Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - The Wicked King

I really enjoyed how Jude's weaving of lies and truth were central to this tale, and yet she ultimately fails as humans are prone to do. I also enjoyed Cardan taking on more of a role, and becoming a more ambigously grey character, rather than starkly black or white.

Even Taryn's betrayal threw me off, though I should've expected it considering she isn't afraid to throw her sister in the line of fire if it benefits her outcome even the slightest bit. I do hope she gets her comeuppance, though, she is too proud and too eager to appear the superior sibling.

With how it ended, I am interested to see how Jude gets out of this predicament, and what game of chess Cardan is playing now, because obviously he has become the King on the board protecting his Queen.

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mellysay's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Omg.
This was… incredible. I loved it. It’s a good sequel and I loved everything about it. I was hooked and read it in like 2 days. A friend of mine said: “the first 150 pages will be so boring but after that the story will take pace” she did not lie. and I was so determined to get past those first 150 pages. I don’t know, if you’ve watched game of thrones or other alike series / movies you will be familiar with the boring parts. Where it is only people talking strategy, how to keep the crown, how to make the people at peace. You know? Nothing happened really. No relationship building, no plot that thickened, just some pages of Jude running around the castle and playing high king. But after 150 pages the book was 5 ⭐️! Therefore I give it a simple 4,5 ⭐️.
Can we talk about how good Holly Black is at writing? Omg I enjoyed every bit of her well written text Language. I almost cried a little. Holly Black is truly the Fearie Queen. Somebody give her a price and some money for the amazing world she built for us!

Now can we talk about the story!?
I freaking loved Cardan. I grew very fond of him thanks to all the backstory about him. To how he was so kind to Jude at the end. I liked him because of everything. I truly believed that poor Jude Duarte found peace and some kind of love and comfort when she married Cardan. I really thought he was honest, because he liked Jude so much. I mean two whole books and finally they confessed how they felt about each other. But no! Cardan built a island and laughed at her while he banished her from Fearieland. Of course. Our Jude will never know happiness.
And lets talk about Jude. How can she just trust Taryn again after all she’s done? Taryn just came into her room and was like “yo, start talking to me because I want you on my wedding” and dumb Jude was like “yes of course so silly of me, I was in a silly goofy mood 😜 “ I wanted to scream at her. ALSO what the frick is wrong with Locke? I hate him so much smh 🤦 anyways. Poor Jude she has been through IT. How much will Black put here main character through before it is enough? I feel so much for Jude because she can never rest. If she isn’t I life threatening danger, then she is taking poison and is close to dying because of that. So dumb. Take a break woman. But I love Jude too much ❤️❤️ Strong independent woman💪💪💪 I hope she doesn’t grow found of the human world in the next book because she needs to find her way back to fearieland and kill the high king. I felt like sometimes things happened too fast. Like oh she just spent a month under water and oh? She just married the high king 👑

Overall a very good book. And as you can see I am very passionate about it. I see that as a good sign.
I love this book and will forever cherish it❤️

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jessicaludden's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved every single moment of this book. It surprised me so much and then it surprised me again and then it surprised me a few more times for good measure. The character growth in this book was immaculate. I love Jude so much. She’s so smart and just always on go mode. It’s really clear how her desire for power and control drive her actions (which kind of led to her downfall). She’s a complete badass. She’s also really freaking funny. There are so many times I laughed out loud in this book. I also LOVE Cardan of course, especially seeing his growth in this book. I loved getting to see him go from a spoiled prince who never wanted the crown and resented himself and everyone else to being the High King of Elfhame and actually wanting to rule. Seeing him claim that title and believe himself to be king was so nice. What I loved most of all was the development of Jude and Cardan’s relationship. They had so many really cute moments together and I was LIVING for the tension. But there were so many little moments where you could just tell they both care about each other. Like Cardan not realizing Taryn was pretending to be Jude because he just wanted her to trust him without having to command him. There were also moments where they realized they have a lot in common like when they would be talking about their parents or the way they grew up. I LOVED the scene after Jude gets back from being imprisoned in the Undersea where Cardan apologizes for being horrible and explains why he is the way he is. I just loved how they slowly grew to trust each other. Of course I do NOT appreciate how this man tricked her… and me. I felt so hurt and betrayed for her. Also conflicted cause I’m so proud of him for taking a stand and finally issuing commands of his own (like are gonna talk about how created a whole island??), but i’m SO ready to see how Jude gets back at him in the next book.

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v1rgo's review against another edition

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3.25

the pacing was sooo bad but this series is SO funny. not a fan of the whole horny ya thing. but oh well that's just me and this was written for teenagers. i also think cardan's character development after [redacted] was too sudden esp when u contrast it with how jude is. like she has not developed at all unless u count like. The plot further traumatizing her. also what happened to her at [redacted] was SA and i'm not a fan of that being brushed over. even if u look at the tws on here it's not mentioned. like that's so fucked. theoretically ik that is just how the books mayb r or her character bc she for sure has ptsd but i think that's a dumb excuse. like how is it that u devote more time to like the angstyness than THAT??? and there's no way jude hasn't realized that cardan ultimately is not very smart and just is into her. it's just typical ya angst ik but it's not done well. i thought their dynamic was going in a more original direction but i dunno if it is. n i think she sounded like a teenager more in the last one. like she's 18 max now. it's just not realistic. the part that was talking about cardan having catgirls on his wall was funny. also the very vague reference to yuri on ice. can't tell whether i'm a hater or just a lesbian and just like the romance bc i think it's funny but i think i preferred the first book

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