final main character: Cardan, I’m not going to lie he grew on me this novel, his character was advancing without it seeming ridiculously out of the blue and he got me. Just wanting to impress her offering a very ravi singh approach to solve the problems at hand… alright you got me (though i am a little pissed about the ending but i cannot say it was “out of character” because he would do something dumb like that). 

Anyway uh ending… can jude catch a break. im tired even reading abt it. 

melanie

Like the first book the first half of this novel falls a bit flat for me, only really ramping up in the second half. But i truly believe that is because I am not particularly accustomed to fantasy novels, and even though i say it “fell flat” I still enjoyed it. So I think i’m just wording it wrong what I do mean is that it’s good not great. The second half made me stay up a good 2 hours after because I was so invested.

Jude oh Jude… Top 10 rage baiter of all time with an overcommitment to the bit. Micro-dosing on poison? iconic. Any other insane thing she does in this book, totally justified I actually have an insane thing she can do in the next one; beat locke and tyran up for the level disrespect they had in this book. Locke having absolutely no character development and still acting like a fool this entire book doing the absolute worse. And tyran, still taking worst sister of the year award, what the hell. I felt sorry for her in like the first half up until she basically choses her parents murderer before her sister. Yeah pack it up. Like I dont even feel that bad in the first place because she can easily back out of what made her so miserable in this book. She has options she just choses to pick the wrong ones. And then shes always on some lame shit on how she just mirrors the worst parts of jude or something that doesnt justify anything. Also, vivi what the hell? why is she like a sucky girlfriend.

But anyway,  i liked the family dynamic created between jude, vivi, and everybody who still lives under madocs estate. Its interesting to see like that resentment coming from the events of the last book mixed with that love or atleast understanding of each other and why they made their decisions still clear.

Now for the final main character: Cardan, I’m not going to lie he grew on me this novel, his character was advancing without it seeming ridiculously out of the blue and he got me. Just wanting to impress her offering a very ravi singh approach to solve the problems at hand… alright you got me (though i am a little pissed about the ending but i cannot say it was “out of character” because he would do something dumb like that). 

Anyway uh ending… can jude catch a break. im tired even reading abt it. 



We are used to reading strong FMC in romantasy books, but Jude is another level. Her use of strategy and power is delightful to read. The story is remarkable and so catchy. It was also great to see more of the dynamic unfolding between Jude and Caden. I finish the book in 2 days and can’t wait to read the third one.

ovgun

Lucy Williams

I really like this one! 

can’t wait to read the next 

shrey

...the ending makes me want to throttle Cardan, but I'm too invested to not read the last of the trilogy

Taylor Grace

nggak kepikiran buat binge series ini tp abis ini i’ll go straight to the queen of nothing 😭😭😭😭 SOOOO GOODDDFFFD

hana

Cardan, while utterly himself, continued to surprise me. He's one of those unpredictable wildcard characters, and though nothing he does is really 'surprising', he still leaves you baffled and scratching your head at every turn. His relationship with Jude is tense, angsty, full of 'what even just happened' moments, and ahhh, I can't say much more. You never quite know what he has up his sleeve or his true intentions, and trust me, he'll leave you guessing until the very end - not to mention, he might be a tad more powerful than we all expected. He’s one of my favorite characters I think, I wanna jump right into the 3rd book.

micki

After finishing The Cruel Prince I was suddenly addicted to finding out what happened next. I consider this novel to be similar to the first in content, although the ending was a true cliffhanger that had me running to the store to get the next book. With tons of betrayal and romance, this novel was a serious page turner.

Anna

I love you, Cardan. I love you, Jude. I love you, Court of Shadow. Everyone else can go to hell.

Cici Pearson

Number 1 New York Times bestseller. An intoxicating and bloodthirsty sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Cruel Prince., nominated for the CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019 'Holly Black is the Faerie Queen' - Victoria Aveyard I have heard that for mortals, the feeling of falling in love is very like the feeling of fear. Jude has tricked Cardan onto the throne, binding him to her 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, all while battling her own complicated feelings for Cardan. Now a year and a day seems like no time at all . . .

rara

this was a reread for me and adored it even more than the first time - truly a 5 star read in my opinion and i wish i could  experience reading this for the first time again

Eimear O'Connor 

without giving any spoiler, in my opinion the first book was good but this one was even better.

romy

Rhys Pekovitch

Svetlana 

How?? WHY? This literally broke my heart twice. First, reading really sad backstory of one of the main characters and then came the end. I’m so anxious now to read the last book. Holly Black once again did great job. With revealing characters personalities and loyalties, plotting and finished it with great ending.

Nothing memorable. Still will read last book.

Chourouk

this book was quite the callings for me to read because it was sometimes very weird and i was sometimes quite confused at how things went but the end of the book was so good i couldn't predict it. It was a good second book and i enjoyed it.

The Wicked King

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