The wicked king
Author : Holly Black
Reviewer : Franz - Grade 11
Rate : 5/5
The Wicked King is the second book of the fantasy series the Folk of the Air by Holly Black. It centres around the forced, newly crowned high king of Elfhame, Cardan, and his significantly important senechal (a steward), Jude. After Jude made a deal with the former Prince and tricked him into becoming the high king, she goes through many personal challenges as well as being the high king’s senechal. She still has to endure the torment from Cardan and the other faeries, as well as the frustrating and over-the-top family drama. Jude also has to deal with several more betrayals, threats of war from the Queen of the undersea and Prince Balekin, as well as deaths due to the fact that she has far too many enemies.
Similar to the first book, the wicked king has a few sensitive topics as well, such as kidnapping, a lot of violence, bloodshed, and deaths. Unlike the first book, where there was no development between our main leads, Cardan and Jude, the love in this book was definitely slowly blooming despite the ongoing love-hate relationship. The whole series itself does not revolve around their love story, but with the struggles that our main characters face in Elfhame, especially with royal Faerie politics.
Overall, this book was just plain amazing. I love Holly Black so much because her ability to tell and write a story is just phenomenal. I read this book in one sitting because it was just too difficult for me to put down. The book is also written in a way that is easy to understand, similar to the first book of the series. I definitely recommend for everyone to continue with the Folk of the Air series because the plot is remarkable, and it will definitely make the readers just want more.