A review by writervid
The Wicked King by Holly Black

4.0

I was waiting to read this because I felt that Holly Black might leave me waiting in sick anticipation for the next installment again...and she did. All the strengths of the first book remain, with many expanded upon (like Jude and Cardan's relationship and their power dynamic), and I'm a sucker for court intrigue. Why is it not five stars? Because there was sometimes too much going on. That sounds picky, but since Black did so well at continuing the threads of the first book, there was often not enough time to go into them in depth while maintaining pacing, and oftentimes the places she expanded were not the most dynamic or interesting. Simultaneously, some threads got repetitive. I feel less attached to the characters this time around than the first, although I'm still plenty attached. An excellent read, just a few nitpicks that, when all put together, knock off some points.