A review by outsidestar
The Wicked King by Holly Black

adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Was this better than The Cruel Prince? Yes.
Was it epic? Almost but not really.

Okay, so I enjoyed this one much more than I did the first one. Truth be told, I was getting bored at the beginning, I find that the books in this series take a little to kick off, but once I passed the 35-40% mark I couldn't stop reading. I mean, I finished this last night at 3am.

I liked that there was more court politics in this book and I really like the story in general, but there are just things missing for me to be able to give this 5 stars. I know that when I get into these it seems like I'm ranting and I didn't like it, but I did like it, it's just that it's easier for me to call out the things that went wrong (and I rant because this could've been epic instead of great and it fell short, which kinda bothers me).

So, here I bring you The List (spoilers ahead):
  • The Cardan-Nicasia-Locke relationship. After how much they've betrayed and played each other, how can they possibly still want to be around one another? I can't wrap my head around it. Like, why make Locke Master of Revels when he took Nicasia from you, then played her and played Jude too?

  • The hate fucking scene. What the hell was that? As much as I ship them together, there was no build up. Epic love stories, or just any love story really, aren't supposed to come from giant red flags. That screamed toxic relationship to me from miles away.

  • The Heather and Vivi situation. That was clearly going to go wrong, one way or another. I just feel like Heather is a filler, a tool to get Vivi out of Faerie and then there's no more use for her.

  • When Jude is taken to the Undersea I felt absolute indifference about the betrayal. I should've been screaming because it's someone I actually liked in the first book, but instead I was just like oh, okay. Why? Because he practically doesn't show up in this whole book! If he had been more present, it would've made more of an impact. Not to mention that we don't know why (other that he disn't like to be bossed around by her) or what he got in return.

  • Speaking of the Undersea. What was that like? I can't tell you because I wasn't told. It's this place under the sea with mermaids and who knows what else and we got to see nothing of it.

  • Which leads me to: the world-building. I had this problem in the first book too. I don't feel like the world is real enough, I don't know what it looks like. All I know is that it must be tiny, because Jude seems to be able to get everywhere by foot.

  • And not just the world, but the different courts too, I feel like they are underused and could have much more presence. The Court of Termites, for example, they are only used to get Jude moving, but nothing else. The Undersea is just a catalyst. Not to mention Cardan's mother, whose presence serves no purpose at all.

  • And finally, the characters. Like I said in my review for The Cruel Prince, not many characters are straight on likeable, which isn't a bad thing, I love me some flawed characters. But they need to have redeeming qualities for me to be able to root for them. Right now the only characters I can say I fully like are the Bomb, the Roach and Cardan. You know that thing that happens right at the end? I'm taking Cardan's side on that, she had it coming. The problem is that most characters are just pawns of the story, they're there to fulfill whatever is needed from them and then disappear into the background. And what about Jude? I liked her better in this book, because she starts to worry about Oak and Cardan and puts others before herself, but I still cannot connect with that thirst for power of hers, I get where it comes from but still... no.

Overall, and despite my pinpointing everything that could be improved, I really enjoyed this and flew through it. I just wish I was more absorbed by the world and the characters.