A review by larijuni
The Wicked King by Holly Black

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.75

 So. Book two. 

If I had to describe this book I’d say it’s like the first one, but as if the in-book universe decided to start taking drugs about half way through (as opposed to just at the last few chapters like in book one). And I loved it. 

This book is definitely better than the first in my opinion. Except, not because the author was worse in the first or anything, but purely because the labor the characters put into the first is now beginning to bear its first fruits. Some of the fruits are a little fucked up, don’t get me wrong. But fruits nonetheless! 

Most characters here have grown subtly, while some have grown immensely in very obvious ways. Personally I still love and praise The Roach, the best guy of all guys, but a new character forced their way into my favorites this book; Cardan Greenbriar, I want to gnaw on you like a no. 2 pencil. He is such a wet cat of a man and yeah he was a complete dick during the last book and some of this one, but his improvement in this book was so fascinating to watch -- I’ve been entirely hooked. I need to observe him under a microscope ASAP. 

Speaking of which, Jude and Cardan as a couple reeeaaally grew on me this book. I can’t lie, Holly Black did in fact somehow manage to make me, a enemies-to-lovers trope skeptic, genuinely enjoy these two. And that’s not forgetting the awful shit Cardan does in the first book -- because I had my goddamn doubts when I read book one. But boy do I like them now. 

I think really what got me hooked on them was their imagery and dynamic this book. Personally at least, I read them as version of the monster x beauty trope. The twist with them being that Jude, a woman and a human, is the monster, and Cardan, a man and a fantastical in-human creature, is the beauty. Jude is a ruthless murderer and her fighting skills grow by the second, frankly, while Cardan is a pretty boy who’s canonically physically weaker than Jude and has sworn off any kind of killing entirely. I was gnawing at the bars of my enclosure every time they had a scene together by the end of the book, not gonna lie.

Actually, at one point in the book there’s a scene in the throne room, where Holly describes Cardan's earring catching the light and Jude in the shadows beside him... I nearly lost my marbles. It was SUCH a beautiful visual. Holly Black knows how to work magic IRL and she cast some on me.

Plot in this book as well, was absolutely plotting. The twists and turns were twisty and just surprising enough to keep me on my toes, and the breakneck pace of the second half was wholly captivating. Now looking back, the first book feels more and more like child’s play compared to this one. The Wicked King did not come to play. This book came to knock your goddamn inside-out stockings off. 

Overall obviously, this book was an absolute banger and by the end I was bothering everyone who would listen with the fact that it was all I could think about. In fact, funnily enough, I finished this book on vacation in a very sunny place, and in my last review I said that the ideal way to consume this series/the previous book was by having a piña colada in one hand. I did in fact, consume this book in my own ideal way. What an experience.