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A review by romantasyandtea
The Wicked King by Holly Black
4.5
It may seem like a high rating, but it's actually kind of a letdown because until the last few pages (I'm talking the two to three last few pages), this book was going to be five stars. First I'll get into everything I loved, and then I'll talk about why I knocked down the rating. This review is non-spoiler.
Jude. I love that girl. That's to say, I love her character. She's definitely not someone I would ever want to be friends with, but you can't deny she's tough and really clever when she needs to be. And she ALWAYS needs to be. I usually can't stand that Feyre-type character that's nothing but mean and ruthless, and yet she's considered a "strong female character." But you SEE Jude's struggles, you SEE why she feels she has to outmaneuver the Fae. You see their cruelty, you're not just told about it and then when Jude acts cruel back then it feels like it's just her who's attacking. Because that's exactly the point, she's not attacking, she's defending herself.
I like that you could really believe that the High King's land would go to war if she wasn't there to take care of everything. That's what she does, she gets things done, and I LOVE it.
The story is well-written, too, I don't see a lot of the twists coming. I knew about Cardan's proposition at the end simply because of the title of the last book and that's what everything was leading up to, but what happens in the last few pages, I couldn't have guessed. Probably because... they weren't great like the rest of the book had been.
Which brings me to my few issues. Sorry, rant time.
First, it's Cardan himself. Listen. I LOVE Cardan. I do. He's very charming, he has his moments, I love him and Jude together, I do! I just... don't think a few pretty words and his traumatic childhood are a good enough justification for the way he's acted towards Jude. He was definitely a lot crueler in the first book, but he's yet to really redeem himself in any way. He doesn't defend her, he doesn't stand by her, he doesn't show her any sympathy, he doesn't provide any comfort. I don't really... forgive everything he's done. (Cruel Prince references here) He's ripped a wing off a faerie who didn't kneel before him, he's allowed Jude to be all but assaulted in the first book, and he's not that brutal in the second, but he's not anything mind-blowingly great either. He doesn't do ANYTHING to earn her trust or love or respect. I'm sorry I don't sympathize that much with a bully who's only given a few pretty, pitiful words for his behavior.
There's a moment at the end where I'd hoped that Cardan would take Jude's side because, yes, she's killed people before, I'm not saying it's great, but also, these people were monsters who put her at a life or death situation, and then she's punished when she defends herself. I'd just hoped that he would've done or said something about that, but he made things worse.
There's no whimsy in these stories at all. None. At least with Cassandra Clare, you have the safety of the Institute, you have Magnus's charm and the comfort of his character and his apartment. There are safe places, safe characters. There are NONE here, which is why I just can't, for the life of me, understand Jude's desire to stay amongst the faeries. It's so hard to understand, so when she's constantly fighting to stay, to be recognized, to rise there when there's the safety of the mortal world on the other side of the pond, I just don't get it. I'm in awe of her strength and cunning, but I also just don't understand. Even people who are born, raised, and grow up in the trenches don't want to stay in the trenches. She's been humiliated, mutilated, and yet when asked why she stays, she says, "It's home."
Girl. Sweetie. Beautiful. Listen to me, home is not a place where you're raised. It's the people, the comfort. Some might call it cowardice to say that she's better off in the mortal world where it's safer, but the only reason she stays with the faeries (who all hate her, by the way), and according to her, is because it's all she's ever known. That's not good enough for me to root for her to stay there. (Also, can Taryn die already? And Nicasia. I want them dead. Hell, throw in Locke, too.)
Now, in terms of the ending. It's not that I disliked the choices made. It was an interesting one, and I would've loved it, had it been handled better. Instead, Jude was made to seem very - well, I'm just going to say it; pathetic. For her to speak the way she did, to be handled the way she was, it was very out of character. She ran the country for the entirety of the book, and then THAT happens at the end, and it was a completely unsatisfying payoff. I know the series isn't over yet, but the way she was depicted in her reaction, the way Cardan was depicted, the choices HE made about a certain fish - it just didn't put anybody in a good enough light that I'll be super eager to pick up the last book right away.
Don't get me wrong, the book was great, and I highly recommend it, but I guess I'm just a little down that it was the last two to three pages that bumped down the rating. I loved the story, but I think I'll hold off on returning to the faeries for a bit.
Jude. I love that girl. That's to say, I love her character. She's definitely not someone I would ever want to be friends with, but you can't deny she's tough and really clever when she needs to be. And she ALWAYS needs to be. I usually can't stand that Feyre-type character that's nothing but mean and ruthless, and yet she's considered a "strong female character." But you SEE Jude's struggles, you SEE why she feels she has to outmaneuver the Fae. You see their cruelty, you're not just told about it and then when Jude acts cruel back then it feels like it's just her who's attacking. Because that's exactly the point, she's not attacking, she's defending herself.
I like that you could really believe that the High King's land would go to war if she wasn't there to take care of everything. That's what she does, she gets things done, and I LOVE it.
The story is well-written, too, I don't see a lot of the twists coming. I knew about Cardan's proposition at the end simply because of the title of the last book and that's what everything was leading up to, but what happens in the last few pages, I couldn't have guessed. Probably because... they weren't great like the rest of the book had been.
Which brings me to my few issues. Sorry, rant time.
First, it's Cardan himself. Listen. I LOVE Cardan. I do. He's very charming, he has his moments, I love him and Jude together, I do! I just... don't think a few pretty words and his traumatic childhood are a good enough justification for the way he's acted towards Jude. He was definitely a lot crueler in the first book, but he's yet to really redeem himself in any way. He doesn't defend her, he doesn't stand by her, he doesn't show her any sympathy, he doesn't provide any comfort. I don't really... forgive everything he's done. (Cruel Prince references here) He's ripped a wing off a faerie who didn't kneel before him, he's allowed Jude to be all but assaulted in the first book, and he's not that brutal in the second, but he's not anything mind-blowingly great either. He doesn't do ANYTHING to earn her trust or love or respect. I'm sorry I don't sympathize that much with a bully who's only given a few pretty, pitiful words for his behavior.
There's a moment at the end where I'd hoped that Cardan would take Jude's side because, yes, she's killed people before, I'm not saying it's great, but also, these people were monsters who put her at a life or death situation, and then she's punished when she defends herself. I'd just hoped that he would've done or said something about that, but he made things worse.
There's no whimsy in these stories at all. None. At least with Cassandra Clare, you have the safety of the Institute, you have Magnus's charm and the comfort of his character and his apartment. There are safe places, safe characters. There are NONE here, which is why I just can't, for the life of me, understand Jude's desire to stay amongst the faeries. It's so hard to understand, so when she's constantly fighting to stay, to be recognized, to rise there when there's the safety of the mortal world on the other side of the pond, I just don't get it. I'm in awe of her strength and cunning, but I also just don't understand. Even people who are born, raised, and grow up in the trenches don't want to stay in the trenches. She's been humiliated, mutilated, and yet when asked why she stays, she says, "It's home."
Girl. Sweetie. Beautiful. Listen to me, home is not a place where you're raised. It's the people, the comfort. Some might call it cowardice to say that she's better off in the mortal world where it's safer, but the only reason she stays with the faeries (who all hate her, by the way), and according to her, is because it's all she's ever known. That's not good enough for me to root for her to stay there. (Also, can Taryn die already? And Nicasia. I want them dead. Hell, throw in Locke, too.)
Now, in terms of the ending. It's not that I disliked the choices made. It was an interesting one, and I would've loved it, had it been handled better. Instead, Jude was made to seem very - well, I'm just going to say it; pathetic. For her to speak the way she did, to be handled the way she was, it was very out of character. She ran the country for the entirety of the book, and then THAT happens at the end, and it was a completely unsatisfying payoff. I know the series isn't over yet, but the way she was depicted in her reaction, the way Cardan was depicted, the choices HE made about a certain fish - it just didn't put anybody in a good enough light that I'll be super eager to pick up the last book right away.
Don't get me wrong, the book was great, and I highly recommend it, but I guess I'm just a little down that it was the last two to three pages that bumped down the rating. I loved the story, but I think I'll hold off on returning to the faeries for a bit.