The Wicked King Book Review

Once one has control, it's easy to lose it. Once one has power, it's easy to let it fall from your grasp. How can we get power and control to work for us, and to stay in our hands? The webs are tangled, the rose bushes thorny where this question is involved. Being a politique, as history has taught us, is never easy -- especially if you're not making selfless decisions. Jude is learning all of this after her wildly successful grasp for power. Will she continue to succeed, or will everything fall like sand through her hands? This sequel is cleverly crafted and spellbinding: The Wicked King is an addictive dream of a book. 

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over 30 fantasy novels for kids and teens. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She grew up in New Jersey, but now currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library. If you're interested in more of my reviews of Holly Black's work, you can find them all here. 

Jude 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 biddable. 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 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 the faerie world. 

Jude continues to be one of the best characters fantasy has ever seen. In my review of The Cruel Prince, I discussed how she was a study in contrasts, which is why her character is so appealing. That study continues here, as Jude fights between feelings of powerfulness and powerlessness. One of the book's biggest themes is power (or the lack of it), and it's certainly interesting to see how Jude interacts with both. One of my favorite things about Jude, though, is her sheer inability to roll over when she feels powerless. When things get hard, Jude doesn't cry, or complain, or let it happen to her. She recognizes the terrible nature of the situation and immediately buckles up to go fix it. She's a schemer at heart, and it is her default whenever she's stuck between a rock and a hard place. This doesn't just make Jude interesting to read (after all, we don't like characters who can't fix problems); rather, Jude becomes a character readers want to cheer on, a character we can feel inspired by. Jude doesn't let the bad situations get the better of her, which is a lesson that we can all learn, mortal in Faerie or no. 

Politics can be hard to read sometimes. For me, often, it's just confusing trying to keep track of who wants want, or who's who to begin with! But Holly Black makes it easy here. The politics are fleshed out, despite the sheer number of players and desires. I never feel lost or confused. Instead, I feel like I belong with Jude, scheming right beside her as she strategizes her way out of sticky situations. How does Black do this? For one, it helps that her novel is in first person point of view. Being right inside the head of one of the most key characters helps us understand what Jude wants, so that we can see how everyone else stands with or opposite of her. Secondly, Black includes plenty of repetitive phrases, reminding readers who is who (ex. Balekin is Cardan's brother; Balekin committed this crime, etc.). Black recognizes that politics aren't for everyone, and thus difficult to navigate. She breaks it down with these phrases that harken back to previous scenes or knowledge. That way, we can stay on track with Jude, and even try to predict the moves of other players on the strategy board. And, even then, we can still be surprised by Black's clever plot twists and reveals (I know I was)!

I wanted to recognize the amazing feat Black achieves that I haven't seen in quite some time: this series doesn't revolve around romance. I've read a handful of fantasy novels where the romance between main characters is such a pivotal plot element, that it's hard to imagine the book existing without it. Black does something masterful here, where the plot and politics don't revolve around romantic love at all. It's a refreshing change of pace for this genre (or the books I've read from this genre, to be specific). It is not that I dislike the fantasy series, like A Court of Thorns and Roses, that do revolve a lot around whom Feyre will end up with. Rather, it presents Holly Black as a writer more interested in how romance interacts with other things, like politics and backstory. Black also focused on many different types of love: agape (such as the love between sisters), and philia (the best possible way to describe what's going on between Madoc and Jude), along with the eros. Being able to tie in all types of love, along with the power of politics, the intrigue of Faerie, and the heroine's own personal dilemmas makes Holly Black one of the most sophisticated writers I've ever had the pleasure of reading. 

You couldn't go anywhere in 2019 (Barnes and Noble website, Goodreads, Bookstagram, you name it) without seeing The Wicked King plastered all over, and for a good reason! I'm honestly shocked it never crossed my mind to pick up this series earlier. I haven't read a book this addicting since I finished Night Spinner by Addie Thorley. Black does a wonderful job keeping her story enchanting and bloodthirsty all at the same time. Her plots are magically constructed. The plot twists are so shocking, in that as a reader I was wondering, "How will the characters get out of this?" All of these characteristics of The Wicked King point to one thing: Black is an amazing writer. The characters, plot, setting, and all other elements of the perfect story seem to fall together on the page in this sequel. Black makes it look effortless, but we all know it takes a village to create this kind of magic. I wanted to give kudos to anyone who helped produce this final product of The Wicked King, and everyone who promoted it, either through specific marketing or word-of-mouth. Otherwise, I'm not sure I would have picked it up!

After one of the craziest plot-twists of the year, I'm looking forward to seeing how Jude reconciles with her new position. Her journey continues and ends in The Queen of Nothing, and you can find my review of it here!

*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*