Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Wicked King

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Wicked King by Holly Black

133 reviews

indigo_fox's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed this book more than the last one, it was hard for me to put it down. It was great getting to learn more about the world and the characters, finally got a little peek into Cardan's past. As for the characters, I feel like Jude didn't really get any development this time around. She seems to be in the same space at the end of the book as she is at the start. Cardan got some great development though.

The end of this book has a fun little easter egg that anime fans will appreciate. I saw it and freaked out.

It's Yuri on Ice! They are watching Yuri on Ice on the TV. As soon as I read the line I KNEW it was about Yuri on Ice.

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suerte_encantada's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

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spatterson7's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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katharina90's review against another edition

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adventurous tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

The plot was paper-thin, boring and dragged on for what felt like forever.

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rachelr_reads309's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

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noellegrace8's review against another edition

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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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aralalala's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Once again, I am writing this a hardcore light-hearted romcom girly:

It only started to get interesting for me around Ch. 11. Prior to that felt very much like a slow build-up and a background for the story, a little catching up on how things have been since the end of The Cruel Prince, and I honestly wasn’t all that engaged. It wasn’t so hard to keep going but there were moments when I felt like I was just forcing myself to flip the page, all in the hopes of getting some more Jude-Cardan content. I JUST WANNA BE HAPPY AND I JUST WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY PLS

But when I paused at one point, for the sake of pausing, I stumbled upon a reel on bookstagram about how the series is often viewed as a romance when it’s not. And then it hit me: it’s not.

As the fact sunk in, I started to see the series in a whole new light in such a way that I felt much more excited to get into the rest of the story than when I initially started it this morning—or maybe because the plot has gotten a lot more exciting at that point. Either way, my appreciation towards it was more than when I started.

Setting aside the preconceived notion that the series offers a whole lot more romance than it actually does, I got to really enjoy watching this story unfold as it is. It offered a consistent character and story development from the first book. Cards were dealt, secrets revealed, new things unearthed. I think the best part of it all is how it makes sense. It didn’t feel like wasted time nor did it feel like a filler book simply written to bridge the gap to the last installment. Everything makes sense and it’s a wonderful build-up to the last book.

It’s so beautifully written, and I said it also in my review for the first book that I’m amazed by the author’s writing from a technical standpoint, but this book delivers just as much. She somehow does it all so perfectly, how she gives details at just the right amount—not too much that it’s obvious, and not too little that it doesn’t make sense. I’m also amazed by how much vision she has for where she wants the story to go. Everything still ties up from the first book and I hope it’s the same until the end.

The last chapter, knowing there’s a third book, had me at the edge of my seat. The anticipation of something going wrong was right there. Taryn’s words from the first book rings in my head:

“Nice things don’t happen in storybooks,” Taryn says. “Or when they do happen, something bad happens next. Because otherwise the story would be boring, and no one would read it.”

Now, with the right perspective and the climax leading to the end near, I’m so excited to get to the third book!

PS: I’d love to see this on the big screen tbh

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beckyyreadss'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

4.0

My reading goal two years ago was to discover more authors. Holly Black is adored on Booktok and I wanted to read her first series which I did and thoroughly enjoyed and was so excited for the first book and obviously wanted to carry on with it.

This book follows Jude who we met in the previous book. She is trying to keep her brother safe after the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to the Faerie. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished. When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

I understand the hype around this book, I enjoyed it, the storyline was strong, and the fantasy world was built up as the storyline moved along. It was a bit predictable, and I sort of guessed what was going to happen, besides the ending. However, I loved the mystery aspect and how Jude was like I'm going to do this but then actually did and proved everyone wrong and keep everyone safe especially her brother. I still love the tension between Cardan and Jude and was hoping that it would still grow even more. I still love Roiben and Kaye and I love their appearance.

I know it’s a young adult book, but God I wanted to punch these kids, the fae weren’t scary they were just immature. Again, I knew they were kids, but this is why kids shouldn’t have power at all. Also, Jude’s dad is still a massive prick and I hope it has a very painful ending. I think that’s one of the main issues I had. I always want to connect with the characters in a way and yet all these characters aren’t probably going to grow on me. Cardan being all wishy-washy was driving me nuts as well.

I would love for someone, for once, to be on Jude’s side and for the two-faced and betrayal to stop. It's driving me nuts.

I am hoping that the final book is going to fix all these issues and that someone will stick up for Jude as much as she sticks up for herself.

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