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  • The Wicked King

  • The Folk of the Air, Book 2
  • By: Holly Black
  • Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
  • Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,327 ratings)
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The Wicked King cover art

The Wicked King

By: Holly Black
Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
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Summary

An intoxicating and bloodthirsty sequel to the New York Times best-selling The Cruel Prince, nominated for the Cilip Carnegie Medal 2019.

I have heard that for mortals, the feeling of falling in love is very like the feeling of fear.

Jude has tricked Cardan onto the throne, binding him to her for a year and a day. But the new High King does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her, even as his fascination with her remains undimmed.

Meanwhile, a traitor in the court is scheming against her. Jude must fight for her life and the lives of those she loves, all while battling her own complicated feelings for Cardan. Now a year and a day seems like no time at all....

©2019 Holly Black (P)2019 Bonnier Publishing

Critic reviews

"Holly Black is the Faerie Queen." (Victoria Aveyard)

What listeners say about The Wicked King

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

If you liked the first one, you’ll love this!

Good pacing, good narration, good twists. I really find myself rooting for Jude and I am invested in her story. Finishes on a cliffhanger so I am keen to see what happens next. Definitely recommend!

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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So so good!.....

This is the second book in the series and as good, if not better, than The Cruel Prince. It has you guessing, never expecting the twists and turns....Needless to say, I am waiting excitedly for the third book. This book deserves all the good reviews and the narrator is excellent.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

too much plot

I love this series but I'm bitter by how this book ended. I however trust that there is a reason to this ending and looking forward to reading book 3! too much plot for my taste but that's just a personal thing. If you are looking for a romance set in fantasy with some plot this isnt it. This is a fantasy plot with some romance. Which is what most people would prefer anyway, I'm just trashhhh

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I have no words

Erm. Well. Huh. I am struggling to put into words how I feel. Holly has completely outdone her self in this book. The Cruel Prince was one of my favourite books last year but The Wicked King is on another level!

After the way The Cruel Prince ended, I thought that Holly couldn't shock me again. Well, clearly I was wrong about that! This book has everything you need. It's got betrayal, new alliances, love, hate and a good old wedding.

I love the relationship between Jude and Cardan. The love/hate thing they have going on is so intense. I could quote so many many lines from Cardan that made me just fall deeper and deeper for him. He is everything you think he is but also nothing like you think he is. He is a very complex character.

This book is full of characters who are torn. They are fighting not only with each other but with themselves. It makes for very interesting reading but makes it very difficult to predict what will happen next.

Although I have just finished this book and I only recently read The Cruel Prince I feel like I need to reread the series again. I feel like there are intricacies I likely missed the first time around. I think this is one of those stories that you would learn something new everytime you read it.

This story was epic and I have so many theories and thoughts on the ending that my mind has been whirring for days! I don't know how I am going to wait a whole year for The Queen of Nothing!

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Starting to think Black wants to kill her readers.

..from pure shock. Seek not an airy fairy romance with star crossed lovers and the like. This story is about cruelty, bloodshed, deceit, twists you will not see coming and heart stopping endings that fall far from the dreaded "cliche cliff hanger" category.

You will admire, revile, pity, mock, deeply hate and desperately love the characters. I secretly lustfully ship a beautiful romance between a certain pair that with each book grows increasingly impossible on account of all the heinous things they do to each other. The one thing that remains certain is that Holly Black is fantastically imaginative and despite this being the first books of hers I read she has instantaneously claimed her place on my favourites shelf (which is no small feat as I am a tough to please).

If you haven't already picked up this series you are missing out on life.


Post Script: the narrator does a great job of bringing the story to life.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing

Great story and the reader is exquisite, you really feel the personalities of the characters by the tones and infections she uses, no character sounds the same and there are a lot of characters, really looking forward to listening to the final book as the story os so unpredictable, yet satisfying!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of my few 5/5 books

I thought I'd read all the best sci-fi/fantasy already but damn. so glad I stumbled onto this series, twists and turns of politics, intricate and nuanced magics, characters and connections that bring it all to life. Such great momentum from beginning to end (and beyond) all with a very powerful performer that really manages to capture the depths of passion and pain in the protagonist's ordeals.
As with the first, I'm enraptured by a bittersweet ending that has me eager to discover what will happens next.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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The hight of unlikeable characters

I put this off for ages. I'm kicking myself because now I'm so desperate for Queen Of Nothing, I dunno what to do with myself.

All these characters are horrible. Truly ghastly. But you know what, I'm living for this drama.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good but not what I expected

I think because I am used to these kinds of series going from strength to strength I was maybe a little disappointed in this book. I felt like I was waiting for Carden and Jude to fall fully for each other rather than hinting at it right through the book then when it looks like they’re going to finally get together he exiles her and they’re all laughing at her. It feels like we haven’t got much further along, she is right back where she started, in the mortal realm and alone. I’m still not sure who the bad guys are and who is good. Book 1 was really good but I am hoping book 3 is better.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The Wicked King is wicked!

Liked the first book of the series, this one was even better. Quite a few twists and turns throughout the story and can't wait to finish the series off.

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1 person found this helpful