#JUDE ALSO SAID TARYN HAS A TALENT AT PRETENDING TO BE LIKE OTHER PEOPLE

[darlingod]

No one being able to tell Jude and Taryn apart:

Cardan: it’s like so obvious lmfaooo pls I live in a world of fools

[booksoanahasread]

The Wicked King by Holly Black

I’m incredibly shocked at the storyline of this book and how it finished. It was incredibly frustrating and quite frankly it was annoying. 

I truly am happy I read this book, even though I didn’t read it that quickly. It is fascinating, suspenseful, and mesmerising. I loved it with my whole being. It’s the kind of book that keeps you constantly on your toes, you have no time to ponder upon previous actions, because there are so many  that must come after. 

The author truly knows how to build suspense, how to characterise people and the Folk. She knows how to write scenes that are so vivid and clear that it could be a movie in my head. She’s rather talented. 

Jude Duarte, a strong female character, is worthy of everyone’s admiration. She knows how to deal with the faeries around her, how to manipulate them the way they manipulate other mortals. She is resourceful and dedicated, which is clear when she is in charge of running the kingdom, to many people’s shock. She is capable of making the decisions she deems right and going through with them, even if they aren’t easy to stomach. 

The way she killed Balekin was fantastic, the throw of a dagger that ended his pitiful life. It was satisfying to read about his death and her triumph. The way she never gave in to the Queen of the Sea when she was kidnapped was also awe-inspiring. She stood up to her sister’s fiance, a real walking turd. She fought with six masked men the night before her sister’s wedding, who shot her leg with an arrow, and yet she still managed to wound some of them and possibly kill another. 

I must admit, I did wish for Cardan and Jude to get together. When he proposed to her (<<“Marry me,” he says. “Become the Queen of Elfhame.”>>), per say, I was actually quite happy. Knowing how Jude felt about him, how they kissed each other, they did seem like a good couple. Little did I know that Cardan had begun scheming, I didn’t see his betrayal coming in no way, shape or form. I guess his betrayal was a further proof that “Humans will deceive themselves”. Jude was just as shocked as I was. 

The destruction of the Court of Shadows was disturbing, especially seeing that the Ghost had committed such treason against Jude and the others. I didn’t even think that he could be the one who was prophesied to betray Jude. It was uncomfortable to see how everything was slipping between Jude’s fingers, like sand. 

When Cardan said “If you’re the sickness, I suppose you can’t also be the cure.” I didn’t think that he meant he loved Jude in some twisted way. He has this way of not letting anyone know what he wanted to do, what he planned, or how he felt. He was behind closed doors, so to speak.

Besides the betrayal Jude had felt from external sources, her family surely couldn’t leave her alone. Madoc constantly underestimated her, hurt her reputation in their council. He didn’t care about anything other than power, when he saw the nature of the bargain between Jude and Cardan, I think he reevaluated his impression of her. 

Taryn, Jude’s sister, I now find to be deplorable. She betrayed her own sister, pretending to be her to convince Cardan that was recovering from poison. She went along with Madoc’s plan to steal half of the kingdom’s army, not caring at all about how it would affect the state of affairs within her family and her kingdom. She betrayed her own sister so that she could gain the approval of the man who killed her mother and father. 

I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series, I truly hope that Jude gets the closure and the justice she deserves after being betrayed so many times. 

To be frank, this book did have its funny moments, such as the planning of the actions of the Court of Shadows after Jude’s return from under the sea. When Roach, the Bomb, and Jude all wanted to kill people to resolve their problems, Cardan remarked that this seemed to be their solution for any grievances they had (<<“The three of you have one solution to every problem. Murder. No key fits every lock.” Cardan gives us all a stern look, holding up a long-fingered hand with my stolen ruby ring still on one finger. “Someone tries to betray the High King, murder. Someone gives you a harsh look, murder. Someone disrespects you, murder. Someone ruins your laundry, murder.”>>) I found this rather hilarious, a quick reprise from all the action and seriousness in the novel. 

To conclude, this is a fantastic sequel and should be read with such passion that you forget that you are stuck in quarantine because of a virus. I’m excited to read the last book in the series, but I also don’t want it to end, I hope that Holly Black doesn’t disappoint.