Quick Review: The Wicked King by Holly Black

From the Back Cover:

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.

My Thoughts:

After the huge plot twist at the end of The Cruel Prince, I couldn't wait to get my hands on The Wicked King. Now that most of the ruling faerie family is dead, Jude's twin sister has betrayed her, and her stepfather is her adversary, Jude has no one to watch her back as she navigates court politics as Cardan's seneschal. And Cardan, the cruel prince who is now the wicked king, is quite a handful. One of the things I loved from the first book was the delicious nature of their relationship. They hate each other, but they are oh so drawn to each other. That tension sizzles in this book and serves as a sensual undercurrent as Jude tries to keep Cardan safe from enemies far and near. And Cardan does not make that easy, going out of his way to punish Jude for placing him in that position in the first place. Yet he is still fascinated by the human girl who managed to turn the faerie world upside down. Slowly they grow closer and begin to work together to protect faerie, but nothing is what it seems. Secrets are revealed, alliances are made and broken, and the story races nonstop to yet another jaw-dropping twist I didn't see coming, and now I can't wait to get my hands on The Queen of Nothing!

My Rating:  4 Stars out of 5