The Wicked King... Better Than The First Book?

Holly Black has taken the world by storm with her first installment of the Cruel Prince but, has the second book (The Wicked King) lived up to the standard.

The Wicked Kind by Holly Back is the second installment of the Cruel Price series. The book was published 2019, now the first book was such an adventurous journey and I absolutely loved it, so my expectations for this book was pretty high, but before we get into all the fun stuff let's break this book down and pick up where we left off. This book follows the journey of Carden after he was glamoured by Jude into being the High King of Elfhame and under her control for a year and one day, but how can we not tell this story without our favorite Jude because let's be honest she sure knows how to spice it up.

Even though Carden is on the throne it does not stop him from making Jude's life miserable and filled with humiliation. Through the trail and tribulations of with dealing with Cardan, a shocking betrayal, murder and kidnapping... she also has to battle her feeling for Cardan which is something that I have been waiting to see since the first book ended and now that I finally got it I couldn't be more happy because the chemistry between those two were piping hot.

In this book there is a lot more action which always keeps you guessing what's next to come and constantly on the edge of your seat. I love that this made me feel like I was in the middle of all the chaos. I must also say that the glimpses and character insight that we got from Cardan really impressed me because I got to see other sides to him whether good or bad because it just added to the drama... and the ending, just shocked me to my core and left my heart in pieces. The development of Carden and Jude's relationship was very interesting and the events that led up to it, and to have it happen closely positioned in the beginning of the book was very different. What I also picked up in this book is that the focus it not that much on Oak who was the center of the first book without even knowing it, but that just confirms my belief that the next book will contain some Oak scenes, This is a really smart move on Holly Black's part because it leaves us guessing to see what happens in the next book.

What I found absolute genius is the way in which the plot was constructed, the main focus and theme of this book was trying to figure out how to stop Balekin from stealing the crown, readers were so invested that no one really noticed the underlying clues of what is actually the main focus, it was so subtle, so when the shock at the end was revealed I was rolling on the floor. This book blew my mind. Love, love love.

Rating 4/5

Fave Character: Jude... love that girl.