The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black

Title: The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2)
Author: Holly Black
Pages: 336
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: LBYR/HBG Canada
Buy: AmazonCA| Chapters Indigo| Kobo 
*Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC for review*

Summary (Goodreads)

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 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. 

Review: 

Holly Black you have done it again and have left me speechless! The Wicked King was jaw-dropping and is the perfect sequel to The Folk of the Air series. If you love to read about faeries this is the series you need to pick up immediately because it is bloodthirsty. It makes you wish you had the third book. I'm still in shock after finishing it! A big thank you to HBGCanada for providing me an ARC of this book! It was my most anticipated books of 2019 and it did not disappoint.

The Wicked King starts off a little after the first book after that crazy ending after Jude takes charge of the secret of who Oak really is the true heir of Faerie, so she sent him to the human world while Cardan seats on the throne. There are so many alliances that are starting to shift as well as the politics in the court that Jude is controlling. I did enjoy seeing more of the world that has been created and the events that are starting to conspire. You will be enthralled with the plot, characters and seeing how it affects the Elfhame. The sequel had lots going on especially the tension between Jude and Cardan. You will not be able to put this book down!

Cardan has to be one of my favourite characters. While he is cruel, you can see that he does show more emotion in this book than the first book. When you get to a certain chapters you will swoon for him. But at the same will be shocked by that ending. Jude has grown a lot in this book as she navigates the political scene, complicated relationship, and family. If you haven't read The Cruel Prince you definitely need to pick it up immediately! I think I loved this one better so far.  Wishing for The Exiled Queen to come out!


5/5