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The Wicked King

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About this listen

 The enchanting and bloodthirsty sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince finds Jude in a fight for power as a human within the Faerie world.

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her brother safe. 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. Bullying & Abuse Difficult Situations Literature & Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Fiction Royalty Fantasy Feel-Good

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What the critics say

Praise for The Wicked King:
 "A stunning and compelling sequel."—--SLJ, Starred Review
The Wicked King has satisfying twists and turns, sizzling passions, brutal violence, spies and revels of all sorts--no one brings the intricate courtly politics of Faerie to life quite as well, or with as much intelligence, as Holly Black.


—Shelf Awareness, starred review
*"A heady blend of courtly double-crossing, Faerie lore, and toxic attraction swirls together in the sequel to THE CRUEL PRINCE...Black's writing is both contemporary and classic; her world is, at this point, intensely well-realized, so that some plot twists seem almost inevitable."
—Kirkus, Starred Review
*"A rare second volume that surpasses the first, with, happily, more intrigue and passion still to come."—Booklist, Starred Review
*"[A] dangerous journey filled with mystery, betrayal, intrigue, and romance....Larger-than-life action in a kingdom packed with self-centered, evil, and manipulating characters also doles out real life issues."—VOYA, Starred Review
"The plot itself twists, turns, and dovetails perfectly with the assured character development; in this way, Black proves herself a master storyteller writing in the tradition of Megan Whalen Turner."—Horn Book
"An epic saga of palace intrigue and deception."—Entertainment Weekly
"Holly Black is a mistress of well-paced fantasy..."—Austin-American Statesman
"The Wicked King is so fast-paced and intense, you won't be able to put it down."—The Missourian
Praise for The Cruel Prince:
"Lush, dangerous, a dark jewel of a book. Black's world is intoxicating, imbued with a relentless sense of peril that kept me riveted through every chapter of Jude's journey. And Jude! She is a heroine to love--brave but pragmatic, utterly human. This delicious story will seduce you and leave you desperate for just one more page."—Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom
"I require book two immediately. Holly is the Faerie Queen."—Victoria Aveyard, #1 bestselling author of The Red Queen series
* "[S]pellbinding.... Breathtaking set pieces, fully developed supporting characters, and a beguiling, tough-as-nails heroine enhance an intricate, intelligent plot that crescendos to a jaw-dropping third-act twist."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "Another fantastic, deeply engaging, and all-consuming work from Black that belongs on all YA shelves."—School Library Journal, starred review
All stars
Most Relevant
One of the best audiobooks I've listened to. I keep coming back to it to relisten while getting work done or during drives. The narrator gives the protagonist, Jude, such a believable and vibrant voice, all while keeping tensions high in scenes that would otherwise drag on page.

Perfect

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After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. 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 read this through Audible in succession with The Cruel Prince. I don't normally do that but I just had to know what was in store for Jude and her sisters. Readers, Holly Black did not disappoint.

Jude's transformation from the weak mortal to the most powerful person in faerie was complete after she tricked Prince Cardan into taking the crown and become the High King of Faerie. This was achieved by Jude securing Cardan's word to do her will for a year and a day. That means she is the true ruler of Faerie, not bad for a mere human. That being said, ruling is not as easy as it seems since no one can know that Jude is pulling Cardan's strings. As Cardan's seneschal, Jude schemes to keep the realm from war. Jude faces all kinds of enemies from outside and inside her circle of spies and allies. It doesn't help that Cardan has effectively chosen to become a reckless drunk puppet King. Without help from Cardan, Jude navigates attacks from the Realm of the Sea and she uses every tactic with a firm determination to keep her control over Elfhame.

Where the theme of The Cruel Prince was primarily about family, The Wicked King is all about the attaining of power and the stress of keeping it from unraveling. It was exciting to watch Jude move from a position of weakness to attain the ultimate seat of power. I loved watching Jude use the strategies learned at her father, Madoc's, side and use them against him.

Jude's hunger for power aside, she and Cardan start as frenemies but slowly are realizing their attraction for each other. The one thing that Holly Black excels at is extremely good at twisting us up in knots as we work our way through the plots. The world of Elfhame is full of allies, spies, tricks, lies, distrust and questionable motives. I love the way Holly Black does not give us the typical romance, she gives us the messy complicated relationship that we all can relate to.

I highly recommend this book, two thumbs up. I am on to the final book of the series "The Queen of Nothing"

Another winner*****

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I really enjoy Holly Black's writing style, it's easy to read but also interesting. I love seeing the slow progression of Jude and Cardan's relationship. And I LOVE morally gray characters, so I super love Jude's character. Overall I love the plot. It was a little dull beginning but once I got into it the rest of the book was amazing.

100% Recommend

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After the first book I was excited to see the sequel on Audible! The story is great with some twists even veteren readers may not see coming.

A very fun read/listen

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Better than Cruel Prince.
As I read, I find myself realizing over and over that Jude is not at all a nice person. She’s not kind. She’s ambitious and scheming and distrusts everybody. And yet I want her to win, even if not exactly in the way she herself would chose. Holly Black has written her and Cardan so well that I’m fully invested in their story even if they’re not nice people.
Nice trickery, Miss Black! Manipulate me into loving your characters.

You’ll love Jude. You’ll hate Jude. You’ll love to hate her.

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