The Wicked King

Ordering this had me refreshing the "Track my order" at least twice per minute. The perfect mix of mystery, thriller, and romance. If you're a sucker for dramatics what are you doing with your life if you haven't read this series? The book came in perfect condition no creases and no bends or anything of that sort in the pages.

Love love loved this book! It had everything I wanted. Simple, easy to follow and a little romance thrown. But the book was a defect, few pages had weird paper folded as if the printer malfunctioned or something

the book is super captivating i loved every bit of it it’s condition was pretty good too maybe a scratch here and there but nothing that caught my attention and kept it

El libro llegó un poco sucio de la cubierta (se lo limpié, pero no se quitó) y también unas páginas estaban dobladas, de ahí en fuera todo bien. Deberían de ser un poco más cuidados con el empacado, por favor. Por otro lado, el libro es fantástico, vale la pena la pasta dura por el diseño que tiene grabado y la historia es fascinante.

It took a while to come to the point where I read it and finished it on my iPad but it came in perfect shape

After The Cruel Prince it's obvious that unexpected things will happen all the time, and even knowing I should be more careful on who to trust I clearly wasn't enough. The Wicked King begins 5 months after the events of the first book, and seeing Jude as the High King's Seneschal was at the very least, amazing! My favorite thing about this book is how Jude managed to plan everything, how she dealt with the power and control she had over Cardan. Jude Duarte did not let me down at any moment. "Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to". This is one of my favorite quotes from the book, because the story itself reminded me of its importance all the time. Jude was dealing with the Living Council and trying to make them listen. If they had listened to her, the whole thing with the Undersea could have been avoided, they would have been prepared. I was so curious trying to discover who was the traitor. "I served Prince Dain. Not you." I wasn't expecting it to be The Ghost, the way he just didn't care and was one of the reasons Jude was dragged to the Undersea... After everything they went through, I was shocked! "Perhaps I cannot be glamoured, but that doesn't mean I cannot be broken." When Jude was at the sea, dealing with Nicasia and Orlagh I was so nervous. She was alone at the Undersea, facing the queen and her jealous daughter. If it wasn't enough, she also had to face Balekin. Jude spent all her energy pretending to be under their control. Seeing her pretending to see a comfortable room, the food, water... all of it just reassured how strong Jude Duarte is. She had to fight her own body just to make it to the next day. I felt as if I was trapped under the water with her. Locke and Taryn deserve each other, they are both terrible in my point of view. Taryn always choose someone else over her own sister, and Locke just cares about what and who is more interesting at the moment. The fact that he was the cause of Jude's almost death makes me want to kill him myself even more. Taryn just likes to pretend she's a nice Lady of Faerie and has zero personality. "Sweet Jude. You are my dearest punishment." I just loved to see how the things between Jude and Cardan were changing. It's very clear that they feel something. The fact that this story's not focused on romance just makes it better! It was amazing to see how this game of kings, queens and power would go, and even have a real relationship development. Not one the characters are madly in love after 2 days. I'm looking forward to see how the author will work their relationship on The Queen of Nothing. "But I am the Queen of Faerie." After Jude gave up the control she had over Cardan and accepted marrying him I was extremely happy. For a moment I really believed I knew how the book would end, and that they would take care of the Orlagh situation together. But as I mentioned before, I wasn't careful enough and was fooled. Jude killed Balekin, (thankfully) I might say, but that cost her everything. Cardan exiled her to the mortal world and that was highly unexpected to me. I am still speechless, in The Cruel Prince, Jude tricks Cardan and in The Wicked King, Cardan tricks Jude. To finish this review I want to say that this is one of my favorite books. I just couldn't stop reading until it was over! "You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring. The first lesson is to make yourself that strong."

The Wicked King was an amazing sequel to Cruel Prince, an intriguing YA fantasy that revolved around trying to keep her control over Cardan and fighting the trouble brewing in court. The story was about deceit, mind games, trust, betrayal, court politics, game of power, secrets, cruelty, and love. Most of the chapters ended with quote worthy lines. Plot was more tense, dark and filled with mind games and politics. First half of the book was a bit steady paced with all political things, managing meeting, ravels and Court of Shadows with attack that kept things spiced up but as Taryn’s wedding neared things became exciting and the second part of the book was just brilliant with so many twists and turns. Characters were as interesting and complex as first book. There was a good development in Jude and Cardan. I enjoyed reading more about Cardan and also Jude’s parents. Most of the characters were unlikable and I didn’t trust any of them which made plot tense and tight. The world was great. I enjoyed exploring the undersea and knowing more about how the power of High King actually works and what Cardan can do with it. There was some progress in romance. Me and @readingtonic2020 both agree that it can’t be love if they don’t trust each other fully but we are curious how it’s going to develope. It’s not normal kind we see in other books. Overall, Wicked King was brilliant, fascinating, captivating and wicked YA fantasy filled with bloody politics and amazing twist and turns. I highly recommend this book if you like, Royal politics and political intrigue power game complex characters and plot cruel and twisted world enemies-to-lovers arc Blood-thirsty YA fantasy

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.” And honestly, that quote perfectly sums up The Wicked King. If The Cruel Prince introduced us to the dangerous world of Elfhame, The Wicked King throws us headfirst into the vipers’ nest and dares us to survive. Jude Duarte continues to be one of my favorite fantasy heroines of all time. She’s a mortal girl surrounded by immortal creatures who would love nothing more than to see her fail, yet she refuses to back down. Every move she makes is a calculated risk, every alliance is fragile, and every victory comes at a cost. Watching her navigate the political minefield of Faerie is absolutely addictive. And then there’s Cardan. Gone is the spoiled prince we met in the first book. In his place is a king who is far more intelligent, complicated, and dangerous than anyone—including Jude—gives him credit for. The push and pull between them had me completely captivated. Their relationship is a masterclass in tension, power struggles, and mutual obsession. Every conversation feels like a battle, and every stolen moment somehow says more than an entire love confession. What I love most about this series is that the romance enhances the story rather than driving it. The real star is the political intrigue. Betrayals lurk around every corner, loyalties shift constantly, and just when you think you’ve figured out someone’s plan, Holly Black pulls the rug out from under you. Even on reread, I found myself fully invested, hanging on every scheme and every twist. And that ending? Absolute devastation. The kind of ending that leaves you staring at a wall wondering how a book managed to personally betray you. The Wicked King is everything I love about fantasy: clever characters, ruthless politics, sharp dialogue, and a romance built on respect, rivalry, and utter chaos. Jude and Cardan remain one of my favorite fictional couples, and this book is a huge reason why. Long live the High King and the mortal girl who thought she could control him. 🖤👑 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🫑