Now that Cardan has become a puppet king, holding the throne to let Oak grow and mature, Jude must do everything in her power to keep control of the situation. But gaining power and holding onto it are two very different things. With betrayal at every turn, and the possibility of war in the horizon, Jude will have to lie, cheat and kill to ensure her place at court. However, treachery might be closer than expected.

I kept reading this with my friends and, again, I did enjoy it enough to finish but I'm not obsessed with this book. I would say the good and the bad were a 50-50 for me in this one. Let's start with what I did like. I love Jude. I think she's a great protagonist, specifically for this kind of story. She proved her worth with that manouver last book and you can see that she's slowly growing into her role, yet she doesn't have the experience and can still get blindsided and betrayed. My only issues with her in this book is that she was still so oblivious to Cardan's growing feelings for her but I can excuse her a bit, she was incredibly busy and had other things to worry about. Once again, the fae politics and the court intrigue were well done and interesting. I enjoyed the family relationship between Jude, Madoc and the sisters. It's so compelling to me to see the twisted love they all hold for each other and the ways it manifests. I loved the twists in this one.

Spoiler

I suspected that someone from the Shadow Court would be the betrayer but didn't think Madoc would use Taryn, and her identical looks to Jude, which delighted me. And Cardan marrying and then exiling Jude? Perfectly done.

Now my issues with the book. Not enough Cardan. Just like in the last one he was barely a presence for a book with a title that related to him. And when he did show up he was charming, complex, delightful! Yet the author kept him on the back burner. I think it was a disservice to not use his character more. That and by keeping him so removed from Jude I felt almost nothing for the two of them together, but I'm supposed to believe he would cause such big fuss to get her back? The math is not mathing. It seems like Jude had more screentime with Locke (don't get me started on him) than with her intended love interest. Now, I get that keeping Jude isolated was part of the plot but it was so frustrating that nobody cared about her very real important issues. It was exhausting. This could have been tighter in my opinion but it's good for a second book in a trilogy.

Content Warnings

lisyasversion's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

It took me quite a long time than expected to finish this book because how boring it is for me at first. But I swear it’s getting good and worst at the end. I started to love Cardan but I hate him at the very last chapter. I’m shocked and felt vulnerable. My heart can’t comprehend this. I am proud of him yk but he instantly makes me disappointed. I always and forever love and adore Jude Duarte. She owns my heart.

Spoiler

“If you agree, I will marry you tonight,” he says “Now, even. Right here…”

like literally my heart pound so heart I’m flabbergasted and happy for them but-

Seriously

AAAAAAA

He exile his WIFE

Content Warnings

annasreadinglibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

thecourtofreading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

okay. i much preferred the first one, but i do love Jude. not sure how i feel about Cardan, but leaning toward love as well. i'm excited to see what else is going to happen.

Content Warnings

happilyeveralli's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

OKAY SO I LOVED THIS, ACTUALLY. I had VERY mixed feelings about the first book, and though it took me such a long time to finish it, I really loved this installment. The beginning dragged a bit for me, which is why I’m giving it a star off, but overall I enjoyed it. The audiobook narrator did so well! Also, TAILS?!?!!

Content Warnings

saanamy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The ending😟

Content Warnings

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