Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Wicked King by Holly Black

27 reviews

noellegrace8's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

As stated in my review of The Cruel Prince, I really struggled to get into that first book. But I guess I got used to all the oddities, because I couldn't put this one down. There was less fluff, more politics, and it finally felt like the characters were the correct age for the things that are happening. They are adults now, making adult decisions and playing a dangerous adult game of power, authority, and death. I would no longer categorize this as "teen" literature, but "young adult." What really impresses me is that Holly Black manages to make me root for characters that are truly not good people, which is not typical for me. I wanted Jude to win in the first book. I was smug when she turned her knife on Cardan. But now in this one, I wasn't sure who to vie for. It seems like every time a character does something worth celebrating, they also do something that makes you hate yourself for liking them. The betrayals are painful but enticing. Also the cliff hanger??! My library is backed up 10 weeks for the last book and I am REELING about it. I don't know how I'm going to wait that long. This is fantasy done right, and true enemies to lovers (hopefully? Jury is still out on whether "lovers" is true...).

I don't factor the audiobook performance into my rating of the material itself, but I give Caitlin Kelly 4.5/5⭐. Again, by the second book in a series, I tend to get used to whatever problems I had with the voicing in the first. But honestly, there didn't seem to be as many parts where I felt the narrator wasn't portraying the correct emotion or tone of voice. A good performance, overall.

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abb_ey_normal's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

1.75

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tiannabrianne's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

4.5

While I'm not a fan of how "tropey" books and their marketing have gotten. I've always had a soft spot for enemies who don't completely hate each other. The dynamic between the two leads eats way at my heart. Jude is a amazing, strong, and powerful. I love her with all my heart.

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dramagirl2003's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

i loved this one even more than the cruel prince, finished 70% in a day! ooft the romantic tension between these enemies is crazy and that ending was rather out of pocket, didn't quite expect it to play out that way

thoughts while reading

p57: I bet you he knows exactly what he's saying, his inebriation is just a mask to hide behind
p101:

it'll be jude locke wants to crown queen of mirth i bet

p143: ooft is it hot in here
p207: seriously ghost
p222: omg i can't believe i didn't fully consider that the traitor might

directly be working with nicasia

p240: all i can say is that jude is a badass. what a queen of deception
p260: i know again from spoilers that

carden does get poisoned somehow so i'm extremely curious to know if jude actually poisons him, or someone else

p277: i'm really loving that all jude's dresses have pockets!! you can tell this was written by a woman
p281: what the heck is

carden's mother

doing there
p283: well if

carden's sprawling then he's already been poisoned. was it madoc?

p285: what did i say
p295: now this is why jude is in charge
p305: this. is. insane.
p307: recurring theme of i know due to spoilers:

this'll be why jude gets banished. whoopsie, killed your brother. least it was self defence though

p313: go carden
p317: well damn

quotes

"Kiss me again," he says, drunk and foolish. "Kiss me until I am sick of it."

I still feel the warm pressure of his fingers against my skin. Something is really wrong with me, to want what I hate, to want someone who despises me, even if he wants me, too. My only comfort is that he doesn't know what I feel.

"I hate you," I breathe into his mouth. "I hate you so much that sometimes I can't think of anything else."

"I wasn't kind, Jude. Not to many people. Not to you. I wasn't sure if I wanted you or if I wanted you gone from my sight so that I would stop feeling as I did, which made me even more unkind. But when you were gone—truly gone beneath the waves—I hated myself as I never have before."

"It tastes like dirt."
"It is dirt."

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bookishfads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The second book of the trilogy is better than the first.
Mike drop (not really, I'm sure this is a common opinion).
If you got disappointed by the first book, yet you enjoyed at least a third of it, check out the next one. Cardan gets way more development and gets more likeable, Jude remains the complex protagonist that I love so much, the characters tangle up more in their various plots and feelings. Backstories are expanded, court drama goes on, dragging Jude's family into it. Holly Black writes with so much passion and puts so much poetry and reflection into her work (and quite a bit of silliness and weirdness).

Why four stars? Some parts felt unfinished or undercooked; it's been five months since we've seen our love-hate duo and yet we get so little of their dynamic in their current position before plot kicks in. The romance is improved but I'm still waiting for it to become more than just bare-bones attraction. The book in general could have done so much more and that irks me because the writer hardly used that potential, especially when it comes to expanding this world.

Rating second books in trilogies is complicated, the first book does all the heavy lifting of worldbuilding and exposition, while their endings are rarely satisfying and rely on the third book for resolution. Ironically, this is why they can also be so loved by fans: they treat us with familiarity and create hype. The Wicked King has a very nicely rounded arc, yet the ending still creates more tension, so if you pick up this book, I strongly believe you'll go for the third.

Now for the spoiler part:

The first book didn't build the solid foundation the second book pretends to have with its romance, but I played along for the sake of the story. The ship moments between them were delicious and I'd be lying if I said I disliked them, but they fall flat since they aren't rooted in much.

They crush on each other? That's it?

Cardan made Jude's life miserable from day one. We got something like an apology, when she comes back from the Undersea, but that's so far into the story! Cardan's character offers so little that Jude could fall for. It's a book about fae so some toxicity in the romance is okay, but that doesn't mean Jude should just fall for the pretty fae prince because plot said so.

I've never seen enemies to lovers have such insta-love vibes.

I don't mind if she loves him for being cunning and manipulative - he's fae and she's... Jude. However, she just falls for him because he's pretty and gives her attention (even though her brief relationship with Locke showed how aware she is that attention and love aren't the same, that mature first book Jude evaporated for some reason). I see what the author is trying to do, having Cardan secretly look out for Jude, but Jude doesn't. She needed more to develop so much care for him and more to trust him so much she didn't even make him give safety promises in the end. Banishing her was the least he could do and don't tell me Jude wouldn't have been prepared for it.

Still, I absolutely love the ending, how Cardan used Jude's feelings against her, a parallel to the first book and a great mark of his development. The fact that we can't discern at what point did he decide to betray her: was it during their vows? Or after Balekin's death is discovered? Or maybe during the scene where she tells him to seduce Nicasia? Did Jude plant that idea in his mind by suggesting something he found so repulsive? Either way, perfect setup, I cackled like an evil witch. These traitors so deserve each other. I just wish their affection was more believable, in a book that makes loving your parents' murderer sound plausible.

Madoc was as brilliant as always. I was wondering at what point will the twin trope be used and it did not disappoint. Madoc is just looming in the background, a vague threat to Jude's power and we completely forget about Taryn and what she's capable of. Madoc, Taryn and Jude form this triangle of mixed feelings that keeps expanding.
Locke is an asshole, yet one I expected to be more relevant to the plot for someone so annoying. Waste of character, if you ask me.
Balekin was a creep, seeing Cardan confront him was so satisfying. Another great point to his development. Cardan can be seen as the hero of this arc, trying to escape Jude and manage the power he didn't want.
Solid twist with the Court of Shadows, but I wish we got a proper reason as to why the Ghost betrayed everyone (even before the discovery, my guess was that it was him because he wanted to go back to the human world or something similar).
Nicasia has a somewhat interesting arc, but it didn't go anywhere yet. Orlagh could have been so much more for the story, even though I enjoyed how unlucky she got with Jude's geas.

Overall, this book had so many ways it could have gone. It didn't realize its full potential, which is sad, but the ending is perfect for setting up the last one.

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mandarijnen_eten's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A sequel that's better than the first book? Very fetch.

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juliesleseecke's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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annick's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

4.25

Love the pacy plot and the intrigue and the ethically flawed choices of most of the characters. I’m off to read the next book regardless of how late it is already tonight

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rat_girly's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Holly Black got me good, Taryn still stinks

Content Warnings

nefelysian's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

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