Title: The Wicked King
By: Holly Black
Published: January 8, 2019
Rating: 5/5 stars
Where do I even begin? No scratch that… How do I even write this review without spoiling anything? I promise this review will contain no spoilers for those of you who have yet to read this amazing book. I will do the best I can to summarize it and encourage you to read it right away.
First off, if you haven’t read The Cruel Prince you’ll need to read that first. The Wicked King starts on page one right where The Cruel Prince left off. You’ll be terribly lost without that for context of the world, the events happening in the story and more importantly the epic characters.
Cardan and Jude don’t disappoint in this book. OMG! Once you read it you’ll see why. Cardan is such a bad guy but I love him so much. I feel for Jude because I think in a lot of ways she sees there is good within Cardan or at least some redemptive quality but his upbringing made him the way he is. After reading The Wicked King I feel as either I am an eternal optimist who wants to see the best in people even if it’s my undoing or there really is something there. I asked Holly Black about this last year during the Cruel Prince book tour and she said Cardan is just bad and we love him because he’s so bad and that I would have to wait till The Wicked King to see how he evolves. *palms face* I still love him and I don’t know why! Gah! If loving Cardan is wrong, I don’t want to be right but it feels sooooo wrong to love him haha
Let’s talk about Jude for a moment…If you’ve read The Cruel Prince then you know that the story is told through her POV. The Wicked King Barnes & Noble edition features a couple deleted scenes not told through Jude’s POV and they don’t have the same mystery or intrigue in my opinion. I’m glad the story continues to be told through her POV and I loved seeing her struggle with the power she has achieved. In this book her world is far from perfect or ideal. Her family is strained and distant from her and she’s constantly having to question her own ability to keep things going. That’s all I can really say there. *covers mouth*
Just like the first book, The Wicked King ends on a cliff hanger and it will grip your heart in a way you don’t expect. At least I didn’t expect it. Holly Black is soooooo good at murdering my soul with her stories and taking me on a faerie type adventure where I don’t know up from down until I’m there. All I can say is…. I NEED MORE!!!!!! As my Dad reminded me I have 350 days till 2020 when the next book will hopefully be released. It’s too long…far, far, farrrr too long. I need more Cardan now!
If you haven’t by now realized this is a book you NEED *hint, hint* to read ASAP you might want to read this post again. haha. Even though 2019 just started this is one of my favorite reads of this year already and it’s gonna stick with me all year long.
I cannot wait to hear your thoughts on this book once you read it!! If you would like a more detailed review of the book that discusses particular scenes and plot points let me know and I will write one later.
Until next time Book Lovelies….Happy Reading! <3
