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A review by rubeusbeaky
The Wicked King by Holly Black
5.0
A heart-racing story, the courtly intrigue on par with anything in Game of Thrones. Jude is a wonderfully flawed narrator: like Katniss Everdeen, she's playing a game she's less-proficient at than she once assumed, and misinterprets allies and enemies alike. My one grumble with this book is that 90% of the conflict is caused by Jude trying to manage everything herself, instead of bringing others into her confidence. It's not the fault of the author, Jude /is/ acting in character, even if it's a trope and had me screaming at the book. Be genre savvy, Jude! Your scheming is only going to make YOU look like the bad guy before the end, if you don't tell your /teammates/ the plan! See The Severus Snape School for Keeping Secrets here!
I suppose I have one, second, nitpicky, minor grumble: I devoured this book in two days, I was along for the story... But the book is exposition-heavy. It's a beautiful world Holly Black designed, a lot for the imagination to drink up. But there were few metaphors, few quotable lines, everything was a plot point. I feel breathless, having raced through all the surprises and dangers right there with Jude, and I mark it as a 5 star thing if a book can make me /feel/ something. But I worry that once I get to the end of the trilogy, the book won't be re-readable, if all it has going for it is plot :/. I hope I eat those words. We'll see!
I suppose I have one, second, nitpicky, minor grumble: I devoured this book in two days, I was along for the story... But the book is exposition-heavy. It's a beautiful world Holly Black designed, a lot for the imagination to drink up. But there were few metaphors, few quotable lines, everything was a plot point. I feel breathless, having raced through all the surprises and dangers right there with Jude, and I mark it as a 5 star thing if a book can make me /feel/ something. But I worry that once I get to the end of the trilogy, the book won't be re-readable, if all it has going for it is plot :/. I hope I eat those words. We'll see!