THE WICKED KING by Holly Black

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2)

by 

Holly Black

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. 

What I thought: 

Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude.

and then... 

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (takes deep breath) AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...Holy WTF just happened. That ending, OMG that ending. Noooooooooo and yes, definitely yes. Holly Black, why are you doing this to me? And can you do it again? Because, seriously, I love this series so hard. 

I loved the complicated dynamics of Jude being Jude. There are so many layers and the scenes in this story are so well done on a technical level. Every level, actually. Holly Black's writing floors me every time. There's a magical quality to it. Each tiny piece of the puzzle clicks perfectly into place and there's an image imprinted into my brain. And I can't stop seeing it.

But I read this book too soon. The wait for the next one might kill me. I can't stop thinking about it.  Is there a support group. There should be a support group. 

Rating: ***** (11 stars, yeah eleven)

                      *Huge thanks to  Little, Brown Books for an ARC of this title. 

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RATING SCALE: 

 5* = OMFG loved it. Will read it again. Touch my book and I will cut you. 

 4* = Really good. Highly recommend. Miiiight reread. Maybe. Don't touch my book. 

 3* = Good. I liked it. Go ahead and touch it. 

 2* = Not for me, finished but struggled. Didn't connect. Here, have a book.

 1* = DNF. Couldn't do it.

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