The Wicked King

Writing: 4/5 Character: 5/5

World: 4.5/5 Plot: 5/5

Thoughts:

The cruel prince wasn’t my favourite book in the world, but the wicked king is a whole other story! The world builds in this story focusing much more on political intrigue which carries the bulk of the story’s plot. The plot in this book took twist and turns, some of which I guessed easily and some of which I never saw coming! For me, it was the perfect balance. However, the characters and their bonds is what made me love the books and I didn’t feel the plot overshadowed the characters. I loved watching the characters develop and where each one was bad in the cruel prince they only got that much more wicked. Jude and Cardan’s relationship is not all that healthy, and there are definitely some things that happen that I wish were either held off or wish it was done differently, but I will say their dynamic is interesting to read. I can’t wait to see what happens with them in the final instalment of this trilogy. My problems with the first book thankfully, didn’t apply to this book. I actually liked the perspective in this book and while the writing wasn’t amazing it improved. I’m really glad I powered through the first book because this book was SO worth it!

Cardan: I liked his development. We got to see some parts of his childhood, while it was kind of cookie cutter I liked the bits of background and it really helped me understand him better. He is not cruel in this book so much as careless, but there comes a time where he begins taking responsibility and doing things for himself. What I liked about Cardan in this novel was that he admitted he doesn’t completely understand why he’s so cruel or why he is the way he is.

Jude: Jude was an ultimate badass and I absolutely love her! I loved reading about her thought process and trying to balance her chaos of a life. I feel that her character really rounded out in this novel! One of the things I love about Jude is although she’s super strong she still has her weaknesses. Jude rarely lets people in to actually see these weaknesses and often puts on a show which is super relatable. When she tricks Balekin and then kills him! I was shook.

Madoc: I like Madoc as a villain because he’s one of the few that is reasonable and doesn’t let his pride get in the way of his plans. Not the best father figure though. His end move with Taryn truly took me by surprise. Taryn/Locke: I hate them both.

Plot:

I felt the twists with Balekin and the ghost were easy to guess, but honestly I didn’t mind because there was so much I didn’t see coming! First of all when Locke tried to have Jude killed I didn’t suspect Madoc but I also didn’t suspect Locke! I suspected the ghost and Balekin because that’s who I suspected was “the betrayer”. Then when they kidnaped her I didn’t see that coming until right before it happened so that one hit me. The last few chapters were truly packed with turns, but the biggest one I feel I definitely should’ve predicted was the proposal! Near the beginning when Cardan steals Jude’s ring and doesn’t get it back I thought it was odd and out of character for Jude, so I really should’ve pieced together that there was a bigger purpose as to why he kept the ring. When Jude was rationalizing sayings yes to his proposal I really wished she hadn’t said yes, I understand that it advances the plot but man oh man was it easy to predict that this was going to take a bad turn! And by this I of course mean the exile, in which case the wielding matters so I’m sure Jude will make her way back to Faerie, but dang I was shocked when he did that! A truly cruel final move, I want sure whether to love or hate Cardan.