Absolutely loved it

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I cannot even begin to express how much I was looking forward to reading The Wicked King. My wait was only short since I only read the Cruel Prince in December, but that short amount of time felt longer than it should have. So, to all those people who went through a whole year of waiting and wondering, desperate to return to Holly Black’s beautifully created world of Faerie, I applaud you.

The Characters

Jude:
Her situation throughout the first half of The Wicked King is the very definition of juggling too much – so much so that she doesn’t have the time to take care of herself properly
I do enjoy her as a point of view character. It is so easy to share her thoughts and opinions about other characters and situations.
She is such a complex character, and I am very intrigued to see where her arc goes in The Queen of Nothing.

Cardan:
He goes through the most growth as a character, and I love this so much
He starts out unwilling to rule, but enjoys the merrier aspects
But when a turn of events means he has to make decisions on his own, he really comes into his own.
Cardan is such a layered character, and I cannot wait to see how he is developed further in The Queen of Nothing.

Jude and Cardan:
I will go down with this ship.
Yes, it is toxic. Yes, they bring out the worst (and best) in each other. But the chemistry they have leaps off the page.

Taryn and Locke:
These two took more of a backseat plot wise with wedding plans, and Jude having other more pressing things to focus on. Plus her sister did commit a huge betrayal of trust for that jerkoff, Locke. Who does that to their sister? I wish them many years of misery together.
It’s not surprising we don’t see much of them and therefore no real character growth as any changes in their characters are more away from Jude’s perspective given she’s running a whole realm with a puppet king.
When we see Locke, his ‘nice’ guy mask has fully slipped, and we get to see his true nature in all its glory.
Taryn continues to show she is still the worst sister in the world when she makes a big move at the end… courtesy of Madoc.
I do wonder where this will leave them now going into The Queen of Nothing with regards to loyalties.

Speaking of Madoc:
Madoc was more involved from the political angle as opposed to filling the family “father” figure role.
Given how things were left between him and Jude this is not entirely unexpected.
After events of The Cruel Prince it’s very easy to be suspicious of him and his motives…especially with Jude as a point of view character. I think it’s safe to say she takes the “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” stance with him. And, do you know what? I don’t blame her.

The Plot:
Without giving too much away, we pick up five months after the events of The Cruel Prince. Jude is pretty much ruling Faerie through Cardan, and has put into place policies she feels strongly about.
A lot of this book is based around politics and Jude’s navigation of it, but the secondary plots are woven into the narrative in a seamless way.
Oh, and then when it kicks off, it really kicks off, and as I said earlier, Cardan really comes into his own–I only wish we could have had his point of view at this point.
We also get to meet Orlagh, Nicasia’s mother, and Queen of the Undersea, and find out what makes her tick. She plays quite a big role, and is the main antagonist of The Wicked King.

Rating
I give The Wicked King 5/5 stars.
As soon as I picked it up, I was drawn back into Holly Black’s beautifully crafted world, and it was a trial to leave it for basic human functions such as eating and sleeping. The ending has only left me wanting more.

Recommend?
I absolutely recommend you read the Wicked King. It is the perfect sequel to The Cruel Prince, and will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

With Holly Black revealing that there would be no arcs released for The Queen of Nothing, everyone is in the same boat, and it is going to a long wait until January 2020 for all of us.

The chess pieces are in place, let the third and final act of The Folk of the Air series begin.