Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Zły król by Holly Black

156 reviews

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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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bunnivie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

4.25

i loved judecardan in this

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dreadspawn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense 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

3.5

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nonotyoshi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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snakebyte180's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

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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esterslibrary's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.0

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smcrain's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Now I know not every book is gonna speak to everyone but this one really hits the right notes for me. Idk maybe it's because I was really not sure what to expect from this series. I'm not gonna lie; ever since True Blood and honestly maybe longer, Fae/Faeries have not been my thing. I don't really actively go looking for those stories; I was way more into knights, dragons and elves. Suffice it to say, I was kind of dragging my feet about reading this one. But I finally started a few days ago and boy did I get sucked right in. I think being completely new to fae fiction gives this series an advantage over me. I know there's SO many out there now, but for me this is the first I've read, and I'm really loving the land of Elfhame. I'm so intrigued by the weird rules and the love the cunning Jude displays while operating within them.

I still love Jude, but this follows the format of a second installment in a trilogy, where our heroes go through some tough times and trials. And boy does she ever this book. She makes lots of mistakes, and at times I was frustrated, but honestly the twists and turns just kept coming. I could hardly come up for air for want of finding out what was going to happen next. This one was definitely a book I lost sleep over due to the ever infamous "one more chapter" mentality. Cardan comes into his own a bit more in this book, especially at the end. Honestly he's such a conundrum for me, I dislike his personality, but at the same time I'm basic and he's hot so I'm giving him a lot of leeway all the time. He does exhibit and get more backstory and wit/craftiness this book so he's at least earning some of my attraction outside of just superficially loving anyone described as dark haired, gorgeous and the usual that will have me ready to lick them. The ending is def an OMG/WTF moment. I have never been SO glad I do not have to wait a year or more before I'm able to pick up the next book and find out the conclusion to this story.

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erin_362's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

oh my god the ending was insane and i need to get the next book right now i’m so serious
i liked the first book but this one felt like it was on another level with all of the politics and the twists, everything was just so good i loved it
it started out a bit slow but i was still invested so it was fine :)

Content Warnings

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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