#and what he says to nicasia about her betrayal

[deathsweetblossoms]

We're all trapped in cages, little sprite. How can I free you when I can't even free myself?

- Cardan Greenbriar

[petratherrock]

Taryn is the kind of character you love to hate because she's Selfish capital S. Jude is someone you'd like to root for despite having killed people because they're for the Good Reasons. She also has pretty bad thoughts about almost everyonee but that's Okay 🆗 because it's backed by her good intention.

Do I like Taryn? Not really. Do I hate her? Nah. She's just a girl trying to survive the way she knows how to. Does that mean she's never betrayed her loved ones? No. It happened when she tried to get what she wanted.

Jude adapts by pissing off the Folks and showing them she belongs there using ways that gives them no choice but agree they gotta agree with her

Taryn adapts by being like those chameleons, she analyzes people just the same as Jude does and she grabs whatever opportunity she can get to get what she wants, exactly like Jude.

The biggest difference is Taryn does it for a boy, which if you replace the boy with a placeholder 'objective' just the way Jude does with 'power to feel like she belongs in Faerie', you get something of uhhh == they're both trying to survive the way they're comfortable with

Does it Piss some people off the way Jude got she wanted? Yh. Who? Cardan, Madoc, Oriana, Randalin, Orlagh, Nicasia, Balekin, etc etc etc. They were betrayed, regardless whether they deserved it or not. They're just tricks to get the upper hand in Jude getting her objectives.

Does it Piss people off too with how Taryn got she want? Yh. Who? Jude and Cardan and eventually Locke. They were betrayed, regardless whether they deserved it or not. They're just tricks to get the upper hand in Taryn getting her objectives, too.

They both played dirty at some points. Another difference is Jude's objectives are power and her free will, which instantly places her in a nobler light, while Taryn's is wanting to belong to the Folk and adapting by not pissing them off, getting her boy, and occasionally backing up Madoc, which instantly puts her in the bad light

Jude's betrayals are viewed in a better light because they don't *all* feel personal, which if you read the books, yknow the politics of Faerie is as much personal as it can get for Jude. She lives for it.

Taryn's betrayals are viewed in a dimmer light because they're for her personal reasons. And long story short, they're the betrayal against our main character, Jude

Consequentially my conclusion is, I don't think Taryn would've been hated as much as she does if she's the main character. I bet people be like, she was just trying to survive! It sucked! But that's the way she knew how to! Yes she betrayed people! But it was bound to happen! She's flawed! We love a flawed queen!

In the same practical vein, Kaz Brekker is a con-man. And we root for him because he's the main character. He's done some pretty shady stuff, they're not all wholesome Inej-hearteyes coded, but because he's the main character, we excuse them and maybe we say, hey he's a flawed character, he's a gray character. We don't want a black and white goody two shoes now, Kaz Brekker embodies someone broken and morally gray who clawed his way out of the Barrel in any which way he can

Listen, i think, i think.....what I'm trying to say is, Taryn is a also a morally gray character. She loves her sisters and Oak, but will she stop that from getting what she wants even if the methods are bad? No.

On a tangent, As a sister of a sister and we're close, but we're not the loving Jo and Beth kind, but leaning more to Jo and Amy,.I've often wondered how this person who's my blood can be so endearing and important to me while at the same time makes me want to bust a vein, and I'm sure I've been in the same line of thoughts in my sisters' minds too

Because humans are multidimensional and we're stupidly prone to wanting what we want no matter what, sometimes going against what the other person, our siblings good opinions of ours

So yh, food for thoughts

Edit: because this bears saying for some reasons, i should've added that i dc abt what you think I'm not looking for a discussion this series is almost a decade old and I'm just tired seeing Taryn hate only because she chose the more discreet path to reach her personal goals, was it annoying? Yes, but she deserved as much thought out discourse as Jude because hey being morally gray doesn't mean being on the right side of the story. It's really not.

Just because you like Jude and her intentions and she's killed people and she's the mc doesn't make her morally gray.

Taryn is.

Bye. I don't need your opinion.

[madockisser]

So I'm trying to figure this out and if I'm just missing it in the books let me know. Why did he give Locke the position of Master of Revels? I understand his forgiveness and sort of friendship with Nicasia, I do. But Locke? I don't get it. Hope you're having a good day

Why did cardan make Locke the master of revels/why did cardan forgive Locke?

hi! Thanks for the ask! Hope you’re having a great day/ night too!!

Cardan gave Locke the title of master of revels for a number of reasons,

But first, the title gives Locke he overseeing of revels right, so he’s like the guy that plans all the parties.

Cardan knows that Locke is mischievous, that he likes a good story above all, and that he can acquire that by giving him the title.

But cardan and Locke obviously have history, Locke stole nicasia from him and they screwed around behind his back, so why give locke such a great boon?

Because, cardan didn’t want to be king, he doesn’t even see himself as king, he sees Jude as queen.

But by throwing Jude under the bus by giving locke a position in court that would make Jude’s life harder(to pay her back for putting him on the throne, which he didn’t want), and maybe make cardans job as king something more of an opportunity to be like how he was as prince:

Someone who can drink their problems away, taking the drugs and powders of nevermore/never, making merry with courtiers of the kingdom.

As for his forgiveness toward Locke, we must remember that Locke is (most likely) a gancanagh. A charm speaker, a love speaker. Someone who can sway others to their side by saying all of the right things, by saying the things that person wants to hear most.

It’s likely that cardan was swayed by Locke into remaining friendly with him, even after the betrayal. Tbh tho I’m not sure if cardan ever really forgave Locke. Most likely just tolerated him lol

Locke is also one of his only friends, and one of his only friends that isn’t actively trying to physically hurt him, only emotionally. But cardan is so emotionally and mentally broken from years of abuse that i doubt he comes to care much.

Like i said in my last post, about how cardan forgives his abusers, cardan can be kind. He has the capacity to forgive, time and time again.

Lastly; the whole relationship status in elfhame can be complicated. There doesn’t seem to be a “boy friend” or “girlfriend” or just significant other status that isn’t husband or wife(there’s consorts but that seems reserved for royals, lords and ladies). And husband and wife status, especially in royalty seems to be complete and utter devotion.

When fae take lovers, they seem to see lovemaking as a sport, so coming to CARE for those lovers would make a person seem weak. Especially for a prince. Cardan showing how Locke and nicasias relationship affected him would make him seem weak, would give them both the upper hand, by 1. Giving nicasia power over cardan, and 2. By Locke making a story out of the betrayal.

Cardan lived by the whole “boy with a heart of stone” story his whole life, but he didn’t have a heart of stone, and making it seem like he didn’t made him seem weak. Cardan held desperately onto the only power he had, his title as prince and using it to be cruel.

Overall, Cardan gave Locke the title for cardans own benefit, to terrorize Jude, to see being king as something that isn’t a burden. And he “forgave” Locke because it’s likely that Locke is just charming that way, and because Locke is one of his last buds, and because cardan doesn’t want to seem weak for not forgiving him.

Anyway that’s what i came up w, thanks for the ask! Hope i answered your question! Feel free to add on! 🫶

[sweetvillainjude]

Jude + The Ghost

jude and the ghost’s friendship / relationship (whatever you might call it) is actually so underrated. like. hear me out. early in the series, the ghost was one of the first and only people jude ever opened up to. they used to talk about life during spy training together, their memories of the human world. so many of the skills jude uses to survive she learned from him. they’re colleagues, but she thought of the ghost as a friend, in their strange, complex way; he taught her how to shoot a crossbow, how to still her shaking hands.

in one of jude’s most desperate and hopeless moments what she wants is to lay it bare in front of the ghost, ask him to help her so she doesn’t have to face it all alone. she doesn’t, of course—but i still think that’s worth something, that she considered it. jude duarte who relies on no one, who has always had to guard herself against the world. I’ve done a terrible thing, I want to say. Help me.

in that awful scene in wicked king when he gives her up jude’s head is full of a roaring sound, because she thought they were allies, that they were on the same side, that they might have been friends. jude and the ghost were both born in the mortal world, which was one of the things they bonded over. they both did what they had to to survive. she learned so much from him and he respected her and it’s part of the reason it stings so much that he did what he did. “Why?” I ask, hearing Nicasia’s words pounding in my ears like the surf: Someone you trust has already betrayed you.

in queen of nothing the ghost tells her to kill him so he can’t be controlled again, says he’ll show her exactly the place to aim for. he says, “jude?” with all the desperation of a person who has seen their first flicker of hope in a long time. it’s heartbreaking and harrowing and jude’s angry but she won’t do it, of course she won’t, even if she should—because she’s jude, fiercely determined, fiercely loyal.

“I hope betrayal was its own reward.” “Gloat all you like.” His voice is mild. “I deserve it. I know what I did, Jude. I was a fool.”

their relationship was pretty complicated, but one of the most underrated imho. the ghost was one of the most present characters throughout the series and something about the countless nights they spent training—and jude’s thoughts throughout them—always stuck out to me.

He looks up at me in horror. “Then go, Jude. Run.”

[kayechanted]

people loooove to bring up all of taryn's faults, betrayal of her sister and whatnot and conveniently forget that this is the very same series where the LOVE INTEREST puts his reputation and status quo above the safety of the object of the affection while she was being drugged and assaulted. like you guys don't talk about the everapple scene enough. cardan was trying to get valerian and nicasia off of jude's back, sure, but he couldn't hold off on his assholery long enough and he just HAD to take it as far as....asking jude to kiss his feet? while she was drugged?

and I'm not even holding this scene up as criticism, because cardan is, as we all understand meant to be edgy and cruel like however awful his actions were in this scene they are completely in character and it would have been weird if he randomly started acting as the saviour.

I'm holding this scene up as a way of highlighting hypocrisy because let's be honest for a second: cardan's actions are a million times worse than taryn's and he hurt jude way more than she ever did. so are madoc's. madoc literally stabbed her, hell.

like I just wanna say that taryn is just as if not more complicated and complex as those two male characters. she deserves to be discussed with nuance as a character who, as a wonderful foil to jude, chose to fight for her life not by literally fighting but by blending in...which is so interesting! consequently, it affects her actions, because why wouldn't it?

like you guys don't get it. wonder what would happen if y'all focused on something other than Jurdan in these books for once, for all that talk about " these aren't romance books they'rebfae court politics we're not like other romantasy fans" ! maybe if you lot made an effort to understand characters who aren't jude and cardan, especially in Holly Black's newer books which don't feature them as main characters! wonder what would happen!

"we need more complex siblings dynamics"

you bitches can't even handle taryn duarte

[atlanticum]

A rundown of my favorite “The Wicked King” moments<33333

• ‘It was good to be hugged. Even by a monster’.

• "I have heard that for mortals, the feeling of falling in love is very like the feeling of fear. Your heart beats fast. Your senses are heightened. You grow light-headed, maybe even dizzy”.

• “Watching my back is the perfect opportunity to stick a knife in it” I remind him.

• ‘I think of his horror at his own desire when I brought my mouth to his, the dagger in my hand, edge against his skin. The toe-curling corrosive pleasure of that kiss. It felt as though I was punishing him—punishing him and myself at the same time.’

• “You?” I shout “You shot Cardan” We love protective Jude;)

• “He could have died. You idiot, he could have died” AAAHAAHAH

• “Someone you trust has already betrayed you”.

• “And what made you decide it wasn’t?” (her) He grins up at me “They missed”.

• “Kiss me again” he says, drunk and foolish. “Kiss me until I am sick of it.” I DIEEEEEEED

• “If you’re the sickness, I suppose you can’t also be the cure”.

• Jude staring at Cardan while he sleeps<333

• “Is this really what you wanted? Him?” YES BITCH! THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT SHE WANTED. FUCKING STUPID MADOC.

• “The High King is very bad at romance” Well, Jude, you know better than any of us;) (OOOOHAAAAOOOH CAUGHT IN A BAD ROMANCE—“)

• The Bomb admitting to Jude she likes The Roach is so cute!!! They’re such besties<3

• Just Jude wanting to find a place Cardan be safer in<3333

• “I see you staring at him” Nicasia says. “Surely it’s not the High King himself you were gazing at”.

• When Taryn smiles after seeing Cardan’s clothes scattered on Jude’s room floor.

• Jude saying “No, no, absolutely not, do not do that” when Cardan suggests that he can seduce Taryn away from Locke.

• The way Jude randomly remembers how warmth of Cardan’s fingers against her skin felt good and thinking there’s something wrong with her, cause SHE WANTS WHAT SHE HATES.

• “I hate you” “Say it again”

• “Will you dance with me? For I find you every bit as beautiful as you find me” <3333

• Jude imagines her mouth on Cardan’s—

• The Bomb tells Jude about Cardan’s mother!

• CHAPTER 15

• “Should I touch her like this?” OH MY GOD

• But like the whole CHAPTER 15

• Jude threatening Locke:)

• Just the whole thing with Jude and Oak, how they see each other again, he tells her he missed her and she calls him “sweets” they’re so cute<333.

• When Heather asks Jude why she lives in Faerie if it’s how she described and Jude just replies “It’s home” I kind of immediately thought about Cardan at her words.

• “I did it for the same reason that you did. To get it out of my system.” "And is it?" he asks. "Out of your system?" “Yes” LIAR!

• When Jude’s spies tell her that Cardan spent the night alone without parties and stuff and she’s confused.

• “Yes, I shot myself with an arrow” :))

• ‘All I want to do is walk into his arms.’ Oh juuude.

• “Nice dress”.

• Kill him before he makes you love him.

• “Jude, are you afraid of me?” *screaming internally*

• Jude realising that it was Locke who attacked her.

• “Why?” “I served Prince Dain. Not you” THE BETRAYAL.

• “But you shot at him with a crossbow bolt. Of course he likes me better” GO OFF JUDE.

• ‘I hope Cardan misses me.’ CRYING.

• When Jude wonders what would have happened if she’d admitted he wasn’t out of her system.

• THE HIGH KING HAS MADE A BARGAIN TO GET HER BACK BITCHES.

• When Cardan tries to fight Jude off of him in bed, but realises it’s her and stops. Then his hand goes to her waist and instead of pushing her off, he pulls her into the bed with him;).

• “Crawl to me” JESUS CRIST CARDAN.

• Cardan sends someone for tea and food seeing Jude pale. So caring.

• “Yes, my sweet villain, my darling god.” AND THEN HE KISSES HER IN FRONT OF EVERYONE.

• “Marry me” he says “Become the Queen of Elfhame”. GOT ME MELTING.

• “Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll marry you”

• THE WHOLE VOW PART.

• ‘He kisses the scar of my palm.’ *dies from cuteness overload*

• They trade kisses in the darkness;)

• Cardan exiles Jude…

[visd3stele]

Hi! I was wound wrong if I could request a Jude x Cardan story?

It would be an au of sorts where Madoc was banished before Cardan became king.

(This is like background for the story) Everyone in Jude’s family goes to live in the mortal world while Jude stays behind. Cardan becomes king then eventually Jude becomes queen and they fall in love. Years later Madoc and the rest of Jude’s family (including her sisters) are invited to have dinner with the king. They are expecting Dain or really any of his siblings except Cardan and are suprised when Cardan comes.

Jude is arriving late and to not spoil the surprise Cardan just says his wife will be joining soon. Again everyone expects Nicasia but instead they see Jude.

Ik I basically wrote out the whole plot but I had fun with the idea. How they react is totally up to you. I really enjoy your writing and hope you have a lovely day!

thanks for the request :)

it was really fun to write.

I hope you like it 💛

and thank you for your nice coment! Have a good, good time for a long, long while yourself!

Shockingly familial/r

here are my masterlist and request posts

no tw that I can think of

quotes credits: found them on google; in bold and italic and between [], belong to: ¹,⁴Brian Froud, ² Hope Mirlees, ³Harry Behn, ⁵Charles de Lint

*someone take pinterest from me, too many beautiful fanarts* picture on the left: by @bxromanceart , picture on the right: by @palesile

[The myths and legends about Faerie are many and diverse, and often contradictory...]¹

"Madoc, Red Cap, traitor. You are herby banished from Elfhame for as long as I am High King and the Land is as much myself as I am the Land." Eldred's words bounced off the walls of the Throne Room. Madoc clenched his jaws to stop himself from muttering anything that'd worsen the situation. The ruthless groom of war didn't understand what happened. And from his kneeled position at the foot of the many daises leading up to the throne, he couldn't scan the crowd in search of a knowing face either.

All he could see were the shining legs dressed in armor belonging to the four knights in his close proximity. He could picture Oriana behind them, ice blue face devoid of any emotion, but the pink of her irises growing warmer and warmer with each passing second of reprieved anger. He could also visualize Vivi's cat eyes glistening gold with delight, her small frame shacking with silent snickers. Oak would try to break free from his mother's firm grip on his hands, little horns pocking the air left and right with his futile attempts.

He pledged his allegiance to prince Dain not so long ago, promising to help him get the throne and gaining a good fight in return. Both fae would have a chance at greatness. But something happened, Eldred found out about the betrayal and ordered Madoc and his family brought at the Court immediately. Though the old king seemed unfazed by his son. He must not know the whole story, then.

[...word is a fairy, mocking and illusive, speaking lying words to us in a feigned voice]²

Poor Madoc. While his sentence has been pronounced, he couldn't see the pleased smile on Dain's face. His father's trust in him was hardened by this show of loyalty and capability. And his chances to be given the crown multiplied.

Jude eavesdropped from afar, trying to muffle out Taryn's worries. When the knights showed up, demanding for the family to join them at the palace, or be taken forcefully, Taryn grew nauseous. Oriana sent the mortal girls away to deal with it before they could make things worse somehow.

"What's happening?"

"He exiled Madoc." Jude spoke in a trance, not really comprehending it. If she was to believe the High King's verdict was real, then she'd have to say good bye to Fairyland. Of course Oriana would insist the family should follow him. And she had no place in Elfhame without Madoc. Did she?

"That's... no, that can't be."

"Like furred ears and magic?"

Taryn fell silent against Jude's rhetorical question. "What else?" She couldn't help but inquire after few more minutes passed.

"Nothing. That's all. The knights are escorting him outside. Come on."

Not waiting for her twin to fold her skirts up and run, Jude hit the ground towards the group. She saw the royal family at the balcony, watching the High King's orders being fulfilled.

"Oh, girls. Here you are, finally." Oriana's head snapped in their direction. "Come along, now, hurry. We mustn't waste their times."

Taryn lowered her head and hugged her torso. But she didn't question it. She joined the group waiting to be taken to the mortals land. Jude, on the other hand, seemed to be petrified, glued to the spot.

"Jude?"

She shook her head. "No," the whisper was barely audible, a sound not even meant for her own ears, but rather escaping her lips by mistake. "I can't." Elfhame was her home. She may not have chosen to live there and she might be but a mortal at the end of the day, but Jude visited the Otherworld with Vivi and Taryn earlier that year. And she felt like an intruder. A sham. It wasn't for her, the girl knew it with all her heart. She belonged to Fairyland as much as Vivi didn't and Taryn wished to.

"Are you sure about this?" Cardan broke Jude out of her reverie. He lounged on the throne, head thrown backwards and legs tingling over the arm rests, rolling the crown between his fingers casually.

"Yes." Jude answered from behind the throne, ready to slip inside the secret room there when her family showed up. Her own crown toyed with the moon rays sneaking inside the grand room, shining atop her brown locks.

One year and a half ago, the mortal girl believed her life ended. With Madoc out of Fairyland, her whole family gone with him, Jude was left alone at their manor. Eldred has been kind enough to allow her residence, since she did nothing to support her adoptive father's rebellion after all.

It's been a rough couple of months until she finished school and joined the knight guard, earning the trust and respect of the royal family. And, in turn, the appreciation and tolerance of the folk. While in the service, Jude uncovered Dain's conspiracy. The prince has been sent to prison, but that is not where the royalty drama ended.

Jude got close to Cardan after she witnessed Balekin's behavior towards him. They become partners in mending subtleties of the court with the help and support of the Court of Shadows. Sadly, they couldn't stop Balekin from going on a spree and erasing the Greenbriar line. Except for the brothers, of course.

Jude stepped in and managed to have Cardan turned High King. And soon, their feelings for each other bloomed and the spiteful fae boy and the wicked mortal girl married. Making Jude the first High Queen of Elfhame.

Now, her majesty wanted to reunite with her family.

[Their Majesties and I sat where two streams/Of starry rivers joined and flowed away as one,/And their enchanted castle made of dew and dreams/Towered above us high beyond the moon and sun.]³

Madoc entered first, steadying Oriana with a hand over their entwined arms. The fae woman laced her fingers with Oak's for a firmer grip on the hectic boy. Behind them, Vivi dragged her feet, making a show of being bored. And Taryn searched the palace for the littlest changes, hope to be welcomed at court bumping against her heart's walls.

All five of them came to a start upon seeing the empty throne room. Until they noticed the knights posted outside and walked in the gardens. Sure enough, a table has been prepared for a meal under the stars.

"His majesty will be here shortly," a fae that was finishing the decor announced, signaling for them to take their seats. And soon after they did, they heard the feather light steps of the folk.

"Welcome back, general." The owner of the voice felt his features relax into an amused expression as the table became the stage of a comedy.

Vivi broke into a fist of uncontrollable laughs, Oak joining confused, but happy for a reason to giggle after Oriana instructed him to behave. Taryn's mouth hanged open, eyes widened in surprise and face frozen starring at Cardan as shock made her forget all about manners and self conscience. Oriana's polite smile never faltered, but the tall woman neglected to reprimand her children, focusing intently on the young, smirking king instead.

But Madoc? He must have been the funniest of them all. His golden cat eyes bulked out of their orbs, lower canines scratching the greenish lips repeatedly as his mouth rustled with uncertainty. His nostrils flared, growing bigger with each inhaled breath. A vein around his eyebrow pulsed at the same beat the jaws' muscles flexed.

The general firmly believed Dain took the crown. And was finally calling for him now, his trusty ally, to fulfill all of his promises. Never in his most absurd, abnormal dreams had he imagined Cardan, that drunkard, good for nothing, little prince, would welcome him and his family in the palace as High King.

"A pleasure to see you all," Cardan said, a hint of mockery lingering in his voice. And it wasn't even a lie, as the sight of their shock and disdain entertained the king to no end.

Oriana was the first to broke out of it, gracefully getting to her feet. She squeezed her husband's shoulder in a warning that didn't pass the obsidian gaze of the High King. Madoc rose reluctantly, making an effort to hide his grumbling, though, while Oak looked between his parents trying to decide what to do. Taryn stumbled on her feet clumsily, and next to her, Vivi rolled her eyes and waved at Cardan with two fingers raised.

To further everyone's surprise, he waved back. "Please," he spoke bemused, stroding forward towards the grand chair at the head of the table. "Sit."

All at once, as if on cue, sat down. "I can see my appearance caused quite a shock."

"We just expected one of your older siblings, your highness," Oriana sounded as pacifying as possible.

"Ah, yes, yes. Perhaps my traitorous brother, Dain. Or the scheming Balekin. Father had quite a group to pick from."

"What are you talking about, boy?" The words escaped Madoc before he could weigh them properly. Oriana and Taryn paled, but Vivi begin to look interested for the first time since they got there.

"Boy?" Cardan rose an eyebrow. "You were so eager for a new king I thought you'd have more respect for him."

"Forgive him, please, your highness. He's a bit stunned. We all are. You never showed interest in the throne before." The icy skinned fae reasoned.

"True," Cardan shrugged. "I had some... let's call it support, shall we? I had some support from my queen."

"Queen?" The whole table echoed the title.

"Why, yes, of course. She should be joining us soon."

"Do we have to wait for her to eat," Oak whined, but no one really noticed him.

"And how long have you ruled, your highness?"

"A couple of years, general."

"I assume your queen has been by your side ever since."

"Longer even. In fact, it was her idea to call you back."

"May I know why, your highness?" Madoc's mind flooded with possibilities to work this situation in his favor. But he needed more details about the queen, the king and their plan.

Cardan prompted his elbows on the table, much to Oriana's indignation, tilting his head to the side on which the looped crown leaned on on his head. "She knows you, general." Or at least she thought she did.

If Madoc could use the reverent form to address the High King in a mockery of his self, then Cardan could toss around the removed title to tease him as well, toying with the greenish fae with no remorse.

"Is that so?" Madoc asked. And Cardan's smirk spreaded as hard steps passed over the grass. Jude entered the scene, chin high to support the crown similar to her husband's, sword swinging over her leg.

[...All things are possible in the land of Faerie.]⁴

"Impossible," Taryn muttered. Vivi choked over air – or her own saliva – and had to do a double take before convincing herself that her sight isn't messing with her.

Noticing their daughters' reactions, Madoc and Oriana turned slowly. The latter gasped audible, pink orbs growing the size of a fae fruit. The former knitted his eyebrows, observing his favorite child carefully.

In his mind, and certainly in his companions' as well, Orlagh's daughter was the one wearing the crown. The dark blue locks of Nicassia flashed through Jude's family's heads, beholding the golden crown like the queen she was raised to be. But instead, the girl they shared a house, a life, a past with, was approaching.

"Jude." He said, and the girl nodded tightly at him. She walked by Cardan's side, where a new chair sprouted from the ground right next to him, at the head of the table.

"Hello, family. Welcome back."

"You are the queen?" Taryn blurred out and just as quick, Vivi mumbled. "That's not even the surprising part. You're married? To Cardan?"

Jude's face softened at her sisters and a smile spreaded her lips. "I know, what was I thinking, right?"

Next to her, Cardan rolled his eyes. "What were you thinking? My, my, dearest punishment, I was the fool who proposed."

Jude hit her husband's arm affectionately. "Shut up. It was the best decision you ever made."

"Yes, yes it was." Cardan leaned in and caught Jude's lips before she could draw back. Except she wouldn't have. Her hand flew on his cheek, bringing him closer.

"Unbelievable." Taryn shook her head. Vivi cooed loudly, causing a blush to color her half sister's face. Oriana and Madoc were both confused. Their eyes drifted to each other, searching for answers they themselves didn't have.

"Jude, my dear. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Oriana," Jude said tightly. Madoc huffed impatiently, but remained silent.

"Is there a problem, general?"

"Why are we here, your majesties?"

"Because," the High Queen started, "you are my family. And I want to give you a second chance, if you prove yourselves worthy of it."

"That's great and all, but can we eat now?" Oak piped in, breaking the tension with bubble laughs forming all around the table.

[We call them faerie. We don't believe in them. Our loss.]⁵

[veritasumbra]

Cardan peers into her eyes as they break apart, searching for something she cannot quite put her finger on. Maybe it’s the euphoria. It clouds her senses. Before she can think any further, his mouth crashes against hers once more, the kiss now burning with a passion she'd never known before. Not that she’d been kissed many times to compare. She lets herself be lifted off the couch and carried upstairs, holding onto him tightly with her arms and legs, fingers tugging at his dark curls as she deepens the kiss.   

She has no idea who this room actually belongs to. And she doesn’t care. But it does brush her mind that maybe this room isn’t his. That, perhaps, Cardan may not wish to take her to his room that has been soiled by people he called friends. But then, she thinks, maybe this is his room and that he wants to erase any trace of Nicasia and Locke’s betrayal with their own combined scent. She decides the second option fits better with his character and so assumes the slight shudder she felt under her fingertips is just because he briefly remembered what happened earlier within these very walls. 

Her dress slides off her body, leaving her in underwear, before they find themselves on the bed, him under her. How do you want to do this? Cardan says. She blinks. Never in her life someone has asked her how she wanted to do something. Even less, asked her if she agreed to do something at all. She didn’t have a voice at home. Then, he lets her know it’s not too late to stop if she wishes to. Swollen lips part, but nothing comes out. No hard truth, no clever quip. Nothing. 

 ❛ I— uhm, don’t you wanna be on top? ❜ She manages to say, through the last bit of the haze she’s still on from the fiery kiss. She nervously shifts her weight from one knee to the other as she’s sitting on top of him, fingers drumming gently on his chest. This feels odd. She doesn’t want to be pinned against a bed at all, but— this is nothing like her mother taught her things would go. She’s in unknown territories and she hates it. Her all-knowing reputation has been shattered with these two sentences of his. She wishes he’d just shut up because now she feels like an idiot. She made the first move, she kissed him on that couch. She’s even on top now, she should be in control, but— ❛ I want this, i swear. ❜ No lie there. She wants this. She wants whatever there is on the other side of what they’re about to do. Not him particularly. But he offered and left her the luxury of choosing if she wanted this or not. And she made her decision. She picked him.

The times in which Cardan Greenbriar has been caught off guard, are few ― somewhat closer to zero, really, for he has learned how to hide and elude from emotions that can give others the upper hand on him; sometimes, that includes himself too. However, when Mor's lips come crashing down into his, the Prince can't help his eyes from widening, the evident rise of his dark brows, and his body growing still upon the couch he's seated on. It came as a surprise because even though he just made her an offer he knows she can't refuse, he thought it would take more grinding, more convincing, more arguments on his behalf to get her to agree to his admittedly insane scheme. He expected the Morrigan would have considered more of the repercussions she'd have to face after it was all said and done but come to think of it, she must be sharing his desperation to wriggle his way out of a future he doesn't consent to. Good, Cardan thinks, that puts them both on the same side for now.

The shock fades by the time the kiss is broken; it feels like he has woken up from a deep slumber, much more energetic and alive. Cardan's dark eyes stare up at her, searching her face for any sign of inhibitions, and when he doesn't find any, he leans closer to Mor and traps her lips with his own into a deep kiss. It resembles the ones he has shared with Nicasia; burning, passionate, and for a moment there, he fears that when he opens his eyes he will see her there with her blue, crystal lake-like hair raining down into his face like an aggressive waterfall and with her dark eyes blazing with desire. Hence, he doesn't open them; instead, Cardan carefully pushes himself off the couch and hoists her up until her legs are securely wrapped around his waist before his arms snake around her lower waist, under the drapes of her long, silky dress, to cage her better against his body. And, although he's still dealing with the side effects of sobering up from the golden powder he had consumed, Cardan knows, with perfect clarity, exactly where to take this.

His feet are surprisingly steady as he carries Mor up the stairs, past the first couple of empty rooms until he recognises the familiar hardwood door with the golden handle ― Balekin's room. He's still kissing her when he twists it open and when he comes stumbling inside. He's still kissing her when he pins her against the wall, embossed with golden wallpaper, now iridescent as the first couple of sun rays fill the empty room, and decorated with all sorts of swords and weapons that make Cardan's skin crawl. One hand slips from her waist to trace its way upwards until he traps the minuscule zipper of her dress with his digits and pulls it down, until her behind is bare of fabric before it slips beneath it, caressing the soft skin of her back. When the kiss breaks, yet again, his lips ― still smudged with gold from the powder ― are swollen and his hair is a curly mess from how hard the blonde has been tugging on them; but still, he wastes no time as he carries her towards the double king sized bed, decorated with layers and layers of fur, where he allows himself to fall back, spread on its soft velvet with Mor on top.

❛ How do you want to do this ? ❜ Cardan asks, his voice hoarse from the kissing whilst his fingers start to unbutton his silky, spider-spun shirt. ❛ It's not too late to stop if you don't want to proceed with this. ❜

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

the one thing about cardan that makes me incredibly uneasy is when he slut-shamed taryn. oh so her and locke hooking up is all wrong but then he goes to bed every night literally draped in faeries? 🙄 make it make sense

i get where you're coming from, nonnie, but i think it's a bit more convoluted than that.

Cardan is mean to Taryn in TCP, yes. but that's primarily because Taryn is the accomplice to Locke making Nicasia cry. even if her part in it was indirect, to the fae, that's all they'd probably need to hold a grudge against someone forever.

the closest thing Cardan gets to explicitly slut-shaming Taryn (that i can think of, at least) is when he tells Jude "not that I'd be the first to green gown her". but we have to remember that Taryn is knowingly keeping a very big secret from Jude. a secret Cardan knows about, but is sworn to keep. so he can't say anything directly to Jude to warn her. this is his way of "telling her" without telling her.

and since Jude is "involved" with Locke, i think Cardan sees Taryn going along with Locke's games, despite the fact that she could tell Jude if she wanted to, as a deep betrayal of Jude. a betrayal not too unlike the one Nicasia committed against him only a few months prior. it hits a little too close to home.

i've mentioned before that Cardan's feelings for Jude in TCP are present, albeit complicated. so likely, the idea of someone Jude loves wittingly betraying her did not sit well for him. and he dealt with those feelings of discontent the only way he knew how: by lashing out at the person who caused them.

now, i'm not commending Cardan for being mean to Taryn. personally i think he should've focused the brunt of his ire on Locke. but Taryn is an easy target. she's mortal, an identifier that makes sense to scorn in Faerie (because that's the way their society is). and a mortal who is generally pretty submissive at that.

Locke on the other hand is one of the fae, one of the gentry, has a history of deriving pleasure from other people's vexation and misery, and ultimately has a lot more power to make Cardan's life a living hell in return.

it would be a lot of work to get back at Locke for making Nicasia cry. it would be infinitely easier to get back at someone else who had a hand in the matter.

and if there are two things we know TCP Cardan hates most, it's mortals and work.

not to mention, it is very likely that Cardan's maliciousness towards Taryn is something Balekin would've rewarded him for. or at the very least Not Beat Him for. if Cardan had lashed out at Locke instead of Taryn, who knows what Balekin would've done.

also! as sort of an informal addendum, Cardan was.... not a nice dude in TCP? like idk if y'all remember that cos it seems like fandom usually takes big scary characters and flattens them into melodramatic himbos/simps. and i'm not saying that isn't part of Cardan's character, but...... he is also scary as hell.

we all agree that Jude is the scariest thing in Faerie, yes? and she lived there for a decade with loads of faeries. the scariest one for her was Cardan. Jude was terrified of him. that should say something to you about how Not Nice Cardan was at the beginning of the series.

so even if you don't agree with my analysis, and still think that what Cardan did was slut shaming (which you are totally within your right to think)..... i mean. YEAH. he was kind of terrible for a little while there! the title of the book is literally The Cruel Prince, idk what to tell you ��‍♀️

–Em 🖤🗡

more thoughts on cardan's feelings for jude

more analysis & theories

[princessannasblogaroonie]

Nicasia finally gets what she wants.

Set after Jude’s exile and before The Queen Of Nothing. Multi chapter

I wanted to fill in the part of Jude’s absence where cardan gives in and tells Nicasia about what he feels about Jude and that he’s not doing it to simply get back at her betrayal with Locke.

Chapter 1

I start towards the double doors leading to the cellars… “Cardan!!”, I keep walking, I really don’t need this right now. “Cardan!! Just tell me why? What does she have over you?!” I froze at the word ‘she’ hand hovering just over the door. Because ‘she’ is clearly a reference to Jude, my mortal Queen. An ache forms in my chest as that thought passes me, realizing she never really was mine.

 “None of this concerns you Nicasia, leave off” I say, annoyance rising in my voice before I turn to her completely wearing a scowl. She walks towards me in big strides. “What do I have to do to make you love me again?!!” she practically screams into my doublet as she buries her face to my chest upon impact. “Absolutely nothing” I say with a flat monotoned voice.

 At that she looks up at me in an attempt for a kiss. I push her off of me, “Don’t…. Do not ever do that again.”

 Stunned from my action tears forms in the corners of her eyes then she sobs into her hand’s. I feel terrible for making her feel the way she does but it is how it is. I’ve already been anxious, worried, and mad at the fact that Jude hasn’t responded to any of my letters. I don’t really need any more problems on top of that.

 I press on pushing my way through the cellar doors. I just need a bottle (or two) then I could lock myself in my chambers once again and write Jude another letter.

 “Is it true?” Nicasia asked stepping in the way of the bottle I was about to pluck off the shelf. “what is?” I ask in return with an exasperate sigh. “Is it true that you and Jude kissed?”

“Aah..” This again. “It doesn’t concern you. Why must you insist on interrogating me?” She looked at me as though I’ve slapped her with my words. No matter, I have more pressing issues than to wait for another response. I swiftly got my wine and headed back to my chambers.

   To who ever is reading this I hope you enjoy and let mw know what you think and please give me some more ideas <3

[jurdanhell]

i asked a friend who’s never read tfota to describe its characters

here’s how it went:

overall i think he did a pretty good job considering i haven’t actually blabbed about tfota too much to him. what do you think?

all artwork is by @phantomrin

JUDE

okay who do you think she is

cold blooded ruler of a kingdom forced into war by circumstances beyond their control if i had to guess

CARDAN

and him?

i’m getting loki vibes from that lad, a sort of anti-hero who gets into trouble and dabbles with villainy but at the end of the day he’s a good dude

TARYN

good-guy protagonist vibes from that one, relatively innocent at the beginning of the story but suffers some kind of loss prior to the climax that like, makes her both more cold AND more powerful/motivated

VIVI

getting bad guy vibes there. she looks like she uses her beauty to sabotage/manipulate for her own goals, and she doesn’t play by the rules. a formidable foe 100%

OAK

protagonist for sure. if it was a magic story, i’d say not a very powerful magician but one with a certain skill that would 100% help out the characters along the way. kind and innocent, from what i see here

MADOC

a bad guy, but not bad because he’s evil, bad cause he’s been through some stuff and that’s just how he’s had to be to survive. he looks like he’s in a powerful position, but again, i’m getting vibes like “he’s a surface bad guy, but not for reasons in his grasp of control

ORIANA

someone who knows too much. not really in the “good guy/bad guy” scheme, just kinda neutral. i have no doubt she’s incredibly powerful but for some reason or another chooses not to use her powers or to get involved with sides

LOCKE

wise, clever, good guy. has a knack for ingenuity, but is also sometimes dangerously arrogant. an asset

VALARIAN

i can’t read that face but that curved dagger screams “bad dude”

NICASIA

good guy, but not by a lot. she looks incredibly powerful, pretty much the opposite kingdom of the first gal you sent me. she looks like she’s helping the protagonists not because she likes them, but because there’s something in it for her. possible betrayal in the making? possible

BALEKIN

good guy for sure. seems like a tough guy but a nice guy at heart. plus emo so that’s some bonus points

DAIN

looks like this guy’s picture is hung in a palace somewhere to signify his heroism. good guy, at least on the surface, strong of mind either way. also, nice bird

THE BOMB

good guy, clever, inventor. the team engineer maybe? intelligent vibes. love the hair too!

THE ROACH

i sense military leadership in this lad, he’s been doing this forever. if you ever saw guardians of the galaxy, i’m getting yondu vibes from this guy. he’s a good guy, and if the rest of them are magic, he’s not. he’s just a normal guy. but he’s a normal guy with experience and genius strategy. and that’s what makes him so dangerous. he’s right on par with the others, even without magic

THE GHOST

2. okay you know gale from the hunger games? yeah, that’s pretty much that lad there. a stealth agent by trade and a hunter by passion, he can invade enemy lines with ease. although not a people person, coupled with an espionage expert their squad can infiltrate enemy lines with ease

[aelin-queen-of-terrasen]

Could you do a fic where Jude gets amnesia and Cardan has to take care of her? (In elfhame and none of the people known what sickness she has lol). Please make it angsty and fluffy at the same time sjsjjsjs. Thank you so much if you do this! 💗

Ofc, love! I wrote this like, five times and just before I reached the end, I'd delete it so I'm quite proud for finishing at all.

Full Masterlist

cry me a river . . .

I wake up in an unfamiliar room, far too extravagant for my taste.

I grunt, momentarily blinded by the light seeping inside the chamber from the window before someone pulls it closed. The tall, lean figure comes over to sit at my bedside, touching the back of his hand on my forehead as if he is checking for fever. His hand feels warm against my skin and I almost whine when his touch disappears. Black dots swim across my vision and I have to blink a few times before I recognise the person sitting beside me.

Cardan Greenbriar.

If he has ever looked worse before, I cannot remember it.

Tear streaks run down his painted cheeks, glitter smeared all over. His coal black eyes, swollen and red, are fixed on me. I have the strangest feeling that I have seen this sight before, even though I have no recollection of seeing him so vulnerable. It is not something so small that I'd forget.

Did he find out I killed Valerian? That would explain the tears.

Perhaps he wants to finish what his friend started. It seems unlikely that he'd know but I can't think of another reason Cardan would abduct me and risk Madoc's wrath. It has to be the reason—

"Jude? How do you feel?" he asks.

He looks at me like I'm the most precious thing in his world. It scares me more than his hatred ever could.

"Stop," I choke out, stomach sinking more in fear with each passing second. "Tell me what—how am I here? If Madoc finds out you've been hiding me here, the consequences won't be pretty." I don't have to worry about him lying, because no lie can escape his tongue. I know faeries don't need the ability of lying to deceive someone.

Cardan frowns at me. "Liliver found you wounded across the clearing. You went to run an errand, got hurt and collapsed near the palace." I know what the words mean individually, but put together in one sentence, they don't make sense to me, which puts me further out of ease.

"Liliver?" The name tugs at my memory but I can't remember it.

He looks wildly concerned now. "The Bomb, Jude. She found you," he tells me before someone knocks on the door.

The Bomb.

Liliver is probably her true name; or part of it, at least. I wonder how Cardan knows it. I remember her as a part of Dain's court of shadows. The tiny, delicate girl slips inside the room when neither of them answer. Liliver holds a steaming bowl of soup in her hand, which elicits a series of rumbles from my empty stomach. I try to remember when I last ate and the moments from the previous night come crashing down on me: the horrible coronation, Locke's behaviour, her dance with Cardan and their peculiar conversation, then finally the butchering of almost all of the Greenbriar family.

I remembered running away with Cardan, hiding him in the court of shadows and the kiss we'd shared, my blade pressed against his throat. The implication that he liked me and he hated it. Surely, my present condition couldn't have something to do with it?

No, it couldn't have.

"How are you out of the office?" I turn to Liliver, who raises an eyebrow at me. "Who let him out? He is my prisoner, and you shouldn't have decided when he leaves." They exchange confused glances with each other.

Cardan furrows his eyebrows. "Leave? Jude, love, is this some kind of test?"

Balekin and Madoc planned against Dain and he is dead and the protection he'd given me could be over now. Cardan could glamour me into believing anything he wanted to. For all I know, he already has. I shove the panic down, resolved to find out more. If he had glamoured me, I'd be doing whatever he asked with blind devotion.

I ask the first of my questions. "Does Madoc know that I'm here?"

Both of them exchange worried looks. Liliver places a hand on my shoulder and says softly, "Jude, Madoc is in exile in the mortal world. He knows you're in the palace, of course, and we informed Vivienne you hurt yourself on a mission—she's probably on her way—so he also knows you're hurt, I think." My head swims. I can't wrap my head around all the information.

I blurt out the thing that shocks me most. "Madoc was exiled?!" Maybe everyone found out about his plot against the crown—

The doors to the bedroom are thrown open and there's commotion outside. I hear a voice I recognise well and Vivienne enters the bedroom, fuming and covered in sweat. She is panting, out of breath as she comes over to my side, discreetly pushing Cardan back. I am grateful for the familiarity but I cannot help but wonder if this is some elaborate game Cardan is playing, if it's really my elder sister or a product of faerie magic.

Vivi sits by my side, looking offended. "Do you have to face up all the dangers in the world alone, Jude?" Liliver observes me with a curious look. However, it is not her gaze that unnerves me but his. It sends shivers down my spine and I pretend I do not notice it. Vivienne is still talking to me, "honestly, would it kill you to share some load with your husband, Jude?"

I blink. "My husband? What—"

"Jude," The Bomb interrupts, "what is the last thing you remember?"

I am confused and scared and unsure if I should tell her. But she is from the court of shadows and I trust Vivienne. Cardan's presence is unsettling but there is no hint of cruelty and neither of them seem disturbed by his presence. So I tell them. "It was the coronation, Balekin—he killed Eldred and Dain is dead and Cardan and I escaped together and I took him prisoner." A blush rises to my cheeks when I realise what happened next, despite all my hatred for the youngest faerie prince—no, not the youngest. I recall my conversation with Oriana, Taryn's betrayal, Locke's lies and Madoc's plan. "Oak is the next in line for the throne, he's—Dain's child." No one looks surprised at the news, not even Vivi.

Cardan says with deliberate slowness, "Jude, you mean you don't remember anything after the day? Do you remember the arrangement we made?"

"What arrangement?" I don't know what he's talking about. It puts me at a disadvantage against him.

Cardan brings his hand close to me, as if he expects me to shatter. I do not shatter but I do flinch away from his touch. He looks like he wishes I'd struck him instead, blinking rapidly. For a moment, I swear those are tears in his eyes before they disappear.

"Jude," Vivienne says, breaking the silence, "I think there's something you should know."

⊶ ⊷ ⊶ ⊷ ⊶ ⊷ ⊶ ⊷

I listen in horror and fascination and barely supressed surprise as Vivienne narrates the tale to me. Cardan sits beside her, pitching in with details she doesn't know whenever the situation demands it. I grow more and more certain that this is something strange I have dreamed up with every word my sister utters.

It makes the perfect sense—my plan against Balekin and Cardan's role in it.

I remember thinking along those lines when I went to sleep that night, the only question being how I could secure Oak's throne. To be his seneschal but have the High King of Elfhame under my command—the thought alone is enough to make me heady with power but it grows worse as Vivienne reaches the part where Cardan asks me to marry him. I can tell they both tiptoed around what happened in the Undersea, Vivienne because she does not know what happened in there but the uncertainty in Cardan's eyes leaves me with no doubt that he knows what happened there. Perhaps I told him.

It is surprising that I am able to read him so easily, and the ease with which he talks to me implies he is comfortable around me. I keep looking for some hint of cruelty and rage and anger but he is all love and adoration and concern.

Vivienne reaches the part where Cardan turns into a serpent and I'm convinced this is some prank of theirs. Even in faerie, that sounds ridiculous.

But they can't lie, so when my apparent husband says, "It was hell, Jude. I didn't talk about it but it haunted my dreams. You told me it haunted yours too."

"I did?" It doesn't sound like me. "What—how did you come back?"

He looks at me, and his eyes shine with love and sincerity. "You brought me back. Madoc offered you a golden bridle to control the serpent but you chose to end it's life, even though keeping it as your slave would have made you an unchallenged queen of faerie."

Why? The words don't leave my mouth but sensing the question, Liliver answers. "Because you loved him, Jude, you chose to free him. You chose his peace above power, not knowing if he'd come back—"

"—but then he did," I finish for her. "I slayed the serpent and he came back?"

They all nod. I am surprised to hear the details, that the Undersea came to our aid. But it was out of love for Cardan that Nicasia allied with us. They recollect the aftermath to me, Madoc's exile and some of the events after.

Vivienne leaves to fetch me some water and mortal soup for quick healing. Liliver excuses herself soon after. When I look at him, there are tears in Cardan's eyes again, flooding down his cheeks. He makes no effort to hide them now.

"Why are you crying?" I ask, my voice barely above a hoarse whisper.

He shakes his head at me. "You forgot all the good parts, Jude. Without the good parts, I'm just a monster who gave you every reason to hate me."

"I don't hate you." The truth behind those words surprises me.

Even after all I've been told, the fact that I fell in love with Cardan Greenbriar is the one that makes the most and the least sense both at once.

"I—I need to be alone." Cardan's face morphs into one of hurt, and I feel the need to soothe it: "It's just—I need time to wrap my head around this."

He nods, "Take all the time you need."

Then he lifts an unsure hand, reluctant, and wipes a tear away from my face. I hadn't realised I was crying until now. He turns to walk away, his tail curled around his calf.

I say, "I'm sorry I lost all our memories."

"It's okay. We'll make new ones," he promises in a firm tone. And for a brief moment, I see what he talked about.

I see myself in love with him, so in love that I was prepared to sacrifice ambition for a small chance to have him back. I see us living together, teasing and taunting and completely in love with each other, ruling Elfhame side by side. I feel his phantom touch on my body from the night I danced with him at the coronation ball, before everything started—before our story began.

And even when the moment passes, I realise I can love him still, all over again.

⊶ ⊷ ⊶ ⊷ ⊶ ⊷ ⊶ ⊷

I know I say it after every fic but this one was hard so even if it's bad, I'm proud of it. I tried writing from the first person pov, so what do you guys prefer? This or the usual third person limited?

tags:

@courtofjurdan // @thesirenwashere // @nightbringer // @queenofgreenbriar // @jurdanhell // @sweetlyvillainous // @clockworkgraystairs // @blog-lady-vi // @the-dark-swan //@storiesandschemes // @fangirltrash74 // @augustintodarkness // @jurdan7 //@queen-of-glass // @aesthetics-11 // @mijaldraws // @hades-flame // @sensitivehighlord // @annejulianneh111 // @b00kworm // @mysweetvillain // @doingmyrainbow // @curlyredqueen06 // @chaotic-fae-queen // @thewickedkings // @thesurielships //@df3ndyr // @clouds-and-peonies // @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln // @thefolkofthefic // @st00pid231 // @iminsanenotobsessed

[acciomanorian]

Wasting All These Tears on You (Part 2)

Hey guys! So this is the part 2 to Wasting All These Tears on You (Part 1). I hope you enjoy!!!! Based off of a prompt from @fantasyfox101. “Cardan sees Jude out on a date and gets jealous”

Three weeks after his fight with Jude, and Cardan still hasn’t spoken to her, to explain that he wasn’t cheating on her. That Nicasia had been trying, but he had been denying her, saying he only wanted to be friends, and that he was happy with Jude. He had come home three days after the fight, to find the apartment bare of most of Jude’s things. She had avoided seeing him even then, going when she knew Cardan was supposed to be at work. Through Garrett, Taryn’s boyfriend of two years, and Cardan’s best friend, had told him that Jude was staying with Vivienne and Heather.

On this particular day, Cardan happened to be on a walk, needing to get out of the apartment and think. He also hoped to be able to run into Jude, although he knew it would be a long shot. He just feels so bad about how he left things, and he misses Jude so much. During the first week without her, Cardan had shut himself off from just about everybody, calling out of work and just wallowing in his apartment. Jude was his whole world, and although he had a flirtatious personality, he would never betray Jude, nor would he even think about it. 

---Three weeks prior----

Cardan was sitting down at a quiet booth in his favorite café. He had just finished an important meeting with his client, a woman who had been injured in a car accident, and was now trying to press charges against the other driver. Cardan also figured that he had time to kill before going home to his beautiful fiancée. They were coming up on their wedding day, so everything had been hectic lately with planning. He just needed a breather, and maybe one of those delicious crullers he had totally been hiding from Jude. 

A warm body pushed into the booth across from him, and Cardan looked over with a guilty look, fully expecting to see his fiancée. He could never really get one over her, Jude was just too sharp. Instead what he saw was a shock of blue hair and bright painted lips. 

“Nicasia, what are you doing here? I thought you were out of town.” There was a long, extensive history with Nicasia, and Cardan was honestly tired of her games. He had known her for so long, since high school, and he knew that Nicasia being in town would only stir up more trouble.

“Darling Cardan, I’m here for you. Locke told me that you had gotten yourself engaged to one of those twins from high school, and I figured it was high time for me to pause my acting career to save your sorry ass.”

“What do you mean? There’s no saving needed here, no witchcraft or sorcery. I love Jude, that’s why I proposed to her. She holds nothing over me.”

“Prove it,” Nicasia says, a smirk on her lips. “Prove that you no longer have feelings for me.” Of course she would say that, knowing their history, as well as Cardan’s history with the Duarte twins. Cardan also knew that the only way she would accept proof was through a kiss, something he was loath to do with anybody who wasn’t Jude. 

Taking a deep breath, letting the unwillingness show in his eyes, Cardan leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. It was nothing special, and Cardan could see that Nicasia knew it was only a friendly kiss, however, there was an evil look in her eye. As he leaned back into his seat, Cardan caught a glimpse of the outside, and more importantly, who was outside.

Jude.

Fuck. Shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck. How could I be so stupid. Of course, we’re in a public place. Anybody could’ve seen it. Anyone, including Jude. 

Cardan could already see the betrayal on her face, tears starting to fall as their eyes locked through the glass. From across the booth, Nicasia looked over to see what he was staring at, and her face lit up with delight. Of course, she would find pleasure in seeing the heartbreak that was probably about to ensue. 

Before walking out the door, Nicasia leaned over and kissed Cardan on the cheek, something that Jude didn’t fail to notice. As she passed Jude, flipping her hair over her shoulder, she smirked, a fact that Cardan didn’t fail to notice. 

-------------------------------------

Now, Cardan is walking around the corner, towards the very café where he and Jude had their fight, and he catches a glimpse of chocolate brown hair, and Jude’s signature hair style, with the two buns on the top. His heart beat for a moment, hope rising that maybe, just maybe, he’ll be able to fix their relationship.

That is, until he saw a shock of yellow, gold hair and a very good-looking man sitting across from Jude holding her hand. She looked happy, and Cardan was devastated to know that he wasn’t the one making her smile this time. 

The devastation was short lived as the jealousy began to rise in him. That was his fiancée, his Jude. Where had she even met the guy, and how long had they been a thing? It couldn’t have been very long, with how hurt Jude was three weeks ago, and she certainly wasn’t that great of an actress. 

Without even thinking about what he was doing, Cardan marched into the café, and straight up to their table. Jude looked up, and scooted back a little. This only made the unknown man move closer to Cardan. Cardan blinked at the fear in her eyes, fear that he had caused. This was a mistake, I never should have come over here, I should have let her be happy.

“Cardan… What are you doing here?” Jude asked cautiously. It had been three weeks since he had seen her, three weeks since hearing her voice (minus the thousands of times he called her and got her personalized voicemail). Of course she was going to be wary when seeing him, especially when he was stomping over to her with no warning.

“Jude,” Cardan began, rubbing the back of his neck. “I… I wanted to apologize, and to explain. I never got the chance to after our fight, but you deserve…” He trailed off. 

“Deserve to know what?” This came from the blond man. Jude shot him a look, almost as if telling him to shut up. Oh, how Cardan missed those looks.

Cardan directed his next question to him. “I’m sorry, but who are you?”

“Valerian,” Jude answered. “We met at the club the other night, and he asked me for coffee last weekend, and here we are. He’s, um, a friend, of sorts.” She looked a little embarrassed as she said that. Maybe that Valerian guy isn’t all that he seems, or maybe it’s just the fact that I’m the one who found her out with another guy. Granted it’s not like Cardan really had any right to get mad, she did call off the engagement, but that was in a fit of anger, and Cardan and Jude hadn’t even gotten a chance to really talk, hence the reason he was trying to explain now. 

“A friend… uh-huh.” Cardan knew that Valerian wasn’t just a friend, or at least, it wasn’t his intention to just be a friend. “Look Jude, can I talk to you. Alone. Please.”

“Yeah, fine, Cardan, but make it quick. I was enjoying my coffee, and don’t want you to ruin it.” Jude got up from the table, gesturing to a spot closer to the door. “I’m listening.”

“Jude, I am so, so sorry. What you saw between me and Nicasia never should have happened in the first place, but you have to believe me when I say that it wasn’t what it looked like.”

“What do you mean ‘Not what it looked like.’ I think it was exactly what it looked like. You kissed her.”

“To prove a point, a point that I had no feelings for her, that I was in love with you and only you.” Cardan reached for Jude’s hand, but she pulled away before he got the chance.

“But why kiss her? Doesn’t that prove exactly the opposite?”

“Not if there’s no emotions in the kiss, and there wasn’t. I knew, Nicasia knew it.” Jude looked down, as if thinking about what Cardan was telling her.

“But then, why did she kiss you? And the look she gave me?” There was still doubt in Jude’s eyes, due to the distrust placed by Cardan. 

Cardan shook his head, sighing. “How long have you known Nicasia, known how manipulating she is, how she puts on a show. That’s all she was doing, putting on a show, making it seem like I was kissing her because I like her. I don’t. I love you, Jude. I always have, and I always will. I want to fix this between us.” Cardan reached for her hand again, succeeding this time. “I understand if you don’t want me anymore, after all, there was no reason for me to do what I did. I could’ve proved to Nicasia any other way, I didn’t have to kiss her. I just want you to know that I miss you so much, and that I hope you will give me another chance. I love you.”

“I don’t know, Cardan. I have to think about this. For three weeks, I’ve thought that you were cheating on me-” 

“Because you didn’t let me explain at the beginning,” Cardan interrupted.

“Don’t interrupt me.” There was a harsh tone to Jude’s voice, but Cardan knew he deserved it. She continued, “I thought you were cheating on me, I thought that you didn’t love me. Even if what you are saying is true, how do I know that I can trust you again, that you won’t turn around and actually cheat on me in the future.”

“Jude, darling, I promise you, you are the only one for me. I love you, so much. You are my world. Please, give me another chance.” 

“I’ve gotta go.” Jude walked back towards the direction of her table, threw down a couple of dollars from her purse and gave Valerian a quick hug, nothing romantic, which Cardan noted, satisfied. Perhaps he did have a chance to win Jude back.

Don’t really have a tag list, so if you want to be tagged send me an ask. I had some people requesting more on the first part, so I’ll just put you guys for now.

@emmabookworm08 @fantasyfox101

[rosiethorns88]

Queen of Nothing Thoughts / Reflection on the Series

Many people are asking me, so I’m pooling them here. I’m not a writer or a reviewer, just a reader. :)

SPOILERS AHEAD:

First, an expectation summary:

- Overall, the book hit all of my high notes and succeeded in its story telling to me, personally. Holly has a pattern with climax building reflected in all three of her books that I really enjoy as a reader. There are shocking moments about two-thirds of the way in each book that feel like climaxes, but after the sudden burst and fall out, it slowly builds up again to another and greater peak. I find the early upsets and expanded conclusions of the final acts to be really satisfying to unfold, page by page. Cardan and Jude are two fascinating characters and the friction their personalities cause with one another make for some satisfying sparks. The whole cast of characters are colorful and the world building is rich, and I enjoyed the escapism the entire series brought to me with each visit.

- I was completely satisfied with the pacing, because it worked for the story at hand. Madoc was making his move and allies from all over Faerie were seeing Cardan’s control over his court wane in his wake. Both Jude and Cardan had to move and move fast to get themselves in a position of defense. In fact, the one act that I feared may have dragged on the longest, Jude’s ‘entrapment’ at the camp, actually moved forward quite quickly and kept my interest once Grimsen and the Ghost entered the mix. To spend time tying up every frayed thread with other non-player characters before the end would have lessened the urgency of story’s impending conflicts. Let’s get Jude and Cardan settled and to their honeymoon first before we chat about Nicasia’s love woes over tea.

- The Jurdan reunion was great, I love how it reflects the previous books with them having to first play act with each other again. Though I was hoping for it to last a bit longer with Cardan stringing Jude along in her disguise. I was really excited for Jude to play switch-a-roo as Taryn, but didn’t expect it to end so suddenly. It would have been a great call back to the circumstance of Cardan’s being tricked at the end of The Wicked King.

- The fact the Cardan was so involved with Jude’s runarounds: the rescue attempt from the palace, the actual rescue from the camp, his tag-alongs with her questing. It made all of their interactions very satisfying as it was expanding beyond the verbal throw-downs they only had before. I’ve seen many people complain there were not enough Jurdan scenes, but y’all. We barely had a breath of their interactions from the 1st and 2nd books compared to QoN. I was thoroughly pleased.

- The fact that Cardan indulges in Jude’s political nature and wears it proudly like a brooch when he’s addressing his court. He’s basically like, “I’m here to be my witty and sarcastic self; she’s here to be her just and vicious self. We complete each other.”

- CARDAN REUNITES WITH HIS DOOR! This was my favorite reunion scene as it was one of the many world building elements I enjoyed from the first book. Cardan’s playful and endearing greeting to his door at Hallow Hall was such a thought provoking element - I could only imagine as he grew up at the hall, he had little things or persons to befriend. And with the revelation of Cardan sneaking out human servants in the night, it makes sense he could get away with it with this unique friendship. I’m so glad this was a payoff.

- Madoc - I love Madoc. SO MUCH. He’s such a rich character, it’s so hard to call him morally grey when his character is so colorfully rich. Every chapter I either put an extra tick on his ‘I hate you so much’ or ‘I love you so much’ tally. He’s so true to his nature as a red cap, yet still so loving and caring for his family. He truly shows his hurt and conflict in his anger towards Jude after he finds she has betrayed or outwitted him. I reflect back to The Cruel Prince, when Jude was reminiscing how she and Madoc would play a board game of strategy (like chess) and have to interrupt it. All day, Jude would think about her possible moves and his possible moves, so when they returned to the game, the entire strategy had changed. This is how they interacted all through out the novel. Every thought and move was predicted, then challenged, then overturned before they could even meet face to face again. It’s amazing how there are no villains or heroes in this story; Jude and Madoc’s conflict were just an ever spinning tornado of their own morals and loyalties and ideals.

- Ghost & Taryn redeemed! I must admit, I was completely shaken by the Ghost’s betrayal in TWK, and did not expect him to be a redeemable character, though I did expect him to be involved somehow. I’m a little less satisfied with how quickly Taryn changed her spots back, especially with the build up from The Lost Sisters novella, and wish that Locke wasn’t killed off-screen. I can believe what she said happened, and that she was unhappy with the situation, but for it all to be delivered in one sitting as a monologue, it didn’t sink in for me for a while. I didn’t expect to have a redeeming arc for either of them, nor expect hints at their possible relationship, but it all fell into place nicely. At the end, I felt that the Ghost deserved to have his freedom, and that Taryn was appropriate to hold him to it.

- The Bomb and The Roach! I was happy for them to find their happily ever after, but Noooooo I didn’t want the Roach to be fridged! The Roach x The Bomb x Jude x Cardan interactions produce the best lines in the entire series and I was super sad to see the Roach exit so early. But from the little we received, it was a delight.

- Nicasia, Valerian (his curse), Locke - to me these three didn’t have the conclusions I was hoping for, but there may be open lore left to explore for Holly. I do understand why others insist that the last book be split into two and expanded upon, but the book was sharply focused on Jude and Cardan’s predicaments. Nicasia, Valerian and Locke all had unfinished stories and conflicts with both of them, but they were past issues that weren’t actively affecting the plot, and so I wasn’t troubled by their absence. But I’m hoping short stories or expanded lore in other Holly-verse novels may touch upon them.

- Vivi / Heather - This side plot got a little more attention than I expected, even though I didn’t appreciate the decisions both Vivi and Heather made (just as Jude didn’t).  I was actually expecting Heather to take the route that she did, but just a little bit further than where she ended up. I love that she went completely Hermione on the group, but really wasn’t helpful in the end (which is ok). However, I think the true recourse for Heather’s involvement was intended solely for Vivi. By Heather experiencing Faerie a second time with the expectations of the terrors it offered, she was able to see other facets of the world Vivi has ties too, which is why she gave Vivi the second chance to reintroduce it to her in a better light.

- Oak / Oriana -  I find Oriana such a delight as a character, but I don’t know why I always forget she exists until she appears on page. Which is appropriate, as she makes herself seen and be heard when she wants to. I love how helicopter parent she is with Jude even though she’s made it clear that she barely tolerates their familial ties. Still, her ability to parry Jude’s rebellious and un-lady-like behavior with her witty retorts gave us some of my favorite scenes from the previous books, and I enjoyed their brief reunion under the same circumstances at the camp. Oak, on the other hand I felt was underused as a character, and instead, justifiably used as a political object. Oak and Oriana’s relationship made for an interesting divisiveness between Team Madoc and Team Jude, that I think was an important factor, but ultimately Oak didn’t have much to do in decision makings in the QoN like he did in TCP. However, I feel this is because his character arc begins at the end of this novel with the new character ex-Queen Suren. And whether or not that story makes it onto a page, I can accept that his story was left open-ended to begin here.

Regarding Jude:

I think it’s important to highlight Jude’s development with her feelings toward Cardan - specifically with her reaction toward her exile. I wouldn’t say she’s an unreliable narrator, more so, she’s an unreliable romantic. Jude is the ‘DON’T Notice Me Senpai’ main character who throws red flags up for every action Cardan does.

A very popular theory about Cardan’s exile was that Jude would be able to pardon herself since she is part of the crown as queen. When that turned out to be true, I saw a lot of disappointment from readers with the obviousness of it - but that’s because it was obvious to ourselves, and it always has been. Cardan’s wordplay is a defining trait for his character and there have been several scenes where we the reader are completely in the know when he’s doing it and are charmed by it right along with Jude. During the exiling, Jude is not in the know and is blinded at first by her stupor as a newly wed and then later with her doubt in Cardan’s feelings for her as she flat out admits to herself that the crown pardon could be a loop hole.

This is what makes the rose garden scene such a great turning point - because they both realized they fooled each other without knowing it and are both distressed by each other’s reaction. Their trust in each other was becoming more brittle as it grew, until they realized they both could no longer play their old schemes against each other without risking that trust breaking.

All throughout, Jude has been judging and second guessing everything he does while she scrambles across this political chess board. Deny his feelings, manipulating her own feelings, pushing and pulling and advancing further to the top before her desire for power and her desire for Cardan meet at the peak. And here, between the possibility of losing the power she gained or condemning the feelings she found, is when she finally has to make that choice for herself, when she had viable reasons to go either way. With the way she struggled for both, she earned that right to choose.

Favorite moments / quotes:

- Cardan flinching at Jude’s indirect confession while she was disguised as Taryn - and Jude wholly unaware of the implications.

- Cardan relishing in his cleverness about the exile, while Jude is like WTF and they’re completely clueless about each other’s reaction until in the later rose garden scene. - Cardan’s ‘Jude, DON’T!’ - seriously, listen to the audiobook, you can hear the fear in his voice as his murder wife runs off to battle. And because we the readers can hear that fear, while Jude doesn’t, makes it more heart breaking.

- Madoc alluding to Jude (as Taryn) about Cardan’s berserk mode when he tried to prevent Jude’s capture at the palace. And of course, Jude denying it (psh)

- Cardan doing the grunt work in Jude’s camp rescue, and getting socked in the stomach for it - hah! And of course, The Roach preening he warned him.

- Cardan subconsciously protecting Jude from the arrow trap

- Jude scaring off a faerie guard with mortal menstruation.

- “Do not touch her. She is my wife.”

- How LONG have I waited for Cardan to finally witness how much Jude mutilates her body from her fights, and then for him care for her himself in his bed was just an extra mountain of whipped cream with sprinkles on top. (remember, she hid from him her hand stabbing, her self-poisoning, her leg injury from Locke’s attack, the details of Valerian’s attempt to murder her TWICE, the details of her torturous time in the undersea, etc. Let him know your WOES, woman! Y’all need to cash in some empathy points!)

- Jude having no choice but to wear Cardan’s clothes

- SLAP

- “Maybe he’d like to hear me scream.” exchange. And the hair touch!

- MY DOOR!

- The Ghost spider scrambling up the wall towards Cardan, and Taryn whiplashing him. Poor baby!

- Cardan intrigued by Slushies and Gummy Worms

- Cardan privately reprimanding Randalin about Jude and him scurrying out of the room in a panic. WHAT WAS SAID? CARDAN WAS SMILING.

- Freakin Cardan confessing and cutting her off at the door.

- Jude taking the time to panic, to mourn and to plan after the transformation. I felt giving too much haste toward a ‘Disney-true-love-spell-breaking ending’ would have ruined the direness of Cardan’s sacrifice.

- That fingers-digging-into-her-back hug.

- Tight pants, t-shirt and a Lopsided paper crown.

[bookiemonsterph]

The Cruel Prince

Synopsis:

Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe. Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him—and face the consequences. In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself. 

Title: The Cruel Prince Series: The Folk Of The Air Author: Holly Black ISBN: 031631031X (ISBN13: 9780316310314) Pages:    416 pages (Paperback) Published:   December 4th 2018 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (first published January 2nd 2018) Characters: Madoc, Taryn Duarte, Jude Duarte, Cardan Greenbriar, Vivienne Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Magic

Honestly, I do not know how or where the hell I should begin. This book is a whirlwind of emotions and I think we should all applause Holly Black for doing the thing she did with this novel. Alright, I got to calm down and run through the tortuous thoughts in my head because this novel messed me up in the best way possible.

The writing style in this novel is extremely alluring. The author weaves sentences together like she is embroidering a dress and after she finishes, she proceeds to refine and embellish the details on every inch of it. Each sentence never fails to impress me with the author’s skillful writing style. She uses vast vocabularies which I really enjoy reading and discovering and I cannot wait for more of her delicious writing style to enter the depths of my brain.

The prologue of this novel is absolute gold. Ugh, that sounds kind of terrible because Jude’s (the protagonist) parents are literally murdered in the prologue [not a spoiler, it is in the synopsis] but I really enjoyed it. It kept me on the edge of my seat with my heart thumping fast and hard in my chest as if it was also trying to find out what was coming next as well. Then we have the first 160 pages which I thought was sensationally crafted and for your information, the political intrigue and the power shift happen later in the book but the first 160 pages will keep you piss off enough to make you fly through the pages due to the bullying the protagonist has to endure in Faerie.

The politics and power shifts are, for lack of a better word, mind-blowing. The amount of scheming, lying, twisted words and betrayal are balanced meticulously on the scale. Holly Black really knows how to create multiple plot twists that you will not see coming and I swear, a few of the chapters in this novel mystified me to the point where it got my lips carving a big O on my face, in other words, my jaw dropped. Some of the plot twists end in violence and some don’t but overall, they are still fucking amazing and I cannot stress that enough.

The characters in this novel involve Jude; Taryn who is Jude’s twin sister; Vivienne who is Jude’s older sister; Madoc who is the murderer of Jude’s parents; Oriana who is married to Madoc; Oak who is Jude’s younger brother but not blood-related in any way; Cardan who is the prince of Faerie and also happens to be a jackass for bullying people who are weaker than him; Locke who is… erm he can drown in a lake and I would say thank you; Valerian who also happens to be a jackass like Cardan and; Nicasia who is Queen Orlargh heir and she is disgusting. These are the central characters and of course, there are more characters in this novel but I do not want to spoil the story by naming the others so I am going to leave it at that.

The characters are so well constructed that you find yourself rooting for some of them and also, you will often find yourself wanting, desperately, to drown them personally in the river with your bare hands. Well, among all these characters, I would like to say that Jude has the most character development throughout the entirety of the novel because she is the one narrating the story but not only that, I thought her growth was gradual as she realizes her mistakes, takes guidance from other people and learns from it. Compare to the beginning of the novel where she does not, she clearly does take other people’s suggestions into account in the end.

For people who have not read a lot of Faerie books, you definitely need to know the basic knowledge of the folklore to understand the world a little better. I went into the novel with the mistake of not knowing anything about the folklore but I searched it up along the way so I can still kind of grasp the delicate line of knowledge of the world. Other than that, I thought the culture, the food and the social etiquette were very well formulated.  

However, I do have a scarce amount of complaints. Let’s inaugurate this section of the review with the ‘romance’. The romance, if you could call it that, feels really forced. It happens out of the blue and there is not any build-up to it. The romance section took me out of the story but luckily, it is quickly replaced by other plot points.

Moving on, we have some character decisions that I could not comprehend. For example, Jude says ‘My father’ as in Madoc and not her biological father in the previous page and in the next page, a character says ‘your father’ and she quickly counteracts and says ‘He is not my father’… like dude, make up your mind. Sometimes, she makes a decision and it is not addressed ever again.

Therefore, my final verdict for this novel will be a solid 85%. Time to force every single one of you to read this novel and drown in the sea of emotions with me. Please read it, thank you very much.

[darklesmylove]

queen of nothing review

overall rating: 4/5

so overall, for me i thought holly black did a relatively good job of giving us a truly satisfying ending to the trilogy. i really did enjoy this book, i read it in two hours, so that does definitely say something in itself.

what i liked:

i thought the explanation of the ghosts betrayal was great. i wasn’t expecting that he was really being manipulated and i liked his character a lot so it was satisfying for sure to find out he wasn’t actually a villain

jude as high queen; literally every single scene where she was bossing people around i absolutely LIVED for, along with her realizations about power and growing to realize the bad/dangerous parts so now she’s not so overly obsessed like she was previously

cardan immediately recognizing jude and knowing she wasn’t taryn like stab me through the heart with romance why don’t you

jude topping 👀

cardans confession that he loved jude was the most cardan confession i could ever imagine and it was perfect in every way

cardan changing into a snake? I WAS FUCKING SHOOK. definitely didn’t expect that and i thought it was a really really cool twist

one of my main wants for this book was for cardan to grow into being a ruler and a real king, and i definitely felt like that was delivered, especially during the parlay scene when he decided to let the people choose (so proud of my baby son)

oak being the grumbly cute little demon that he is

jude and cardan ending still being the high king and queen, i’m SO glad holly didn’t cheat us out of the jurdan ship/them ruling

any time jude wore cardans clothes tbh

what i didn’t like:

locke’s death felt EXTREMELY throwaway and in that there was a lot of loose ends that weren’t tied up, like why he was working with the Undersea

to continue that i felt like it then gave taryn a huge off the hook and she never got repercussions for her actions. she literally betrayed jude TWICE and only killed locke because he lost interest in her. if locke didn’t, she never would have been sorry. and she wasn’t even really sorry because she only sought jude out so that she could use her to her own benefit. not a fan

first cardan and nicasia suddenly being friends again, THEN jude and nicasia weirdly making up and being all buddy buddy? none of that felt earned

no follow through oh the valerian curse? it didn’t seem to be resolved in the slightest at least from my perspective

i’m sorry but jude and cardans reunion really did not do much of anything for me. cardan was his usual loveably wicked self but it’s EXTREMELY ooc that jude literally just forgave him... at the very least she would have roughed him up a bit even if she does love him

with that, the reveal that jude was high queen just was very dull for me. there was no drama in it, and this is probably just personal preference but i wanted jude to force it out of cardan

while i thought cardan turning into a snake after being cursed was really unexpected and cool, i thought it was SO cliche that the key to breaking the curse and bringing him back was to kill him as a snake. pretty underwhelming finale to me

jude not actually fighting in the battle like SERIOUSLY she could have been a bad ass mortal queen soldier hacking people down and all she did was cut off snakes bois head and then cry

the epilogue was a little rushed but it wasn’t terrible

bare minimum of cardan in the mortal world??? unacceptable

and going off of that no cardan pov was a big ass disappointment for me

holly’s writing style and pacing has improved TREMENDOUSLY and i really appreciate that growth, and the twists were stellar as usual. that being said, i felt like a lot of characterization was lost because of this hyper focus on the plot. unlike the cruel prince, where there wasn’t enough plot for me, i felt queen of nothing had too much plot in too little pages. often the little, nuanced interactions are the most magical and that was lacking for me. and because of that i think in turn it decreased the emotional impact and connection because the actual character arcs weren’t focused on hardly at all.

i honestly think the majority of these problems could have been solved by merely extending the book/page count. we would have gotten room for more small, emotionally impactful moments and nuanced character development as well as answers to a lot of loose ends that werent fully tied up. i think honestly queen of nothing in particular would have been better as adult, a lot of scenes and things i felt were dumbed down to make it ya appropriate (not just the sex scene, but also in terms of gore and darker themes).

but as far as finales go? definitely better than a large majority of last books in a series so ultimately, though i did have a fair amount of things i thought could have been improved upon, i did thoroughly enjoy reading it. jude and cardan were fantastic characters to experience as always, the tension and drama were there, and oak was a surprising new favorite. and hopefully we’ll get a cardan novella because i can never get enough of him!!