The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, 2)

Rating: 4 out of 5

"It will hurt. Pain makes you strong."

"And that of all the things he's ever done to me, making me like him so much is by far the worst."

Jude 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 biddable. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her. When it becomes all to clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a faerie world.

I am in love with this book I was on the fence with book one until the twist at the end, but I had no doubts that this book was amazing from the moment it began. It had all the things I needed from the first one and then some. Jude is still a quick and fierce character, but we see her struggling with the power she does have. Or at least the power she appears to have, even when confronted with all the ways she doesn't have it. Cardan is presented in a whole new light in this one that really tugs at the heartstrings. I think this book truly solidified my love for him. The character development and growth of these two is all I cared about in this book.

I spent most of the book just in shock at all the twists and turns I didn't see coming. Jude and Cardan find the kingdom in a precarious position with the Undersea ready to declare war at any moment. The tension between the two of them is clear to see. Is it love? Is it a deep hatred? Jude really doesn't know what to feel or who to trust in this one. And watching her juggle all the pieces made the story so much more. I didn't see half of this one coming and I'm not sure I've emotionally recovered from the ending of this one either to be honest. Holly Black is single handedly destroying my ability to cope haha.