A review by buriedinbooks
The Wicked King by Holly Black
4.0
4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Now that I've gotten my foot in the door with the Cruel Prince and Holly Black's writing has adjusted to this new world, I can confidently say that I enjoyed this book much more. It's not the most action-packed book; it's more manipulative and political than anything else. It's easy to follow and understand without overwhelming the reader too much, and it does have some action-filled scenes! The shift between Jude hating and loving Cardan still was a little unstable and not as grounded as I would have liked, but once I got past that, I can easily see how people like the couple. And no spoilers, but Holly Black sure does love cliffhangers! It's easy to see her breadcrumbs, so it didn't feel quite like a "plot twist," but it definitely left me wanting more. I'm not sure if it's because Holly Black got adjusted to writing Jude and this world or if she wanted Jude to sound more mature than in the last book, but the writing definitely flowed better than the Cruel Prince. And once I got over the fact that the author and Jude moved past the childish cruelty (is that a thing? It feels like a Cardan thing) of Cardan in the first book and moved towards this boy-king turned real-king. Both Jude and Cardan seemed to have matured, both as individuals and as a pair, and I really liked it. Not quite 5 stars, but a solid 4.
-
Now that I've gotten my foot in the door with the Cruel Prince and Holly Black's writing has adjusted to this new world, I can confidently say that I enjoyed this book much more. It's not the most action-packed book; it's more manipulative and political than anything else. It's easy to follow and understand without overwhelming the reader too much, and it does have some action-filled scenes! The shift between Jude hating and loving Cardan still was a little unstable and not as grounded as I would have liked, but once I got past that, I can easily see how people like the couple. And no spoilers, but Holly Black sure does love cliffhangers! It's easy to see her breadcrumbs, so it didn't feel quite like a "plot twist," but it definitely left me wanting more. I'm not sure if it's because Holly Black got adjusted to writing Jude and this world or if she wanted Jude to sound more mature than in the last book, but the writing definitely flowed better than the Cruel Prince. And once I got over the fact that the author and Jude moved past the childish cruelty (is that a thing? It feels like a Cardan thing) of Cardan in the first book and moved towards this boy-king turned real-king. Both Jude and Cardan seemed to have matured, both as individuals and as a pair, and I really liked it. Not quite 5 stars, but a solid 4.