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A review by karaisreading
The Wicked King by Holly Black
5.0
the wicked king is a stunning 4.5 stars, rounded up to five for the sake of goodreads.
it picks off about five months where cruel prince left off, but do not be scared of knowledge gaps because black fills in the blanks with carefully timed flashbacks, crafted knowledge, and the reader will not miss a single thing.
let's talk about the plot, because it is something that KEEPS SURPRISING ME
again i thought i knew how the wicked king was going to end, based on the synopsis and assumption of the queen of nothing. and yet again, i was proved wrong with the journey to get there. again, the plot twists were so BLATANTLY OBVIOUS but i just wouldn't have expected it!! or i let my guard down and got surprised again!!
(just when i thought taryn was getting redeemed...grrr)
the main reason why the wicked king wasn't a five star was because at the beginning i wasn't like INVESTED INVESTED. i don't know if that was a deal of pacing or anything but it was a teensy bit slow. however that moment (and you know which one I'm talking about, right before book two) everything kicked into motion and i couldn't put it down. I'm not saying the first part was boring, not by any means: it's just compared to the second half it can't help but pale a bit in comparison because of how EPIC the second part was. the first part is more transitioning into explaining cardan's new role as high king, the politics and the power dynamic, so a little slower. still so good though.
speaking of characters, i loved all the ones we met. and yes, other ones i hated (for obvious reasons) but i couldn't help but love them because they added so much to the story. you really can't remove any characters from the wicked king, because everyone there has such a specific purpose and is so important for the fundamental of the story, it's incredible.
that being said: jude duarte please marry me I'll do anything please
bro the ending feels like a beginning (queen of nothing??? hello??)
overall, i am LOVING THIS FANTASY SERIES MWAH
it picks off about five months where cruel prince left off, but do not be scared of knowledge gaps because black fills in the blanks with carefully timed flashbacks, crafted knowledge, and the reader will not miss a single thing.
let's talk about the plot, because it is something that KEEPS SURPRISING ME
again i thought i knew how the wicked king was going to end, based on the synopsis and assumption of the queen of nothing. and yet again, i was proved wrong with the journey to get there. again, the plot twists were so BLATANTLY OBVIOUS but i just wouldn't have expected it!! or i let my guard down and got surprised again!!
(just when i thought taryn was getting redeemed...grrr)
the main reason why the wicked king wasn't a five star was because at the beginning i wasn't like INVESTED INVESTED. i don't know if that was a deal of pacing or anything but it was a teensy bit slow. however that moment (and you know which one I'm talking about, right before book two) everything kicked into motion and i couldn't put it down. I'm not saying the first part was boring, not by any means: it's just compared to the second half it can't help but pale a bit in comparison because of how EPIC the second part was. the first part is more transitioning into explaining cardan's new role as high king, the politics and the power dynamic, so a little slower. still so good though.
speaking of characters, i loved all the ones we met. and yes, other ones i hated (for obvious reasons) but i couldn't help but love them because they added so much to the story. you really can't remove any characters from the wicked king, because everyone there has such a specific purpose and is so important for the fundamental of the story, it's incredible.
that being said: jude duarte please marry me I'll do anything please
bro the ending feels like a beginning (queen of nothing??? hello??)
overall, i am LOVING THIS FANTASY SERIES MWAH